ROCKFORD, Ill. (FinalCall.com) – God created man to experience a full and complete freedom by giving humanity a moral compass to determine right from wrong, said the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan to an attentive audience in this once thriving but now struggling city.
Human beings are either creating good for themselves and generations to come, or bad, based on their actions because every deed has its consequence, warned Minister Farrakhan in a Nov. 20 message.
“Every human being wants full and complete freedom, and (anyone) that deprives us of that which God desires for us puts themselves in a position opposite to God and ultimately, every oppressed people, every enslaved people, every people not free, finds that way to become free. And everyone who takes the role of the oppressor, the enslaver, the exploiter, is ultimately set down,” said Min. Farrakhan.
The opulent and historic Coronado Performing Arts Theater in downtown Rockford was the venue for his nearly two-hour message titled “Justice is the Joy of Freedom.”
It was the second time in the past three months that Minister Farrakhan has spoken in this city that has been gripped by racial tension. His entire message was also viewed live via internet webcast across the country.
“Nations rise, nations fall, empires rise and empires fall, and we have not seen anything in the last 6,000 years that has permanence, so God at the end of this present world promises to set up a kingdom on this earth, not for some, but for all and that kingdom will not have any end to it because it is rooted in the same universal principles in which the universe is founded,” said Min. Farrakhan.
Regarding the principle of justice, Min. Farrakhan noted that his teacher, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, taught justice is the principle of fair dealing, the law that distinguishes between right and wrong and the weapon that God will use in the judgment of this world.
He read a dictionary definition for justice, which included “fairness, fair-play, fair-mindedness, impartiality, lack of prejudice, evenhandedness, objectivity, lack of bias.”
“What a wonderful world this would be if we lived under fair dealing,” he declared.
“How is justice used as a weapon?” the Minister asked. “Jesus said, God is not mocked for whatsoever a man soweth, the same shall he also reap. Then the scripture says as thou hast done, so shall it be done unto thee. That’s justice as a weapon. Jesus said sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. So just like you sow a seed and get back so much more than what you put in, in the day of justice and judgment, the wicked will get back more based on what they’ve done and the scriptures says he will pluck them up and leave them neither root nor branch.”
In a very conversational tone that was at times humorous and other times extremely serious, Min. Farrakhan talked about many of the issues troubling Rockford–failing schools, a bad economy, foreclosed homes and joblessness.
But, he said, what is being experienced in Rockford is not unique. There are broken down people and broken down buildings in every urban city of America, Min. Farrakhan said.
In America, human beings have a measure of freedom, but many use this freedom to do evil. Freedom does not give you the right to steal from or misuse others, said the Minister.
“Freedom is what we all want, but freedom does not mean license,” said Min. Farrakhan. “You have a nature that comes from God and you are free to live within the bounds of your nature.”
He also spoke of the plight of Black people and the damage done collectively to the Black psyche by over 400 years of slavery. This trauma, the Minister said, has created a degree of self-hatred, which has been bred into Blacks and creates a feeling of inferiority and lack of self worth.
“As a people, we have suffered much and as a people we have been the victims of injustice and the injustice that we have been the victims of has imbalanced our minds,” said Min. Farrakhan.
The rough economy has reduced many to obtaining just the basic necessities of food, clothing and shelter, and society is failing the people, Black people suffer the worst, he continued.
“Education is the fundamental right of every human being and to deprive any human being of knowledge is to deprive that human being of that which grows it out of an animal stage to the stage of consciousness morally. When you are conscious morally, you are human and when you are human then your mind is in control of your flesh. That’s when you become a human being, but you are more than a human being,” said Min. Farrakhan. “How could God have made all of us in his image and after his likeness and we not have a divine spark in every human being? That divine spark is cultivated through knowledge (and) the acquisition of knowledge.”
Anger growing in America
The Minister then referred to the Declaration of Independence, calling for a closer examination of growing anger and dissatisfaction in America. He drew attention to the preamble of the document which reads: “When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.”
“This started when the early Americans revolted against the tyranny of their former government. They did not want to remain under the queen of England because they said it was a tyrannical leadership,” said Min. Farrakhan. “It’s so important that we look at what is happening to America and look at the anger that is rising–not just in Black people–it’s rising in the American people. The Tea Party is a revolt against present conditions and present leadership,” said Min. Farrakhan.
He read more from the opening of the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
“Most of the people are not happy,” said the Minister. “There are many militias now that are forming all over America, and when they are polled about what they think of their government, the Congress is way down.”
Anger is being taken out on President Barack Obama, who is being used as a scapegoat for America’s enormous debt, which was already at $12 trillion when he became president–in part due to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the poor economy, observed Min. Farrakhan.
Additionally, many Whites are angered just by seeing a Black first family in the White House, he said.
In 1913, the debt stood at $1 billion. In real terms, if Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security are added, the debt stands at over $60 trillion, and now the Federal Reserve has injected $600 billion to buy America’s Treasury notes, the Minister said.
The cry of the Tea Party is “take the country back,” but, they are looking at the wrong people to take it back from, Min. Farrakhan said.
Certainly, Blacks and Latinos aren’t in control of the nation’s wealth, and neither are the poor Whites who often appear to be the angriest, he said.
“Here you are, the victims of manipulative forces that are destroying our health and well being and pitting us against each other while the rich continue to get richer at the expense of the poor and ignorant,” said Min. Farrakhan.
It is not wealth, drugs or partying that produces joy, it is the fulfillment of purpose, said the Minister.
“People that have purpose for their life don’t waste time! Time is what God has given to all of us and it is how we use that time that we are required to be judged for,” said Min. Farrakhan.
Black life devalued
Minister Farrakhan said the lives of Blacks are devalued by law enforcement and by one another. The killing of Mark Anthony Barmore in the summer of 2009 by Rockford police officers is just one incident in which Blacks have been killed by police, however, Blacks shoot down other Blacks regularly in U.S. cities with relatively little outcry, he said.
All those in the pulpits of the mosques and churches in the Black community should begin to teach a message of non-violence to be applied in the Black community, then once Black people show respect for each other, perhaps law enforcement will begin to respect us, and maybe the number of those gunned down in police shootings will decrease, he said.
“Things are getting worse and while we are in the condition we are in, we need teaching, not so much preaching, but teaching,” he said. “Ignorance is the enemy of White and Black and when you see ignorance with authority, that’s dangerous!”
Apostle Melvin Brown of Kingdom Authority International Church attended Min. Farrakhan’s lecture with his wife, Sheila, and daughter, Marissa. His family and the church family have suffered since the fatal shooting of Mr. Barmore in the church’s basement on August 24, 2009. His wife and daughter both witnessed the shooting, and give completely different accounts from the narrative given by the police. Many community activists have charged a cover-up is at work and the mother and daughter were targeted and urged to change their story. Both say Mr. Barmore was unarmed and surrendering when shot by police.
Within Black communities nationwide, judges are perceived as corrupt and connected to corrupt law enforcement officials who are doing wrong, said Min. Farrakhan. As a result, many Blacks believe there cannot be justice, he said.
“Justice is what we are commanded to uphold,” said the Minister. “If you love God and love truth above it all then you will stand up for what is right regardless of the consequences!”
After concluding his message by reading from Deuteronomy 28 in which God outlines blessings and curses for the Children of Israel, as an added bonus, Min. Farrakhan held a question and answer period after his lecture, which surprised many in attendance. There were so many who wanted to ask questions, the time period ended with many still standing in line. They were encouraged to submit their questions online at http://www.finalcall.com/.
