After he was allegedly pulling car door handles while riding a bicycle near the intersection of Williamson Street and South Baldwin. He was allegedly in possession of a kitchen knife and was shot multiple times after being forced to the ground.

At the Aug. 14 funeral of Mr. Ruiz, held at Fountain of Life Covenant Church, Rev. Al Sharpton delivered the eulogy. “Corey matters,” Rev. Sharpton said.  During the service, the Ruiz family said neither the city nor the MPD had offered condolences for their loss.    

In the aftermath of the July 22 shooting, demonstrations broke out.

State Representative Shelia Stubbs of Assembly District 78 called the incident troubling and deeply disturbing in a July 24 news conference. She argued that it is imperative that local government, community organizations and law enforcement all work together to ensure transparency and accountability.

Civil Rights Attorney Benjamin Crump also attended the news conference and is part of the legal team for the family. Corey Ruiz’s mother, Elsa Ruiz, his oldest sister Veronica, other siblings and his 13-year-old daughter, Kha’liyah Aliomar were also there.

Speaking of her son as one who loved his family and his daughter, Ms. Ruiz said Corey was the love of her life and that he didn’t deserve to be killed in such a brutal manner. “They took my baby from me,” she lamented. “I never thought I would have to bury my baby before he would bury me,” she said, breaking down in tears, unable to continue speaking.

Mr. Ruiz had struggles, but it was not justification for how he was treated, his family argued.

“His criminal record tells a tale of trauma, of pain, of struggle,” Corey’s sister Veronica Ruiz said. “It does not define who my brother was. For him to be executed the way he was, based on speculation, I don’t understand. I need someone to help me understand why they felt it was OK to execute my brother based on no facts at all,” she said while wiping away tears.

Describing his older brother as one who was deeply loved by his family, Adam Ruiz said Corey was a man struggling to overcome adversity, who was well liked and known throughout the community for his humor.

“What happened to my brother involving the Madison police was sickening and inhuman and should have never resulted in the tragic execution of my brother,” Adam Ruiz said. “My heart is broken. My family and I will never be the same.

It makes me sick every time and the video just keeps replaying in my head,” he said of the shooting reportedly captured by multiple cell phone cameras and posted to social media. He said Wisconsin’s capital city should require officers to wear body cameras. MPD officers do not wear body cameras.

Marjorie Aliomar, the mother of Corey Ruiz’s child, Kah’liyah, said they had known each other’s family since childhood, and described him as an artist, poet and a very kind human being. “I will miss all of the things that his daughter will never know about him because they didn’t have the chance to grow old together,” she said.

She also said that the shooting occurred only two blocks from their home and their daughter’s school. “When she starts school (in the fall), she will have to walk past her dad’s memorial,” she said.

According to Associated Press reporting, “Kiel Baitinger-Peterson, a White officer with nearly 11 years’ experience in law enforcement, fired the shots that killed Corey Ruiz on July 22, the Wisconsin Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation said in a statement.

Baitinger-Peterson was one of four officers who surrounded Ruiz, who was on a bike, in response to calls about someone who was checking out parked cars and an alleged burglary attempt, police said.”

According to local media reports, four Madison officers are on leave while Wisconsin’s Department of Justice investigates the shooting but there is no timeline for when it will be concluded. According to Atty. Crump, results from an independent autopsy were pending. 

In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, protesters took to the streets.

“I spent the afternoon and evening on location to listen to and support neighbors and people from across the city who descended on the location to express their reactions, emotions, sadness and anger,” wrote Davy Mayer, District 6 Alder of the City of Madison Common Council on a July 23 blog linked to his office.

“I have been in continued contact with neighborhood leaders, Common Council leadership, the Mayor’s office and MPD,” Alder Mayer’s statement continued. “My most urgent priority is providing a safe space for continued gathering and protest in District 6.

My very next priority is ensuring a thorough, transparent and independent investigation of circumstances leading up to and resulting in the police-shooting death of Corey Ruiz,” he said in part.

District 18 Alderwoman and vice-president of the City of Madison Common Council, Carmella Glenn, told The Final Call that beyond demands to end protests affecting traffic at the site of Mr. Ruiz’s death, as of Final Call press time, there has been no official statement from the city’s leadership regarding the shooting.

“When the memorial went up where he was gunned down, there was a blocking of the streets for about 13 days, and then there were news articles that came from the mayor around opening the street back up,” Alderwoman Glenn said.  “But there has not been anything formal as an acknowledgement from the body as a whole.”

On August 4, bulldozers, dump trucks and a heavy police presence cleared the memorial site and protester encampment around leading to arrests and additional frustrations among those demanding justice for Corey.

Witnesses maintain that the way Corey Ruiz was approached was uncalled for and could have been handled differently, which could have then prevented deadly force.

“The closer I get to it, as someone who’s been working in social justice for a very long time, now that I’m older and being on the inside, it is diabolical, the level of missteps,” Alderwoman Glenn said of her work as an elected official.

“As soon as they open up an office like the Office of the Independent Police Monitor (OIPM), they strangle it out and don’t let it do its job, or the Office of Criminal Justice Reform, same thing.

This death has opened a wound in this city that we know all too well,” she said. As of Final Call press time, Alderwoman Glenn said the MPD has not responded to requested documentation subpoenaed by the OIPM. 

Nation of Islam Student Minister William Muhammad, of  Mosque No. 3 in Milwaukee, located less than 80 miles from Madison, told The Final Call that opponents of freedom, justice and equality have always employed methods to prevent real substantive change.

“The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has already warned us for decades that their mask of civility is being removed and the whole world sees them for what they are as these deaths continue.

He has warned us to watch the weather and has linked natural disasters to the increased and continued brutality and injustice that we are experiencing,” said Student Min. Muhammad. “So, they can divert attention away from justice, they can even deploy their agent provocateurs, but they cannot stop the judgment of God.”

The post Fatal police-involved shooting of a Black father in Wisconsin sparks protests appeared first on Final Call News.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, cautioned and warned about what he called “The Deathstyle of the American People.”

In his 1993 book, “A Torchlight for America,” on page 125, Minister Farrakhan writes: “We are living relatively short lives as a result of our careless lifestyles. Sixty to 70 years is the lifespan of a typical American, and if we are fortunate to live even that short period, our lives are still riddled with every type of disease.”

In the same chapter, he notes, “According to the Bible, we live in a world that is called ‘death.’ The lifestyles of the people reflect this world of death. This world of death is caused by rebellion against Allah, God, who is the source of good life.”

Minister Farrakhan continues, “The lifestyles of the people reflect this world of death. In Proverbs it reads, ‘There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death.’ (Proverbs 14:12) Most of us believe our lifestyles are correct, and we have prided ourselves in the lifestyles we live no matter how degenerate they may be according to the standard raised by Almighty God.”

Statistics on the problem of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) serves as proof and verification that this “deathstyle” among Black people is continuing. 

Recent government data show that sexually transmitted infections (STIs) remain a serious problem in the United States, particularly among Black and non-White youth populations.

While reported infections declined slightly between 2023 and 2025, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) said that compared to past data, the number of overall cases is higher than those reported a decade ago.

According to their report from September 2025, “Sexually Transmitted Infections Surveillance, 2024 (Provisional),” the CDC said serious challenges remain with the overall rate of infections and that additional efforts must be made to reach certain groups that have fallen through the cracks.

“There were still more than 2.2 million reported STIs in 2024, and compared to a decade ago, overall cases are 13% higher; congenital syphilis is nearly 700% higher,”  the CDC said of these alarming numbers.

Congenital syphilis, which occurs when a mother with syphilis passes the infection on to her baby during pregnancy or childbirth, is of particular concern because it can harm future generations with birth defects, brain and nerve problems, blindness or deafness. It can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths.

Other data revealed that young people between the ages of 15–24 bear the highest numbers of new STIs in the U.S. and that from this age group, females are the highest for chlamydia infection, while males aged 25–34 are the highest for syphilis and gonorrhea.

CDC statistics compiled by worldmetrics.org further state that:

•        Racial/ethnic minorities in the U.S. have higher STI rates than White individuals: Black individuals have a 2.5 times higher chlamydia rate.

•        Latina women in the U.S. have a two times higher gonorrhea rate than White women.

•        Rural areas in the U.S. have a 30% higher syphilis rate than urban areas.

•        Individuals with multiple sexual partners have a six times higher risk of chlamydia.

•        Racial disparities in STI rates persist despite public health efforts, with Black and Latino populations 2–3 times more likely to be diagnosed. 

Risky lifestyles and behaviors have led to these alarming statistics and outcomes, particularly among young people. For decades arts, culture has been an influential part of Black society.

So, is there a role that our artists can play in effective messaging to address unhealthy and risky lifestyle behaviors, particularly in our youth?

America’s deathstyle, problems and cultural solutions

In “A Torchlight for America,” on page 97-98 in the section, “Promote a cultural revolution through the arts,” Minister Farrakhan writes, “The artistic community has historically been in the vanguard of social change. What is now needed is for the artistic community to lead a cultural revolution.”

He continues, “On the physical level, man is what he eats. Spiritually, ‘… as he thinketh in his heart, so is he… .’ (Proverbs 23:7) If the American people are constantly fed filth and garbage through newspapers, magazines, television, movies, plays and music; if the public, like the proverbial swine, has become a lover of filth;

And if thoughts guide behavior, what do the thoughts of the American people produce? Do the thoughts of the American people produce rape, incest, murder, theft, greed, and the destruction of family and the institutions of society? I would argue  that the answer is yes.”

Minister Farrakhan also warned on page 107 that relationships “between men and women have become rampantly irresponsible.” He has also warned about the problems that arise resulting from careless sexual activity.

“Women are being used, and allowing themselves to be used, as sex  objects. This moral problem, in part, is undermining the cultivation of proper family life. We breed hostility with the thoughts we carry during promiscuous relationships. We have sex for recreation instead of its divine purpose of procreation,” he continued.

Sister Dr. Safiyya Shabazz is a member of the Nation of Islam and attends Muhammad Mosque No. 12 in Philadelphia. She is a board-certified family physician and owner of Fountain Medical Associates.

She told The Final Call that she agreed that the popularity of online dating, the stimulation of promiscuity as promoted through popular music and fashion, a widespread culture of casual sex and the social trend of “ghosting” (disappearing after sexual encounters) is endangering an entire generation of young people seeking validation through a misunderstanding of physical intimacy.

“I think what is happening in the minds of young people is a desperate search for belonging,” Sis. Dr. Shabazz said. “That’s what everyone is really searching for that is being manifested in very dysfunctional ways.

Young people are finding a false sense of belonging in online communities or even a certain level of anonymity in expressing a lot of deviant thoughts that people don’t have when they’re in face-to-face interactions,” she said.

She noted that the rate of HIV/AIDS infections is now higher in the Black American population than it once was in comparison to the White population. 

“I looked at one of the references and statistics, most of the HIV, the new diagnoses of HIV were Black people, they’re at 42%, and 69% were among gay, bisexual … men …,” Sis. Dr. Shabazz said. “So, these types of things that are becoming more and more prevalent in our community, they do have real consequences for health.

I think that the recklessness, the carelessness that we’re seeing in our youth, the root of it is this desperate search for belonging and love, finding it in ways or activities or behaviors that are very unhealthy,” she said.

“Sex is a powerful drive in any animal species, including humans, because the drive to reproduce is very strong; and when you have these images and the easy access of it with pornography, you see a similar habit-forming tolerance and the need for an increased dose,” Sis. Dr. Shabazz explained.

She described the brain’s release of pleasure-seeking chemicals such as dopamine as being part of a neurological process that can drive an undisciplined person into more deviant and risky behavior.

However, Sis. Dr. Shabazz said people, particularly young people, are seeking something better in life and that it is better to be demonstrative with them than to condemn them. She also said implementing the Teachings of the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam.

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, where people are given a choice, by offering water from either a clean glass or a dirty glass, reflects the concept of change by attraction over promotion.

The role of artists, entertainers and cultural trendsetters can be critical in promoting the “clean glass.”

Taking responsibility to create change

In his lecture, “Satan and the Mastery of Sexual Urges,” delivered April 8, 1987, at The Final Call Administration Building in Chicago, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said the human being contains both an animal nature, driven by physical needs, and a divine nature that can incline toward good or evil.

“The forces that God sets up as opposition, they are forces that help to keep you in check,” he said. “When you overcome those forces, and now feel free, then the freedom manifests everything that’s hidden in you, the thing that is good, and also, the thing that is not so good. Now, you’ve got the head and you’ve got the body. The head, of course, is that which creates satisfaction for the body,” he explained.

Describing how natural urges can overpower reason and result in poor or even deadly decisions toward self or others, Minister Farrakhan said, “the force called sex is a powerful force, isn’t it? No one can be righteous unless we can control the inner forces that are neither good nor bad, but if the intelligence does not bring these forces under control, then evil becomes your way of life.”

He continued, “The body has urges that send messages to the head, the head thinks and satisfies urges, needs, wants … you need air, water, earth, food, clothing, shelter, education, love, peace, happiness, comfort, the union of male and female, the procreation of the human species and at some point, along this road, death comes.”

 “Every force or urge or need of the body is regulated or controlled by the intelligence of the head,” Minister Farrakhan said.

Minister Farrakhan has also stressed the importance that artists can play in helping to uplift our communities and inspiring young people.  In a message, he delivered June 13, 2001, in New York, titled, “Farrakhan challenges the hip hop community,” the Minister spoke on the role artists can play in spreading positive messages and imagery.

“In the Book of John, it says, ‘In the beginning was the word. And the word was God and the word was with God and the word became flesh and the flesh dwelled among men. And the light shined in the darkness but the darkness comprehended it not.’

I do not think it is an accident that music and culture have moved to this time and that the spoken word has become that which is affecting youth throughout the entire planet,” Minister Farrakhan said.

“In countries where governments do not like Western music or Western civilization, people are sneaking around listening to the word and moving to the beat of the hip-hop generation.

If in the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God, then, God here means Force and Power. The Word has Force. The Word has Power; Force and Power to move men to think new thoughts and to do new things.”

Sister Neelam Hakeem Muhammad of Mosque No. 27 in Los Angeles is a hip-hop artist who goes by the stage name NEELAM. Dedicated to uplifting lyrics that are conscious, positive, insightful and empowering, both she and her husband, Bro. Marquis Henri Muhammad, work as a team to write, film and produce positive, uplifting content to present an alternative to what is often promoted.

Her popular hits include collaborative works such as “We Got ‘Em Like,” featuring rap artists in the Nation of Islam, Da-Neek and Goalden Chyld, and “I’ll be the King,” featuring Erykah Badu, have received acclaim for their efforts to elevate the consciousness of people who listen to their music.

Sis. Neelam told The Final Call that she sees the value and wisdom of the Nation of Islam’s Ministry of Arts and Culture to help inspire positive lifestyles over what has become an American “deathstyle.”

“In the days of Motown, the music we (Black people) made before proved how powerful and useful we can be producing a beautiful universal language that could effect and reach people,” she said.   

“Hip-Hop would become another manifestation of expression, highlighting what we are, what we’re going through and how we feel and would like to feel (but) it was dangerous to the objective of those working to keep us ignorant and disunified,” she added.

“So, hip-hop, crossing into the new millennium would become one of our enemy’s most useful tools to exalt ignorance, addiction and promiscuity,” added Sis. Neelam.

It is the duty of civilized men and women to raise their communities through culture, refinement and beauty, she explained.

In his 2001 message to the hip-hop community, Minister Farrakhan reminded them, “Your potential to change reality is so great that if you learned the skill of words and how to use words;

If you learned how to say what it is you want to say, but, say it in a way that gains universal respect, then, the rap would evolve to an art form that will never be replaced. It will evolve to be that form that will set the stage for the next phase of its evolution.”

Final Call staff contributed to this report.

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In the past five years alone, the number of natural disasters has more than doubled, requiring individuals, families and local organizations to consider the importance of having disaster plans.

According to their June global release, the National Centers for Environmental Information, under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said the U.S. had 403 confirmed weather-related disaster events exceeding $1 billion each between 1980-2024, averaging nine events per year.

The agency also reported that the average number of events from 2020-2024 increased to 23 events per year and that the number and frequency is expected to rise.

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, warned that Allah (God) would chastise America through His Forces of Nature for the country’s mistreatment of Black people.

His National Representative, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, has often cautioned people in the U.S. and abroad to ‘watch the weather’ and also the importance of disaster preparedness.

America’s unsteady economic outlook is further reason for preparedness. With soaring food and fuel prices resulting from the U.S. war on Iran, millions of Americans are struggling.

According to a July 7 article in The Guardian, based on a survey the outlet conducted, “Ninety-five percent of Americans believe the U.S. is suffering an affordability crisis, as many report trouble with the rising cost of groceries and gas.”

The outlet also noted, “The struggle crosses party lines: about half of all Democrats, Republicans and independents say they are having trouble affording everyday necessities like gas and groceries. Two-thirds of Americans—including 49% of Republicans—said they have little faith that the federal government will improve the cost-of-living crisis they face.”

Sister Alva Muhammad is a Chicago-based FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) certified volunteer disaster preparedness instructor and has been involved with training communities since 2003.

She told The Final Call that with the increase of both natural and man-made disasters, it is prudent for individuals, families and communities to be mindful of current events, the time according to scripture and to organize a survival kit based upon one’s location.

“The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad instructed us to store food and supplies in our homes and that instruction has not changed and that instruction is for a reason,” she said. Sister Alva explained that natural disasters related to weather are not the only issues of concern in cities like Chicago and other large municipalities.

“Couple that with the Minister’s (Farrakhan’s) recent instructions to help make our communities a decent and safe place to live, our current and immediate and future actions should be very clear,” she said.

Sister Alva encouraged people to read and study the book, “The Fall of America,” by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, pubished in 1973.

He warned Black people, and others who will take heed, that Allah (God) is real and that there is a law of reciprocity that will affect all. On page 161 of “The Fall of America,” in the chapter, “America’s Land Being Divinely Curtailed,” He warned there are divine consequences to evil and injustice.

“Black Man in America, there is no one as blind as you are in seeing what is going on against America. I have warned you for nearly 40 years that Allah (God) in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, to Whom praises are due forever, came to me and gave me the knowledge of the truth; and I have been preaching it to you continually.

“Now you see what is going on. As America has done, so now it is being done unto her. America has surrounded the countries of other peoples. She has blown their cities to pieces, and she has killed their inhabitants. Those who were left alive she put to flight, running for shelter from the destruction by America’s might.”

In 2006, Minister Farrakhan led a delegation to Cuba to learn how the island nation had successfully prepared for hurricanes. “Those who are scripturally prepared know that it is prophesied that we would be living at a time of wars and rumors of wars, pestilence, famine and earthquakes in diverse places.

We are witnessing terrifying disasters afflicting the people of the world and these disasters are now afflicting the United States of America,” Minister Farrakhan said in a press conference from Havana.

“Believing that these prophecies will be fulfilled, we felt that it is our duty to learn as much as we can, so that we can return to the United States and prepare documents on disaster preparedness, and in conjunction with local, state and federal government, do all we can to prepare the American people, and our people in particular, for coming disasters.”

Proper preparation and weathering the storm

Everything that an individual, a family or a group does today in preparation for what is likely to occur in the future will lessen the degree of its impact when it comes, explained Sis. Alva. This not only applies to weather disasters, but also to circumstances that are the result of the evil men’s hands have wrought.

“These are man-made, slow-moving disasters, so to speak,” Sis. Alva stated. “It’s not a hurricane or a tornado or an earthquake. It is economic changes, political changes, social changes that cause our dollars to not stretch as far.

That means whenever possible, we should be stocking up on the things we absolutely need,” she insisted. She noted that the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad told his followers to store navy beans as a nutritious, inexpensive, long-term staple food.

“If we have been dragging our feet on it, now is the time to go ahead and stock up while we still can,” Sis. Alva insisted. “We should be storing things that we eat and eating the things that we store so that we always have a ready supply of whatever it is and it doesn’t cost a ton of money to do that. Just start buying an extra item or two every time you go to the store until you build up your supply,” she explained.

Sister Landra Muhammad is a registered member of the Nation of Islam from Mosque No. 45 in Houston and the author of a book about disaster preparedness. “It’s one thing to tell somebody you need to have a ‘go bag,’ (or) that you need to do this or that and you don’t give them a guideline,” Sis. Landra said.

She explained the importance of learning from and accessing materials that offer step-by-step guidelines on what to do and how to do it, before disasters strike. “It’s not just a fad, and hopefully soon preparedness and emergency management will become a way of life. Minister Farrakhan said to ‘watch the weather,’” she said.

In addition to storing food, water, emergency supplies, medicines, and other items during emergencies or disasters, access to alternative communication is vital. 

Brother Paul C. Muhammad is a registered member of the Nation of Islam’s Mosque No. 15 in Atlanta and an amateur ham radio operator. He explained that learning this skill set could come in handy if cell towers go offline, prolonged power outages occur, or other crises undermine standard communication systems.

“Communication is vital in all areas of people’s activity, particularly in crisis or disasters,” he said. “When a disaster happens, you want to be able to do damage assessment, you want to check on your loved ones, you want to check on your children if they’re at school or your grandmother who may have ailments.

You want to check on your church or organization because the lack of the flow of information can be the difference between life or death in a disaster or in a crisis,” said Bro. Paul.

Ham radios rely on radio waves for non-commercial two-way communication. Operators communicate without relying on the internet or cell phones. Ham radio uses public airwaves and transmitting requires passing an exam to get a license from the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) and classes can be taken online.

In the U.S., there are three licensing tiers: Technician: Entry-level, great for local and regional VHF/UHF communication; General: Mid-level, opens up global high-frequency (HF) capabilities and Amateur Extra, which is the highest-level that provides all available amateur frequency privileges. Bro. Paul has obtained his technician and general licenses.

“Historically, ham radio … has been a go-to form of communication that has saved countless numbers of human lives,” Bro. Paul explained. “If you study all the different disasters from the wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and blackouts, it is amateur radio operators that have played a vital role.

Some may look at it as an antiquated tool, but this antiquated tool is easy to come by, and it plays a major role when it comes to disasters,” he said.

Nation of Islam Student Southwest Regional Minister Dr. Abdul Haleem Muhammad is based at Mosque No. 45 in Houston. He explained that the Nation of Islam’s focus on disaster preparedness comes from the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s warnings and from the prophecies from both the Bible and the Holy Qur’an.

He advised and recommended that people review Part 36 of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s 2013 lecture series, “The Time and What Must Be Done.” In that episode, Minister Farrakhan teaches on the plans of the U.S. government when it comes to its use of chemicals in food, water and other products.

“God visited America in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, raised for us the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, both of which have consistently warned us of the schemes of our open enemy,” Student Minister Dr. Haleem Muhammad explained.

“So we are reminded of what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us in ‘The Fall of America’ where he wrote on page 222: ‘America’s scientists of war conduct dreadful experiments on how to best kill human beings by the millions and wipe out whole continents.

These are the days of fulfillment of prophecy of not one, but of many calamities. But in all of these preparations of the destruction of human life by the devil … Allah (God) too has plans to save His people,’ he read from the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s book.

“We put on disaster preparedness workshops here in Houston and throughout the Southwest Region, we do the same,” Student Minister Dr. Haleem said. “Cuts to the staff and budget of FEMA will inhibit their ability to respond to natural and man-made disasters, so we must become more self-sufficient because no one is going to save us but Allah (God) and ourselves.”

The post The importance of making yourself an asset in times of crisis, disasters appeared first on Final Call News.

At Final Call press time, the election for the office was in the midst of intense litigation at the federal appellate level, as the case is poised to set a historic legal precedent regarding voting rights in the United States.

Having defeated the incumbent, Darren Lombard, by 68.2% to 31.8% during a November runoff  election, critics maintain that efforts by Louisiana’s Republican lawmakers to eliminate the office of Clerk of Criminal Courts District by changing the law after Mr. Duncan’s landslide win were motivated by politics and a blatant dismissal of the voters’ will.

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals blocked Mr. Duncan from taking office on May 4 as it reviews the case, which has yet to be decided.

Until the appellate court delivers its formal opinion, Mr. Duncan’s case remains in flux, with the next step being an appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court should their decision fail to uphold the local electorate’s choice. In the interim, the office remains consolidated under the parish Civil Clerk’s office.

“My reaction for this morning was that I was going to finally be able to live out the dream … that’s been in the making over 40 years,” Mr. Duncan said during a May 4 press conference broadcast by WDSU News 6 in New Orleans.

“I got a chance to be a clerk for like three hours, and that’s what I concentrate on.  It’s been an ongoing legal saga,” he said of the state’s last-minute passage of a law to eliminate the office he won with over two-thirds of the vote.

Mr. Duncan spent 28 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. While incarcerated, he began studying law.  According to reporting by NPR, “Duncan dreamed of changing the system by becoming clerk of court to help people get their records.

Duncan was finally released in 2011, with the help of the Innocence Project New Orleans.  He was later exonerated.  In 2023, he earned a law degree.  He finally felt qualified to run for his dream job, clerk of criminal court, who is also in charge of elections.”

However, after his victory, political roadblocks were erected.

Former New Orleans City Council President Oliver M. Thomas Jr., who held office between 2002 and 2007, told The Final Call that the machinations against Black people in the state capital are nothing new in Louisiana and that the unspoken rules of racial hierarchy and class have stratified his city’s majority Black population between the interests of its masses and the interests of the wealthy, regardless of race and party affiliation.

“The conservatives and many people who are anti-democracy feel that the national tide has turned in their favor in many cases, and that below the Mason-Dixon line there’s an environment of complacency amongst Black voters and people who’ve been disenfranchised,”

Mr. Thomas said. He drew a parallel between voter apathy within inner cities and among the poor to an abused person who won’t leave their abuser, while the people who are most organized and focused take controlling roles in local politics.

“They’ve been beaten down, they don’t put up a fight, even under extreme conditions, so in many cases, we act the same way,” Mr. Thomas said of his analogy. He explained that he sees little change coming until conditions become so unbearable that a generation will rise and won’t take it anymore.

Community activist, Byron S. Cole of Fathers Advocacy, a mentorship program championing education and juvenile justice issues for at-risk youth in New Orleans.

Told The Final Call that the Criminal Courts District office oversees more than judicial administration and records management. He said the office also provides election oversight throughout Orleans Parish. It is a position and office of critical importance.

“They (those in power) don’t want to have the discussion that they’ve been trying to control the courts because the clerk of courts controls the elections,” Mr. Cole said.

He stated that only months after Calvin Duncan’s victory, both the state senate and the state house passed legislation to merge the Clerk of Criminal Courts District with the office of the Civil District Court Clerk, and explained that the timing of the legislative actions through SB (Senate bill) 256 disrespects the will of the people who voted. 

Baton Rouge-based civil rights activist Gary Chambers delivered an impassioned message to the Louisiana State House of Representatives on April 28 after the bill, introduced February 26, passed the Louisiana Senate on April 8 and the House on April 23.

“I know how the political process works, so I know that most of what we say at this microphone doesn’t mean much to you at all as representatives,” Mr. Chambers said to the State Representatives present at the hearing.

“But your state ranks 50 in the nation because you continue to do these things. We rank 50 in the economy, number 50 in crime, number 46 in education, number 44 in healthcare, number 49 in natural environment, but you got time to take away clerks of court seats,” Mr. Chambers said.

“You’re proud Republicans, proud conservatives, you’re reconstructionist, and it’s racist and every one of your votes reflect your moral character and the lack thereof,” he said plainly.

“If you believe in local representation, like I know most of you truly do, you wouldn’t be meddling in this local community, and you don’t do this anywhere else in the state, which shows it’s racist,” Mr. Chambers stated.

Designed to go into effect May 3, one day before Calvin Duncan was to start his four-year term, Republican Governor Jeff Landry officially signed the bill into state law  as Act 15 on May 1. 

The Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal Court, having been legally abolished, has been officially consolidated into the Civil Clerk’s office, although the case is on an expedited schedule before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to determine its constitutionality. 

According to a May 11 article by Veritenews.org, the New Orleans City Council voted 5-2 to appoint an interim court clerk, retired Judge Calvin Johnson, and called for a special election on November 3, but it’s not clear if  the election will be allowed to proceed.

‘“The council’s votes came in spite of a warning from Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who, in a letter, said the clerk’s position has already been filled.

According to Murrill, under the newly passed law—which abolished the position Duncan was elected to last year and consolidated the city’s two court clerk offices into one—the incumbent Clerk of Civil District Court Chelsey Richard Napoleon is now the Orleans Parish clerk of court and will remain so for a full four-year term,’” the Verite News article stated.  

Veritenews.org further reported that in a May 8 letter, Murrill said the council’s actions would be “not only legally misguided but also irresponsible,” and warned that she would take legal action to prevent Johnson from taking office and the special election from being held.

Political scientist and host of Inside the Issues on Sirius XM satellite radio channel 126, Wilmer J. Leon III, Ph.D., told The Final Call that Mr. Duncan’s being blocked from assuming office reflects the idea that elected officials select their voters rather than voters selecting their elected officials.

“Now they want to do away with the position that he ran and was duly elected for,” Dr. Leon said. “What we’re seeing play out with Calvin Duncan is just another unfortunate example of electoral politics in this country moving backward in terms of ‘Make America Great Again,’

Instead of moving forward. Donald Trump is not the causation; Donald Trump is the culmination, he is the symptom, not the cause,” Dr. Leon said of America’s current state of affairs.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, has constantly and consistently warned about the volatility of America’s political system and of the manipulation and machinations of those in power, which come at the expense of American citizens. Minister Farrakhan forewarned of the dismantling of the Voting Rights Act.

“We are not going to let voting rights die; but, I want you to be prepared for something: Every time we received an ‘amendment,’ it had to be followed by a ‘civil rights action’ (because they passed an amendment, but their brethren didn’t like it),”

Minister Farrakhan said in a June 14, 2013, message as part of the “Never Forget, Never Again Pilgrimage,” to commemorate the 1965 demonstration for civil rights known as “Bloody Sunday” in Selma, Alabama. The title of the message is, “Soldiers in the Movement of Christ.”

“So someone doesn’t like the fact that there is “Section V” of The Voting Rights Bill that gives state and local government enforcement powers, and so there are those who want to deprive you of that right by gerrymandering, by redistricting, by doing all the little tricks that the wicked one does to deprive us of a right that is, really, ours,” Minister Farrakhan said.

Student Minister Willie Muhammad of Mosque No. 46, under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, told The Final Call that the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad reflects how the life of a man like Calvin Duncan,

Who was wrongfully convicted, sentenced to life and spent decades behind bars for a crime he did not commit, gives warning to the nature of a system that is unraveling before the eyes of the entire world.

 “Think about all the good a man like Calvin Duncan could do as Clerk of Courts when there are countless Black men and women sitting in jail because of delays, lost paperwork, lack of resources or failures within the system,”

Student Minister Willie Muhammad said. “A man who lived through injustices may be more committed than anyone to making sure others are not forgotten by the same system that once failed them,” he said. 

The post Louisiana seeks to eliminate office won by a Black exonerated former inmate appeared first on Final Call News.

With the frequency of such disasters continuing to increase across the United States, people and communities are now working to better prepare for the safety and survival of individuals and families by preparing their homes and communities.

Taking the initiative through self-reliance in disaster and emergency preparedness is the best way to reduce hardship when it arises.

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, warned that Allah (God) would punish America with the forces of nature, including rain, hail, snow, and earthquakes.

His National Representative, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, has constantly taught Black people on the importance of preparing for when these disasters strike.

With an expected El Niño event affecting the West Coast in the coming months, meteorologists are forecasting up to 11-16 named tropical storms during the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season, potentially three to five hurricanes impacting the United States directly, and drought conditions developing across the Southwest.

According to NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), an El Niño is a climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean that affects global weather conditions when warm water is pushed eastward along the western coasts of the Americas, altering the behavior of the jet stream and influencing wetness or dryness over land.

According to a March 25 article on AccuWeather.com, although this year’s hurricane season may not be as active as last year, it remains vital to be prepared for the likelihood of regional disasters.

“A developing El Niño will be one of the biggest forces shaping the 2026 Atlantic hurricane season and is one reason the number of storms could be near to below historical averages,” the article stated.

“Still, hurricane preparedness is critical as multiple storms could make landfall in the United States this season. The 2026 Atlantic hurricane season will be shaped by a shifting climate pattern in the Pacific Ocean,” the article continued.

The Seventh Regional headquarters of the Nation of Islam, under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, includes Florida, the Caribbean, Central and South America.

Seventh Regional Student Minister Patrick Muhammad of Mosque No. 29, based in Miami, told The Final Call that the region is no stranger to weather-related disasters and that mitigating their impact requires an all-hands-on-deck approach regardless of creed, class, or color.

“Minister Farrakhan has been teaching us to ‘watch the weather,’ and we have reminded many of the believers and we have worked with several organizations, who are not registered members of the Nation of Islam, but people in our community, the Black community, the Latin community,”

He said of the mosque’s outreach and ongoing efforts to help make their community into a decent and safe place to live, as taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

“We have held sessions and seminars at the mosque on disaster preparedness, and we have collaborated with people to have more community members come join with us and learn what we have to say from the guidance of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, emanating from the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.”

Noting that Miami-Dade and Broward Counties have been spared over the last few years, Student Minister Patrick said most hurricanes have affected the northern parts of Florida, such as Tampa and St. Petersburg.

“I was able to travel there for a while and saw the extensive damages that the hurricanes made in those areas,” he said of Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024 and others such as the Category 5 Hurricane, Melissa, that struck the islands of Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Haiti and the Dominican Republic in October 2025 (see Final Call Vol. 45 No. 5).

Weather scientists also believe that strong El Niño conditions originating in the Pacific Ocean will continue to increase through the end of the year, causing flash floods in coastal and mountainous areas, leading to mudslides and a more intense wildfire season in California and the Pacific Northwest.

Nation of Islam Western Region Student Minister Abdul Malik Sayyid Muhammad is based at Mosque No. 27 in Los Angeles. He told The Final Call that the mosque has been working to train people in CPR and to become certified as responders in declared disaster areas.

“We have been taught well on how to do the best we can to prepare ourselves for these major disasters,” Student Min. Malik Sayyid explained. The Western Region, which includes the West Coast, Arizona, and Colorado, is prone to earthquakes, wildfires, mudslides, drought, and in Washington State, volcanic eruptions.

“One of the things we try to emphasize in the Western Region, number one, is for every believer to have enough food and water in their homes to last six months to a year,” Student Minister Malik Sayyid said.

As taught by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Student Min. Abdul Malik Sayyid said that the COVID lockdowns served as a serious test of their readiness.

He said that through the mosque’s Ministry of Health, an effort continues to make sure believers are storing water and survival kits in their homes, and that community gatherings are being held with first responders and city officials.

Within the ranks of the Nation of Islam, there are first responders, disaster preparedness professionals and others who are proficient in emergency response.

Nation of Islam Southwest Regional Student Minister Dr. Abdul Haleem Muhammad, of Mosque No. 45 in Houston, said that how a community prepares determines how people survive. Student Min. Haleem has a Ph.D. in urban planning and environmental policy. The Southwest Region includes Texas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

“There are four phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparation, response and recovery,” Student Minister Haleem explained. “Whether it be … flooding, tornadoes, snow, drought, wildfires.

Or various other kinds of natural or manmade disasters, it includes the community accessing whatever information and resources that your local emergency management or homeland security office makes available to the public. Here, it’s called the Office of Emergency Management and has authority in terms of disaster preparedness,” he explained.

He also stressed listening to and enacting the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad as taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan in terms of food and water storage. He also stressed the importance of having alternative methods of energy and communication.

“What do you need to shelter in place if the cell towers get knocked out, do you have a ham radio, walkie-talkies, or a weather radio? Do you have alternative transportation like a bicycle if you are unable to get gas?

Do you have alternative means of cooking? Have you been trained in CPR or have you been trained in medical emergency methods?” he asked. These realities have already affected his city in the recent past.

“These things are important; do you have a garden?” Student Min. Haleem asked. “Are you growing any food for yourself that can sustain you and even beyond when your food supplies run out?

Regardless of where you live, even in an apartment, you can grow something in a pot, but if you’ve got a backyard, you need to plant a garden for food and learn how to can,” he said of activities important to household preparation.

“Depending on the hazard, your response is either going to be one of two things: you’re either going to shelter in place, or you’re going to evacuate,” Student Min. Haleem continued. “You have to be aware of your surroundings and the hazards around you.

Weather phenomenon takes place every season, but it’s happening in more frequency and intensity now,” he said. “Get all the insurances, insurance for your property and for your life, including renter’s insurance, and mutually support one another, the impact won’t be as bad when we’re all working together.”

The post Proper preparation for violent storms and unusual weather appeared first on Final Call News.

They argue that this latest case is contributing to an already tense atmosphere of animosity between law enforcement and the Black community in the city. Dá Quain Johnson, 32, is the most recent fatality after a police encounter.

Angelica Johnson, a lifelong resident of Grand Rapids and the mother of Dá Quain Johnson, told The Final Call that her son was engaged to be married and that his February 18 killing has forever altered the trajectory of several lives, including those of his friends, family and children, including his 13-year-old daughter who reportedly witnessed the mauling of her father by a police dog before he was shot.

Mr. Johnson was a father of three, in addition to having two stepdaughters and an unborn baby due in August. 

“He was riding a bicycle, and he was actually in a good mood, but he (told) me that the police had been following him,” Ms. Johnson said of a cellphone conversation she had with her son prior to his killing, which took place in front of his home. She said he told her about an hour before the incident that the police had been following him.

Ms. Johnson said she was then on the telephone with her son’s fiancée, who reportedly witnessed the incident outside the window. “As I’m on the phone with his fiancé, my granddaughter beeps in and she merges the call and all we hear is, ‘The dog’s got him! The dog’s got him!’ And in the next breath, she was like, ‘They shot him!’” she recounted.

“She watched the entire thing, details that they’re not releasing to the press,” Ms. Johnson said, noting that her granddaughter was hysterical and remains traumatized.

She added that the entire incident started from a 911 call alleging her son had a gun, and that police said he pointed it toward an officer. A police officer shot Dá Quain, who was pronounced dead the next day at a local hospital.

Ms. Johnson also said earlier that day that Dá Quain had just visited his parole agent (officer) and that he had been recently released from jail. She explained that after all her son had been through, his focus was to be with his family and his children and insisted that she didn’t believe the police narrative that he had a gun.

Ms. Johnson noted Dá Quain was not authorized to possess a firearm and, given his meeting earlier that day with his parole officer and his excitement over the pending birth of his baby, she argues that the facts do not add up. “I don’t even think he would have chanced that,” Ms. Johnson stated flatly.

There was reportedly some witness videos live-streamed on social media, and other videos that were not made public but were shared with attorneys. 

According to a February 19 press conference, outgoing GRPD police chief Eric Winstrom announced that police bodycam and dashcam footage disputed witness accounts of the incident and that various cell phone videos recorded by neighborhood witnesses were adding to the confusion surrounding Dá Quain Johnson’s death.

An updated GRPD media release stated, “Officers rendered aid at the scene, and the suspect was taken to the hospital. The Michigan State Police (MSP) responded to investigate the officer-involved shooting, as per procedure. The officer is on administrative leave, also per procedure,” the statement read. 

“We’ve heard a lot of calls from the community, there’s a lot of inconsistencies or outright falsehoods being spread on social media, and tragically this young man last night involved in the shooting last night died,” Chief Winstrom said during his press conference.

“Two officers that tried to stop this individual on a bike, he was suspected of having a handgun and first you’re going to see an in-car camera video, then you’re going to see a body-worn camera video of the same officer and then a brief body-worn camera video of the second officer,” he said of the edited versions released during the news conference.

According to WZZM-13, a local ABC affiliate, when Mr. Johnson “got off his bicycle in the apartment complex parking lot on Eastern Avenue SE, he appeared to fall before police sent a K9 after him.

The dog appears to jump on and bite Johnson.” Police fired multiple shots, and the cause of his death was from a gunshot to the back, according to the death certificate, reported WZZM13.com.  

The officers’ names have not been released as of Final Call press time. The Johnson family, community residents and the Grand Rapids chapter of the NAACP have demanded a full and transparent investigation and accountability.

The fatal shooting of Dá Quain Johnson has the community on edge, as it is not the only police involved killing of a Black man in Grand Rapids. In an unusual turn of events, according to a February 27 article on officer.com.

Chief Winstrom announced he was stepping down on March 1 because of “anti-police sentiment” and “ongoing criticism” in part due to the 2022 shooting death of Congolese refugee Patrick Lyoya (see Final Call Vol. 41 No. 30), ongoing protests and local resistance to department initiatives. The article also said he was chosen February 3 to become the next police chief in Pensacola, Florida.

The interim police chief is Joe Trigg. The Michigan State Police completed its investigation, and on March 3, the Johnson investigation was turned over to the Kent County Prosecutor’s Office, where prosecutor Chris Becker is reviewing the materials and has requested additional information before deciding on charges regarding the use of force.

“Yesterday afternoon Michigan State Police turned over what they had at this time regarding the investigation into the GRPD officer involved shooting. After discussing the case with them, I have already requested a follow-up on certain items, so the investigation is not complete.

I am in the process of reviewing all of the materials they presented as well, since I just received the materials yesterday,” Atty. Becker said in a statement,” the outlet reported.

“I am committed to conducting a comprehensive review of this incident, as I have in all such cases in the past, and will announce my decision when I have all of the information. I do not have a timeline for when that will be,” he continued.

Attorneys and witnesses continue to dispute that Dá Quain Johnson pointed a gun at officers after fleeing on his bicycle and argue that the shooting was unnecessary.

Third Ward resident and community organizer, known in the Southeast neighborhoods as “Juju,” told The Final Call she was first alerted to the killing of Dá Quain Johnson after a live social media video went viral.

She requested that her first and last names be withheld because of her outspokenness about police brutality in the city. Juju said that the community’s outrage is real.

“I was born and raised in Grand Rapids my entire life and as I grew up watching my classmates who were Black and Brown men either being taken away and being served excessive prison sentences, they were brutalized by police,” Juju explained. 

“So, as we grew older, we were coming into positions where we can speak up and stand and say something about it and it’s my opinion because the police haven’t faced any sort of accountability. Not just prosecution, but even in admitting that things could have gone differently at the very least or in any situation,” she said.

Pastor Darryl Gaddy of Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, of which Dá Quain’s mother is a member, told The Final Call he had reservations over the truthfulness of the police narrative and how events led to the young, Black man’s death.

Pastor Gaddy also said he supports a closed-door meeting within the city’s Black community, developing a consensus around an action plan and that it is vitally necessary to educate young people not only of their rights, but also of how to properly interact with law enforcement officers.

“We did see on the video that he was facedown, therefore I would say he was incapable of brandishing a weapon directly at police officers based on what we all saw on that video, that he was chest down toward the ground with the dog on his back and two officers on his back,” Pastor Gaddy said.

“So, it goes to show the narrative of policing, how they will paint a picture to justify what we believe in the community to be excessive force—up to and including the point of (killing) a young man,” he continued.

“We have to do a better job of policing ourselves so that first of all, we don’t have to call 911 and we don’t have to have these reports made on us because we are doing the accountable and responsible thing,” Pastor Gaddy explained.

“The second aspect of that is I believe we have to hold our law enforcement community accountable when there is not a necessity of excessive force and that they could do a better job of policing, of de-escalation.”

Attorney Ben Crump, Attorney Ven Johnson, and the family of Dá Quain Johnson held a virtual news conference on March 20 to announce legal representation and demand justice. Atty. Johnson revealed that Mr. Johnson had been shot three times in the back.

The attorneys announced the filing of FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) request with the Michigan State Police for its records and video footage related to the case. “We are here with Angelica Johnson to let her know that her son’s life mattered,” said Atty. Crump.

We’re here to raise the justice baton for Dá Quain,” he added. “We must always remember the humanity in all people.” Atty. Crump argued that the best angle of what happened was from a bystander video, not the edited video the police have released.

“It is so unjustified,” Atty. Crump said, referring to the shooting. He called it “an assassination,” saying, “because that’s what it looks like when you watch it.”

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, has taught on the critical need for Black people to work to make their neighborhoods safe and decent places to live, thereby lessening the need for outside law enforcement. He has also warned that some police function as “modern-day lynch mobs.”

“I want Black youth to hear this message, because police authorities are the same today as they were during slavery. In fact, this is how policing began. Police were formed to catch runaway slaves, bring them back to their masters and make examples of them to throw fear into other slaves.

It’s the same today. Police authorities are trained to kill, as well as to protect. But where Black people are concerned, police legitimize their mob attacks under the name of ‘back up.’ Police back up is often no different than the lynch mobs 100 years ago.

The killing of our people, shooting them with many bullets when one would have done the job. And then, that deliberative body, which is to discuss the brutal murder of our people by looking into the facts, comes away calling it justifiable homicide,” Minister Farrakhan said in an October 28, 2007, message titled, “Justifiable Homicide: Black Youth in Peril.”

Nation of Islam Student Minister Sultan Z. Muhammad of Mosque No. 61 in Grand Rapids told The Final Call that for decades, Minister Farrakhan has warned the Black community that police would frame the killing of Black youth as “justifiable homicide” as a means to legally deploy lethal force either before or after a deadly encounter.

“Here in Grand Rapids, from our mosque, we are striving to do what the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan instructed us to do, specifically from our Saviours’ Day 2026 convention, which is to strive to make our community a decent and safe place to live,”

Student Min. Sultan Muhammad said, referring to the Saviours’ Day 2026 keynote message, “We Must Make Our Community a Decent and Safe Place to Live.

Final Call staff contributed to this report.

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During the closing plenary session, “What is the Duty of a Civilized Person & What is the Meaning of Civilization?” held February 21, presenters explained to the audience that the fallen nature of mankind has poisoned the entirety of humanity.

And that a community’s success or failure rests upon whether or not its people desire the righteousness of a new world prophesied to come in as the old world of the wicked is removed, according to scripture.

“(From) today’s plenary, we’re dealing with two questions,” said Student Minister Jeffrey Muhammad of Chicago’s Mosque Maryam. “What is the meaning of civilization and what is the duty of a civilized person? As we go through this august body, it’s not just the question, but who is asking the question,”

He said, referring a question that Allah (God) in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, The Great Mahdi asked of His Student, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam.

“When we look at the word civilization, when we look at civilized human beings, one of the answers is: ‘One having knowledge, wisdom and understanding, culture, refinement and is not savage,’” Student Min. Jeffrey said of the Supreme Wisdom Lessons given by Master Fard Muhammad to the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

According to the Supreme Wisdom Lessons a savage is defined as “… a person that has lost the knowledge of himself and who is living a beast life” and that it is the duty of those striving to become civilized is to share knowledge, wisdom and understanding for the betterment of society.

“We have a message. We have a teaching that had been given to us by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and it’s being taught to us by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan that will allow us to drop a seed;

It will allow us to put an idea in the minds of the Lost-Found brother and sister,” said panelist and presenter Sister Marcia Muhammad a registered nurse and a member of the ministry class at Mosque Maryam.

“That message, that seed, that idea will awaken them. We have a divine duty to go out and teach those who are in that state (of savagery), civil behavior, civilization,” Sis. Marcia said. “We that have been awakened, let us know that we’re not fully civilized yet. We’re in the process of being civilized under the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.”

Sis. Marcia said the process of perfection first requires introspection and an honest critique of self.

“We have more refinement that needs to be done,” she explained. “Refinement meaning cultivated, polite, which is good manners, good morals. We are in that process of removing the vulgarity, of removing the coarse behavior, removing the savagery because we are in the process of resurrection,” she added.

Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad of Memphis, told the audience that Allah’s (God’s) Coming in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad is not only a demonstration of His profound love for the rejected and despised.

But through His Teachings, are also a roadmap to making the last the first, the tail the head and to raise the bottom rail to the top of civilization. Student Min. Ilia is a member of the Nation of Islam Research Group, an author, educator and documentarian.

“It’s about The God who came not just to take us from a savage condition and make us civilized, but we’re dealing with The God that loved us so much that He wanted to take us from that position of ignominy to a civilized state and ultimately, according to the lessons, He wants to put us on top of civilization,” Student Min. Ilia Rashad said. “So, the question is asked, ‘What is the duty of a civilized person?’”

Sister Aminah Bayyinah Muhammad is the Administrative Assistant to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and a member of the Nation of Islam Shura Executive Council. Sharing words from Minister Farrakhan.

She said to the audience that the Lessons given by Master Fard Muhammad are not to be taken lightly, and that within them are formulas for not only problem-solving, the proper way of handling people and a mathematical understanding of theology, but also for introspection regarding self-examination, self-analysis and self-correction as qualifiers for leadership during the change of worlds.

“In the Supreme Wisdom Lessons by Master Fard Muhammad, there are 13 Original Rules of Instruction given to the Laborers by our Saviour,” Sis. Aminah said, stating in part that the 13th rule equates the process of resurrection and being awakened to opportunities provided to a farmer working in an open field.

“Lost-Found Lesson number two, the first-term examination assignment of Mr. Elijah Muhammad, contains 40 questions answered by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad on February 20, 1934,” Sis. Aminah continued.

“Questions 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20 address the meaning of civilization, the duty of a civilized person, and the consequences for a civilized person not performing their duty,” she added, as outlined in Ezekiel 3:18 and St. Luke 12:47 in the Bible.

Noting how negative consequences can befall both the righteous and the unrighteous, Sis. Aminah implored those listening to take heed of the knowledge imparted by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, and to understand the nature of the law of cause and effect, as well as other formulas for success.

“If you have knowledge, you use it with wisdom to show people the error of their thinking or the correct way that they should think,” Sis. Aminah said, again quoting Minister Farrakhan.

“If you tell me I am the chosen of God, I ask you, chosen for what? What purpose did He choose you for? He didn’t choose you just because you’re Jewish or Muslim or Christian,” she insisted. “He chose you because He wanted you to show forth His Beneficence, His Mercy to others.”

Pointing out the heavy responsibility that falls upon those claiming to represent Allah (God), Sis. Aminah added that the failure to correct oneself before correcting others often yields negative results, and when a person or a people are chosen by God, He puts upon them a duty first to self, which makes falsehood, arrogance, jealousy and envy, dangerous exercises of self-righteousness.

“If you take the knowledge and do not carry out the responsibility of that knowledge, then that knowledge is a curse,” Sis. Aminah said, again quoting Minister Farrakhan.

The post Closing plenary provides insight on Supreme Wisdom, defining civilization and the duty of civilized people appeared first on Final Call News.

The panelists, introduced by Southwest Regional Student Minister Dr. Abdul Haleem Muhammad of Houston’s Mosque No. 45, called on those in attendance to remember the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s decades-long warning “watch the weather.”

“What we’re trying to do is not tell you that we know everything, but to just stimulate your mind and your thoughts because the person sitting next to you or behind you may know just as much as we know up here,” said Student Min. Haleem Muhammad, a Ph.D, in urban planning and environmental policy.

He also explained first-hand accounts of how multiple weather-related disasters, including hurricanes, floods, unusual deep-freezes and prolonged power outages affected his city and the states in his region and how the mosque played a role in both mitigation and recovery efforts.

“I can paint you a big frightening picture that can sound like theory and talk, but remember like Minister Farrakhan says, ‘It’s practice that refines theory,’” Student Min. Haleem Muhammad said.

Panelists included Sister A’ishah Muhammad, Student National Auditing Supervisor and member of the N.O.I. Shura Executive Council, Sister Vivian Muhammad, Sister Alva Muhammad and Brother Rudolph Muhammad.

Sister Vivian Muhammad of Indianapolis is a farmer and an urban gardening activist. Her company purchased a lot in 2013 to grow herbs, vegetables and honey. “I want to talk about how to prepare ourselves and our communities for famine because it’s coming,” Sis. Vivian said.

She explained that a community producing its own food helps to reduce the negative impact of not only food shortages, but also scarcity from food deserts, the effect of increasing prices and how a mindset of do-for-self can reduce confusion or panic during a state of emergency.

“There is an increased frequency of natural disasters, and they are more damaging than they ever have been,” she said during her presentation. “The types of disasters are all what we expect if you have read ‘The Fall of America,’ by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, or if you have listened to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan,” she said.

Sis. Alva Muhammad is a Chicago-based certified disaster preparedness instructor and told the audience to understand that in a time of national crisis, no one is coming to save us and that we must acquire the knowledge and skillsets to save ourselves.

“The goal of this presentation is to build a solid foundation of preparedness for yourself and your family,” Sis. Alva said while encouraging participants to visit various informational websites to learn how and why households need to prepare for disasters whether natural or man-made.

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Are now contradicted by new evidence submitted by the Johnson family in two motions filed in federal court on January 17. The new evidence disputes official reports from law enforcement investigators and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Medical Examiner.  

According to Kendrick’s parents, Kenneth and Jackie Johnson, new evidence from a 2013 Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Narrative Report may change the case from an accidental death to a homicide.

The additional evidence consists of multiple photographs and a school resource officer’s report that appears to contradict the official investigation and forensic reports.

“Official reports by Officer Gerardo Morales, GBI Medical Examiner Dr. Maryanne Kraft, and investigators Stryde Jones, Jack Winningham, and James Thornton all allege there were no significant injuries, no signs of blunt force trauma.

No signs of foul play, and that Kendrick’s death was just some ‘scientifically impossible’ freak accident that was not supported by the evidence they collected and pictures of the crime scene that were taken,” Kenneth Johnson said in a press release e-mailed to The Final Call.

“How can two officers, responding to the same incident at the same time, file exact opposite reports concerning the appearance and condition of my son’s body?” Kenneth Johnson asked about his son’s unusual and tragic death.

The press statement said further that, “The Johnsons have two civil lawsuits filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, both have been stalled from moving forward in accordance with constitutional mandates of due process and the federal rules of civil procedure for unprecedented times, far outside the boundaries of judicial discretion.

“On January 17, 2026, the Johnsons submitted a motion in court to lift the stay of discovery, citing Officer Adams’ incident report and other evidences,” the Johnson’s statement read.

“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation and other defendants would be required to officially answer the lawsuit charges and causes of action against them when the stay of discovery is lifted.

“We know how Kendrick got in that mat and it wasn’t because he accidentally fell in it reaching for a shoe,” his mother, Jackie Johnson, insisted in the family’s January 21 press statement.

Investigators said in their official report that Kendrick fell into a vertically standing rolled-up gym mat while trying to retrieve one of his shoes. (See The Final Call Vol. 43 No.2).

In their new court filing, the Johnsons provided forensic-based diagrams illustrating Kendrick being shoved into a mat by multiple individuals, where his torso becomes stuck at the mat opening, with his body being pushed inside.

It further revealed postmortem injuries to his torso and right shoulder areas. The updated diagrams counter the one provided in Sheriff Paulk’s 2022 Kendrick Johnson Death Investigation Synopsis.

Mr. Jonathan Burrs is the civil rights advocate and spokesperson for the Johnsons regarding their ongoing cases with the court system and its dealing with their son’s death. Mr. Burrs said that the family’s 13-year fight for justice has been long, taxing and that Mr. and Mrs. Johnson’s tenacity is a testimony to their strength.

“The general case is that the Johnson’s son, Kendrick was found deceased inside a gymnasium at his school, rolled up in some mats in a corner,” Mr. Burrs said of the incident during a telephone interview with The Final Call.

“There’s evidence that surveillance cameras are missing and that’s confirmed by a consultant that CNN had hired from Quantico and the surveillance tapes that were sent to them. (The consultant) pointed out that there were one to two hours of footage that was just gone. So, we know that there’s been tampering with this incident,” Mr. Burrs said.

“The state has maintained that this was just some scientifically impossible freak accident that Kendrick fell inside this 14-inch gym mat opening and had no significant injuries, no signs of blunt force trauma, and that there were no signs of foul play. That’s the official claim of the state,” Mr. Burrs explained.

“Well, the new developments include injuries, postmortem injuries we found on his body after going through some 600-plus photographs that we got from the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office from a Georgia Open Records Act request. (The Johnsons) have been trying to get these photos for the past several years, and we did finally get them,” he said.

Describing how the tearing of Kendrick’s skin and bruising on his shoulder were consistent with being pushed in feet first as opposed to falling in headfirst. Mr. Burrs alleged that newly revealed forensic evidence is consistent with at least three people pushing Kendrick into the rolled-up gym mat.

“The bombshell new evidence is this Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office (school resource) officer incident report or narrative report describes what he saw as a first responder,” Mr. Burrs said. ‘

“He said in his report that Kendrick was severely disfigured and swollen and that the only identifying features that he observed were his long dreadlocks. Discovery has been held up over 800 days now,” he said, drawing into question the credibility of the medical examiner, the GBI and other local investigators.

Mr. Johnson told The Final Call that he believes his son was murdered and that a cover-up exists from the school district up to local and state investigators and that both he and his wife will not disrespect their son’s memory by giving up their fight for justice.

Nation of Islam Student Minister Darryl Muhammad of Mosque No. 93 in Macon, Georgia, told The Final Call that the truth hidden by the unjust eventually comes to light and that justice does not sleep forever, as taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

“What we’re dealing with is something that has been a plague in Southern culture ever since the Black man has been in the South,” Student Minister Darryl Muhammad said.

“You have these cases where Black men and Black women in particular have gotten murdered (and) the good old boy system in the South protected those who worked in the sheriff’s office, those who worked in the attorney’s offices, and this system still exists in 2026,” he said.

“You got to understand who you’re fighting against,” Mr. Johnson said of their 13-year struggle for the truth to come out. “You’re fighting against a crooked system, the only thing we as the Johnsons want to do is push out the truth.

This is evidence from their crime scene; this is not something that the Johnsons made up,” he said. “They tried to bury a lot of it, then they gave us evidence of their crime scene,” he said.

Mr. Johnson said for truth and justice to prevail in the United States, people, regardless of their race, creed or color, must overcome fear and never give up.

“Stand up for something,” Mr. Johnson insisted. “No matter how bad you think this might be, don’t let no one tell you your eyes do not see what you see and never be afraid of any man.

Walk with your head up high, with your chest stuck out and do the right thing and stop being afraid,” he insisted. “I want to say specifically to Black men, stand up and be a man for once in your life and stop being afraid,” Johnson continued. “Stop killing your brothers and being afraid of others.”

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Student F.O.I. Captain David Muhammad said the purpose of Student Minister Nuri’s visit was to promote self-improvement. “The intention behind Brother Nuri’s visit was to begin the new year off with a sober-minded focus.

With the focus of inspiring and strengthening those members of the community, particularly the men, to organize, to make our community safe and decent, (and) to stop the killing among our youth,” Student Capt. David said.

Local leaders and a cross-section of Black men of various ages attended the meeting to reaffirm a commitment to sacrificing for the greater good and to share a message of hope, the knowledge of self, and the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s teaching of do-for-self work as demonstrated by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Citing the attendance of community notables such as Rev. Walter Lanier, Brother Shawn Muhammad (a.k.a. Gat Turner), among others, Student Capt. David said the event was an important men’s meeting to promote unity and working together.

“Violence prevention activists and other leaders from grassroots organizations to elected officials to others, are addressing many of the ills in the city, particularly challenges with education, declining infrastructure, environmental racism and gun violence in our community,”

Student Captain David Muhammad explained. “But all of it stems from the lack of the knowledge of self and a lack of love for self. Brother Nuri gave what he called a ‘locker room talk.’”

Under the theme, “A New Man: A New Beginning,” Student Minister Nuri Muhammad, of Mosque No. 74 in Indianapolis, shared that change must start with men in order to bring stability to a community long deprived of strong male role models.

“We will never get the ’hood right until we get the home right, and we will never get the home right until we get the head of the home right,” Student Minister Nuri Muhammad said.

“I am submitting to us, brothers, that the first phase of all nation building, the first phase in making our neighborhoods a safe and decent place to live is that we have to become safe and decent thinking men.

“If we don’t get man right, woman will never be right, and if we don’t get her right, since she is the first teacher, the first nurse … then we will never have a nice community, a nice neighborhood, or a nice nation as a people,” Student Min. Nuri Muhammad said.

“We have to develop a certain amount of spiritual maturity as a people, where we stop needing permission from the White man to celebrate those we love or do the things we need to do. We have got to be about the business of working out our own salvation.”

Drawing from the lessons of the Bible, the Holy Qur’an and from nature, Student Min. Nuri Muhammad said there is a difference between those who hope for miracles to solve problems and those who work out formulas to solve them.

“If we stand back up in our community, we can bring the whole ecosystem of the Black community back into divine order when we become the men that God wants us to be,” he said.

Rev. Walter J. Lanier is the pastor of Milwaukee’s Progressive Baptist Church and has dedicated much of his time to serving Black youth. He said in recent years, a study by the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (UWM), showed Black people ranked low on an index of well-being when compared to other U.S. cities.

“Both in 2020 and 2024, Milwaukee (was) at the very bottom of that list, number 50 out of 50 for African American well-being,” Rev. Lanier said. “But it’s got a long history of segregation, enforced segregation, rigidity, and failing to develop and cultivate spaces that are healthy for us. What we do at our church, we are fairly active in a wide range of issues,” he said.

“Our church is a place where people regularly convene to educate, and to equip and to mobilize,” Rev. Lanier said. “I was appreciative, deeply appreciative of the invite extended by Student Minister William Muhammad to come and share about Black men organizing, which is aligned with what the Nation (of Islam) is doing in terms of centering the work in the uplift of Black men in our community.”

Others in attendance agreed with the importance and timeliness of the Jan. 3 message as well.

Amir Grooms, an outreach lead with 414Life, brought a group of young men to hear Student Min. Nuri Muhammad speak. Mr. Grooms said his role within his organization is to help mediate conflict, to interrupt gun violence and to assist those who have been affected by it in the city of Milwaukee.

“I work with a lot of the young people that they deem at risk to be affected by gun violence or to commit gun violence,” Mr. Grooms said. “I’ve lived the experience, so I’ve been where they’ve been and even worse.”

“They really enjoyed it because even after we heard the message, we kind of debriefed,” Mr. Grooms said of how Bro. Nuri Muhammad’s message was received by the youth who came with him. “They were following up and touching on some key points. They were very, very impacted by it.”

Student Minister William Muhammad said he was happy to have Student Minister Nuri Muhammad visit.

“In our work here in Milwaukee, we are really striving to galvanize our community, in particular the Black men in the community, organize them, encourage our brothers to organize ourselves so that we can follow the Minister’s instructions to make our community a decent and safe place to live,” he said.

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