The 2026 U.S. midterms are over, but Americans now face the aftermath of a contentious campaign season. Attack ads in Michigan spent weeks telling voters to fear Abdul El-Sayed’s faith. Black Detroit answered at the ballot box. Mr. El-Sayed is now set to become the first Muslim to serve in the U.S. Senate, and he was not the night’s only first.

In Georgia, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms will become the first Black woman to serve as governor of any U.S. state. If the incoming House elects him in January, Hakeem Jeffries will become its first Black Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Voters handed Democrats control of both the House and the Senate in the Nov. 3 midterm elections. As of press time, Democrats hold at least 54 Senate seats, including the two independents who caucus with them. Frustration over the cost of living and the war in Iran shaped the vote. Many analysts and observers view the so-called “blue wave” as a rebuke of President Trump and his administration.

When the new Congress convenes in January, Democrats will decide which bills reach the floor. Their committees can also investigate the Trump administration. However, President Trump still holds veto power.

For families already struggling to buy groceries or pay for a doctor’s visit, one question matters most. What can or will Democrat lawmakers actually get done with the power voters just gave them?

Black women on the ballot and a first in Florida

A record 72 Black women appeared on ballots nationwide for Congress, governorships and other statewide offices, Essence reported, citing data from Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics and Higher Heights. Ms. Lance Bottoms’ win in Georgia gave that record its national milestone.

In Washington, D.C., Janeese Lewis George won the race and will become the District’s first new mayor in more than a decade.

In Illinois, Julianna Stratton, the former lieutenant governor, defeated her opponent for U.S. Senate and will become the second Black woman to hold that office.

The night also produced a first in Florida, from the other side of the aisle. The Associated Press called the governor’s race for Republican Byron Donalds, who is set to become Florida’s first Black governor. “I want you to hear from Florida that we are still red,” Mr. Donalds told the crowd on election night. He also thanked President Trump for his support and for “being in my corner.”

Faith on the ballot

In Michigan, campaign attacks went after Senator-elect El- Sayed’s Muslim faith. Student Minister Troy Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque No.1 in Detroit said the frequent commercials he saw dwelled on Mr. El-Sayed’s religion, name called, and gave little attention to his policies.

The Black vote was the test. “I was very interested to see what the Black community in particular would do, and praise be to Allah (God), the Black community came out,” Student Minister Muhammad told The Final Call. “They didn’t allow that anti-Muslim hate to go down.”

He credited relationships the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has built over decades with helping Black Detroiters see past the attacks. “Those relationships that the Minister has established reminded Black people that ‘the Muslims that I know aren’t like that’” he said, referring to the racist stereotypes spewed by El- Sayed’s opponent and from others.

A preliminary survey commissioned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations and CAIR Action widened the lens. Seventy percent of Muslim respondents said rising Islamophobia motivated them to vote. Eighty percent called the economy a major influence on their vote, and 80 percent said the same about what the survey called the genocide in Gaza.

Seventy-six percent cited the U.S.-Israel war on Iran as a major influence. Community Pulse conducted the survey by text from Nov. 2 to 4, gathering responses from 522 self-identified Muslim registered voters.

“Muslims, like our fellow Americans, are fed up with wars that destroy lives abroad while making it harder to feed our families at home,” CAIR and CAIR Action said in a joint statement. The organizations called on Congress to lower costs, improve health care and education, protect civil rights and end U.S. support for Israel’s military actions against Palestinians.

Loyalty at the polls did not mean trust. Among respondents who voted and answered the question about party choice, 80% said they primarily voted for Democrats. Yet 33% said neither party was more responsive to Muslim concerns.

The group also found at least 97 confirmed American Muslim electoral victories at the federal, state, and local levels across 21 states, including 38 state legislative wins.

Another 15 Muslims are leading in races that have not yet been called as of presstime, six Muslim candidates are running in races that are too close to call, and 50 Muslim candidates ran in races they did not win.

“Michigan, we did it. My name is Abdulrahman Mohamed El-Sayed, and I am so proud and honored to stand here as your senator-elect from the great state of Michigan. Up until right about now, you might have noticed, I always say ‘Inshallah’ or ‘God-willing’ whenever the outcome of this race was mentioned.

But today, tonight, we can turn that Inshallah into a ‘Alhamdulillah.’ For the right-wing ops, that just means praise be to God,” Senator-elect El-Sayed said during his Nov. 4 victory speech.

Money and the map

The cycle’s biggest donor spent like no one before him and still lost where it counted. Tech billionaire and former Trump administration figure Elon Musk contributed about $474 million to federal and state political groups through mid- October, according to a New York Times analysis of disclosures. That money paid for advertising and voter outreach.

In Texas, voters chose James Talarico for the U.S. Senate despite a costly effort by Musk-funded groups to elect Republican Ken Paxton. In Michigan, Musk’s America PAC spent about $9.2 million on ads supporting Republican Mike Rogers or opposing El-Sayed, according to WIRED. Voters went the other way in both states.

According to MSN, GOP groups spent $46 million on attack ads invoking terrorism, 9/11, and referencing Islam or Muslim groups against the Michigan Democrat. The influential AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) also spent millions backing candidates in both parties.

What can Congress deliver?

“Well, first, we have to be clear on what they are to deliver on,” Student Minister Abdul Arif Muhammad, a member of the Nation of Islam Shura Executive Council and Student General Counsel, told The Final Call. He pointed to many concerns: the price of gas, food, and health insurance, along with demands for accountability and an end to the war in Iran.

Rep. Jeffries gave House Democrats a timetable. “During the first 100 days, House Democrats must act to reverse the Medicaid cuts, restore SNAP funding, extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits … ,” he wrote in his Nov. 4 letter announcing his candidacy for speaker. He also called for eliminating Trump’s tariffs and ending the war in Iran.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said voters had told Democrats about “costs above all, chaos, and corruption.” The two leaders share broad priorities on affordability and accountability. Which House proposals the Senate takes up first remain open.

Atty. Abdul Arif Muhammad raised the question that will matter the moment President Trump rejects a bill. Does Congress have the votes to override him? An override requires two-thirds of those voting in each chamber, with a quorum present. With every member voting, that means 290 votes in the House and 67 in the Senate.

“The numbers tell the story,” he said. “In conclusion I would say what the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said on February 25, 2024, during his Saviours’ Day Message, entitled: ‘What Does Allah The Great Mahdi and The Great Messiah Have To Say About The War in the Middle East?’

Minister Farrakhan said, ‘So go on and vote for who you want to. If I were you, I would vote for God. If I were you, and I am you, I’d vote for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the God that HE represents,’” Atty. Abdul Arif Muhammad stated.

Two Senate races remained uncalled as of Nov. 5. In Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom and Republican Sen. Cindy Hyde- Smith were separated by a thin margin, with absentee and affidavit ballots still to be processed, The Associated Press reported. If Mr. Colom’s lead holds, he would become Mississippi’s first Black senator since Reconstruction.

In Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola, Alaska Native/Indigenous, of Yup’ik heritage, held a narrow lead over Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan, with ranked-choice tabulation scheduled for mid-November.

Alaska’s governor’s race also remained uncalled, with Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins leading the unofficial first-choice count. Even if Democrats win both seats and reach 56, they would remain 11 votes short of an override in the Senate with all members voting. Before a bill reaches President Trump, most major legislation must clear a separate 60-vote hurdle in the Senate.

Congress can still act without a vetoproof majority. Lawmakers can hold hearings on how the Medicaid cuts affect patients and use spending negotiations to press for relief.

For Black families who rely on Medicaid or SNAP, progress has a plain measure: whether they keep their coverage and get help buying food. A vote shows where lawmakers stand. Restoring benefits takes a bill that becomes law.

D.C. community activist Luci Murphy doubts either party will make the economic changes she believes people need. “But I’m really clear about the Democrats and Republicans being a duopoly,” she told The Final Call. Ms. Murphy praised El- Sayed and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, arguing that the country needs to move away from capitalism.

Her challenge cuts deeper than the fight over votes and vetoes. How much are elected officials willing to change about the conditions that leave families struggling in the first place?

What can communities do now?

Senator-elect Talarico described love of neighbor as an obligation to serve Texans who voted against him as well as those who voted for him. Other winners also spoke about the importance of helping and serving their constituents, not being beholden to their political party but to the people.

Economist Julianne Malveaux was one of many panelists present on the midterm election night show of journalist and media personality Roland Martin. “Voting is the least we can do. After voting, we have to go to our communities and make the changes we need, hold community town halls, and meet with officials,” she said.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, speaking in a different context, placed a parallel responsibility on Black people for the places where they live and not relying on politicians or the government to solve our problems.

“We have to make our own community a decent place to live and make it safe and habitable for our people,” Minister Farrakhan said in a January 2016 interview with The Final Call.

He spoke about ending senseless violence, developing education in Black communities and preparing people for self-governance. His charge puts the work of building safer communities in the hands of the people who live in them.

That work does not wait on Washington. It can go on while residents press their representatives to act on the local, state or national level. A family facing the loss of Medicaid can bring its story to a district office or a town hall. Neighbors can help one another navigate benefits and organize around the conditions they want changed on their own blocks.

When the new Congress convenes in January, voters will hold specific promises in hand. They can measure those promises against the bills their representatives introduce, the votes they cast, and the relief that actually reaches their communities.

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Several cities led by Black mayors have reported progress against violence. Community leaders say that making neighborhoods safer still needs more work, resources, and trust, but that there have been positive steps.

Baltimore saw 61 fewer homicides in 2025 compared to 2024. Los Angeles had a 19% drop in killings, and Chicago’s year-end numbers showed homicides down by about 29%. Mayors say focused policing, violence intervention, and more opportunities for young people have helped. Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore and Birmingham, Ala., are a few of the cities touting progress.

Baltimore, D.C., and the work behind the numbers

Baltimore police’s year-end report on January 1, 2026, counted 133 homicides in 2025, down from 194 in 2024, a 31% drop. Nonfatal shootings fell from 412 to 311, about a 24.5% decrease. Police said they updated past homicide numbers so cases match the years when the incidents actually happened.

Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration uses both enforcement and a public health approach to address violence. The Group Violence Reduction Strategy pro-vides services to people at high risk for shootings and focuses enforcement on those responsible for violence. The city also relies on Safe Streets mediators, hospital intervention programs, and victim services.

In a July 2026 review, the administration said it connected over 400 people to life coaching and other support through Youth Advocate Programs and Roca. An evaluation found that in the first 18 months of the strategy in the Western District, shootings and homicides dropped by 33% without more arrests. While this result covers only one district and time period, not the whole city, it is significant.

Student Minister, Student Imam Abdul Salaam Muhammad, of the Nation of Islam’s Mosque No. 6 in Baltimore, told The Final Call that relationships among religious leaders, grassroots organizations, and city government have strengthened the work.

“During the COVID years, mosque members joined church leaders and others in walking through neighborhoods,” he said. Fruit of Islam (F.O.I.) Student Captain Andrew Muhammad and the F.O.I., the Nation of Islam’s men, continued that outreach, following the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s instruction and guidance.

“We have to make our own community a decent place to live and make it safe and habitable for our people,” Minister Farrakhan said in a 2016 year-in-review interview with The Final Call. He explained the need “to free where we live from senseless violence and to free this community from police.”

“They don’t need more training. They’re well trained. Their training shows in other communities, it’s only when they come into our community that another kind of training comes into force. They are an Occupying Army to colonized people. When we make our own community a decent place to live, we don’t want them in our community at all. We want to police our own community,” Minister Farrakhan said.

“In Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood, I don’t see us on the University of Chicago and university hospital police force. That is a police force that polices its own community.

We can do the same. We have professional people who have gone to police training. We need to pull up some of our young people and train them and ask the Whites to leave.

“You go and patrol your community. We will police our own. We can begin taking our community and making it ours and making those who come in to respect our territory, like we have to respect theirs, but that will never happen until we respect ourselves,” Minister Farrakhan continued.

In Baltimore and other cities, the efforts continue. Student Min. Abdul Salaam Muhammad welcomed the progress in Baltimore but noted that grassroots organizations often start with commitment and limited resources.

“Those who know how to reach young people need dependable support,” he said. “So greater unity, more resources, and consistency in the work will get the job done.”

Baltimore’s update on October 1, 2026, reported 83 homicides, down from 98 at the same time in 2025, a 15.3% drop. Nonfatal shootings fell by 4.2%.

However, an October 20 report from The Baltimore Banner said Mayor Scott called public safety leaders together after a series of shootings. This shows that progress can still be fragile.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said in January 2026 that violent crime in Washington, D.C., dropped by 29% in 2025, including a 32% drop in homicides.

The Metropolitan Police Department reported 127 homicides, down from 187 in 2024. D.C. police credited Operation THRIVE, which brings agencies together in neighborhoods affected by gun violence, and the Real Time Crime Center, which helps with investigations and responses.

Education and opportunity in Benton Harbor

Benton Harbor, Michigan, is much smaller than the big cities getting national attention for their efforts. Even so, Mayor Marcus Muhammad believes its approach offers important lessons.

He told The Final Call that community policing, restorative justice, and more job and education opportunities have helped the city improve. He explained that restorative justice is about understanding that people can make mistakes but can still change.

“Engagement and education give people tools to make better decisions. Increasing access to work and constructive activities also matters,” he said.

Public Safety Director Dan McGinnis said crime dropped 24% as 2025 ended, according to a December 22 TV Station WNDU report citing The Herald-Palladium. Mayor Muhammad also mentioned a 25% drop in his interview.

For the mayor, education is still central to keeping progress going. He said, if government is going to help people, “education must be at the forefront.”

He also linked community improvement to the legacy of the 1995 Million Man March and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s call for Black men to love one another and return home committed to making their communities clean and safe. “That message has resonated,” he said.

Chicago, Los Angeles and Oakland invest in prevention

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s year-in-review on December 31, 2025, said there were 416 homicides through December 30, about 29% fewer than the same period in 2024. Shooting incidents dropped by 34.5%. These numbers are from just before the end of the year.

Mayor Johnson’s administration credited partnerships between police, community groups, and violence intervention workers. They also focused on youth employment. City officials said One Summer Chicago gave jobs to 31,122 young people in summer 2025, according to Chicago PBS station WTTW’s report from a November budget hearing.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced on February 17, 2026, that citywide homicides dropped by 19% in 2025. In Gang Reduction and Youth Development zones, where neighborhoods get special services, homicides fell by almost 27%.

Mayor Bass’s office said the city invested in prevention, reentry services, and community activities. The Summer Night Lights program served more than 110,000 people at 42 parks and recreation centers in 2025, according to the mayor’s office. However, community organizations warn they need steady funding to keep their work going.

The Urban Peace Institute described crisis response, conflict mediation, and outreach through the LA Peacemakers Initiative, but said its funding will end in 2026.

Oakland, California, has also seen progress with decreases in crime reflected in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, including a 21% drop in homicides and a 29% decrease in all violent crime, according to the midyear report by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Associated Press reported.

“Officials credited collaborations with community organizations and crisis response services through the city’s Department of Violence Prevention, established in 2017,” AP noted.

“These results show that we’re on the right track,” Mayor Barbara Lee said at a news conference. “We’re going to keep building on this progress with the same comprehensive approach that got us here,” she said, according to AP.

Birmingham and other cities report gains

Birmingham, Ala., Mayor Randall Woodfin has focused on investigations and police resources. Birmingham television station WBRC reported he cited 86 homicides in 2025, down from 152 in 2024. Another count from Birmingham Times/AL.com listed 88. Both numbers show a large drop.

In February 2025, Birmingham police introduced a strategy with specialized enforcement. They arrested people wanted for violent felonies, worked with federal partners, and fought illegal gun trafficking. They also restarted their youth athletic program.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration reported that homicides fell by 17.5% and shootings dropped by 23% from 2024 to 2025. In her December 2025 State of the City speech, Mayor Parker emphasized prevention, intervention, and enforcement, and said the city spent $25 million on community-based violence prevention that year.

Residents felt safer, but concerns remained. A Pew survey from January to March 2025 found that 56% of Philadelphians felt safe in their neighborhoods at night, up from 44% in 2022. Still, 61% said crime, drugs, and public safety were the city’s top issues. The survey was done before the full 2025 results were available.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in his January 2026 inaugural speech that Atlanta ended 2025 with fewer than 100 homicides. He also highlighted youth programs such as Midnight Basketball.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s State of the City speech in April 2026 said there were 31 homicides in 2025, down from 37 in 2024, and nonfatal shootings dropped by 36%. Newark’s Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery helps with neighborhood intervention, supports victims, and works with young people.

In July, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Vera Institute of Justice hosted a virtual roundtable and Q&A on the crime declines and to present what they called “a proactive vision of public safety.” The gathering included Mayor Scott, Mayor Baraka, Durham Mayor Leonardo “Leo” Williams, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12) and U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown (OH-11).

“For too long, leaders in Washington and around our nation have weaponized the issue of public safety with a failed ‘tough on crime’ approach that drives fear and division while fueling a cycle of mass incarceration, instead of delivering real solutions that make communities safer,” said CBC Chair Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09).

“While Trump focuses on ‘tough on crime’ fearmongering and counter-productive gimmicks like deploying the National Guard, Black Mayors across the country are doing the real work to make cities safer. I’m proud to stand with my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus to set the record straight and advocate for real public safety solutions,” added Rep. Brown.

More work ahead and community responsibility

Community leaders interviewed by The Final Call said that keeping up progress means recognizing those doing the work and investing in their ability to keep going. Student Imam Abdul Salaam said Baltimore’s coalition work is moving in the right direction. The goal, he said, is for the city to reach a point with no murders.

While progress has been made and Black mayors are doing what they can to address challenges in their cities with the resources available, responsibility also lies with community residents.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan offered guidance and solutions during his Saviours’ Day keynote message on March 1, 2009, at the Rosemont Theatre in Rosemont, Illinois, titled, “Accepting Responsibility To Build Our Community.”

“In building a community, everybody has to go to work. Everyone’s talent has to be put to use. We’ve got people among us who know how to organize people effectively. Preachers, scholars, lawyers; local, national and international activists; and entertainers:

Don’t you think that we could come together and plan spiritual education, pool our preachers together and stop hooping, shouting and going crazy and leaving the people in ignorance?

Can’t we plan a spiritual curriculum based on the Bible and Holy Qur’an, and educate people that when they come to church it should be a learning experience about God as it was today?” Minister Farrakhan said.

“We can multiply what we see here all over the country. It’s time now, because if we don’t do it now and lose this opportunity, then our people and their children will never forgive us.

Barack has done his job. Now we’ve got to do ours,” he said, referring to former President Barack Obama. Minister Farrakhan’s guidance in 2009 is just as applicable in 2026.

“Let’s gather the house. We don’t have a lot of time. I need help. I know I can’t do it by myself, but I know we need help, and the help is here. The people are ready. The question is: Are we ready to go to work and build a national community? Who is going to help me do that?

There are people all over the world that will help us if we would determine to help ourselves. All of you: Let’s go to work. Let’s build our community and make it a decent place to live. If we do this, we can take our young brothers away from the violence, away from the guns, away from the self-hatred,” Minister Farrakhan said.

Final Call staff contributed to this report.

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One stretch of the neighborhood had so much trash that volunteers from three teams joined forces to tackle it. Nearby, organizers moved between groups, delivering water, replenishing supplies, and directing late arrivals to places where help was needed.

Twenty-nine volunteers participated in the neighborhood cleanup, bringing together mosque members, Greater Turner Tabernacle AME Church, Deacon Johnnie Yates, Pastor David Luke and Apostle Louise Smith Hill. According to organizers, their work cleared litter while opening doors to relationships among religious institutions that had long served the same community.

“We built some serious bridges,” Sister Aishah Muhammad, the mosque’s outreach coordinator, told The Final Call.

She assembled an outreach team with the energy and experience to run projects, including Protocol Director Fadil Muhammad. Meeting every two weeks, the team began considering activities, with neighborhood cleanup emerging as a practical place to start.

For Brother Fadil, a Macon native with decades of community involvement, the effort connected his experience with the mosque’s responsibility to its neighbors.

“What does your church do? What does your mosque do?” Brother Fadil told The Final Call, explaining that religious institutions and organizations must be prepared to answer these questions through service.

“It’s a great opportunity for us to really show that, yes, we are going to do something.”

Brother Fadil said he had long wanted to develop joint projects with nearby churches. Greater Overcoming Church of God sits across the street from the mosque, he said, yet opportunities to work together had gone unrealized.

Before volunteers arrived, Brother Fadil and another team member surveyed the neighborhood and mapped out areas needing attention. They considered streets around the mosque, including Third and Second streets, and places where clearing litter would make a visible difference for residents and people passing through.

Volunteers worked from 8 a.m. to noon, divided into five teams. Sister Aishah mixed participants among the groups, giving people from diff erent backgrounds an opportunity to work alongside one another.

After a safety briefi ng, teams headed out with gloves, trash bags, pickup tools, and safety vests. Sister Aishah coordinated the operation and carried water and additional supplies for volunteers. A pickup truck collected filled bags and transported them to a dumpster.

One heavily littered area required several teams to come together.

“It was just so much trash,” Sister Aishah said.

However, Sister Aishah said those diffi culties were small compared with what the group accomplished. Access to cleanup supplies and a large dumpster through a local organization made the project possible.

Residents came outside to ask who the volunteers were and to express appreciation. Some wanted to visit the mosque. Others asked to be included in future cleanups, said Sister Aishah.

Brother Fadil hopes future efforts will involve more neighborhood residents, including children, in caring for the places where they live.

Pastor Luke said the church’s social action committee brought the cleanup date to his attention, and the church received an invitation to participate. Approaching three years as pastor, he said mosque members had welcomed opportunities to attend the church’s services and invited church members to theirs.

“So, we were more than willing to come,” he told The Final Call.

Working alongside others for a common cause stood out to Pastor Luke. He also appreciated learning about the area’s history from members of his group and hearing their hopes for the neighborhood.

“The care that they expressed for the community,” he said, extended beyond the cleanup to “a vision of hope for our community.”

Pastor Luke also helped expand participation. According to Sister Aishah, after arriving, he began calling others and encouraging them to join the work. Apostle Hill subsequently came out, and conversations began about bringing more congregation members to another cleanup.

Asked whether the joint outreach would continue, Pastor Luke answered, “Most certainly.”

“I am a very ecumenical-minded pastor,” said Pastor Luke, who also serves as a chaplain. “I really am excited about the relationship.” For Sister Aishah, community connections are part of the work that must continue. “We’ve got to get out and serve,” she said.

Brother Fadil encouraged people to identify neighbors and institutions that share a desire to improve the community. “Together, you’re going to be able to make a greater difference,” he said.

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Now she’s waiting to see what the next one will be.

Ms. Harrison was enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan. When a federal court blocked SAVE, it put her and millions of other borrowers into forbearance, pausing their required payments. Her loan servicer contacted her in September, giving her until December to choose another plan.

“I’m expecting my bill to go up and the scary thing is I don’t know how much,” Ms. Harrison told The Final Call. “I was on a great repayment plan that was affordable, but now I’m expecting the worst.”

One option is the new Repayment Assistance Plan, or RAP. “I looked at RAP, but it would cost me more,” she said. Instead, she is looking at Income-Based Repayment (IBR).

A report released Oct. 19 by the Center for American Progress (CAP) explains why: Borrowers who switch from SAVE to RAP would, on average, pay more. Black borrowers and women will see some of the largest increases.

Report authors Sara Partridge, Madison Weiss and Kavin Haldo warn that higher repayment costs could widen racial wealth gaps and make a college education less effective at helping people get ahead financially.

Payment pause ends SAVE began under President Joe Biden in 2023. Its payment formula protected income up to 225% of the federal poverty line. Republican-led states sued the plan, and a federal appeals court blocked it in 2024. Enrollees stopped making required payments, but interest started again on Aug. 1, 2025.

Congress also changed the repayment system with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the Republican tax-and-spending law President Donald Trump signed July 4, 2025.

It created RAP and phased out some older income-driven plans. Litigation pushed SAVE to an earlier end date. In a March 27 release, the Education Department said a court had approved its settlement with Missouri to end SAVE.

About 7.5 million people were enrolled in SAVE. Last July, ser-vicers began sending borrowers notices with individual deadlines (at least 90 days) and the option to choose another plan. Anyone who doesn’t will be automatically placed into Standard or the new Tiered Standard plan.

“The Trump Administration’s policy is simple: If you take out a loan, you have to pay it back,” Under Secretary of Education Nicholas Kent said in the March 27 release.

What higher payments

could mean CAP estimates that the average additional cost of moving from SAVE to RAP is $2,163 a year. Its numbers use median incomes. They don’t tell Ms. Harrison (or any individual borrower) exactly what the bill will be.

Over the full repayment period, those differences grow. Under RAP, Black borrowers would pay nearly twice as much as under SAVE. Increases for American Indian or Alaska Native borrowers come close to that level too.

Hispanic borrowers would pay about 1.8 times as much and White borrowers about 1.5 times as much. Women’s projected total is about 1.7 times SAVE, and men’s is 1.4 times.

CAP looked at race and gender separately; it did not provide separate estimates for Black women such as Ms. Harrison.

Under RAP, borrowers pay 1% to 10% of adjusted gross income. Each dependent reduces the monthly bill by $50 but cannot fall below $10.

SAVE excluded an initial portion of income based on the poverty line; RAP has no such protection. Forgiveness comes after 360 qualifying monthly payments (late payments could delay forgiveness), CAP says.

Education Department officials say RAP will be simpler and cheaper. Borrowers who make full payment on time waive unpaid monthly interest. If a payment reduces principal by less than $50, the department makes a matching principal payment up to $50. Those benefits don’t address CAP’s concern about what borrowers must find in their budgets each month.

For eligible borrowers with older loans, Income-Based Repayment (IBR) is still an option: payments are generally 10% of discretionary income, forgivable after 20 years of qualifying repayment, or 15% with forgiveness after 25 years; borrowing history determines which terms apply. A borrower cannot make more than the applicable 10-year Standard Repayment Plan amount (Ms. Harrison is weighing that choice).

New borrowers don’t have that choice either: loans made on or after July 1, 2026, can’t be IBRed and RAP will be their only income-driven plan. Money spent on higher loan payments isn’t money for rent or child care or savings.

CAP’s authors urge lawmakers to increase Pell Grants, campus aid, and support for colleges serving large numbers of low-income students.

Paying for a degree Parents have fewer choices too. Parent PLUS loans made on or after July 1, 2026, must be repaid under a Tiered Standard plan (repayment term determined by amount owed) rather than IBR (which has no income requirement).

CAP expects higher bills for the lowest-income families than under the previous income-contingent option. Parents with existing loans can still have income-driven repayment if they meet the consolidation enrollment and payment criteria.

Another change comes

next year Loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2027, will not qualify for unemployment or economic hardship deferments; general forbearance for those loans is limited to nine months over a 24-month period.

For students already financing graduate school, the law ends Grad PLUS lending for new borrowers. Graduate borrowing is generally capped at $20,500 per year and $100,000 aggregate. Qualifying professional students have higher limits: $50,000 annually and $200,000 aggregate.

Some continuing students are protected. Graduate students enrolled as of June 30, 2026, who received Direct Loan disbursement for that program before July 1, 2026, may keep borrowing under the old limits (including through Grad PLUS). That exception lasts for up to three academic years or the remaining expected time to complete the program, whichever is shorter.

Social work is one of the fields where students have borrowed above the lower annual cap. An Urban Institute analysis of 2019- 20 data found that 24% of social work master’s students and 29% of public health master’s students borrowed more than $20,500 a year. Students with similar costs may have to turn to private loans, which generally lack the full range of federal repayment protections.

A deadline for a decision

Borrowers can compare plans at StudentAid.gov and ask their servicer to explain a new payment calculation in writing. Ms. Harrison has until December to choose. She knows what she paid under SAVE. What she can afford next is the question.

“I may need to get another job to pay for it if it’s too much,” she said.

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Gathering with fellow Muslims gave him a chance to spend time with his spiritual family.

Brother Jay described the event as “bringing our Muslim family back together,” he told The Final Call.

Atlanta hosted Family Day as part of weekend events to mark the 31st Anniversary of the Million Man March and the Holy Day of Atonement. Rain forced organizers to move the outdoor event scheduled for Centennial Olympic Park to Hillside International Truth Center. The venue change did not dampen the spirit one bit.

Food vendors drew long lines. A mobile gaming truck and a play area provided activities for young people, while cultural performances included youth violinists, spoken word artists, rappers, a saxophonist and more. Bro. Jonathan Muhammad also played and sang Stevie Wonder’s “Ribbon in the Sky.”

Brother Joseph Lyons traveled from Ohio and stated, “The Nation of Islam has a lot of talent, and witnessing the performances was inspirational. I feel this kind of positivity should be taken around the world.”

Bishop Dr. Jack L. Bomar opened the gathering with a welcome. Student Minister Jamil Muhammad emceed the event. For Bishop Bomar, welcoming the believers of the Nation of Islam reflected a relationship that had continued beyond the passing of Hillside’s founder, Dr. Barbara Lewis King.

He expressed gratitude for the friendship and fellowship that had grown through his relationship with Nation of Islam Student Southern Regional Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad of Mosque No. 15 in Atlanta.

“Enjoy your fellowship,” Bishop Bomar said, encouraging participants to connect, celebrate and “take some time to just share intimate moments.” He described Hillside as a place where people of faith and goodwill could find love and mutual respect while working to uplift the community. “Welcome home,” he said.

For Student Min. Jamil, seeing believers gather from different parts of the country after a difficult year, gave Family Day added meaning. “In times like these and with the difficult year that we have had as a Nation,” he said, “the gathering took on extra significance.”

He spoke of believers continuing to strive in the way of Islam and loving one another despite the challenges they faced. Supporting young people’s development through arts and culture was another important part of the occasion. Student Min. Jamil also valued the opportunity for believers simply to be together.

Sister Sharima Muhammad of Atlanta welcomed that opportunity. A relaxed setting offered something she said believers at times rarely have time to enjoy.

“Just seeing each other in a relaxed setting in the fellowship, you know, just seeing the believers, because we generally don’t get a chance to just be, and be family,” she said. “We are family, but we rarely, rarely get a chance to let your hair down and enjoy each other’s company.”

Food, music, shopping, and children’s activities gave families chances to enjoy that time together during the anniversary weekend.

Sister Dawn Muhammad from Charlotte had also been thinking about family since the previous day’s jumu’ah, the Muslim Friday congregational prayer service. Student National Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad’s message about reconciliation and mothers “hit home” as she reflected on her life as a mother and her own mother.

“Being at Family Day was very special for me. My children got to see and meet other Muslim children. It was beautiful to see all the joy in their faces and the fun they had.”

Sister Qiyimah Carter, is from nearby Decatur. “Family Fun Day was refreshing, it was like being amongst blood family. It was really nice to see sisters that were like aunts to me while I was growing up, reconnecting with childhood friends, and just the peaceful energy I felt from everyone,” she said.

For Bro. Shaheed Muhammad of Memphis, the gathering’s significance rested in spiritual ties that extended beyond blood relationships. “The significance is that this family is not a flesh-and-blood family in a traditional sense,” he told The Final Call. “It is the family of Allah (God).”

Brother Shaheed emphasized the importance of family relationships as he described the bond believers share through their connection to their Lord. “Once we connect and become one with our Lord, as a community, then we are truly connected,” he said.

Family Day offered an opportunity to renew that connection. “We all need to reconnect,” Brother Shaheed said. “But we got to reconnect to the right source, and that is Allah.”

Contributing Writer Shawntell Muhammad contributed to this report.

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After her third eviction notice, she went to court, where the landlord obtained a judgment against her. Ms. Hampton said she eventually paid the rent. But she was tired of the back-and-forth with the eviction court, she said, and decided to leave. She moved in with her brother in the suburbs.

Her children changed schools. Her commute to work grew longer.

For Black families, housing instability can continue long after overdue rent is paid. Court cases can disrupt schooling and employment, and records of those cases can make another landlord reluctant to rent to them.

Black renters face a disproportionate share of eviction cases. Capital B, a non-profit news organization serving Black communities, reported in September that Black residents make up about 52% of renters in the five-county metro Atlanta region but nearly 70% of eviction cases.

The outlet attributed those figures to Peter Hepburn, a Rutgers University sociologist and collaborator with Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, who spoke at a Sept. 10 meeting at the Atlanta History Center.

Black renters with household incomes above $80,000 are still at greater risk of eviction than White households earning $20,000, he said, according to Capital B. He cited discrimination, limited savings and fewer people to turn to for help. Income explains some of the disparity but not all of it, he said.

Not every eviction case ends with a family put out. It starts with a notice, a court filing, a judgment, and a removal; each is a separate step, and a case can stop at any of them. Ms. Hampton’s ended with a judgment and her decision to leave. Even a filing that goes no further can leave a court record that surfaces when a family applies for its next home.

Housing researchers call that lasting barrier the “Scarlet E.” Tenant screening companies collect court information and sell reports that landlords use to evaluate applicants. Mismatched names, outdated entries, or missing case outcomes can get an applicant rejected over a case that belonged to someone else or that the tenant won.

In a recent article, Emily Benfer, a George Washington University law professor and Eviction Lab research collaborator, described Randy Dillard Jr.’s saga. His New York City apartment applications were repeatedly rejected after screening systems confused him with his father, who shared the same name.

Years earlier, his father had faced an eviction filing after a dispute over serious housing defects. The younger Mr. Dillard was forced to move in with relatives.

Federal law offers some protection. Negative information such as an eviction generally cannot appear on a screening report after seven years, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The bureau advises applicants to confirm the report identifies them correctly and shows how the case ended.

Court records and screening reports are separate, however. Access to court records depends on state and local rules, and sealing a case may require a tenant to take additional steps.

Research documents what housing instability can mean for children. A 2025 working paper by economist Robert Collinson and five co-authors, released through the Census Bureau’s Center for Economic Studies, examined eviction’s effects in Chicago and New York.

Using Chicago’s Cook County court records linked to the 2010 census, the researchers found that 53 to 56% of households facing eviction had children. About 45% of children facing eviction in that county lived in households headed by single mothers.

The researchers found that eviction increased residential moves and homelessness and disrupted school engagement, with more absences and school changes. They also found lower high school graduation rates, although little effect on elementary and middle school test scores.

A separate Eviction Lab analysis of Houston Independent School District records from 2002 to 2016 found that 12.3 percent of students whose parents faced eviction filings finished the academic year at a different school, almost three times the rate among students whose parents did not.

Compared with students who moved for other reasons, those who moved after an eviction landed in schools with more low-income students, higher turnover, and lower test scores.

Even the fear of losing a home is linked to how children fare. A 2025 study in JAMA Network Open by University of Pittsburgh researcher Jamie Hanson associated caregivers’ stress about eviction or housing loss with higher odds of depression in children.

Some jurisdictions are limiting the lasting damage of eviction records. In the District of Columbia, a law that took effect in 2022 requires the Superior Court to seal eviction case records 30 days after a case is resolved if the landlord does not win a judgment for possession, and three years after it is resolved if the landlord does.

Kansas enacted Substitute for House Bill 2357 in April, creating a way for tenants to ask a court, at no cost, to expunge an eviction judgment. A tenant must wait three years after the judgment and show that they have paid any money owed to the landlord under it. A new eviction judgment during those three years delays expungement of the earlier one until the newer one also qualifies.

The Kansas law also directs courts to consider mediation in eviction cases unless it would not help the parties or is impracticable.

Ms. Benfer’s analysis with The Eviction Lab calls for earlier record sealing and stronger accountability for screening companies. Those steps address the barriers families meet when applying for another home. Help with overdue rent and access to a lawyer can help tenants resolve a case before displacement.

Paying late did not keep Ms. Hampton’s household in Washington. Worn down by the court, she gave up the apartment, and the move cost her children their schools and lengthened her commute. “Eviction was the last thing I thought I would have to contend with,” she said.

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Rep. Wilson convened a brain trust to celebrate the U.S. Commission on the Social Status of Black Men and Boys. Titled “Our Young Black Boys Are Being Murdered, and Nobody Seems to Care,” the session took place during the recent Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 55th Annual Legislative Conference, held September 16–20.

The bipartisan federal commission honored King Carter, Jordan Davis, Trayvon Martin, and Nolan Wells, along with the mothers and fathers who turned grief into advocacy. Rep. Wilson championed the commission legislation in the House, while then-Sen.

Marco Rubio, a Republican, sponsored it in the Senate. Congress passed the measure in 2020, and President Donald Trump signed it into law that August.

“These parents have endured the pain no mother or father should ever have to bear, yet they refused to allow their children’s stories to end with their deaths,” Rep. Wilson said.

“They turned grief into action, heartbreak into advocacy and their children’s names into movements for justice. We honor King, Jordan, Trayvon and Nolan by honoring the parents who carry their legacies forward and by continuing their fight to protect every Black child in America.”

Among those filling the room were 100 Wilson Scholars and Role Models from chapters of the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project, which Rep. Wilson founded more than three decades ago.

The students represented school districts in Miami-Dade, Broward and Duval counties in Florida, as well as the Los Angeles Unified School District. They attended as ambassadors and witnesses to the institutional history their predecessors helped shape.

Rep. Wilson spoke with visible pride about the commission’s survival amid the Trump administration’s attacks on so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

“That is the epitome of DEI,” she told the audience. “And you’re probably saying, well, did they get rid of it? No. In fact, they strengthened it.”

She said a planned review of the commission was canceled during what she called “Mr. Musk’s tirade,” referring to billionaire Elon Musk, who served as a “Special Government Employee” co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) earlier in Mr. Trump’s term.

Rep. Wilson credited the commission’s bipartisan foundation for its longevity. The congresswoman framed her life’s work as an act of faith in Black children, regardless of their circumstances.

“I believe that if you take a young child, and you mold them, and show them the way, regardless of the circumstances, regardless of where they come from, regardless of whether they have to sleep in the bed with two other children, and one of them wets the bed, it’s okay, because you got them, and you can make them into great men,” she said.

Before turning to the panel, Rep. Wilson introduced Oliver G. Gilbert III, the former mayor of Miami Gardens and former Miami-Dade County commissioner. Rep. Wilson endorsed Mr. Gilbert to succeed her, and he won the Democratic primary for Florida’s 24th Congressional District in August. Introduced during the program as “future Congressman Gilbert,” he returned the tribute with emotion.

“What she’s done is not insignificant. What she’s done goes beyond the creation of a program; what she’s done is the creation of life,” Mr. Gilbert said of Rep. Wilson. “She showed them who they could be.

She brought principals into their schools. She brought doctors into their schools, and engineers, and lawyers, and teachers, and she said, what they say about you is not who you are. You are who you say you are and who you work to become.”

Defending Black history

Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump moderated the panel and connected the fight for Black boys to what he described as an emboldened White supremacy.

“This uprising of White supremacy is worse than we’ve ever seen it,” Atty. Crump said, denouncing efforts to remove lessons about slavery and Jim Crow from classrooms and to restore Confederate monuments.

“White supremacy really is having your history be part of the core curriculum, while my history is an elective that you can get rid of at any time. Well, we refuse to let you get rid of our Black history.”

He reminded the audience that beyond the best-known names and hashtags are many other children whose deaths receive little public attention. “There are a hundred more Trayvons and Jordans that we don’t even know,” he said.

Trayvon Martin’s brother, Jahvaris Fulton, stood to be recognized as Atty. Crump recalled Sybrina Fulton’s words after George Zimmerman was acquitted in her son’s killing: “We won’t let them define the legacy of Trayvon. We will define the legacy of Trayvon.”

“We all have to define the legacy of our Black children,” Atty. Crump said. “We never let them define our children’s legacy and existence.”

He also paid tribute to Kristen Clarke, who led the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division from 2021 to 2025 and is now the NAACP’s general counsel. Calling her “a true shero,” Atty. Crump credited the division’s work in federal civil rights cases tied to the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

Parents Carry the Fight Forward

Sybrina Fulton, who has spent more than a decade advancing her son’s legacy through the Trayvon Martin Foundation, spoke directly to the young men in the room. She explained that she has to look at her son who is no longer physically here and also her son who is alive and well. “I have to keep moving,” Ms. Fulton said.

“We’re going to continue to apply pressure. We’re going to continue to fight for you. We’re going to keep letting people know that our children matter. There seems to be some type of disconnect where certain people think their children matter, but ours don’t,” she said.

“Our young Black and Brown boys have a right to walk in peace, without being followed, chased, profiled or murdered,” she said. “If I’m not giving up with everything that I’ve been through, I’m not going to allow you guys to give up on your life.”

The Wells family’s search for answers gained new urgency after the forum. On Sept. 21, a Mississippi grand jury declined to bring charges in the July death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells. (See The Final Call Vol. 45, No. 52). His family continues to press for answers about the circumstances surrounding his death.

Atty. Crump closed by invoking Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s principle that everyone has a role in the struggle for justice. “We have to fight not just in the court of law, but also in the court of public opinion,” he said.

Rep. Wilson is leaving Congress after a public-service career that took her from the classroom to the school board, the Florida Legislature, and the U.S. Capitol. Her closing message emphasized continuation rather than farewell.

“I’m leaving. But I’m not going far,” she said. “I’ll still be working, working with the commission, working with the 5,000 Role Models, still running around,” Rep. Wilson continued.

“For years, these parents cried out for justice while too many people looked away. The Commission exists because America must pay attention to what is happening to Black men and boys. We will say their names.

We will listen to their families. We will tell their stories. Most importantly, we will continue fighting for a country where no parent has to bury a child because of racism, violence, or a system that failed to value his life.”

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Forty-seven senators supported the motion, while 51 opposed it. Two did not vote. For advocates pressing for accountability, the outcome meant another setback in efforts to obtain information about Americans killed by Israeli settlers or security forces and Washington’s response to those deaths.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D) led the effort to advance Senate Resolution 852, introduced Sept. 14 under Section 502B(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia (D) and Bernie Sanders of Vermont (I) also helped lead the initiative.

If adopted, the resolution would require the Secretary of State to provide an unclassified report to congressional committees within 30 days. The report would include information about the nine American citizens killed in the West Bank since January 2022, Americans held in Israeli prisons, and Palestinian children in Israeli military detention. More specifically, it would include:

• Nine Americans killed in the West Bank: Evidence about their killings by Israeli forces or settlers, the status of investigations, potential suspects, and efforts to hold those responsible accountable.
• Americans detained in Israeli prisons: Who is being held, why they are detained, whether they have been charged, access to U.S. Embassy officials, and credible reports of mistreatment.
• Palestinian children in military detention: Conditions, access to attorneys, allegations of torture and other abuses, and the individuals or units responsible.
• U.S. oversight and responsibility: What American officials have done to prevent violence and seek justice, and whether implicated Israeli units are subject to U.S. laws restricting assistance to units responsible for gross human rights violations.

Among the Americans named who were killed are Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, Omar Assad and Turkish American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi. Resolution sponsors say the killings have not resulted in accountability. They also fault U.S. agencies for failing to open independent investigations in some cases or provide substantive information about existing investigations.

Before the vote, Sen. Van Hollen questioned the gap between Washington’s stated commitment to protecting Americans overseas and its response to violence in the West Bank.

“The United States government has repeatedly said that our number one priority overseas is to protect American citizens,” he said in a released statement.

“And yet, as violent Israeli settlers continue to terrorize civilians in the West Bank, American citizens have been killed time and again, in many cases with the complicity of the government of Israel, the Netanyahu government,” he said.

A demand for information

S.Res. 852 seeks evidence concerning the killings, updates on investigations, and details about steps taken by Israeli and U.S. officials to hold those responsible accountable. It also requests an assessment of detention conditions and credible reports of mistreatment.

Adoption would not immediately cut U.S. aid to Israel. However, failure to supply the required statement within the statutory period could trigger restrictions on covered security assistance. Section 502B(c) allows either chamber of Congress to request information by resolution; S.Res. 852 would not need to become a new law to invoke that requirement.

September’s vote concerned a motion to discharge the resolution from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee so the full Senate could consider it. It was not a vote on final adoption. With the discharge motion rejected, the measure remained in committee.

Support fell largely along party lines. Forty-four Democrats, both independents and Kentucky Republican Rand Paul voted yes. Pennsylvania Democrat John Fetterman joined 50 Republicans in voting no. Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy and Dan Sullivan did not vote.

Opponents framed the measure as a challenge to an ally confronting security threats. Reuters reported that Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines urged senators to reject it on grounds of supporting Israel against so-called “Iranian-backed terrorism.”

Maryland Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D) supported advancing the resolution. In a statement afterward, she said in part, “For the sake of Palestinians and Israelis, for the sake of peace and compassion, the violence we have witnessed in the West Bank must stop.

And there must be accountability for the perpetrators and justice for the victims. It is time to change course. My commitment to Israel’s right to exist and defend itself is unwavering, but I will always stand up to injustice and violence.” 

Civil rights advocates press for answers

Amnesty International USA urged senators to support the resolution, calling for answers about the American deaths and Israeli human rights practices.

Following the vote, the Maryland office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations praised Sens. Van Hollen and Alsobrooks. CAIR described the support of 47 senators as a political milestone, despite the motion’s defeat.

CAIR Maryland Director Zainab Chaudry said the vote challenged the influence of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, known as AIPAC, and organizations she accused of shielding Israel from accountability.

“Last night’s vote sends a powerful message to AIPAC and every organization working to shield the Israeli government’s crimes that the days of treating your approval as a prerequisite for defending human rights are ending. 

We commend Senator Alsobrooks for standing with Senator Chris Van Hollen and 45 other colleagues who recognize their responsibility in demanding Israel not be exempt from accountability over its reprehensible human rights record,” she said in a Sept. 30 statement. “We thank her for listening to constituents and voting to demand answers denied to too many families.”

Although senators blocked the effort to advance the measure, questions about the killings and the U.S. government’s response remain unanswered for advocates demanding accountability.

“How many more Americans must die in the West Bank before this administration takes serious, credible steps to secure accountability?” Sen. Van Hollen asked.

Despite the defeat, Ms. Chaundry explained in her statement that the pressure will continue.

“Every senator who voted to strike down this resolution should explain why even a request for basic information was too much to support. Taxpayers have the right to demand oversight, and Palestinian children deserve protection. The political space for challenging Israeli impunity is growing, and our communities will keep organizing until accountability becomes policy.”

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The year was 1985. I (Sister Nisa Islam Muhammad) was pregnant with my son Nasser, sitting among some 25,000 people packed into Madison Square Garden in New York, waiting to hear the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan speak. When he took the stage, he was flanked by a group of sisters, his M.G.T. and G.C.C. Vanguard, and one of them stopped me cold. She was tall, statuesque, unmistakably beautiful, and she carried herself like security itself: Sister Betsy Jean Farrakhan, his eldest daughter.

I kept watching her watch the crowd. I wanted to meet her. I wanted to be her. I wanted to learn whatever secret allowed her to stand that close to greatness and still seem so entirely herself.

Years later, that wish came true. As the Mid-Atlantic Regional M.G.T. Captain, I had the honor of serving under her, and she turned out to be everything I had imagined from that arena floor and more. She was a sister and a soldier. She taught me that Allah (God) loves beauty and that we are meant to reflect that beauty in everything we do: our dress, our posture, and our discipline. She was kind and gracious, but no one mistook her kindness for weakness. In the high-pressure work of providing security for her father at public events, her grace never cracked, and she expected the same steadiness from those serving beside her.

Sister Betsy Jean Farrakhan, the eldest daughter of Minister Farrakhan and Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, returned to Allah (God) on September 18. Her Janazah (funeral service) was held at Mosque Maryam in Chicago, on September 25.

She was appointed National M.G.T. and G.C.C. Captain by her father in 1988 and she helped train and shape generations of women in the Nation of Islam. Later, her service also extended to agriculture and producing healthy food for the community. Yet for many women who knew her personally, her legacy lives most vividly in the standards she set: discipline without hardness, beauty without vanity, and authority grounded in care.

She taught internal strength and resilience. If you were selected to work with her, you learned quickly to raise your standard. She taught her captains to see the beauty in every sister and cultivate it, and to care for women who belonged to Allah with consideration and concern. She always took her work seriously. But when the night was over, the crowd had cleared, and her father was safe, she was a joy to be around. She could fill a room with laughter and loved to hear about our lives.

In the days since her return to Allah, sisters who served alongside her across four decades and several cities have used many of the same words to describe her: soldier, sister, mother and warrior. Although public references often identified her as Minister Farrakhan and Mother Khadijah Farrakhan’s eldest daughter, generations of women in the Nation also knew her as a captain, teacher, and model of disciplined service.

A trainer of women

Sister Dr. Nusaybah Muhammad is the Student Southern Regional M.G.T. and G.C.C. Captain of the Nation of Islam. She told The Final Call she first met Sister Betsy Jean in the early 1990s. “I remember being on a security detail at the airport to pick her up. As she stepped out of the vehicle, I remember freezing in place. I was struck by her stunning and captivating beauty.

But what impacted me even more was the blessing of hearing her speak. Her words carried a passion, strength, and spirit I felt immediately. Her beauty caught my attention, but her voice, her spirit, and the passion she carried captured my heart. In that moment, I knew I had developed a deep love and admiration for her,” said Sister Nusaybah.

“I will never forget that first encounter. It was one of those moments that stays with you, not simply because of what you saw, but because of what you felt.” Sister Nusaybah described Sister Betsy Jean as “the epitome of a soldier.”

“She accepted nothing less than excellence. As a National Captain, she was the kind of leader who never asked you to do what she wasn’t willing to do herself. She led from the front. She demonstrated discipline by example. Her expectations were high because she knew what was possible when a woman was properly taught, developed, disciplined, and given the opportunity to discover the power within herself.

“She was and will always be one of my guiding examples of leadership. Her leadership was so profound because she understood that you cannot solve a problem if you are unwilling to go to its root. She had a remarkable ability to look beneath the surface and identify the deeper issues affecting Black women and girls. She understood our struggles, our strengths, our wounds, our hopes, and our potential. More importantly, she knew how to offer solutions that were practical, relatable, and rooted in the real experiences of Black women,” said Sister Nusaybah.

Sister Dr. Sabora Muhammad was a member of the Chicago M.G.T. Vanguard. She vividly remembers that same Madison Square Garden event. She first heard Minister Farrakhan when she was a Five Percenter (Nation of Gods and Earths). When she pushed through the crowd at the Garden and saw the women surrounding Minister Farrakhan to secure and protect him, she said to herself, “I don’t know who they are, but I want to be that” and she remembers thinking, “I want to do what they’re doing.”

Sister Dr. Sabora later moved to Chicago and she told The Final Call that Sister Betsy Jean was a pillar in her adult life. “She exhibited that perfect balance of strength and softness,” she said. “She was disciplined. She was firm, unwavering. Yet she carried such a gentle, nurturing soul.”

Sister Betsy Jean asked about the women’s families, children, and households. Sister Dr. Sabora, who later became Mosque Maryam’s M.G.T. Vanguard Captain, believes she understood that “we could only do what we had to do to protect Minister Farrakhan if our home front was straight.”

The M.G.T. Vanguard are young women of the Nation of Islam ages 16-35 and are the warrior class of the M.G.T. and G.C.C., which was established by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Sister Dr. Sabora still carries one piece of advice Sister Betsy Jean gave her directly: “Sabora, don’t dim your light for anybody, sister; you got to shine.”

That balance of firmness and tenderness runs through nearly every account of those sharing their reflections about Sister Betsy Jean.

Sister Bronda Muhammad was also a Chicago M.G.T. Vanguard and remembers Sister Betsy Jean returning Sunday after Sunday to conduct inspections personally, even after her tenure as National M.G.T. Captain. “She was mothering,” Sis. Bronda told The Final Call. “She no longer had that direct responsibility, so she was really hands-on when she was around us.”

Sister Betsy Jean taught the M.G.T. Vanguard how to walk, how to dress, and how to hold a security post while remaining “deadly, but dainty,” said Sis. Bronda.

In the 1990s, Sis. Angela Muhammad arrived in Washington, D.C., from Buffalo and was assigned to a post at Sister Betsy Jean’s suite. She recalls a “quiet confidence” and “effortless grace” that reshaped how she understood service. “Her devotion to the sisterhood expanded my heart,” Sis. Angela said, adding, “and (it) inspired a deeper love for the M.G.T. through her powerful example.”

A soldier

Baltimore Student M.G.T. Captain Leslie Muhammad remembers the choreography of Sister Betsy Jean’s workdays. She walked the security areas in flat shoes as sisters arrived for an event, then changed shoes when it was time to head toward the stage, where she remained on post throughout the program. She pushed her captains to be mindful of their appearance and encouraged Sis. Leslie to continue serving as long as she felt able. “She has always been my ‘shero,’” Sis. Leslie said.

Sister Victoria Muhammad, who served on Sister Betsy Jean’s personal security detail, explained that Sister Betsy Jean modeled a particular kind of femininity under pressure: firm, but never rough. “Whenever there was a situation, you would say, okay, what would Betsy Jean do?” Sis. Victoria said.

For Sis. Abiola Muhammad of the Chicago M.G.T. Vanguard, who entered the mosque in 1990 and trained under Sister Betsy Jean in both M.G.T. and M.G.T. Vanguard work, one of her sharpest memories is standing for hours at the United Center in Chicago during Saviours’ Day. Sister Betsy Jean gathered the young women beforehand and told them plainly what the assignment required. “She told each and every one of us that if we’re going to stand this post, we’re putting our lives on the line for the Minister,” Sis. Abiola told The Final Call. “If we did not want to do that, no hard feelings, no judgment, just fall out,” she recalled. No one fell out.

Her influence extended beyond the women she trained directly. The men of the Nation of Islam also regarded Sister Betsy Jean with honor and respect.

Student Minister Abdul Arif Muhammad, a member of the N.O.I. Shura Executive Council, serves as N.O.I. General Counsel and is a member of the N.O.I. Research Group. He offered his reflections, first, with Ayat (verse) 154 from Surah (chapter) 2 of the Holy Qur’an, the Islamic book of scripture which states: “And speak not of those who are slain in Allah’s way as dead. Nay, (they are) alive, but you perceive not,” he said.

“A grateful Nation is thankful to Allah for the beauty and spirit that is our Sister Betsy Jean Farrakhan. To me, she embodied the spirit and love of her father and mother (Mother Khadijah Farrakhan) to serve a grateful Nation.  And as our National M.G.T. and G.C.C. Captain in the very early foundational days of the rebuilding of the Nation, she looked after the women and trained them as Allah directed they be trained. She was loved by the sisters then and she is loved now,” said Student Min. Arif.

He also recalled his impressions from that historic Madison Square Garden event.

“A personal reflection for me, of my sister, was on October 7, 1985, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City. I see her proudly standing on post, at the point of the diamond of security around her father, along with others of her sisters, to protect the life of her father, during his ‘Power At Last Forever’ message.  That same love and spirit that she had to protect the life of The Messiah, her father, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, was that same love of protection and that same extension of protection that she gave in care and training of the sisters and her Nation,” Student Min. Arif continued.  

“She made an indelible impact in the work of the resurrection of the dead under the direction of her father, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. We can only say Allah-U-Akbar (God is the Greatest) and may Allah grant to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, all of the Farrakhan family His peace and comfort, and that we are grateful to Allah as a Nation for the service of our Sister Betsy Jean Farrakhan.”

Brother Sultan Muhammad is a close aide to Minister Farrakhan and a member of the N.O.I. Research Group. He first met Sister Betsy Jean on October 7, 1985. “I meet this stern woman, where ‘Captain’ oozes out of her very being! I could see her father in her. I could see her mother in her, and then I could see what God made in the womb of her mother. So, I have always bragged and boasted about her. I have always respected her. And I wanted to be brother enough, man enough, believer enough, to earn her respect,” said Bro. Sultan.

Student Minister Jamil Muhammad, who traveled with her during Minister Farrakhan’s extensive touring in the late 1980s and early 1990s, remembers her as “a steadying force.”

“She heard her father’s instructions, and she moved out with him,” he said. “She was a confidant and a counselor in Islam … accessible, warm, and supportive of anyone who sincerely wanted to help her father in the mission.” He wants her remembered, he said, not simply for her standing in the Nation, “which, of course, was understandably high,” but “for her genuine goodness as a person. She was a big sister to all of us.”

A servant and example

Sister Dr. Saaudiah Muhammad of Mosque Maryam in Chicago shared that her memories of Sister Betsy Jean included her emphasizing “the importance of carrying ourselves like a queen, especially when it came to our posture.”

“She created in me an absolute love of being statuesque and shared that height was nothing to be ashamed of but to stand tall. As a new Muslim, I would ask her all sorts of questions, and she would indulge them as I believe she knew I was just striving to be the best Muslim and she was the best example of a M.G.T. I knew as the National M.G.T. Captain,” said Sis. Dr. Saaudiah.

Sister Johnna Muhammad is the Student Eastern Regional M.G.T. Captain, based in New York at Mosque No. 7. Sis. Johnna served as a Vanguard Captain in New York when Sister Betsy Jean was the National M.G.T. Captain.

“She was a formidable woman—one who was not only a trainer of women, but a woman whose strength, discipline, knowledge, and conviction earned the respect and high regard of men as well. Men revered her and held her in the highest esteem because she carried herself with authority, stood firmly upon the Teachings, and demanded excellence from those entrusted to her no-nonsense training,” said Sister Johnna.

“Sister Betsy Jean was a product of a life dedicated to the service of the Cause of Islam. She gave herself to the work, to the training, to the development of others, and to the dissemination of truth. Her life stands as a testimony to what it means to be a soldier in the army of Allah (God). She will go down in the annals of time as one whose life and service left an enduring mark upon our  Nation and upon all of those who were blessed to learn from her,” said Sis. Johnna.

Sister Betsy Jean Farrakhan trained generations of women, including many she may never have known she shaped. Her work in helping in the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, asked her to be a soldier, teacher, mother, and mirror for the beauty she insisted every one of us carried. Sister Dr. Sabora Muhammad said it best: “Generations of young women learned from her how to serve with honor, how to live with that armor of God … her legacy lives.”

Sister Betsy Jean was tall, statuesque and stunning that night in Madison Square Garden in 1985. Forty years later, to every sister who ever stood a post beside her, she still is.

The post A Standard Bearer Sister Betsy Jean Farrakhan: The Epitome of Strength, Beauty and Service appeared first on Final Call News.

However, for many families, the day meant making the hard decision to send their children to school or keep their children at home because there was no food for lunch, no shoes, no water, and no way to cope with a school system stretched to its limits.

Mothers shared their anxiety with Marti Noticia, a Cuban newspaper.  One mother told the outlet that the country is not ready for the school year to begin, explaining that none of her three daughters are going to school.

If nothing is available, how can they go to school, she asked? Bread cannot be bought for a snack since a single roll costs thousands and thousands of units. With no electricity all night, the situation is even worse.

For these families, the consequences of the unjust U.S. blockade go beyond politics because they affect everyday life. Cuban authorities state that the lack of fuel and electricity, the result of Washington’s harmful “energy blockade,” has made it difficult to distribute food. In some areas, schools can serve lunch for only the first two weeks, leaving parents to worry about how their children will get meals afterward.

A second mother shared her concerns, her voice showing how tired she was as she spoke about the constant struggle: “If the food they are giving us is merely a piece of bread containing bad ham, then what are they going to provide? … Nowadays there is no lunch, no electricity, no water, no transport, and they can’t give the children anything to eat since the prices are too high.”

For families who decided to send their children the first day, September 1, or “sobremesfuerzo,” this extra effort was the price of sending their children to school.  For others, it was simply too great a burden.

‘Everyone is invited’: The struggle to fill the classroom

A major difficulty is the teacher shortage. Cuban authorities explained this is due to the U.S. “maximum pressure” policy, which causes numerous professionals to either leave the country or seek better employment opportunities.

According to Education Minister Naima Trujillo Barreto, only 73% of teaching posts are filled.  This leaves approximately 24,000 positions available. Havana suffers the most, with about 3,000 teachers being transferred from the eastern provinces to assist there.

“This is going to be a school year for which our greatest achievement will be the fact that we are able to get through it,” said Minister Trujillo, conveying the great significance of the situation.

In response, the government has developed inventive solutions and is asking university students, retired professionals, and other willing citizens to take over classrooms, showing society’s commitment to education. As Minister Trujillo encouraged, according to the LA Times, “All are invited; anyone who can contribute is welcome.”

The lack of teachers also affects children’s well-being. Families report that many of their children went to school after sleeping little because of the heat, without eating breakfast, and therefore found it difficult to concentrate.   These are a few of the difficult decisions many families must make.

The fabric of the crisis: Uniform shortages

School uniforms are also affected by the blockade. Because of power cuts and difficulties importing materials, textile factories have ceased operations; as a result, only 12% of the demand for primary school uniforms is being met.

Due to inflation, the cost of uniforms has risen to between $2 and $5, a sum which The Straits Times points out is high given that the average monthly income for Cubans is only $10.

This places additional pressure on families already coping with inflation and shortages, since parents often must hire private tailors or modify their children’s old uniforms. This extra effort shows how committed they are to their children’s future.

“The schools are now relying on households and on the parents,” lamented Yannay Miranda to the AFP (Agence France-Presse), a mother of a six-year-old.

Although acknowledging the sacrifice, President Miguel Díaz-Canel stressed the importance of the effort and said that defending social programs such as education, even against the U.S. “plan of asphyxiation,” is a revolution which must be defended.

The struggle to get children to school started last school year when the blockade took effect. Yemaris Roriquees Lopez explained to The New York Times in a podcast that she would leave her house in a village in western Cuba every morning at 7 a.m. with her two sons, ages twelve and four, and stand on the side of the road hoping someone would drive by offering a ride to her children’s school. 

A country’s future against all odds

Despite the difficulties, Cuba’s attitude is one of firm determination. Roberto Morales Ojeda, a senior party official, posted on social media that the beginning of the school year means “overcoming the rigors of the blackout, rising above the burden caused by shortages, and looking for alternatives when others would have decided to give up.”

To cope, schools are adjusting schedules to use daylight, focusing on core subjects when power is available and allowing students to wear comfortable clothing instead of uniforms. A few mothers are concerned about what the future holds and told Marti Noticias  that “Children are not going to have a future the way we are.”

However, people such as Kasumy Chiu told The Strait Times, “We woke up to no electricity … but so long as they have the opportunity to learn, we are willing to make sacrifices.”

Many Cubans refer to the blockade as genocidal and argue that its aim is to starve the country and deprive it of its independence. Yet Cuba and its people will not surrender. The school year spanning 2026 and 2027 demonstrates that although America may restrict supplies, it cannot stifle the human spirit, a parent’s love, or a nation’s determination to secure its children’s future. As a commentary in the Cuban-based Granma stated, “No one will be able to steal our hope.”

Yet when the first day is over, there are empty desks left behind, gently serving as a reminder of the families whose strength was not sufficient and for whom hope had to continue through the night.

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