The Black Is Back Coalition for Social Justice, Peace and Reparations held its 18th Annual Conference Aug. 29 and 30 on the north side of St. Louis and virtually under the theme “Remember Durban, Reparations Now!”

The gathering brought together organizations and supporters from across the United States and around the world for political education, discussion and commitment to a united struggle.

The conference commemorated the 25th anniversary of the 2001 Durban conference and its Declaration and Program of Action. It also placed the question of reparations within the present condition of Black people throughout the diaspora who continue to face economic exploitation, political oppression, displacement and attacks on our communities.

Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the African People’s Socialist Party and chair of the Black Is Back Coalition told The Final Call, the organization has kept the meaning of Durban and the demand for reparations before the world.

“We commemorate and hold up for ourselves and for the world the significance of Durban and the reparations issue,” Chairman Yeshitela said. He pointed to a March 2026 United Nations action declaring the trafficking and enslavement of African people among history’s gravest crimes against humanity.

“That is an extraordinary thing coming from the United Nations,” he said. “It means that the vast majority of the people of the world formally at this point have united with the struggle of African people not just here but globally.”

For Chairman Yeshitela, the issue begins with defining the condition of Black African people separated from their homeland through slavery and colonialism. “Africans are not immigrants.

We’re captives and we think it’s important to make that distinction,” he said. “That’s one of the reasons we are talking about the question of reparations. We want payment. We want everything.”

He cited the Caribbean Community’s estimate that African people are owed approximately $131 trillion and recalled that the African People’s Socialist Party organized a reparations tribunal in 1982. That tribunal calculated $4.1 trillion in 1982 dollars for stolen labor alone, he said.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, spoke on the subject of what America, Europe and White people who enslaved Black people and amassed tremendous wealth off of our labor, oppression and abuse owe to Black people they held in bondage and continue to colonize.

During his historic 1990 “Stop the Killing” tour, Minister Farrakhan delivered a message, “A Case For Reparations: Add It Up!” on reparations before more than 20,000 people in Atlanta on April 28,1990.

“America, you owe us something. We don’t want you to dole it out in welfare checks. If you give us what you owe us, we’ll take it from there. But will America do that? We don’t know,” Minister Farrakhan said.

Kamm Howard, co-convenor of the Global Circle for Reparations and Healing and commissioner with the National African American Reparations Commission, said the St. Louis gathering is part of a movement rising throughout the world.

“Currently we are experiencing a global reparations revolution,” Mr. Howard told The Final Call. He compared it to the anti-colonial revolution of the 1950s through the 1970s when people in Africa, Asia, South America and Central America waged armed struggle and negotiated independence from European domination.

“Today Africans and people of African descent are demanding redress from all around the world from the same enslaving and colonial powers,” he said.

He urged reparations advocates to focus plainly on the crimes. “Many Americans are timid in calling the actions of America criminal,” Mr. Howard said. “We use soft words like sins, harms and inappropriate actions. No, they were crimes against humanity in 2001 and the gravest crimes against humanity in 2026 in human history.”

Crimes against humanity carry a mandatory obligation for redress when continuing injury remains, he explained. For that reason, the movement must keep the criminal acts at the center instead of allowing the demand to be reduced to apology or symbolic recognition.

Mr. Howard also called for an end to internal contention over race and lineage. Reparations demands contain race, crime, harm or continuing injury and lineage components, he said. The unifying point is that Black African people are seeking redress for the gravest crimes in human history. His message placed the coalition’s work within that worldwide movement for repair.

That spirit moved Belinda Parker Brown of Louisiana United International. She described the presentations as powerful but said knowledge must be joined to a new posture.

“We cannot constantly keep going around begging, whining and crying and asking permission, expecting that they are going to do something for us when they never intended to do it in the first place,” Ms. Parker Brown told The Final Call.

She questioned why Black people are still asking for what is rightfully owed while other groups have received redress. Her answer was unity and organized demand. “The power is in a united force.

We have to unite and demand reparations right now,” she said. “Technology and social media are tools readily in our hands. We have to let it be heard and let it be known that we are not asking anymore. We are demanding reparations right now.”

For Zaki Baruti of the Universal African People’s Organization, unity among organizations is essential. His organization joined the Black Is Back Coalition in 2015 after participating in the Ferguson uprising that followed the police killing of Michael Brown Jr.

“It is essential that various organizations that speak truth to power and have a track record of working to uplift humanity unite around a common agenda,” Mr. Baruti said.

“One of the common agendas that we should rally around is reparations because as a race of people we have been attacked historically and currently by one of the most vicious economic systems of capitalism and by racism.”

He said the coalition includes progressive and revolutionary organizations led by people with histories of struggle for the liberation of African people in the United States and throughout the world.

Betty Davis of the New Abolitionist Movement, a New York educator for more than 50 years, warned that reparations cannot be separated from self-determination and the ability of Black communities to defend what they possess.

Ms. Davis argued that educational institutions must be accountable to the Black community and its concepts of liberation and freedom. Public school budgets in major Black cities are among the largest public resources, but Black communities do not control them, she said.

“When you control those institutions that’s self-determination,” she explained. “But that’s not the same thing as reparations.” Ms. Davis pointed to the displacement of Black people from New York City.

The loss of intergenerational wealth and the sale of churches and community institutions under economic pressure. Black people are being pushed into other communities where they often face environmental hazards and failing public systems, she said.

The Durban gathering in 2001 declared slavery and the slave trade crimes against humanity and strengthened the international demand for repair. Twenty-five years later, the St. Louis conference made clear that declarations alone have not restored what was stolen.

The Black Is Back Coalition was founded as an organization of various groups and a political instrument through which member groups could exercise united will. Its annual conference continues to bring together different ideological traditions around the principle that Black people have the right to self-determination.

—J.A. Salaam, Contributing Writer

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From August 7 through 9, the Michael Brown Jr. Chosen for Change Organization marked its 12th Legacy Weekend under the question, “What Does Justice Look Like to You?” The observance united clergy, activists, artists, young people and grieving families.

The Aug. 7 community panel, Aug. 8 Black Ball fundraiser and an Aug. 9 memorial gathering reflected one conviction—that Michael Jr.’s life must not be forgotten and the hurt left behind cannot be ignored.

Michael Brown Jr., an unarmed Black 18-year-old, was killed on August 9, 2014, by a White Ferguson police officer, just days after graduating from Normandy High School. His death brought national attention to Ferguson, sparking protests. A grand jury declined to indict the officer.

The family’s annual observance insists that remembrance must also make room for service, faith and the work of helping families endure trauma. At the opening community discussion, participants considered what justice looks like beyond a courtroom or a headline.

Michael Brown Sr. described the emotional weight of the anniversary of his son’s death, while emphasizing that the work continues. “This weekend is like it happened yesterday, as long as Mike is not here, we still have a lot of work to do,” he said.

That work includes building programs that help families living with violent loss, especially children whose pain may be overlooked after tragedy reshapes a household.

Legacy Weekend also showed how the organization has broadened its response to loss. Through Chosen Fathers, Mothers of an Angel and C.O.P.E., (Children Overcoming Painful Experiences), the organization seeks to help people confront grief before it hardens into isolation. The message was clear: healing requires more than sympathy after a crisis, it requires relationships, resources and a place where families can be heard.

The Aug. 8 Black Ball is the annual weekend’s major fundraiser, held at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the University of Missouri St. Louis campus. This year, the event moved beyond the image of a traditional gala. Its centerpiece, “Rip the Runway for Justice: Fashion is the Statement,” placed fashion alongside advocacy, healing and community purpose.

The program also celebrated regional change makers and raised funds for Chosen for Change, an organization that has served more than 2,500 families affected by violence and systemic inequality. The organization has stood in solidarity with more than 600 families worldwide and donated funds toward the mental health and emotional wellbeing of grieving families.

“Rip the Runway for Justice is much bigger than a fashion show,” said Torrie Danielle Sanders, who directed the presentation. “It was created from a desire to use fashion, creativity and community as a platform for purpose.”

Through her work with Get in Motion, Ms. Sanders said she focuses on creating opportunities that promote wellness, empowerment, connection and positive change within the community.

She wanted to bring that same energy to an event honoring Michael Brown Jr.’s legacy, using the runway to bring designers, models, creatives and the community together around something bigger than themselves.

One portion of the program looked to the next generation. Jada Jamerson, the 12th Michael Brown Jr. Chosen for Change Scholarship recipient, was recognized after writing about what justice means.

The moment, alongside the awards presented that night, reminded attendees that the legacy being honored is not just about looking back; but is also about encouraging a generation that must live with the consequences of unresolved pain and still find a way to pursue dignity, opportunity and change.

On Aug. 9, family members, friends and supporters returned to Canfield Drive, the place many refer to as Ground Zero, the location where the police officer fatally shot Michael Jr. At 11:55 a.m., the crowd gathered for the annual moment of silence at the memorial site.

Longtime activist Anthony Shahid led a four-minute and 30 second countdown, a period (though shortened) intended to force reflection on the time Michael Brown Jr. lay in the street after he was shot. The stillness stood in sharp contrast to the chants, cameras and upheaval that followed his death in 2014, but it carried a message that the community’s memory has not faded.

“I want you to imagine driving to Chicago for four and a half hours, think about that and imagine Mike Jr. laying out here in this heat for that long,” said Mr. Shahid.

For the Brown family, legacy work has taken different forms while remaining rooted in the same loss. Courtney McSpadden, brother of Michael Jr.’s mother, Lezley McSpadden Head, spoke about the responsibility to hold family together and keep Michael Brown Jr.’s name alive.

“We cannot be divided,” he said. “Keep doing good by empowering our kids, our families and community.” His remarks echoed the weekend’s focus on collective care, not simply individual mourning, but a shared, enduring responsibility.

Mr. Brown Sr. also spoke plainly about the continuing anguish faced by bereaved families. “It’s still painful to watch other families who are struggling with the loss of loved ones,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking and sad that we are the only ones that see it’s a problem.”

Cal Brown, Michael Brown Jr.’s stepmother, said the late-night calls from people losing their children have not stopped. “The pain is still here,” she said, adding that people are still trying to make a difference.

That is the challenge carried by Chosen for Change, to honor Michael Brown Jr. while offering practical support to people whose lives have been interrupted by violence and trauma.

Twelve years later, Legacy Weekend did not offer easy answers to Ferguson’s enduring questions. It offered something more difficult and more necessary: a public commitment to remember, to stand with grieving families and to continue working toward a community where justice is felt in the lives of its people.

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“Marriage is a key institution if we are going to build a strong family. If we are not concerned about family, then we are not concerned about our people and our Nation.  If we have a weak family, we have a weak Nation. If we have a strong family, we have the potential for a strong Nation.

Strong family is only built upon a strong relationship between the male and female, called husband and wife,” Minister Farrakhan explained in his message, “How To Give Birth To A God,” part 5, delivered August 9, 1987.

In the ongoing effort to develop and cultivate family and community, Muhammad Mosque No. 28 hosted its first Black Family Week in St. Louis, July 11-19. The week kicked off  July 11, with Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad.

National Assistant to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, who delivered remarks at the HBCU campus of Harris-Stowe State University, and events concluded July 19, with Student Minister Nuri Muhammad of Mosque No. 74 in Indianapolis.  

According to Student Minister Donald Muhammad of  Mosque No. 28, Black Family Week served as a launching pad for future activities designed to help strengthen the Black community.

Participants and attendees listened intently to messages addressing the foundational crisis facing Black America.

Student Min. Ishmael laid the foundation for the week by delving deep into the importance of family and marriage. He connected the deterioration of Black family structures to a broader crisis of lack of knowledge of self. “What was originated and instituted by God must be respected accordingly.

If we don’t give due respect to that which is of God, we offend Him and from this offense a series of offenses take place,” he said, lifting words from the Honorable Minister Farrakhan. “Therefore, we must look again at what God intended when He instituted marriage among the original parents of the human family,” he continued.

Student Min. Ishmael presented some very sobering statistics and information. “With everything that we have suffered and what is going on now in the Black community, there is a plan of genocide.

Look at these statistics: 47% of Black mothers are raising children as single mothers, compared to 25%  of  Hispanics and 14% of White mothers. Approximately 63-64% of all Black children live in single-parent households,” he said.

These numbers reveal a crisis unique to Black America, rooted in a fundamental disconnection from knowledge of self and collective purpose.  Student Min. Ishmael emphasized that correcting family problems must begin with marriage and knowledge.

“We don’t know the nature of the female.  We  don’t see the woman from the perspective of (Allah) God. We have become our worst enemy toward our women and ourselves. 

The enemy has made us into himself because we kept feeding from his mind and refused to take the mind that God offered us.   If  we would have adopted that mind, we wouldn’t be in the condition we are in today,” he told the audience.

The 1965 Moynihan Report (officially titled, “The Negro Family: The Case For National Action”), written by Assistant Secretary of Labor Daniel Patrick Moynihan, examined the link between Black poverty and family structure. At that time, the out-of-wedlock birth rate among Black people was 25%. By 1981, that figure had risen to 68%.

Student Min. Ishmael traced this destruction directly to U.S. government interference. “You have to understand that we have been dealing with an enemy from the highest places of government,” he explained.

“When the government of the United States, through its COINTELPRO programs, infiltrated Black organizations during the 60s, they determined that Black folks should not unite.” he explained.

“By the time the 1980s came, crack cocaine flooded our neighborhoods. We didn’t invite these drugs in; we don’t own the weapons. Drugs came into the community, breaking up families. The incarceration rate quadrupled, and now we are fighting each other. But we are not beyond repair and the reach of God.”

More than an event

Student Minister Donald Muhammad shared the broader purpose of the week-long gathering. “Black Family Week is more than an event; it is a call to rebuild our homes, strengthen our communities, and reconnect our people to God, to one another, and to our divine purpose. When we strengthen the Black family, we strengthen the future of our nation.”

Brother Malik Ahmed is co-founder of Better Family Life. He shared with The Final Call the idea and origin of Black Family Week. “When I grew up in New York, the Muslim community kept their feet and ears to the ground. We must reproduce that energy.

I remembered in 1974 when the Honorable Minister Farrakhan organized a Black Family Day on Randall’s Island. There were over 72,000 people there, and the traffic was so bad that Brother Akbar Muhammad, may Allah be pleased with him, went and had them fly Minister Farrakhan in by helicopter,” he shared.

“A few weeks later it became Harlem Week, which brought out two million people over a three-week period. So, when I came to St. Louis in 1982, I said I’m going to do a Black Family Week. From 1984 to 2018, Better Family Life presented Black Family Week every year.

Today, Muhammad Mosque No. 28 and Better Family Life have merged this idea, which means we all possess Black Family Week as something we will do together.  So, we all can have a better family life.”

Brother Talibdin El-Amin, publisher of the St. Louis Argus newspaper, emphasized the importance and need for such a gathering. “The Black Family Week is essential in forming a foundation for success in the family and ultimately the community as a whole.

Much of the impact of social and economic dysfunction and disparities could be mitigated with a strong family foundation. Black Family Week is one key in helping to answer the call the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan put forth to make our communities a safe and decent place to live.”

Participants and attendees responded with deep appreciation. Zachary Harrell from Imperial, Missouri, said, “This was a powerful message and a great reflection of the Life-Giving Teachings. This message can wake us up to the world we are living in and to know how to follow God’s path.”

Nathaniel Jackson agreed. “The impact of this message on our community is about showing love to one another and working together.” Jeremiah McCall Jr., age 21, told The Final Call, “Student Minister Ishmael emphasized the importance of self-improvement, and if one of us works on ourselves, it will affect our community as a whole.”

The week of events concluded on July 19, at Harris-Stowe State University again with Student Minister Nuri Muhammad, who delivered a powerful message centered on unity, love for self, and collective responsibility to build safe and decent communities, as taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

“The power of our community is the Black family,” said Student Min. Nuri. “Words have power and will become flesh. They can create a reality, and Allah (God) used words to bring things into existence,” he said. “Like when we call each other brother and sister, those words make you feel like family.

You become the uncles and aunts to the children and when they are acting up or getting out of line, the uncle and aunt can correct them. When we speak the same language of accountability and love, we create the conditions for safe communities. It takes a village to raise a child, so find someone to speak positive words to our children.”

Like Student Min. Ishmael, he also emphasized to attendees that the condition of Black communities is directly tied to the unity of Black people. “If we don’t come together as a people, we cannot build the safe and decent communities our families deserve.”

Love, unity, community

For people who attended Black Family Week events, the messages resonated. Kevin Cahill-Bey was impacted by the message of unity. “This message of love and unity has the impact of being contagious for the good of our community. It’s something that we need … .”

Ryan Sutherland shared, “One specific thing that really stuck with me was learning how to love a woman and being able to keep the family together and how important it is. Also, the reciprocation of it, and the woman learning to respect a man. I took plenty of notes.”

Tera Roberts was moved to tears. “Brother Nuri always brings the information about how to look at self first and then be able to bring that out into the community, which is a very good need right now for our community,” she said. Ms. Roberts also said that the information shared should be shared with families, friends and especially young people.

James Trust said he initially came to hand out pamphlets but ended up staying to hear more. “Man, he put a lot on my heart. Just how to respect the woman and the family unit, the whole family dynamic in general, and how it affects our neighborhood and our community as a whole. So, it was very powerful. It really impacted me.”

Yaphett El-Amin agreed, stating that the message was powerfully moving, motivating and uplifting. “He motivated me to expand my thinking and activate my thinking, particularly from the standpoint of doing more to spend with our own selves. You always know it, but putting it into action (is important).”

Alex Watkins was also inspired. “People need to realize the family has been destroyed systematically. If we are going to be smart people, we have to systematically bring the family back. Two things happened after segregation. We lost church and we lost school. We’ve got to bring ourselves back to that.”

Latricia Davis, a first-time guest, said, “His message was very positive, uplifting, and reassured me that we do need this type of training and learning within our community, for sure.”

Rev. Duane D. Burch summed up the week and the needed presence of Black men working together with Black women to better and strengthen the bond between the two and the Black community.

“Too often the portrayal of the Black man and Black woman in the media, or the way we represent ourselves in public, or the depravity of our education, or the lyrics in our music, or the disproportionate incarceration (or killing) of our Black brothers and sisters create a stereotypical perception of our race,” he said.

“Black Family Week, however, reinforces the true fiber and fabric of what the family looks like. This week also encourages both men and women to wear their respective roles of responsibility and to take pride in who God has made them and the purpose for which we are all here.

We were reminded to love and respect one another. There are times when a refresher course or an encouraging word is needed to keep the fire lit. Just that nudge may be all you need to be the Black man that your family, our youth, and our community need you to be.”

Black Family Week in St. Louis stands as a testament to the commitment of the Nation of Islam and the broader Black community to strengthen the foundation of family, marriage and community unity.

As the community moves forward, the impact of this week will hopefully continue to resonate, inspiring families to rebuild, reconnect, and reclaim their rightful place as architects of thriving, safe and dignified communities.

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Student Minister Donald Muhammad of Mosque No. 28 in St. Louis, Missouri, delivered the keynote address, opening with the first five verses of Surah (Chapter 90), titled, “The City” from the Holy Qur’an. “What will make you know what the uphill road is?” Student Min. Donald asked, setting the tone for a message rooted in accountability, sacrifice and the obligation to serve those less fortunate.

For Brother Earl, Student Secretary of Mosque 28B, in East St. Louis, Ill., the significance of 45 years runs deep. “This 45th anniversary is very significant because it is my birthplace in the Nation and the first mosque dedicated under the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s leadership after 1975,” he said. “This year will launch the restoration and re-dedication of the building as one of our Nation’s historical sites.”

The history of Mosque No. 28B is a testament to what a small group of determined believers can accomplish when driven by faith and vision. After the departure of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1975, Minister Farrakhan stood up to rebuild and reestablish the Nation of Islam in the fall of 1977. By 1978, he had shared his vision with a small group of believers in the St. Louis community alongside his close friend, Minister Abdul Akbar Muhammad.

Under Brother Akbar’s direction, Brother Arvin X and Brother Jerry Oliver, along with his wife Beverly, held study groups in private homes that grew into Sunday meetings at Southern Illinois University East St. Louis Campus and eventually relocated to the Mary E. Brown Center at 15th and Piggot Avenue in East St. Louis.

In 1979, Brother Eddie Aziz identified the vacant Will McGaughy Administration Building at 2216 State Street in East Saint Louis, Illinois, which was up for public auction. A small group of approximately 15 believers pooled their resources to purchase the building. Working with a deadline given by Minister Farrakhan to Minister Abdul Akbar Muhammad, the believers labored tirelessly to prepare the building for occupancy. On May 3, 1981, Minister Farrakhan officially dedicated the building as Muhammad Mosque No. 28B.

Minister Abdul Akbar Muhammad, then known as Brother Larry X, served as the first minister of the mosque for one year before being called to Chicago to assist Minister Farrakhan directly.

Over the decades, the ministers of Mosque 28B have included Brother Robert Muhammad, Brother Gregory Muhammad and Brother Donald Muhammad. Today Student Minister Ralph Muhammad serves as the student minister. Each brother helped carry the mission of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan forward through changing times and enduring challenges.

“In 45 years we have learned a lot and have lost a lot,” said Student Minister Ralph Muhammad. “But when we think about the challenges we endured and the sacrifices we all made to build the brotherhood and sisterhood, you can’t help but reflect on how far we’ve come and yet how far we have to go. Brother Akbar laid the foundation for us, and we are forever grateful to him. He gave us so many principles to live by, but sometimes we slow down and the fire begins to fade. It takes a strong willpower to stay the course, and we are happy to still be here after 45 years,” he added.

The evening also honored those who have given their time and dedication to the community. Awards were presented to mentors Vickey Kimmel and Darron Suggs for their service in helping youth become better citizens. Additional honorees included Edna Farmer, educator; Dr. Lillian Parks, posthumously, in education administration; East St. Louis City Manager Robert Betts; and Nation of Islam pioneer Sister Sarah Muhammad, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Forty-five years after 15 believers pooled their dollars to purchase a building on State Street, Muhammad Mosque No. 28B stands as a living monument to what faith, sacrifice and the guidance of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan can produce in a community that refused to quit.

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However, between the autumn of 1977 and the spring of 1978, Bro. Akbar began working with the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, who had vowed to rebuild the Nation of Islam.

Min. Akbar would go on to travel to more than 180 countries as the International Representative of Minister Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, meeting with presidents, kings and heads of state.

Yet those who knew him best say his lasting impact was not measured in diplomatic halls or foreign capitals. It was measured in the lives he changed, one by one, in St. Louis.

Student Minister Donald Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque No. 28 was among the first in the city to witness Min. Akbar’s impact. Describing him as an impressionable mover and shaker, he said, Min. Akbar “was reaching out into the community and bringing people of leadership into the mosque, like politicians, pastors and community leaders.” The mosque was packed every Sunday, said Student Min. Donald.

Student Min. Donald also recounted the pivotal moment when Min. Akbar aligned himself with the rebuilding effort under Minister Farrakhan. Min. Akbar had an office on Boyle Avenue in St. Louis when Minister Farrakhan came to town to meet, Student Min. Donald recalled.

“That was the first time I had ever come that close to the Minister (Farrakhan) in a small room. Minister Farrakhan was telling us how he was going to rebuild the Nation of Islam. We agreed to help him and we got started. In the rebuilding process, we went to East St. Louis to not clash with the followers of the Imam,” he said.

That decision required a physical home for the believers, one that East St. Louis, Ill., former Mayor Carl Officer provided. “When the Nation needed a building for a Temple in East St. Louis, I remember how folks that wasn’t our color questioned me of why I would allow them (N.O.I.) to get that building,” he recounted to The Final Call.

“I told them, ‘because they asked and I felt it was an appropriate position.’ We had a vacant building, and they would do a good job maintaining the building and having a place of worship and education for people. It just made sense to me, and I was proud to do it,” he said.

“When I think about Minister Akbar, first and foremost was his friendship. I appreciated his character and the way he served not only the Nation but, quite frankly, how he served the Minister (Farrakhan). His devotion to Allah (God), you never can diminish that kind of love. He was an honorable brother.”

The East St. Louis building itself carried a heavy history, once a funeral home turned abortion clinic. Under Min. Akbar’s direction, working alongside his captain Eddie Aziz, approximately 30 brothers and sisters pooled their resources and labor to transform the space into a place of life. Their collective work made possible the grand opening and dedication on May 3, 1981, with Minister Farrakhan as the special guest speaker.

Min. Akbar was known for three sayings that defined his standard: “Men sharpen men;” “Men make things happen;” and “Excuses are a sign of weakness.” These were not slogans. They were the operating code of every man who worked alongside him and the testimony of those men bears that out completely.

Bro. Jame Muhammad, a student of Min. Akbar since 1981, said, “I got my X in 1981 and he was my minister. I left the Nation and had been gone over 20 years. My wife passed away in 2018. I got his number and asked him if he would do the eulogy.

He said, ‘Yes, Brother, I’ll do that. Give me the date and the time.’ Now, here’s a brother that’s been with kings and rulers all over the country, but he had time for his little brother. He led by example.”

Kevin Bryant, who helped Min. Akbar compile his writings, said their relationship was a “paternal bond” built on mutual respect. “Bro. Akbar was a walking library, one of the last true griots (historian) of our time,” he said.

“The greatest impact he had on me didn’t happen in a meeting with a head of state, but across the dinner table during our time in Africa. I am a better man for knowing him and a wiser one for having had the honor of being his student.”

When the late Kwame Ture (formerly Stokely Carmichael) came to St. Louis prior to leaving for Africa to transition, Min. Akbar and business mogul Michael V. Roberts Sr. collaborated on a fundraiser for the revolutionary leader.

“We raised more money at our two events than they raised at a larger event in D.C. after ours,” Mr. Roberts said. “I was ultimately enstooled as Roberts in Ghana. So many of my contacts and experiences in Ghana were as a result of Brother Akbar coming to meet me while I was there,” he added.

“Minister Akbar was a gift from God,” St. Louis attorney and activist Jerryl Christmas commented. “His leadership, intellect and passion for Black people and Africa is unmatched. He was the catalyst for exposing the Black boys and girls in our Rites of Passage program to Africa on five different occasions. His impact on St. Louis will never be forgotten.”

Steve Conley, who served as Min. Akbar’s technology consultant, said Min. Akbar’s accounts of meeting presidents and leaders across Africa and the Caribbean while traveling with Minister Farrakhan were “life-changing.”

“He was a dear friend and a teacher I listened to intently, a walking library and historian who lived the history. He directly influenced my move to the Caribbean and my decision to do business in Africa. I am forever grateful. Rest in power, my friend. Your influence lives on,” he told The Final Call.

“He would talk with us about how to act as men, how to carry ourselves, how to teach each other, looking into the field of business, getting in business ourselves. He had me to read all the time. He made me want to be better,” said businessman George Hairston, who joined the Nation of Islam under Min. Akbar.

Sister Pamela Muhammad, 74, who served as Min. Akbar’s Student M.G.T. and G.C.C. Captain (Muslim Girls Training and General Civilization Class, women of the N.O.I.), remembered Min. Akbar as a task master but was always in a gentle teaching mode.

“You couldn’t be stagnant. You had to always be working,” she said. “He was like a father, big brother, grandfather, mentor, all of that to my son and I. If the Minister [Farrakhan] said it, Brother Akbar tried to make it so. He was the Minister’s right arm,” she said.

Bro. Talib Muhammad, 71, said working with Min. Akbar, for nearly 25 years, allowed him to travel to three continents and visit many N.O.I. mosques.

“It was one of the greatest experiences that I could ever have in life. I learned how to become a diplomat. No one sits around Akbar and does nothing. He’s going to find something for you to do. This (St. Louis) is Akbar’s city. When he was the minister, Akbar made this city jump. His legacy is going to have to live through us,” he said.

Student Minister Ralph Muhammad of Mosque No. 28B in East St. Louis, Ill., said Min. Akbar was a “brother, mentor, confidant, spiritual guide, advisor and a father figure.” Min. Akbar officiated his wedding and the weddings of two of his children.

“Thank you, Brother Minister Akbar, for your love, kindness and tolerance. You will always be a part of me and my family,” Student Minister Ralph said.

Bro. Anthony Shahid, who first met Brother Akbar in 1975 as a young man, spoke with the conviction of someone still measuring the magnitude of the loss of such a servant and consequential human being.

“He was a giant amongst giants. He made stars, he made geniuses, he made us learn how to work, and he really burned Islam into our hearts,” Bro. Shahid, a longtime activist, said.

Recounting the 180 nations visited by Min. Akbar, he added: “Minister Farrakhan had a quiet man working behind the scenes, making sure he didn’t miss nothing, and he never worried about being in the highlight. He was always humble.”

Perhaps one of the most pivotal moments in St. Louis history where Min. Akbar made a tremendous impact was during the Ferguson uprising in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown Jr., on August 9, 2014, by a Ferguson, Mo. police office.

Ferguson is a suburb of St. Louis. After the shooting, Min. Akbar returned to St. Louis and went directly to the streets, standing alongside the youth, politicians and activists demanding justice for the Brown family. He helped organize a Ferguson October rally, where an estimated 10,000 people marched through downtown St. Louis protesting police brutality.

He also supported the slain teens’ parents, Michael Brown Sr. and Lezley McSpadden-Head, by assisting in their historic journey to Geneva, Switzerland, in 2014 to address the 53rd Session of the United Nations Committee Against Torture.

St. Louis businessman Ajuma Muhammad added a final word that encapsulated everything: “No words are able to describe what he means to the world. You say St. Louis, or you say Chicago. He was known in New York. He was known in Atlanta.

But all those places were too small. He wasn’t containable. What Allah blessed him with, he didn’t do nothing but just produce and raise the dead. He loved to pray and he never would let you praise him. His humble words were ‘All Praises Are Due to Allah.’”

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Brothers are recognized and awarded for their efforts with The Final Call newspaper sales and inviting guests to the mosque to hear the life-saving Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad as taught and exemplified by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Out of approximately 125 mosques and study groups in the Nation of Islam, only nine men were awarded the title of the top F.O.I. of the year.

Student Supreme Captain Mustapha Farrakhan mounted the rostrum in an all-white F.O.I. uniform trimmed in gold. The men in the class wore their official F.O.I. uniform of navy blue trimmed in white and brown ones trimmed in gold. Every uniform has the red and white National Flag of the Nation of Islam on the shoulder, which represents the Universe: the Sun, Moon and Star.

Student Supreme Captain Mustapha encouraged the men to strengthen the Muslim brotherhood and rededicate themselves to the work of being saviours in their communities.

He also lifted the 53rd surah (chapter) of the Holy Qur’an to bear witness to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s place in scripture and how what his father experienced with his vision of hearing from the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad on the Mother Wheel proves what the scripture says.

This year’s top F.O.I. were from the nine regions: Eastern Region, Brother Jaquan X; European Region, Brother Wayne 2X; Mid-Atlantic Region, Brother Abdul Salaam Muhammad; Southern Region, Brother James Muhammad; Southwest Region, Brother Malik Muhammad Sr.;

Western Region, Brother Nuri Muhammad; Central Region, Brother Michael Muhammad; Delaware Valley Region, Brother Elijah Muhammad and the 7th Region, Brother Nikki Muhammad.

There were three new categories added this year for the top Final Call sales in 2025 in the regions: Lightweight Champion, Study Group, Nashville, Tennessee; Middleweight Champion, Mosque No. 6, Baltimore, Maryland and the Heavyweight Champion, Mosque No. 15, Atlanta, Georgia.

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The two-hour workshop featured interactive discussion, allowing attendees to engage directly with panelists and share their own experiences with self-improvement and spiritual struggle.

Student Minister Daniel Muhammad from the Nation of Islam’s national headquarters, Mosque Maryam, moderated a distinguished four-member panel: Student Southern Regional M.G.T. Captain Nusaybah Muhammad, from Atlanta;

Student Western Regional Minister Abdul Malik Sayyid Muhammad, and Student Minister Abdul Arif Muhammad of the Nation of Islam’s Shura Executive Council. Each shared powerful perspectives on jihad as self-correction and the internal battle to overcome life’s challenges.

Student Min. Arif emphasized the 21 Study Guides in the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s “Self-Improvement: The Basis for Community Development” series, explaining how each guide answers fundamental questions about life’s struggles.

“‘Building The Will,’ ‘The Struggle for Balance,’ ‘Building Human Potential,’ and ‘The Price of Redemption,’ to name a few,” he said, noting that these study guides provide comprehensive frameworks for personal transformation.

“If you want to delve into self-improvement on one level, you have a visible enemy, Shaitan, the devil, and on another level, you struggle with yourself,” Student Min. Arif explained. “Everyone has an ego, a sense of self, and you have to be humble and patient with yourself and others.”

Sister Nusaybah spoke powerfully about the role of women in the struggle for self-improvement, emphasizing that jihad is not gender-specific but a universal human responsibility.

People must recognize that the struggle to purify ourselves and overcome our lower nature is the same for men and women, she stated. “Our strength comes from our willingness to confront our own weaknesses with honesty and courage,” she said.

Student Min. Abdul Malik Sayyid addressed the duality within human nature. “There’s a duality of God and Satan, and if you hate yourself, you can’t fight jihad, the devil, and win,” he stated, emphasizing that self-love is foundational to spiritual warfare.

Workshop participants expressed how the session transformed their understanding. Onunze Ubaka, 72, shared, “This workshop really helped me understand the self-accusing spirit and the devil within that I must conquer.”

The panel also confronted widespread misconceptions about jihad. A perpetual propaganda campaign against Islam has spread false narratives portraying jihad as radical Islamic fundamentalism or terrorism.

In reality, jihad has nothing to do with terrorism. The greater jihad is the spiritual struggle or striving within oneself against sin, a battle for righteousness waged in the human heart, panelists explained.

The workshop reinforced that true jihad is internal transformation, the daily commitment to overcome ego, selfishness, and destructive patterns. It is the struggle to live better, to align one’s actions with divine principles, and to build communities rooted in self-improvement and collective uplift.

As thousands departed Detroit carrying these lessons, the message was clear: the greatest battlefield is within, and the most important victory is over oneself.

—J.A. Salaam, Contributing Writer

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The Nation began in Detroit, Michigan, on July 4, 1930, when Master W. D. Fard Muhammad, the long-awaited “Messiah” of the Christians and the “Mahdi” of the Muslims, made His appearance in the segregated Black Bottom and Paradise Valley neighborhoods where over 120,000 Black people lived.

There He met Elijah Poole, whom He renamed Elijah Muhammad. Every year, the Nation of Islam holds its annual Saviours’ Day convention to commemorate the Birth of Master Fard Muhammad, born February 26, 1877, in the Holy City of Mecca.

This year’s convention once again featured the Nation of Islam Historical Exhibit which was led by several youth which presented the opportunity that bridged generations and shared information on the Nation’s unmatched legacy.

Dr. Khalid El Hakim is the founder of the Black History 101 Mobile Museum. He was present at Saviours’ Day and witnessed the exhibit. His mobile museum has traveled to over 43 states and over 1,000 institutions.

“Sharing these objects inspires, educates and reminds our people that we are part of an amazing history. The gift of Islam to the Black man and woman in America is the greatest gift that anyone in the history of humanity has been given,” he said.

Sister Ilyasah Muhammad, 23, of Mosque No. 55 in Memphis helped coordinate aspects of this year’s exhibit and she explained the urgency of youth involvement in preserving history. “It’s deeply important for youth to take part in preserving our history because it’s up to us to ensure our history is not only shared but documented and told properly.

Every year we lose great giants who helped establish the Nation as we know it. It’s important that youth take on the mantle of preservation because our history, our legacy, understanding how we got where we are today, absolutely cannot die out with any generation,” she told The Final Call.

“It’s easy to forget some of the luxuries we have that our pioneers fought and died for, just as simple as being able to wear a garment and headpiece out of the house, or enjoying Saviours’ Day with thousands of people.

Our Nation didn’t start out this huge, but today we reap the benefits of those who came before. We must acknowledge and recognize all that we benefit from and make sure the stories of those who came before are never forgotten,” said Sis. Ilyasah.

She explained that Student National Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad, a great-grandson of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Student Minister and Student Imam Abdul Salaam Muhammad of Mosque No. 6 in Baltimore, and Sister Dr. Stacey Muhammad, who have historically organized and put together the exhibit, helped and encouraged youth of the Nation of Islam to become involved in the planning.

“Being able to see artifacts like letters with instructions for how we were to conduct ourselves showed how deeply Master Fard Muhammad cared about our success.

Seeing what the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad produced, like the H&G whiting fish box or the M.G.T. yearbooks, reminded me that Master Fard Muhammad gave us something that can never be taken away.

We have a Nation we are building that is the best, and we have the ability to completely free ourselves from our oppressors and provide for our own,” said Sis. Illyasah. “The people absolutely loved the docuseries that was played.

Every believer who came through was so engaged with the material, the physical artifacts and the carousel of historical pictures displayed. You could tell how appreciative the believers were to get a glimpse at our history.”

The N.O.I. Historical Exhibit was open to attendees Feb. 20 and 21 and included artifacts from the vast and rich history of the Nation of Islam preserved in protective glass cases for attendees to view.

Table Talks, a collection of over 300 hours of archived recordings of intimate moments and conversations at the dinner table of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, is also a part of the exhibit.

The recordings were compiled prior to 1975 by Brother Sultan Muhammad, the grandson and pilot of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and bequeath to his son, Student National Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad.

Sister Aalia Muhammad, 23, described how the exhibit bridged the generational gap. “Since the exhibit was led primarily by the youth, there was a bridge built between the elders and the youth because of the opportunity to interact one-on-one during the exhibit.

Whether explaining the beautiful rich history of the historical picture slideshow or touring the artifacts to discuss our Nation’s beautiful history,” she said.

“I had the opportunity to speak with believers ranging in age, believers who had personal encounters with some of the artifacts being displayed. Not only was I sharing beautiful rich history, but I received so much feedback and testimony from believers and pioneers who toured the exhibit and shared with me their personal testimonies and stories over the years.”

Sister Jadayah Muhammad expressed her honor in sharing the Nation’s history and participating in the exhibit. “It was an honor to help share the great history of our Nation with other people. I felt honored, curious, and fascinated at each point, to get to see and help share documents that came from the time Master Fard Muhammad was present,” she said.

“To see things like an M.G.T. bar pin from decades ago, to read letters from Master Fard Muhammad and to learn about the history of aviation in our Nation from the models of planes. We did family table talks this year, helping families record their own generational history so that 100 years in the future, in 2126.

People can ask what Saviours’ Day was 100 years ago and we’ll have that record. We helped families be part of the narrative too. It’s projecting to the past, sharing it in the present and creating something for future generations,” she said.

Young people who had the opportunity to visit and explore the exhibit during Saviours’ Day weekend were also moved by the experience.Brother Dartavrus Muhammad, 16, visited the exhibit and was deeply impressed. “I was very surprised to know how much happened during the time the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was (among us). I never thought someone could have a plane like that,” he said.

His younger brother, Terreon Muhammad, 13, shared his thoughts. “I see myself and other Black people in the exhibit and how powerful we can come together. It shows how much power we have and what we can do if we unite. It shows how these Teachings are a reality, how it’s now present and how it’s going to have a great impact on our future.”

Brother Zuri Muhammad, 24, from Mosque No. 55 in Memphis, also assisted with the exhibit. “This exhibit makes me feel closer to those who have paved the way and laid the foundation,” said Bro. Zuri.

Sister Qadira Muhammad, 29, focused on the educational aspect of what was presented. “We helped people internalize the information in different ways. We had the youth committee to ensure we had all the spaces we needed, like the ‘Preserving Our Story’ space, which was our table talk archival project to interview believers because our history is now, too.

This was a historical moment, and I thank Sister Dr. Stacey, Brother Imam Sultan and Student Minister Abdul Salaam who helped set the foundation for us to do what we did. … The Nation’s history is Black history.”

Brother Khalifah Muhammad, 24, has worked with the N.O.I. Historical Exhibit for 10 years. “It was beautiful to see the effects the artifacts had on the believers present this Saviours’ Day. We are encouraging people to have their own table talks at home and write our own history essentially.

It’s extremely important for youth to engage in our history because it gives them an opportunity to see things they may have never seen and they, too, are part of history. There will be generations in the future that will look back and see what we are currently doing. This will give a deeper appreciation for those that came before us who laid the foundation to where we are.”

The Nation of Islam Historical Exhibit at Saviours’ Day 2026, led by young Muslims, proved that when generations unite through shared history, the gap closes and the Nation’s unmatched legacy lives on.

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While the storm made no distinction between rich and poor on May 16, 2025, the recovery effort tells a different story, one that echoes historical patterns of racial inequality.

The slow recovery in North St. Louis has become a case study in how natural disasters amplify existing inequalities. Predominantly White South neighborhoods received immediate infrastructure repairs and streamlined insurance payouts.

While North City residents face overlapping jurisdictions, underfunded aid programs and institutional barriers that reflect decades of disinvestment in Black communities.

As extreme weather becomes more frequent, the question looms: Will America’s most vulnerable communities be left to rebuild alone, or be displaced entirely?

Yet amid the rubble, a spirit of resistance endures. “We are a people that has the fortitude and resilience to rebuild our communities,” declares Felice McClendon, executive director of Delmar Main Street, a local economic development group.

Unity in crisis, division in recovery

Mr. Shegog, a community servant working in North City’s recovery, sees the tornado’s aftermath as both a tragedy and an opportunity. “The progress and empowerment of our people lies heavily on unity,” he told The Final Call.

“Our survival relies on our ability to set aside differences. If we focus on the fact that we are humans suffering and want to help one another, that rallying call gets us from destination A to B.”

Mr. Shegog draws parallels to Black economic self-sufficiency movements of the early 20th century that were systematically destroyed. “When you look at Tulsa, East St. Louis,  Atlanta, and Durham, these are examples of when we tried to be self-sufficient, it was intentionally wiped out,” he said, referencing the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and 1917 East St. Louis riots.

“That same spirit that helped create Black millionaires in the early 1920s ushered in over St. Louis on May 16, 2025. Now it’s up to us to rebuild together.”

But unity alone cannot overcome systemic obstacles. “There is a program headed by Julian Nicks to help residents with or without insurance, but they must apply,” Mr. Shegog said. “The Personal Property Assistance program has a February 14, 2026, deadline.

Only 1,700 property owners have applied, but approximately 4,900 eligible households have not. FEMA dollars may not be fully spent while residents still need support,” he added.

The Delmar divide

In St. Louis, Delmar Boulevard serves as a stark dividing line. This 9.1-mile corridor separates two Americas. According to several reports and studies, in South of Delmar, the median income is $50,000, 73% of residents are White, and home values exceed $300,000.

North of Delmar, where over 95% of residents are Black, median income is $18,000, and home values average $75,000. This disparity, rooted in decades of redlining dating back to the 1930s Federal Housing Administration’s “residential security maps,” was magnified after the May 16 tornado.

“It feels like yesterday, because it looks like yesterday, depending on what side of the street you are on,” Ms. McClendon said. “On the north side, just one block over from Delmar on Enright Avenue, you can still find people living in homes without windows. I’ve seen people in homes without roofs and in tents on their property, trying not to lose what they had.”

Many homes were passed down through generations and paid off, leaving families without mortgage-required insurance. “So, where is your insurance? It’s embedded in your mortgage, and if you don’t have a mortgage, you may be uninsured,” Ms. McClendon explained.

She traces North City’s vulnerability back further. “It goes way back to slavery, where people were divided from each other. What we see stems from Jim Crow laws and redlining. Even our life expectancy is determined by zip code. This is systemic.”

Predatory practices and political paralysis

Alderwoman Shameem Clark Hubbard of the 10th Ward has witnessed how bureaucracy becomes a weapon. “If the right people are not over the money, it’s a nightmare,” she told The Final Call. “They bog it down with bureaucracy and politics. What we are looking at is going to take decades to recover what has been already several decades of despair.”

Ald. Hubbard describes a familiar St. Louis tactic: “‘If all else fails, we’re going to turn it into race.’  The quickest way to obstruct progress is to make it North and South, Black and White. One side keeps going, and the other side gets stuck.”

She witnessed predatory developers swooping in immediately. “I was begging people not to sell. I met a man who cashed out within two weeks. Somebody offered him $30,000 for two houses, and he took it. I still talk to people to keep their land. God ain’t making no more land.”

The long road ahead

Yolonda “Yogi” Yancie, 10th Ward Committeewoman and storm victim, lives the reality daily. “Many news cameras have stopped coming where our stories still must be told,” she said. “Seniors and displaced families need immediate repair of roofs, windows, doors, and fences.

We desperately need recovery funds.” There was one bright spot: “Washington Montessori school reopened after the new year. The joy of seeing foot traffic and hearing school buses has brought normalcy back,” she said.

And for 89-year-old Shirley Everett, a resident of North St. Louis’ Penrose neighborhood who owns seven houses—bought one for each of her grandchildren—the work continues. She has lived in her home since 1964.

She said the tornado damaged two of her homes and blew the roof off of hers. The rain severely damaged the inside. Fortunately, unlike many, Ms. Everett had insurance on all of her properties and two of them are being remodeled. Her home had to be completely gutted.

Mayor Cara Spencer acknowledged the challenge in December 2025. “Total damages exceeded $2 billion,” she said. “The city allocated $24 million for recovery. We’re working with the community to develop what that rebuild looks like. But the rebuild is going to be a yearlong process.”

The mayor noted federal response fell short. “It was clear FEMA was not going to run the response as it did in Joplin, Missouri. The federal apparatus is not the same. Those were responsibilities we had to take on.”

Despite $52 million in FEMA assistance, $30 million from the NFL Rams settlement, $100 million from Missouri, and $180 million for demolition, the math doesn’t add up. “We have about $450 million allocated for $2 billion in damages,” Mayor Spencer said. “That’s not enough.”

As North St. Louis enters its ninth month of recovery, the struggle continues. The tornado may have passed, but the storm of systemic inequality rages on, and the people of North City are determined to weather it, rebuild and reclaim what has always been theirs.

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The three-day gathering of events began with Jum’uah (Friday congregational) prayer service held in the masalla (prayer hall) at Mosque No. 28. For the students of Muhammad Islamic Academy, who typically view Student Imam Sultan’s live webcast from Chicago, the in-person experience was a source of immense joy. Their faces, filled with pure delight, reflected their intensive focus on every word from the imam.

Two students shared their thoughts with The Final Call. “I was really paying attention to the lessons today,” said 12-year-old Brother Yusef Mujahid. “The lesson I learned is that Christians and Muslims should not be divided over religion. I love Islam because I feel it’s my natural religion to be in,” he said. 

Sister Fahima Muhammad, 9, added, “We watch him every Friday for Jumu’ah and it was really good to meet him. I was excited to be here.”

During his kutbah (message), Student Imam Sultan emphasized the profound meaning behind the six words taught and given by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad: “Accept your own and be yourself.” 

“This connects us not only to the Muslim world, but it connects us to the origin of our nature, which goes beyond religion into a new reality the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan have been preparing us for,” he told the brothers and sisters gathered. He described this new reality as “a new heaven and a new earth, a new political system and an entirely new people,” founded on the principles of Freedom, Justice, and Equality, as represented by the Nation of Islam’s flag. 

He also stressed the importance of introspection and self-improvement. “We have to look first within ourselves and ask some very hard questions about our progress and our intentions and we have to recommit ourselves to perfecting our character,” he urged.

He cautioned against falling into empty rituals, a common pitfall in the old world of religion. “As sororities, fraternities and organizations have slogans, regalia, pins and identifiers, what are the true identifiers of a Muslim?” he asked. “It is a transformed character in the image of God Himself.”

He continued, “If we can look in the mirror and say, ‘I love you and I am satisfied with you as a servant of The Most High,’ then we are on the right track of the self-accusing spirit that will take us into the heavens that we have been promised. A heaven here, after we have purified the heart, the self and the earth of the evils within and without.”

On Saturday evening, Dec. 20, the spirit of community was further strengthened as nearly 80 people gathered for dinner and conversation in the lower level of the mosque. During this event, Student Imam Sultan introduced the Table Talks Project, a collection of intimate recordings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s informal discussions with dinner guests. These recordings, archived by Student Imam Sultan’s father, also named Sultan, offer a rare glimpse into the personality and wisdom of the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam. 

As excerpts from the recordings were played, a reverent silence filled the room and tears fell from the faces of many as they heard the voice of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. 

Student Imam Sultan explained the deeply personal and educational significance of these recordings, stating, “For the nation baby, those born in the Nation of Islam, for me what made me accept my own and be myself was the Table Talks. It gave me an insight into the Teachings in a way I did not have and it was also early education in Islam, so I could view Islam in a way to understand that Islam is not a religion. It is a way of life.”

He emphasized the importance of a consistent focus of conversations based on The Supreme Wisdom Lessons—and its practical implementation. “We have to get back to our studies of our Lessons,” he stated. 

The Table Talks recordings, spanning hundreds of hours, were carefully preserved and made available through Student Imam Sultan’s dedicated efforts to bring this invaluable resource to light.  As an early Saviours’ day Gift, everyone present received a copy of the second volume of the Table Talks, along with a QR code to access the online subscription, furthering the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s desire to see these talks shared with the world.

The weekend concluded on Dec. 21, with a powerful call to action in a lecture titled, “Accept Your Own and Be Yourself.” The sanctuary was filled to capacity and the audience’s appreciation was evident through numerous rounds of applause and bearing of witness. With a tone both direct and gentle, the Student Imam Sultan spoke of the importance of self-sufficiency and ownership. 

“When you can steal away from that plantation and have something for your own, this Teaching gives you your own, something that can help you or another person,” he said.

The message resonated deeply with the attendees, especially the youth. “The message was very inspiring and well-spoken and needed for us, especially young people,” said Bro. Bryant Moore, 26. “I really enjoyed his message.”

Bro. Garrion Hayden, 23, added, “I liked the part about having ownership and having substance, that moved me. And the part about what’s happening in other countries and how we must be prepared when it comes here.”

Sis. Atiera Muhammad of St. Louis reflected on the cultural richness of the weekend of events. “We were very blessed to have his presence and it was enriching to hear all the Arabic and the different phrases we were introduced to.”

In his powerful and moving closing remarks, Student Imam Sultan Muhammad reiterated the theme of unity, quoting the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad: “We are not an organization, we are a world!” He declared, our brothers and sisters in Islam, Christianity, and those who are Hebrew, we are one. The Qur’an comes to seal our relationship as a family by revealing to us the Nature of Allah (God), in which we are Created. Allahu-Akbar (God is the Greatest).” 

For more information on the Table Talks Project, visit www.tabletalks.org.

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