“I’m about to ask the government: relieve our brothers and sisters in Cuba of the burden—the unjust burden—of your embargo. Remember the syphilis experiment? Remember what they did to the Native Americans with smallpox? Remember the vaccine that they gave us for polio that was cancer itself? So how in the hell could you trust them with a vaccine when you know what they have done? It is government policy to reduce the population by 2 to 3 billion people!”

Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan “The Criterion” July 4, 2020

The man who delivered “The Criterion” to the world on July 4 has been among us for a long time.  If we accept him as God’s Chosen to be a Conduit for Divine Guidance and Instructions to us and to humanity in the Hour of Judgment, then we can be part of the New Reality.   We must examine our perception of reality that we may make it line up with Allah, Who is the Only Reality.  This needs to be stated because there is a war being fought over us.

Who we choose to take guidance from will mean life or death for us in the immediate present. When a message of such magnitude is given, it is incumbent upon all of us to study the content.   Any references the deliverer of the message makes are significant due to the limits of space and time. So the directive from the National Representative of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, “do not take their vaccine,” cannot be overemphasized.

During the time the polio vaccine was being distributed throughout America, The Honorable Elijah Muhammad warned his followers:  Do not take the polio vaccine. In order to fully comprehend the weight of this instruction on the followers and the certainty of its rightness in the mind of the man who gave it, we have to look at the climate in which it was given. 

We need an awareness of the eerie similarity between the impact of poliomyelitis in the first part of the 20th century and the impact of Covid-19 during the first half of the 21st century.   In both cases there is the development of a “miracle” vaccine (the polio vaccine took much longer).  In both cases there is widespread support for and belief in the vaccine; but a counter command comes from the Servant of God.

Polio was one of the most feared diseases in this country in the 1940s and 1950s.  It was a highly contagious disease with flu-like symptoms for most.  But for some victims, it affected the brain and spinal cord.  One out of 200 of those patients were paralyzed; Two of 10 of the paralyzed died.  It was transmitted via feces and also through airborne droplets from person to person.   It took 6 to 20 days to incubate and remained contagious for 14 days after. 

Parents were afraid to let children outdoors in the summer when the virus seemed to peak.  Travel and commerce between affected cities were sometimes restricted as well as the movement of “asymptomatic” people restricted in areas where cases had been diagnosed.   After World War II, neighborhoods were sprayed with the highly toxic pesticide DDT in efforts to banish the disease.   But the number of cases continued to grow.

In the 1950s, an inactivated vaccine was made by Jonas Salk using rhesus monkeys that were contaminated with SV40, a powerful carcinogen.  The polio vaccine was administered to hundreds of millions of people around the globe between 1955-1963. In 1959, Bernice Eddy, a researcher at the National Institute of Health, confirmed a direct link between SV40 and cancerous tumors. 

The United States government continued to administer this poison, vaccinating 100 million American children through early 1963.  The public was not informed.  People were overjoyed, celebrating the eradication of the dreaded disease.  The truth was not made known until 1992, when a pediatric oncologist found DNA sequences of SV40 in lab slides of tumors from children killed by a rare brain cancer. His findings were published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Those who followed the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s instructions were spared the brain and bone tumors, mesotheliomas, lymphomas and sarcomas that developed in human beings from the virulent pathogen SV40.  What will we spared if we follow Minister Farrakhan’s instructions?

In the aftermath of Minister Farrakhan’s warning against a covenant with death, it was appalling to learn that on Tuesday, December 8, Dr. Anthony Fauci sat with Dr. Wayne Frederick, president of Howard University and Ambrose Lane, Jr., on behalf of the Black Coalition Against Covid-19 along with others, to discuss the virus and the vaccine.  What Mr. Fauci actually did was teach Black professionals how to persuade our people to act in opposition to a command from Allah (God) through Minister Farrakhan that we must refuse the Covid-19 vaccine.    

It is a matter of record that vaccines have been more effective at injuring and killing people than eradicating disease.  In The Time and What Must Be Done, the Minister reported an article in the London Times (5/11/87) entitled, “Smallpox vaccine ‘triggered AIDS virus’” by the Science Editor.  It reported the “greatest spread of HIV infection coincides with the most intense immunization programs.”

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan did not issue a prohibition against the Covid-19 vaccine in a vacuum. He simultaneously called for a lifting of the embargo on Cuba.    There are a multitude of safe and effective treatments and therapies for the Covid-19.  Cuba has had overwhelming success dealing with the virus.    There are medical and health professionals in this country who are employing successful approaches to the virus.  

We will not allow the United States Government to hold us hostage any longer.  It is a violation of our God-given right to Freedom, Justice and Equality to impede our access to what we consider the safe and effective approach to protecting ourselves mentally and physically.  We reject this mRNA gene-altering vaccine along with any other vaccine this government is rushing to market.    We will not be denied the freedom to travel to Cuba and anywhere else for whatever reason we choose.

The scale of the institution of slavery has been reduced to a petty crime committed by a few white Southern plantation owners, when in fact, Black sweat and blood raised the United States from a third-rate colonial economy to the most biggest industrial and military power in the world.   Black youth, the children of stolen Black African people, grew the cotton that would clothe the world and fuel global industrialization.  We were reduced to property, bid on and sold at auctions.  We planted and picked thousands and thousands of pounds of cotton.  America’s largest financial asset was our Black bodies. There is no North-South Good-Evil distinction.  At the time of your Declaration of Independence, slavery was legal in each and every one of the newly created states.

One of the Great Truths exposed by the coronavirus crisis is the fact that the United States of America, according to its own definition, is a federal corporation (28USC Sec.3002).   It is a political union of 50 states that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan declared to be “unraveling” two weeks before the virus forced it on lockdown; before the public even knew of it.

Each state is a sovereign government with its own flag, its own constitution its own laws governing health, education and welfare, with the power to collect taxes and enforce its laws on persons who live or travel in it.

There is no reason we should not have a state or territory of our own.

During the course of this crisis, there has been conflict between and among the states and the federal government,   The Governor of New York told the President,  “You did not create us (states), we created you (federal government.”  The Governor of California referred to it as a “nation-state.”  Whether or not a vaccine is offered or mandated is under the jurisdiction of each state. This is why the responses to Covid-19 have been so different. 

We, the 40-60 million descendants of slaves, as well as the Native Americans, are a nation within a nation.  The Black, Red and Brown people have a divine right to this land. The Nation of Islam has a flag and a constitution.  It is time to allocate to us some of that land that we developed and died on.  The Honorable Elijah Muhammad declared that separation is the best and only solution to the problem between us.  We demand a separate state or territory of our own.  Freedom is the power to make choices. We are free.  We will determine what is best for our health, education and welfare.

I close this series with the following words from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on October 15, 2018:

“We do not wish to be part of the system called the United States of America.  We want to be free to live values we hold dear.  The effects of the system are to corrupt the person who buys into it.  We do not wish to assign another generation of our people to this rotten system.  We do not desire to be integrated into that; we desire to be separated from that so that we can set ip what is harmonious with Creation.

The human being is infinite.  Anything that limits human development cannot be just.  I must be myself in order to justify being in the Universe.  Anyone who limits my development is my enemy.  The Laws which govern Creation operate on everyone equally.  Death is sweeter than living in a system that denies us a full and complete freedom.”    

The post The COVID-19 Vaccine and the U.S. Policy Of Depopulation appeared first on Final Call News.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Million Man March and I recently re-read the words that Allah (God) gave me on October 16, 1995. As a student of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, I marveled at what God gave me to give to the nearly 2 million Black men present on the National Mall and to the world watching via television.

This was unlike any event ever before in the United States of America or in the nations of the earth, especially  those countries that have been under the victimization of the Satanic mind that rules this present world.

No nation has assembled this number of men to make Atonement to God, to others we may have offended, to reconcile differences in our families, differences in our communities and to accept responsibility for our actions that have sown division, hurt and pain among us.

October 16 was the beginning of a process of healing. The day represented a high point in our development achieved through the Guidance of God and the fellowship of men and women, brothers and sisters from many different walks of life. We came with different ideologies, religious beliefs, and political aspirations.

We achieved something that set a standard on that day. It fulfilled an ideal and showed the value of the idea behind that day, a day never seen before or since religious leaders gathered in Rankin Chapel at Howard University to anoint a Holy Day. Not a holiday, but a Holy Day where we would make it a Day of Absence from work and school, a Day of Absence from sport and play, a Day of Prayer and Fasting and petitioning the Creator to hear our pain.

The Rev. Willie Wilson of Union Temple Baptist Church and Archbishop G. Augustus Stallings of Imani Temple African American Catholic Congregation led the march of Black religious leaders of different denominations into the chapel carrying the banners of their religious affiliations. There was no feeling of religious division. We saw and shared nothing but love for one another and the religious leaders showed their love for Louis Farrakhan, the man God used to call for the Million Man March and Day of Atonement.

Men at the March took a pledge to be better fathers, better men, community and world builders, respecters and protectors of their women and children and non-violent with one another, except in self-defense.

We registered people to vote and studies found an additional 1.7 million Black men participated in 1996 national elections and decided the outcome of that election. They were motivated and inspired by the Million Man March. Black organizations, churches, mosques and synagogues increased membership as I asked the men to go home and join an organization involved in our struggle and a house of worship of their choice. I thought for the whole, acted for the whole of our people and everyone benefitted. In my suite, I was asked by the bishop of the AME Church whether I was going to proselytize my faith. I gave that bishop my word that every church would benefit, every mosque would benefit, every organization would benefit. SCLC had to hire staff because of the increased number of people joining. But the SCLC, the NAACP, the National Urban League, the All African People’s Revolutionary Party, the Nation of Islam and the World Community of Al-Islam under Imam W.D. Muhammad and other groups benefitted.

I thank Allah (God) for the medical students and doctors from Howard University Hospital, who came out under the direction of Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad and attended to those who needed assistance.

Though it was a gathering of men, never has an event taken place that honored women as women were honored on the day of the Million Man March. Look at those women that were on the rostrum. Look at those women who spoke. Look at the woman who was the mother of that March, Dr. Dorothy Height, a legendary leader in the civil rights struggle. Mrs. Rosa Parks, Dr. Betty Shabazz and daughter Ilyasah Shabazz, humanist and poet Maya Angelou, Cora Masters Barry, Atty. E. Faye Williams, Mother Khadijah Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, Mother Tynnetta Muhammad, wife of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, Mrs. Jesse Jackson, Jr., Rev. Barbara Skinner, C. Delores Tucker, Black nationalist matriarch Queen Mother Moore and Dr. Delois Blakeley and then 10-year-old Tiffany Mayo participated or spoke at the Million Man March. Sen. Carol Moseley Braun, Rep. Cardiss Collins, and Rep. Barbara Rose Collins were among political leaders at the March.

The day was so magnetic, it brought to Washington the top Black politicians in the country, the top preachers in the country, the top artists and the top sports figures. All came with the same mind seeking the rise of our people from a condition 400 years under our enemy had produced.

No one was limited who spoke that day. The Rev. Jackson asked me: “How much time can you give me?” I said to him, “I cannot give you a time limit. Go and speak until you are finished.”

The speeches of others were stopped as the men on the Mall chanted that they wanted to hear Farrakhan.

Some of my words October 16, 1995 were mocked by some. I said the Washington Monument is 555 feet tall and the obelisk is a 1. It represents 1555, marking the time of our entry into this country. All those things I mentioned, using numbers, symbols, scriptures and prophecy, look at them then now. My message is pregnant with even more significance today.

Allah (God) guided me. We closed in prayer and we had our Christian family close in prayer. A brother sang the song, “To God Be the Glory.” He asked me if he should sing a part where it says, “with his blood he has saved me.” I said, “don’t miss a word.” The words in that song refer to Jesus and I knew it was talking about my Father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

People were also moved by my words, words from a man the enemy called a hate teacher. The man they called an anti-Semite. The man they said ugly and false things about was the man that Allah (God) guided to give us the greatest day in our history. I never spoke negatively of any group. I lifted us a people, regardless to our differences, or sexual preferences. This was a day when all of us were lifted.

The Satanic mind was around us but we gave it no quarter. They were ineffective. They were working, but they were ineffective.

But after the March was over, the opposition intensified. Many Black pastors who allowed me in their churches building up to the March, when I wanted to come back to their churches and thank them, they would not let me in. The word was out that the Minister was the anti-Christ. 

The enemy was now focused on me. It’s 25 years later. I am older, I was poisoned, I was at death’s door three times, but the enemy did not get me. They have had 25 years to do what they wanted to do, to destroy my name, my reputation and attack everything that I tried to do of good to link us to our struggling people in the world.

The enemy said I went “grubbing from money” when I went on a World Friendship Tour after the March. I never asked anyone for money, but I was treated like a Head of State during my travel. The people of the world had seen what they had never seen before. The late Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi wanted me to join the Mathaba, which was the revolutionary unit of the Libyan  government and people. Brother Gadhafi told his people to leave me alone and that I already had an agenda and didn’t need to be given one.

I had told him from my lips, “I am a revolutionary, but not that kind. I will produce a revolution in America with the Bible and the Qur’an, not with a gun.”

Brother Gaddafi saw the March; he was glued to the television the whole day. He found me in the evening, called me, and offered us a billion dollars to support our rise. Do you think Satan was happy over that? He saw a man that loved his people.

The day was perfect in a spirit exemplified by those present, showing what we could bring into existence as everyday behavior for us as a people. That day frightened our enemies to the degree that Mayor Marion Barry, not out of fright but out of love and his wife and those with him, closed D.C. government down.

Congress, both sides of the aisle, took the day off.

They closed the doors of the Supreme Court and the president left the city.

So, on October 16, 1995, the capital of the greatest nation on earth and in the history of the last 6,000 years became the capital of Black America and Black people in the world. It was a day of tranquility, peace and contentment of mind never before seen in America. No crime was reported in the city of Washington that day. And if they checked, crime was down all over the country because Black men were not in the streets. They were at home in front of the television watching their brothers standing strong on the National Mall. That day frightened the enemies of our unity and the enemies of our rise. But it fulfilled the desire of Black men and women to see a day like we had never seen before. It was also a clear sign to those with the mind and mission of the late FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover that the Messiah their Counterintelligence Program was designed to prevent from appearing evidently had appeared, has appeared, and is present. His presence and the spirit of God permeated the crowd.

The federal government spent millions of dollars to prevent the rise of a “Black Messiah,” who could unite the Black nationalist element and movement. They feared the nationalist element, not so much the civil rights groups, but all were present on that day.

That day in  Washington, D.C. affected the world and was a sign from God that the One that the world has been looking for is present.

So, the government didn’t have to wonder about who to focus their attention on to destroy. After October 16, 1995, it sharpened its attack on the Nation of Islam, its leadership, Black people in  general, and Black Muslims in particular.

The words that God inspired me to say have more value today than 25 years ago, when those words were spoken. They have more meaning, carry more power and more life today because practicing the principles that God brought through us that day will lead to a new and better people, a new and better America, a new and better world. It started from the capital of the United States of America on the Mall where we were once sold as slaves.

Four-hundred years later, we were on that Mall offering the highest level of civilization to our people, to America and the world.

The enemy’s aim is to make sure a day like that never happens again. Not to think of such spirit and behavior becoming the modus operandi for all of us every day of our lives. They don’t want to see that again. They said the message was great, but the Messenger was not the right Messenger. Allah (God) says in the Qur’an that He knows best where to place His message. He placed that message in me on that day as a guiding principle to go forward in that spirit. That’s why the cry went out, “Long, live the spirit of the Million Man March!” I thank all who helped make that day possible because it wasn’t made by one man or two men or 10 men. It was made by many who came together to prove that if we could do it for one day, we could do it for one year. We could do it for the rest of our lives without the interference of the Satanic  mind. And even though the Satanic mind was looking for an opening that day, the Mind and Spirit of God ruled that day.

As long as we stay in the spirit of Atonement, Reconciliation, and Responsibility, the mind of Satan will die a natural death among us.

I thank Allah (God) for allowing me to live to see a day when what He gave me to speak 25-years-ago would reinvigorate a people who have been beset by Satan on all sides that such a day and such a spirit would never happen again. But not only will it happen again, it will be the order of the day, the week, the year. Not only for us, but for people all over the Earth moved by the Word that God gave me for all human beings.

I didn’t get to experience the Million Man March. I was in a room in the U.S. Capitol as the others spoke. As I came down the stairs to the call of my son Mustapha who introduced me, I felt like a leaf being blown by the wind not knowing where it would land. I was being carried by a spirit and a power so much bigger than me.

I thank those who are honoring that day because they are honoring the best of ourselves. I was motivated by concern about movies that had portrayed Black youth in a very savage state throughout the cinemas of the world so that if and when government attacks came against us, or a genocidal plot was unleashed against us, no one would care. We were being cast as the Achilles’ Heel of a great nation.

I wanted to do something to show Black youth were not what Hollywood said we were. God blessed us to show Black America was not what we had been made out to be on the silver screen.

So, I thank all those who wanted to do something to celebrate the silver anniversary of the Million Man March. I thank Melody Spann Cooper and TV One and who decided to replay the video of that day and all who decided to host events, documentary screenings, activities and meetings to discuss and bring that day back to us. Many people made that day successful and all of us shared in the victory.

I asked the people not to bring weapons on the Mall. I never paid for one Black person to make it to Washington. I said this was a Day of Sacrifice and we had to pay our own way to show God we were sincere in our desire for atonement.

It is a day to celebrate, a day to honor what the children of slaves did for that one day. It is a sign of what we will do every day in the future.

The post Twenty-Five Years Later: REFLECTIONS ON THE MILLION MAN MARCH appeared first on Final Call News.

CHICAGO—According to the mayor and the city’s top cop, the police shooting of a 20-year-old Black male in a poor neighborhood led to a rampage through the Magnificent Mile, a premier downtown shopping and tourism destination.

Instead of tearing up the ‘hood, police said crowds hit the 13-block area and nearby White communities smashing and grabbing high scale items from Gucci, Apple, Nordstrom’s, other major stores and smaller shops.

“We’re coming for you,” vowed an angry Mayor Lori Lightfoot who was flanked by Police Superintendent David Brown Aug. 10, and blasted clear “criminality” not linked to anti-police brutality protests, social injustice or racial oppression.

Images of the broken glass, cars pulling up and people walking or running away with armfuls of clothes and merchandise, reports of U-Haul vans loaded with booze drew anger.

Police said social media posts called for the strike on the Magnificent Mile and 400 officers were deployed downtown. Still the cops were unable to stop the crime and looting that hit Macy’s, Old Navy, pricey shoe stores, watch and jewelry shops and enraged business leaders previously upset by protests and the Covid-19 shutdown.

Within seven hours, police reported over 100 arrests and 13 officers injured.

“These were not poor people engaged in petty theft to feed themselves and their families, this was straight-up felony, criminal conduct,” declared Mayor Lightfoot.

Many declared a crackdown was needed and some preachers, activists and aldermen joined that chorus. Bring in the National Guard, bring in the feds, bring in anyone who can bring order, they say.

Many worried a city hit by increased violence and economic woes was spiraling out of control. Tourism is the lifeblood for the city and if fears rise what happens? Millions have been invested in the Magnificent Mile and it helps bring some 60 million people to the city.

That investment, say business leaders, owners and others must be protected.

Others doubt an increased police presence and prison for more people will resolve real problems—poverty, disinvestment and social insecurity on many different levels.

“To me, at this point there has to be some real two-way dialogue between the mayor, the mayor’s office and that community. I’m not talking about the same ole’ same ‘ole,” community activist Victoria Brady, who works with young people, told The Final Call.

“Arguably we can say that there was a lot of talk about how people will be prosecuted and the looters will be held accountable, they will be held responsible. … It makes me very upset to hear our city say that when our children are getting murdered on a daily basis. Our children are gunned down every day! Am I saying that tearing up people’s property is the right thing to do? No, [but] our people are hurting. … The Black community is hurting, we are suffering. Some of us have become emotionally bankrupt and that needs to be looked at, not 400 police officers put in downtown Chicago to protect the interest of downtown.”

“All we’re doing is telling the policymakers to continue putting money in police and prisons. That’s what our mayor and superintendent said today, we need stricter penalties. We need our criminal justice partners to do more,” Ja’Mal Green, a young community activist, said on Facebook.

“Why didn’t they talk about the fact that they spent $50 million in police overtime only in one month but we don’t have any youth programming in this community? We’re not spending no millions on youth programing … you can have organizations and folks who have relationships with young people on these streets to be able to call and say, ‘stop looting’ … Folks don’t just wake up and say let’s go be criminals,” he said.

Wallace “Gator” Bradley is no stranger to the streets of Chicago. He’s aware of inequities that have relegated Blacks to the less developed South and West Sides. He is familiar with the long history of Chicago Police Department abuses against Blacks.

However, he argued bluntly, what happened on the Magnificent Mile was “criminal activity” and takes the focus off of police brutality and legitimate protests stemming from the deaths of George Floyd and other Blacks at the hands of police or in police custody.

“They took all the attention off of that, and it wasn’t for the betterment of us as a people,” said Mr. Bradley, president of United in Peace, Inc.

He agrees with Mayor Lightfoot and Superintendent Brown that those responsible should be held accountable.

“God has silenced everything and sports around the world so he can grab all our attention to ingrained racism, police murdering innocent individuals, criminal justice reform, police reform, racism in its totality,” Mr. Bradley argued.

Whether it is police or gang members involved in shooting of innocent people, perpetrators must be made aware of the consequences of their actions, said the longtime activist.

“Don’t let them hijack your movement. They are not peaceful protestors against the wrong things that’s happening within our society against us as a people and we can’t get caught up on that. If an individual’s wrong he’s wrong,” he said.

Mr. Bradley is also concerned the hostile environment is setting the stage for President Donald Trump to justify sending federal troops to Chicago.

“So, we’ve got to be aware of the agitator that’s creating something to try to create an atmosphere where there cannot be an election so there’s a lot that I see in that,” he said.

Willie J.R. Fleming is a Chicago-based activist who has also done international organizing work.

What sparked the violence downtown is penned up anger and frustration young, Black people in Chicago have been dealing with for years, he said.

Five years ago protestors converged on the Magnificent Mile during Black Friday boycotts in the aftermath of the police shooting death of LaQuan McDonald, a teenager shot 16 times, Mr. Fleming observed.

Few changes have been made, he said.

The message five years ago called for by Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan was borrowed from a 1968 phrase by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It was a call to “redistribute the pain” through economic withdrawal and have corporate America feel anguish Black, Brown and poor communities are forced to endure.

“That’s why we chose the Mag Mile right? To shut it down by blocking the stores five years ago,” explained Mr. Fleming. Young people want their pain to spread to others, he argued.

“They (young people) watch the police—as the state’s attorney stated today—utilize barbaric tactics against peaceful protests from my age group! What makes you think they’re gonna take on that model of peaceful protest? Why? It makes no sense. These young folks are fed up.”

Mr. Fleming, co-founder of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign, said, “This was not organized. They made up their mind. Anytime there’s an injustice that they feel is of great value you’re going to see this, whether it’s downtown or in the community.”

Student Minister Ava Muhammad is the national spokesperson for  Minister Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.

America’s system of capitalism, with wealth controlled by a few private individuals and corporations and the problems that produces, is something Min. Farrakhan has taught about, she said.

“This is not a true nation where there’s a cooperative or any form really of state-owned wealth. Everything that’s distributed is distributed through this oligarchy or this small circle of multi-billionaires who determine the quality of life for the rest of the country,” explained the attorney and Muslim student minister.

“I guess the question that has to be raised is how long does the corporate controlled U.S. government think that Black youth who are at the very bottom of this economic system are going to live the way they’re being forced to live without a reaction?” she asked.

Everything happening now dates back to 1555, which is the date the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave as the year the first kidnapped Africans were brought to America in the holds of slave ships.

“This is an unbroken chain of oppression,” she said. “And now we live in a time where the wealthy display their wealth to the average person and poor people. 

“And so, how long are you going to rub something in my face, particularly when we’re talking about young people in their teens and early 20s who are already at that age level, where appearance is important, possession of material things is important to them.”

“It’s the Nikes of the world who ran the commercials and make young children think I have to have this pair of shoes. You bypass the parents, and you actually kidnap our children’s minds.

“Meanwhile, you take away every possible avenue to education, income. Schools are closed. There are no jobs. What are they supposed to do with nothing?” she asked.

The fact that affluent areas were targeted is reflective of an awareness, she argued.

“I saw somebody sweeping up in front of Jimmy Choo. Okay, when you’re charging $4,000 for a pair of shoes … What they did, smashing some windows … and we don’t condone it by any stretch. We don’t believe in breaking the law at any level—but how dare you talk about theft when you stole a people from the African continent! A people!” said Student Minister Muhammad.

“It is the ancestors of these young people who put you where you’re sitting, and you can’t find it anywhere in you to engage in some measure of justice? It’s not even some reparations? Because you can’t make up for this wrong, you can’t. This is a wrong you can’t correct but you could have displayed some level of remorse at some point.” 

Things are at a breaking point, agreed Mr. Fleming.

“Covid-19, shelter in place, a lot of (youth) not going back to the school traditionally the way they would and school has been their avenue to get away from the home, the community for a lot of them. The frustration, pardon the language, they’re getting tired of this s–t.”

Mental health issues, housing and food insecurity, lack of education and jobs are just a few of the struggles that young people in Black Chicago face.

The pandemic added additional problems on top of anger and frustration already at a boiling point, Mr. Fleming said.

Neither local, state or the federal government are adequately equipped to deal with what is happening in terms of the inequities that breed poverty and violence in Black and poor communities, the activist continued.

They don’t have the will or commitment necessary to put funding where it really needs to be and into the hands of groups and organizations that can truly make a difference among Black people, he argued.

Threatening arrests and prosecution for individuals who may have been involved in the looting defers responsibility from what government officials could really do, he observed.

Mr. Fleming added, “Give credit where credit is due. Minister Farrakhan said that a generation will be born of the fearless, that a generation was rising. He even called for the 10,000 Fearless to prepare the community for it. He said that it was time that folks was going to redistribute the pain. I think this is a redistribution of pain.”

How much more can the city stand and what comes next—federal agents already announced from President Trump, what about the National Guard? And, demands came from the mayor and top cop that judges and prosecutors press harsh charges against those involved in looting.

“We do not need federal troops in Chicago,” declared Mayor Lightfoot.

Help with enforcing gun laws, supporting federal agencies dealing with illegal weapons and purchases and do those things the feds can do, don’t saber rattle, she said in response to media questions.

The National Guard isn’t needed, but the state police are helping and discussions with the governor will continue, said the mayor.

Gov. J. B. Pritzker vowed to continue to support the city with state police and other help the mayor would need. “These were criminals. This was criminal activity and those criminals need to be prosecuted,” the governor said with the mayor by his side.

An alderman representing the Magnificent Mile said the city could not continue to survive these revulsions and the city’s survival was a stake.

Over social media, many Whites complained that May and June anti-police brutality protests—and some outbreaks of crime—were not handled well. Looters, criminals, thieves complained the mayor and police chief, saying there were too few consequences.

There have to be consequences identifying those responsible and a serious response from the courts and prosecutors, said the mayor.

Police off days are canceled, 12-hour shifts are imposed with protections for downtown businesses and then police deployed to neighborhoods, said police chief Brown. Access to downtown will be limited in evenings until early mornings, he added.

As the city notes, “the Magnificent Mile encompasses a stretch of North Michigan Avenue that runs from the banks of the Chicago River to the south, to Oak Street to the north. The Magnificent Mile district extends a full square mile from North Michigan Avenue, including East to the scenic lakefront.

“The Magnificent Mile prides itself as ‘a spectacular showcase of style, flavor, entertainment and fun,’ boasting more than 460 stores, 275 restaurants, 60 hotels, entertainments and attractions.”

It helps draw millions to the city and two years ago was enjoying record breaking number of nearly 60 million visitors, according to the city tourism information.

The post A police shooting, targeting of a tourism Mecca, increase threats, stress, and a city’s sense of crisis appeared first on Final Call News.

The day went from heaven to hell in minutes when police pounced, guns drawn, demanding everyone out of a vehicle Aug. 2, cuffing the 17 year old and 12 year old behind their backs. The 14 year old lying next to the 6 year old on their stomachs in the nail salon parking lot. 

All of this captured on video.

Police say it was a “mistake.” Cops looking for a stolen motorcycle pulled a “high-risk stop” on a Black family in a van, apparently officers didn’t know how to read letters and numbers for a stolen license plate.

Mothers India Johnson and Yasmeen Winston were out on a play date with their infant children in Washington, D.C., during a 100-degree day. They were on their way to cool off at the fountains near the World War II Memorial.

As they were parking, Secret Service agents smashed into their vehicle, pointed guns at the women demanding they exit, hands in the air. The Black women were handcuffed and detained for an hour, leaving Ms. Winston’s six-month-old son, G’esus, and Ms. Johnson’s 13-month-old son, Sir Quincy, in a hot car unattended, wailing and crying in distress.

Ms. Winston, according to The Daily Mail, had a rifle pointed to her head.

Again, the authorities claimed a “mistake,” saying they thought the car was stolen.

Then there was new police bodycam video showing more of the arrest and death of George Floyd in Minnesota. Police approach his car, guns drawn. Mr. Floyd, clearly in distress, begs the officers, “please don’t shoot me.” He is compliant with police orders to put his hands on the wheel. He willfully exits the car and is handcuffed. Mr. Floyd resists being placed in the police cruiser, saying he is claustrophobic. He asks to be laid on the ground.

Clearly, Mr. Floyd is in a panicked state, perhaps with a premonition something horrible is about to happen. Nothing was done to allay his fears. His alleged misdeed? Handing a store clerk a bad $20 bill.

The Aurora police chief eventually apologized, saying the video made her “sick.” “I want to reach out and just tell the family I am terribly sorry. I am sick to my core that these children were traumatized the way they were,” Chief Vanessa Wilson told the media. Activists quickly pointed out another death, the passing of an unarmed young, Black male, in an encounter with the same police department last year. Elijah McClain, 23, was confronted by officers walking home. He lost his life and none of the officers involved were prosecuted. Some jobs, however, were lost as cops mocked Elijah’s death about year after his loss of life.

According to CNN, the Secret Service is investigating the felony traffic stop and claims some parts of the women’s account are untrue.

What isn’t untrue is a clear lack of compassion in these and other encounters with police that produce trauma, terror and mental torment long after the initial encounter—if the person involved actually lives through it.

While the significant criticism of police departments across the nation is they are racist, abusive, deadly and disconnected from Black communities, they mentally burden Black people.

“Research is now showing that children and adults can experience race-based trauma, which can have profound effects on psychological and physical well-being and can also impact communities as a whole. The threat and experience of police brutality and discrimination can be experienced individually or vicariously, and traumatic symptoms can vary depending on the individual,” observed one study last year.

“Children are especially vulnerable to the psychological and physical effects of police brutality and the threat thereof because of their developmental stages,” according to “Don’t Shoot: Race-Based Trauma and Police Brutality” by Leah Metzger. The study was released by Taylor University in 2019.

It warns, “occurrences and threats of police brutality have immense and diverse effects on Black Americans’ psychological and physical well-being. Children are especially vulnerable to these effects due to their developmental stages, with the potential for lifelong consequences on their brain development, hormonal and immune systems, and self-concept and self-esteem. Additionally, race-based trauma can be experienced repeatedly and cumulatively, as well as vicariously.”

Black people know all too well pain and trauma, from the profoundly immoral abduction called the Middle Passage, to the tortures and dehumanization of slavery, Jim Crow, lynching, medical experiments and forced sterilizations.

Epidemic cell phone documentation of police brutality is the most recent reminder and trauma trigger.

Monnica T. Williams, Ph.D., speaking about vicarious trauma told Teen Vogue, while some were hopeful recording police violence against Blacks would prove it’s a systemic problem, the videos have mostly traumatized Black viewers.

“I think when (these killings) first began to be captured more on video, many of us were excited because we thought we could finally prove what’s been going on all along,” she said. “When that didn’t really make a difference (in society’s perception of police violence), it increased everyone’s despair and distress—so it’s finally come to a boiling point.”

Not only are these videos traumatic, but they can also cause some young people to internalize racism. “Just the fact that media outlets are showing videos of dying Black men is traumatizing in itself. It isn’t considered appropriate to broadcast a White person’s dying moments on television. Still, that dignity isn’t offered to Black people,” Dr. Williams said. “Every time we have to see such videos, it reminds us that society doesn’t value our lives the same.”

Dr. James F. Lassiter, a clinical psychologist from Chesapeake, Va., has a specialty in trauma treatment. He feels for the Black children and what they endured that hot summer day in Aurora, Colo. “I would surmise the children are suffering currently from an acute stress disorder. Give them a couple of weeks, a month you will have PTSD, especially if they are not treated right away,” he warned.

“The police must have been in a cave somewhere not to have seen George Floyd die on his stomach, and my guess is this thing will stay in the children’s minds for some time,” Dr. Lassiter continued. “There is no doubt in my mind the children have an acute stress disorder; I don’t even have to see them. If they are treated immediately, they have a good chance of desensitizing the reaction; if not, the long term effects could be reacting every time the children see a police car, or an authority figure comes near them, or they see something on TV.”

But, he explained, it’s not just the mental and emotional fear associated with racial trauma that is the problem—the stressors have real impact on Black physical health. “An ancillary effect in the Black community is a higher rate of cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. These are all stress-related disorders, and Black people in this country head the list,” said Dr. Lassister.

“You have a combination of fear, anger, and paranoia.  A lot of times, anger when it is not given a proper angle for expression, therapeutically, it turns back against itself as depression or suicide. I think a lot of our young folk are dealing with that type of psychodynamic dysfunction basically, and who is to treat them? Who knows what is going on besides the fact they are considered dangerous and criminal?” he asked.

Philadelphia-based Dr. Portia Hunt, a master clinician and child psychologist, sees these assaults as significant attacks on childhood self-esteem. “The trauma to the children is going to be major,” she said. “Emotionally, what it communicates to them is they have no real value. It’s going to cause the children to have flashbacks, the feeling their parent is marginalized with no real power to protect them. It’s going to have a tremendous impact on the children. Quite frankly, the children were made to feel like a sack of crap.”

“Incidents like this go into the psyche of children sending the message they have no value, the parents are marginalized, the emotional toll is horrific. Then you question why Black children are angry or don’t want to cooperate, withdrawing, becoming docile,” she said.

“There is an absolute connection to the gun violence we see and past trauma with our young people. If you don’t matter, then why not take others out with you? They are interacting with police who are not culturally competent and are there for control. So it creates a connection again that my life is of no value, and neither is yours. It’s a real horrible conundrum,” Dr. Hunt explained.

“I saw the video clip of our sister in Colorado, and I think the most telling visual we can take in was to see the demure six year old wearing a cute pink little princess hat forced to lay on the hot ground,” said Student Minister Ava Muhammad, national spokesperson for the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. “We have been viewed and defined and treated as subhuman, a commodity, for their ability to flourish as a country. But now we are in the last hours of judgment, and so the hatred and contempt for Black people are at the most acute stage ever. We saw that with the torture-murder of George Floyd and the latest bodycam footage that show they had guns drawn on him from the beginning. So what happened to the sister and her little girls and the Black women’s treatment, Black children are being thrust to the forefront.”

“It is leaving us with no other option than to separate from these people. We will never have peace of mind as long as we live like this. How many times have we heard the excuse of mistaken identification? To continually use the same narrative, this is how Breonna Taylor lost her life in such a violent way.”

“We are the recipients of this reckless endangerment, this depraved indifference toward our lives, in the sense that if any type of humanity is shown it would prevent this from happening. But it’s not taken, there is a mindset of White America toward Black people, and it is not going away,” said Dr. Muhammad. And, she added, “Now you have to consider if some of these cases are not a form of retribution for the outpouring of support in the wake of the George Floyd murder.”

She continued, “There are millions of White people outraged over what is taking place, and many are in law enforcement. We are going to constantly live in fear and not know what is around the corner unless we follow Minister Farrakhan’s instructions to begin this process of making our own communities a safe and decent place to live. We need a safe haven, but we can start immediately, and we have done this before.  It is not rocket science. It’s just the desire and will to do it. Is it possible to achieve peace of mind living with the children of our slave masters? It is not,” she added.

The post Trauma, terror and Black America’s race-based torment appeared first on Final Call News.

Mr. Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, is considering former National Security Adviser Susan Rice; California Sen. Kamala Harris; Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chairwoman Rep. Karen Bass; and Florida Rep. Val Demings. 

Mr. Biden has been under considerable pressure to pick a Black woman by rank-and-file and high-ranking Black women inside the party. 

They argue that since Black women have shown themselves to be fiercely loyal to the party and have been instrumental in a number of elections before and since the ascension of Donald Trump, now it’s time for them to be rewarded. 

Analysts, pundits and political observers have said often this election is the most consequential in a generation with an openly racist president who has fully embraced a White nationalist agenda. 

Blacks have been under threat since 2016 from an administration that has concentrated on stripping away hard-earned gains and which has produced a raft of policies that are inimical to Black concerns and interests. 

Add to that a global pandemic that has disproportionately affected Blacks, an economic meltdown and overall unemployment that stands at about 50 million people.

It is these and other reasons why some analysts warned caution about making the right choice for second place on the Democratic Party ticket.

“The right choice will be a lift to the ticket, complement the presidential candidate,” Dr. Avis Jones-DeWeever told The Final Call. “The pick needs to be taken seriously. I would love to see a Black woman on the ticket. If he ends up with her, we have to hold both of them to the fire to fulfill our demands.”

“Look at Hilary Clinton, she went super safe. He (Tim Kaine) brought nothing to the ticket and had no constituency that he appealed to. Had she picked up someone more appealing, someone who brought more to the ticket, she might have won.”

Political analyst Dr. Wilmer J. Leon, III embraces a different view.

“It’s not important at all to choose a woman. Joe Biden made a huge strategic and tactical mistake by saying he would choose a woman. He has seriously limited his options. By trying to force him to pick a Black woman, we’re playing identity politics versus electoral politics—focusing on a narrow issue-based agenda—gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation. This is not the time for the African American community to get locked into identity politics. That’s what took us down the Barack Obama road and we didn’t force him to do anything.”

Dr. Leon, an educator, author, lecturer and talk show host, said the smart  strategy to pursue is asking what do you need to do to get elected, which means choosing someone to complement the candidate and bring in votes the candidate couldn’t bring him or herself. 

“In this case, this focus (on a Black woman) is bringing something he already has,” Dr. Leon explained. “I think he needs to select a Latina. If he does that, he brings Arizona, locks down Florida and it puts Texas in play. That would force Republicans to spend more money than they need to. Beto O’Rourke didn’t win when he ran for the Senate, but he showed some real vulnerability in the GOP game in Texas. The real move is a Latino.”

“If Biden hadn’t locked himself into a female, his best bet was Julian Castro. When I look at the Black women whose names are being bandied about, one name I don’t see is Rep. Barbara Lee. She is the most progressive voice in the CBC. What these names show me is the status quo. (Sen. Kamala) Harris said in the first debate that she’s not for substantive change. She’s trying to redo her image as some progressive prosecutor. That will cause her some vulnerability.”

South Florida resident Noel Gray, Sr.—a retired mathematics teacher and a registered Democrat and a fierce critic of President Trump—agrees with Dr. Jones-DeWeever that Mr. Biden should choose a Black woman.

“How important is the number two person in Biden’s effort to win the White House? That’s a very good question,” said Mr. Gray. “Given his advanced age there is possibility he won’t make it through the first term in office. You’re going to need someone who’s been there, done that. Someone with leadership skills. Kamala Harris has the credentials but something is missing. Stacey Abrams needs some seasoning and with Val Demings, I don’t know too much about her.”

Mr. Gray said none of those on the short list are perfect. 

“It’s very important who he chooses. She needs to have been in that position. Susan Rice is tough. I’ve seen her on Joy Reid and Rachel Maddow. She’s solid. That’s my pick … yeah man, I think she will excite voters. And she wouldn’t be rattled. When Trump said ‘the cupboard was bare,’ she rattled off facts. She has poker face and spits out facts. She’s steady and I like her confidence.”

Mr. Gray said he likes Sen. Harris as well. So does Dr. Jones-DeWeever.

“People, including Black people are complaining about her because she is the strongest. They have a problem with her,” said Dr. Jones-DeWeever, an award-winning author, international speaker, political commentator, and Race & Gender empowerment expert. “A lot of these latest news reports about the largely White power structure trying to mobilize shows me she is frontrunner. It’s politics. What I think is really going on is they don’t want a Black woman to be president. They’re sabotaging the best choice. They like Karen Bass because she said if she’s picked, she wouldn’t run for president. They want Black women to be the help but not vice president.”

Dr. Jones-DeWeever asked if people were “looking at the pieces of legislation she’s (Sen. Harris) been dropping.” 

“They attack a wide range of issues. Looked at her record, look at the bills she’s produced. The continuum of her voting record is far to the left of Elizabeth Warren,” she said. “It’s interesting to me that her record is ignored and lies are raised against her. People see her talent and see she has real chance of being chosen. It’s not just White folks, but Black folks who don’t want a Black woman president. She gets the heat because she’s damn good. When was the last time you heard about Kirsten Gillibrand?”

“Val Demings. I really like her a lot. She’s whip smart and could help with Florida. Susan Rice, I like her but she has never run in any election before. She is an unknown quality. I think she should be someone who’s run before so we can see how she responds to adversity. I like her attitude. At a minimum I would like her to be secretary of state.”

According to a recent Yahoo News/YouGov poll, a majority of Democrats believe former Vice President Biden should choose a Black woman for the ticket in November. Sixty percent of Democrats think it’s important for him to select a Black woman, though only 25 percent believe it’s “very important” that he do so.

Thirty-three percent of Democrats want Mr. Biden to pick Sen. Harris but a number of publications report that some Biden backers are said to be distrustful of Sen. Harris because of no-holds-barred salvos against Mr. Biden in the first Democratic primary debate. Other Biden supporters believe that Sen. Harris is too ambitious to be satisfied with “the often conciliatory role of VP.”

Twenty percent of Democrats, support Sen. Warren to be Mr. Biden’s running mate. She is said to have been a key policy adviser to Biden in the waning months of the campaign but is considered a dark horse candidate given her age and outspoken progressive beliefs. 

Twelve percent of Democrats say they support Ms. Rice, and nine percent say they favor former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. 

First term U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), a military veteran who lost both legs and use of an arm in combat in Iraq and a former member of the House is also said to be under consideration by Mr. Biden. Sen. Duckworth was born in Thailand. Her father is American and her mother is Thai. She is one of three Asian women to serve in the Senate. 

An overwhelming majority of Democratic respondents—90 percent—think it’s the “right decision” for Mr. Biden to pick a woman as the running mate regardless of her race. If the Democrats win in November, the  woman Mr. Biden chooses will be in play if she seeks to secure the presidency in either 2024 or 2028.

South Florida businessman Steven Warner said several times while talking to a Final Call reporter that it’s absolutely critical to pick a viable vice presidential candidate.

“We have to remember that up to the point of the Clyburn factor, Biden wasn’t the overwhelming favorite to begin with,” said Mr. Warner, a DJ and founder and host of “The Wake Up and Live” Show, the most widely syndication Caribbean show on the Internet. “Given where we are socially and the Black Lives Matter climate it’s important that he picks someone, not one who is a figure head or as an appeasing move.”

Mr. Warner said Mr. Biden is a man with issues.

“He says things that concerns me,” he said. “He’s a one-term candidate and he wants to pick someone in the event of him not making it. That’s not assuring to me.”

In his mind, Mr. Warner said, there are only two people seriously in the running: Kamala Harris and Susan Rice. 

“And my pick is Rice because if you take out the fact that Harris has run before, it is an even race,” he explained. “The race for president didn’t put her (Harris) high on the Black list.

“Right now we have some international fences to mend and Susan Rice is well suited to do that. I believe Rice will excite voters enough. I think Black people are more familiar with Harris because of her campaign. And I think we need to be appeased. Harris is more suited for attorney general. She’s very familiar with the issues and she won’t have to be brought up to speed. She will step in with more ease.”

Mr. Warner said the next question the feds have to figure out is to extradite the former president who he is convinced will flee the country for Russia when he loses the election.

Kerra Bolton, a writer and filmmaker, said she believes Mr. Biden picking a Black woman would be a token gesture. 

“Given where we are in U.S. with the racial unrest and police brutality, we need real substantive policies,” she said. “Does the vice president actually influence policy? I would rather see her in the Cabinet, really affecting people’s lives. Certainly, whoever he chooses, it’s going to be historic. It’s not a bad position to be in but it doesn’t affect daily lives.” 

The primary goal of Democrats is to mobilize, organize and turn out Blacks and others in effort to defeat the dangerous and cornered president Donald Trump, critics said. So strong is the urge to run him out of office, Blacks will do whatever it takes, said Ms. Bolton, who worked for the North Carolina Democratic Party from 2007-2011.

“I think most of us will vote for ( Mr. Biden) no matter what. He knows how to read the room, knows Black women can come out and turn the room,” she said. “We will vote, mobilize, bring our aunties, mobilize. They know they can depend on us. I’ve been in room. They’re looking at the numbers. They also know that with a Black VP, they will lose in Rust State, for example, so it’s more of a gamble. 

“It would be safer for him to pick a White person but that would piss us off. They are trying to get us out to vote and for many voters symbols matter. If he said he changed his mind, we’d be pissed. It would be further evidence that Democrats take us for granted. It would leave a bad taste in our mouth.”

Ms. Bolton said, “I’m going to vote for (Mr. Biden) any way so I haven’t paid that close attention. He is not Trump. I think White people, especially White women will still vote for Trump. He (Biden) has been walking the line carefully with divest, defund. If he comes out in support of those who are marching because of police issues, they will vote their Whiteness. The polls lie, Whites lie. One of the great ironies of the modern electoral system is that it is predicated on Whiteness, especially in suburbia and they expect us to rubber-stamp it.”

She criticized members of both political parties who “haven’t given us people to vote for.”

“We have to keep choosing people who are electable. We have to be practical, stay dealing with survival. In 2008 and 2012, we were inspired to vote. This time I don’t know.”

Blacks are between 13-15 percent of entire population, so it makes more sense for Black people to leverage that 15 percent for universal health care, an end to mass incarceration, and housing as a universal right, contends Dr. Shantella Sherman, a political analyst. 

“He cannot choose someone who is an immigrant because White people will just burn the country down,” she said. “As long we have been in this country, we don’t understand the actual politics of it. The people sitting on the Left and the Right are all cousins. They all know each other, fuss, fight, put their fingers in eat each others’ eyes, have sex, eat with each other. Too often, we don’t understand how they play the game.”

“We’ve been here long enough to be strategic. The political process is figuring out who’s on your team. And when he gets in, he can assign Black and Spanish people to be in the cockpit over here, be the mechanic over there.”

Dr. Sherman said given the racial and social problems, the public health disaster in the form of coronavirus and an economic meltdown, she really doesn’t want any Black or Latino person to be exposed to the possible repercussions.   

“If the 15 percent is taken care of, who does Biden need to pick to pull in business people, folks without health care, White people who are marginalized, like those in West Virginia, the Midwest, those about to lose their homes, those who originally voted for Trump,” she said. “ I don’t want them to get upset about choosing a Black person.”

“We have old White men with old White men problems. We’re having a ‘Come to Jesus’ moment. The world is falling apart. I don’t want to put anyone in harm’s way,” she added.

“Is America ready for a Black female VP? There are some who don’t see that happening but it might bolster the Black vote and encourage people to show up and show out,” commented Steven Warner, the South Florida radio host. “But if the person he chooses decides to run as president, they may not win. The scab has been torn off the wound. Four years is not enough time to quell racists.”

The post Second Choice Matters: Biden’s VP pick and Election 2020 appeared first on Final Call News.

Portland activists first got word of federal agents in the city a few days before they arrived. Through the organization Don’t Shoot Portland, Tai Carpenter would receive messages from hotel owners who had turned down contracts from people trying to house agents or from people saying they saw federal agents at the airport.

After about two months of nonstop protest since the death of George Floyd, Portland has now become a city of unrest and social injustice, as federal officials target, teargas and pick up protesters. Some say President Trump sent federal agents to the city as a trial for cities such as Chicago, where he has plans to carry out Operation Legend, a federal law enforcement initiative created “to fight the sudden surge of violent crime” in U.S. cities, according to the Department of Justice.

But why would he start with Portland?

“Trump knows he’s comfortable here. Portland isn’t this, a lot of people watch the show Portlandia or they think that Portland is this very liberal, mostly White, but very liberal place and it’s not,” said Ms. Carpenter, who is the board president of Don’t Shoot Portland, a social justice nonprofit that uses art and community engagement to create social and legislative change.

“Our mayor sits down with the Proud Boys, who are a very dangerous far-right extremist group. Our police bureau escorts White supremacists when they come to town so that they can protest and engage in violent behavior with counter protesters,” she said.

She said people weren’t surprised when federal agents arrived because there has been a long period of distrust between Black people and the Portland Police Bureau (PPB). She said the bureau and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler were condemning the protests before the agents arrived.

“They were complaining about the graffiti. They were complaining that some protesters were angry and shouting and throwing water bottles in response to being murdered and systematically marginalized,” the activist said. “People are going to be angry and have a reaction, but the fact that they weren’t condemning the police for brutalizing people exercising their right to protest, it’s funny that now they’re trying to say that. They’ve changed their tune now because the spotlight is on Portland and they’re like, ‘oh wait, hold on. We’re supposed to be super liberal, right?’ ”

On the contrary, she said, Portland was founded as an all-White state, and Black people could not own property until the 1920s.

“Portland has a unique history, but I think it’s because of that, people are so defiant. Stop killing us. Stop. Why do we have to keep saying it? Portland has their list of names that have been murdered by PPB. We have our own list of countless community members who have lost their lives,” she said.

President Trump cited crime statistics to justify deploying federal agents under Operation Legend. Attorney General William Barr said 200 federal agents have already been sent to Kansas City, Missouri, along with $3.6 million in grants to help hire more police officers. Chicago will see a similar number of grants and agents, according to communication between the president and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

“If Donald Trump wants to send feds to arrest the White drug traffickers and gun traffickers who are bringing guns into Chicago and into Illinois, fine,” said Father Michael Pfleger, senior pastor of the faith community at St. Sabina. “We’ve heard for years that we know where guns come from, Gary, Indiana and Mississippi and other places. If we know where they’re coming from, my question is, why are we not stopping it?”

He sees what’s happening in Portland as an appetizer of what will happen in Chicago and other cities around the country.

Minister Ishmael Muhammad, the Student National Assistant Minister to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, echoed Father Pfleger. He noted all of the problems that exist in the Black community that create the current conditions, including health disparities, food deserts, unemployment and the lack of education.

He quoted Victor Hugo, who said, “If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who commits the sin but he who causes the darkness,” and he questioned the hidden hand behind conditions and crime in the Black community.

“Now we have this other pandemic of Black on Black crime, but all of this is focusing America and the world on the Black problem. So Allah who has permitted all of these circumstances has everyone talking about the Black problem,” he said. “But out of that now comes the solution that Allah gave through the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, that the only solution to our problem is separation.”

Minister Farrakhan has been warning for decades that America would send federal troops into Black communities, said Ishmael Muhammad.

“He warned us that when it starts, the slaughter will be so horrible, because they are not coming in to make peace. They’re going to come in with full force,” he said.

Many mayors and local officials are rejecting the president’s plan, including Baltimore State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby, who tweeted, “If President Trump sends militarized federal agents to Baltimore City to attack our citizens by making illegal arrests, kidnapping people, assaulting them, or committing any other crime, they will be prosecuted by my office.”

Chicago Mayor Lightfoot has also expressed concern. Though she has approached Mr. Trump’s plan cautiously and hesitantly, she is allowing a partnership to help deal with Chicago’s crime.

“We welcome actual partnership, but we do not welcome dictatorship, we do not welcome authoritarianism, and we do not welcome unconstitutional arrest and detainment of our residents,” she said.

Afrika Porter, CEO of Afrika Enterprises, a consulting and public relations firm, said she’s optimistic about the mayor.

“I think we have a mayor that’s fierce and unafraid. When I think of Mayor Lori Lightfoot, I think of Shirley Chisholm,” she said. “I was nine years old watching this Black woman run for president of the United States of America. I will never forget it. I see Lori Lightfoot in that same way. She challenges the president, Donald Trump.”

Many have been issuing lawsuits against the federal agents, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Don’t Shoot Portland.

“What is happening now in Portland should concern everyone in the United States. Usually when we see people in unmarked cars forcibly grab someone off the street, we call it kidnapping. The actions of the militarized federal officers are flat-out unconstitutional and will not go unanswered,” said Jann Carson, interim executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon.

One ACLU lawsuit “seeks to block federal law enforcement from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force against journalists or legal observers.” Another one argues that “the law enforcement attacks on medics violates the First and Fourth Amendments.”

In response to the first lawsuit, U.S. District Judge Michael Simon blocked federal agents in Portland from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, or targeting force against journalists or legal observers at protests, according to an ACLU press release.

Ms. Carpenter said Don’t Shoot Portland has two class action lawsuits in the works and said that they are still taking statements from people who have been affected.

Similar to the language of the ACLU lawsuits, Attorney Barbara Arnwine called President Trump’s actions unconstitutional.

“By his own admission, he is singling out what he calls liberal, Democratic cities. That kind of unequal, discriminatory targeting of African-Americans, Latinos and Democratic strongholds is absolutely outrageous,” said Ms. Arnwine, president and founder of the organization Transformative Justice Coalition.

She said “secret police” exist in fascist and dictatorial nations to squash dissent and opposition.

“You cannot have freedom of thought. You cannot have a democratic process, a competition of ideas. You cannot have freedom of press and freedom of the right to assembly when you are having police, a secret police, unidentified police running around in militarized uniform intercepting, kidnapping and disrupting protests,” she said.

Several interviewees commented that the president’s actions are rooted in an attempt to play on the fears of the public in order to win reelection.

“This has nothing to do with protests, but it has everything to do with him rolling out and testing how he can disrupt the federal election in October and November,” Ms. Arnwine said. “I think this is all a test run for his ability to occupy, intimidate and scare voters during the electoral season, and we and every American should raise their voice in utter opposition.”

Interviewees also said that President Trump’s actions were a call back to Bill Clinton’s 1994 “three strikes” crime bill.

“That’s a part of their wicked policy, to blame the country’s woes and problems on the most vulnerable in the society, and they are the architects and they are responsible for creating the conditions and circumstances out of which violence has become a byproduct of,” Minister Muhammad said.

Father Pfleger said Americans have to be smarter and not fall for the cheap trick of the law and order card.

“Instead of sending the federal government to bring more military that we don’t need, send your housing department to help build some affordable housing. Send your department of human services to create jobs and funds for infrastructure. Send your office of economic development to help bring in and to support and build Black businesses,” he said. “Send in your department of health to develop health clinics and mental health access. You can send in the federal government. Just send in the right departments. We don’t need more militarism and law enforcement. We need investment and opportunity.”

For Ms. Porter, the Black community can do better at rebuilding the Black family and doing for self.

“Part of it, to me, is doing for self, which is part of what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us. We have to continue to do for self,” she said.

Minister Muhammad described the deployment of federal agents in American cities as the perfect storm set up to exterminate Black people.

“Since you don’t want us anymore, since you don’t care for us, we’re fine with that. But we want the opportunity to exercise independence and to be a sovereign nation. We do not want from you that which you are unwilling to give to us, but we want to do what your fathers did when they found conditions unbearable, intolerable, under the King of England,” he said. “And they separated from England to become a nation. That’s the only solution to the problem of Black and White. That’s the only solution to the problem of ignorance and despair and hopelessness in the Black community.”

The post Sowing disorder, disruption and discord appeared first on Final Call News.

The Jewish assault on entertainer Nick Cannon and efforts to bludgeon him into submission were the latest moves in a long history of anti-Black bullying and coercion by Jews obsessed with the destruction of Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan—no matter the cost or the collateral damage.

“The Masked Singer” television show host, who has also been active in demands for Black justice, was targeted after an interview with Professor Griff of Public Enemy was made public. In the interview, which has been removed from the internet, Mr. Cannon talks about how the experience or harsh life in the caves of Europe deprived Caucasians of melanin, which causes dark skin pigmentation, and created a less compassionate, more aggressive being, which ravaged the globe—especially the darker peoples of the earth.

There was also a discussion of who fulfills the biblical prophesy of the children of Israel today and whether Blacks in America, after 400 years of service and affliction, are actually that people.

Mr. Cannon had been a guest at Min. Farrakhan’s home July 4 and was present in “The Garden” as the Minister delivered a stirring message of warning, a call for repentance and spoke directly to the so-called Jews who have stalked, opposed and tried to kill him through a cancer radiation treatment.

Initially Mr. Cannon stood strong in the face of charges he was anti-Semitic but then apologized, saying he was sorry for hurting the Jewish community and ready to learn about their suffering.   

Nation of Islam Student Minister and researcher Demetric Muhammad called the assaults “ritual defamation” designed to incite the murder of the Minister.

“It is my belief that the ultimate goal of this defamation and character assassination campaign is to inspire and provide a justification for a literal physical assassination of Black America’s most ardent and beloved champion,” said Student Minister Muhammad.

While the Anti-Defamation League, Simon Wiesenthal Center and other Jewish groups wage their 34-year-old war against the Minister and the Nation of Islam, they are enraged that the man and the movement still command great respect, admiration and love.

These anti-Black enemies, however, are intent on crushing any good word, good will or good wishes extended to Min. Farrakhan by tarring admirers and influencers with the false label of “anti-Semite” to destroy their careers, reputations, and businesses.

Jews have most recently threatened the careers or business interests of noted admirers, supporters or even people photographed with a man who has served Black people for over 60 years.

Besides Mr. Cannon, the Jewish media assassins have threatened Sean “Puffy” Combs, whose Revolt TV, ran the Minister’s July 4 message online and was headed toward one million views when shutdown by YouTube.com. Entrepreneur and rapper Ice Cube has been labeled a hater by Jews as were DeSean Jackson, a star player for the Philadelphia Eagles, former NBA player Stephen Jackson and even radio host Charlemagne Da God. Legendary NBA player Allen Iverson was excoriated for posting a photo with the Minister on social media.

What’s behind all the Jewish hate?

“This is all part of a very predictable arc. Part of that arc, of course, is kind of that obligatory call to condemn Minister Farrakhan. This is the call that Tamika Mallory resisted. This is the call that many people have resisted,”  observed Dr. Gregg Carr of Howard University and regular contributor to the Roland S. Martin Daily Digital show.

“The Nation of Islam has been unapologetic in its work on behalf of our people … and that is inevitably going to bring the Nation into conflict with people who don’t want to be in last place, either. And some of those people in the history of this country have been White people who happen to be Jewish. And there’s nothing, really, that the Nation has done or can do or that Minister Farrakhan has done or can do that can erase that history of conflict, of situational compromise and coalition,” he said.

He placed the question of anti-Semitism into two categories: the historical journey of Judaism and the politics of Whiteness. He said while it is true that religions are not linked to skin color, there are studies that suggest Judaism emerged out of Northeast Africa and that the first Jews certainly weren’t White.

“The question becomes in 2020, what value is that, when we go into the second category of political meaning and social meaning of people trying to negotiate with Whiteness? The question becomes, is that a topic, is that a subject that enables people of African descent to find some value, some advantage, some weapon in our fight against oppression?” he asked.

White America has never been comfortable with Black people who are unpoliced and free to wield their power and that today, White America has resorted to calling Black people to denounce the Minister rather than facing the Minister or the Nation head on.

“If White America and the racists who are in control cannot eliminate or defeat independent and self-determining Black institutions, they simply begin to pretend like they don’t exist,” Dr. Carr said. “Why don’t you go after the institutions you think are so bad instead of asking people who are not members of those institutions whether or not they condemn those institutions? That, to me, is a confession of sorts.”

Dr. Ray Winbush of Morgan State University pointed out how Minister Farrakhan’s Jewish detractors use a double standard with how they respond or don’t respond to what they claim as anti-Semitism.

“You can be a White supremacist and say things about Ashkenazim Jews and you won’t be vilified,” argued Dr. Winbush.

However, he said, when Black people share something of praise of a man who clearly has helped their community over the past 60 years, Blacks are punished. They are made to visit the Holocaust Museum in Washington, make a public apology and denounce the Minister, said Dr. Winbush.

“As if somehow Black people are not to be critical of Ashkenazim Jews, Israel or anything related to that,” he said.

Jewish dossier on Farrakhan?

And, while the agreement with Mr. Cannon was supposed to create greater sensitivity awareness toward Jewish people, Rabbi Abraham Cooper, who is supposed to be his guide, started by giving Mr. Cannon a dossier on Min. Farrakhan to read.

TMZ reported and aired a video of Rabbi Cooper, of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles, saying first Mr. Cannon had to digest anti-Farrakhan tripe as part of his repentance. After his apology came Fox’s announcement that it decided not to fire Mr. Cannon from “The Masked Singer” because he was remorseful.

The Jewish effort is a deliberate strategy to obliterate anyone who comes near Min. Farrakhan to stop any “legitimation.” “The Black community in this country is wrestling with a desperate crisis situation in our inner cities … Farrakhan’s NOI is arguably filling a void for that community,”  the ADL noted in a 1994 special report entitled “Mainstreaming Anti-Semitism: The Legitimation of Louis Farrakhan.” By repeating their falsehoods, public shaming, and economic cut-offs these powerful Jews seek to annihilate Black folk, in particular, who refuse to bow.

Minister Farrakhan has stated his work is exposing Satan, evil ones of every race and religion, their ill effect on the world and raising the Black man and woman and the oppressed living under an evil rule.

“The reason they hate me is because they know I represent the end of their civilization. I represent the uncovering of their wickedness, fulfilling the judgment that God has come to bring down on America and the world,” explained Minister Farrakhan.

Unlike those Jews who misrepresent Minister Farrakhan to the public, he is not motivated by malice toward the Jewish community. He honors Jews who follow the Torah—a revelation given to Prophet Moses. He condemns all who use religion as a cover for dirty deeds and unjust, ugly practices. He has never taught violence against Jews; boycotted Jewish institutions and the Nation has no record of attacking Jewish people.

“Get to know me from the God within that can tell you if the Minister is false,” he said July 4. “They tell lies to make you think I am a bigot or anti-Semite, so you won’t listen to what I’m saying,” Minister Farrakhan said.

“There is nothing enjoyed more by White racism than placing a Black man on the apology tour, sadly degraded and put in their place, horribly afraid of losing their money or social status,” Dr. Boyce Watkins, entrepreneur and media maker, said on a recent podcast.

Dr. Carr, who is  also chair of the Department of Afro-American Studies at Howard University, says it’s the same script used every time a Black person embraces the Minister and the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

One, an incident happens: the conversation Nick Cannon had with Professor Griff on his podcast, Cannon’s Class. Two, the person is charged with anti-Semitism. Three, a reaction occurs: in the case of Nick Cannon, Viacom let him go. Four, a statement is made: Nick Cannon tweeted that if he offended anybody, he’s sorry, and that he’s a student continuing to learn.

19Keys, a young Black activist out of Los Angeles, also commented on what he described as the “age-old story” of the litmus test.

“When you stand next to truth, it can’t be a moment. It has to be a way of life. Unapologetic. You have to not be a passive revolutionary, but you have to be aggressive and strategic and be willing to live for and die for those causes,” he said. “And you have to pick a side today and also understand and be able to defend the words that you speak with truth and back those up.”

He said anti-Semitic propaganda is a weaponized tool against anyone who has valid criticism.

The forced apologies of Philadelphia Eagles football player DeSean Jackson, who posted a fraudulent statement attributed to Adolph Hitler about Blacks being the true children of Islam and Jews hiding that fact, alongside positive words for a July 4 message by the Minister and Mr. Cannon, who attended the speech in “the Garden” at the Minister’s home in Michigan were pummeled into submission.

Both consented to be being educated on Jewish history through visits to former concentration camps, books, discussions and the like. But they won’t likely be asked to tour settlements of the Ethiopian Jews in Israel who suffer from the highest poverty rate, levels of police brutality, unrest and incarceration. There have also been complaints that the 14,000 Beta Israel remaining in Ethiopia, despite repeated appeals, have not received support from Jewish federations to combat the onslaught of the coronavirus. Perhaps that would be too much like home.

“They don’t want them to see that,” said one analyst.

A voice, time for truth

“So much of what Minister Farrakhan says is truth, and many people don’t want that truth to come out,” said Pastor Emeritus Willie Wilson of Union Temple Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. “The Black Lives Matter movement has emboldened people who have never spoken out before; now, they have the courage and confidence to speak up.

“The same would be true with the Minister if he receives more support and unbiased coverage, it would strengthen what he is saying, ultimately opening up things that have been hidden and obscured. It is what they fear,” he said.

A few Black leaders and celebrities who’ve been called anti-Semitic include President Barack Obama, Angela Davis, Alice Walker, Oprah Winfrey, Jesse Jackson, and Al Sharpton. Not to mention Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa who were subjected to the same slander. The entire list is long and stretches back to Marcus Garvey, the 20th century Black nationalist leader, Minister Malcolm X and beyond.

The game, according to social activist and MOVE member Pam Africa is if you criticize Jews, you are assigned the anti-Semitic label. “It’s a label that intimidates and bullies like the tactics of (President) Trump,” she said. “They use this with people who support the Minister, terrorizing them into their way of thinking, when the truth is staring them right in the face, causing them to run and hide. If they (Jewish people) have a problem, they need to go directly to the source.  If you have a problem with the man, at least have the guts to sit down and talk with him. His door is open,” she said.

But those who condemned the Minister weren’t enough. Writing for The Hill Rabbi Marvin Hier declared, “what is most upsetting is the absolute silence from America’s Black leaders and clergy with regard to the hateful, anti-Semitic message (of Minister Farrakhan).“  He also uses the tired Hitler/Farrakhan comparison. Comparing Adolph Hitler with Minister Farrakhan is logically fallacious. You might as well compare rutabaga to chocolate candy.

Dr. Na’im Akbar, former chairmen of the Psychology Departments at Morehouse College and Florida State University, told The Final Call he viewed the July 4 speech by the Minister. Addressing the issues of Rabbi Hier, he observed, “What Jews and White people don’t get is the Minister’s work ain’t about them, and for some reason, there seems to be a determination to shift the conversation to be about them.”

“His message is how do we begin to resurrect and restore the integrity of Black people. Jews and the devil, in general, are incidental. In many articles, they are amazed and insulted that Black people don’t condemn the Minister for doing his work. That is because Black people understand it is not about Jews. It’s not even an integral part of his message.  They continuously recycle the false narrative, so they become the center. It is their way of sabotaging the good work that he does.”

Dr. Akbar added, “The Minister has been consistent and unapologetic in his concern for the upliftment of Black people. Not trying to teach others out of racism, his focus is to teach and restore Black people to their own integrity and sanity.”

“For them, this is frightening because there has not been anyone who has stood up like this since Marcus Garvey and Elijah Muhammad. Unfortunately, 21st-century Black leadership is consolatory, always responding to White people. Responding to the antagonist and the antagonist writes the agenda,” he observed.

“Minister Farrakhan keeps us at the center, and the antagonist doesn’t write the agenda. He writes our agenda keeping us at the center, and for them, this is frightening,” Dr. Akbar concluded.

Rapper T.I. attended the July 4 message with his wife, rappers 2Chainz and Rick Ross and former pro basketball player Stephen Jackson, who has been championing justice for his longtime friend, George Floyd, who died in the custody of Minneapolis police officers. (See related story page 8.)

“I haven’t been attacked but as far as I have heard the references to the Minister being anti-Semitic I haven’t heard any words from his mouth personally that would lead me to that conclusion,” he told The Final Call in an exclusive July 16 telephone interview. “And, I’ve been waiting on someone to present something that would allow me the opportunity to see what they say they’ve seen and I always hear them speak his name in the midst of hate and anti-Semitism but I’ve never seen them play the clip of him saying what they claim to be hate speech.

“I have to judge him based on my experiences and what I have heard him say out of his mouth with my ears. I can’t go off with what somebody else tells me what they heard with their ears and that’s just how I feel,” he said.

The post The Truth About Farrakhan appeared first on Final Call News.

He it is Who sends down clear messages to His servant, that he may bring you forth from darkness into light. And surely Allah is Kind, Merciful to you. —Holy Qur’an 57:9

CHICAGO—Strong, uncompromising Black leaders who fight for the liberation of their people have not historically been appreciated or lauded until after they are long gone. It is often easy to reflect on their lives and contributions and talk about how we would have been right there marching, supporting or working alongside such greats as Ida B. Wells, W.E.B. DuBois, Marcus Garvey, Steven Biko, Nelson Mandela, Patrice Lumumba, Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr.

But the truth is, they were hated and feared not only by the White power structure of their time, but in many cases, they were not supported by their own Black brothers and sisters. Yet they possessed a dogged determination to work and sacrifice on behalf of their people, without fanfare or accolades.

For over 65 years the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has given his life for the liberation and upliftment of fallen humanity and in particular, for the oppressed and spiritually dead descendants of slaves—the Black people of America.

He has been a champion of truth, freedom, justice and equality; carrying the mantle of his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

His unwavering love and support of Black people has endeared him to generations. He has taught, guided, counseled and when necessary pointed out the wrong in the behavior and character of Black people in efforts to correct and redeem.

“One of the first things that I did with him is when I did the National Peace and Justice Summit,” said Harry “Spike” Moss, a longtime activist in Minneapolis. Min. Farrakhan has always been a guide and advisor to and for Black youth and has facilitated peace gatherings between street organizations most notably in the 1990s in Los Angeles and other cities. The Minister has been a steady, consistent and guiding voice in quelling tensions among gangs to stop the fratricidal violence.

“I had dinner with him at his house in Chicago and that’s when I asked him to join me as I kicked off the Gang Summits across the country and he told me that if it’s God’s will he will be there. When I got back home to Minnesota at about four or five that evening, he called and said that he was coming. Not only did he come, but the Nation (of Islam) paid for about 40 more people to come. And our people were standing outside in line for maybe two blocks long waiting to come into that church to hear him. A true man of his word,” said Mr. Moss.

“When you live on his (Minister Farrakhan) every word, as many of us do. You could be having a bad day and you could hear him speak and it’d be like you’re not having a bad day. The one thing that you have from his voice is hope, you have courage, you have determination and you have what’s called clarity. His leadership has so many followers under him, be they men or women. But it’s a message that my people need to hear to grow and to keep standing up and keep fighting for that’s the message. It’s a very powerful message, truthful message, spiritual message, God felt message,” said Mr. Moss.

In 2012 at the age of 80 the Minister led the Fruit of Islam, the men of the Nation of Islam out into the streets of Chicago and other cities to once again lead by example in striving to bring peace to the streets.

Min. Farrakhan has traveled across the globe teaching millions the importance of living a righteous life in obedience to God. A message that have changed the lives of men, women and children for the better. A message of love, respect, honor and self-reliance.

Whether teaching on the streets of New York, as the Minister of Temple (as they were called then) No. 7 in Harlem; going into prisons around the county to feed a spiritual word of hope to inmates; impacting the hearts and minds of Black students at colleges and universities around the country; Min. Farrakhan has been there, and he has made a tangible impact despite virulent opposition from the U.S. government. His consistency and defense of Black people is why he is still admired, respected, revered and loved. He has addressed hundreds of Black professional organizations, student groups, churches, and to Black politicians, entertainers, activists in the U.S. and abroad. He has given his time and resources in supporting Black liberation causes regardless of religious affiliation or ideology.

“Brother Farrakhan’s messages have consistently been about self-empowerment, self-responsibility, and owning your actions. Righteousness is always his focus and that message resonates across the globe. It is particularly important in communities where a perception exists that these principles do not apply,” said Attorney Anthony Gray, who worked with fellow lawyer Benjamin Crump on the Mike Brown Jr. case in Ferguson, Missouri.

“During these times, more than ever, it is so important to stress and press messages like this in order to keep his honorable ideas alive. Without Farrakhan and his powerful messaging along these influences, there is a huge void in a lot of communities. I love to hear him speak about ideas that compel us to adopt responsibility and handling yourself in a professional and upstanding manner. Who else does this better than him? I venture to say, no one!” said Atty. Gray.

Atty. Crump remarked on the consistent support, advice and counsel Min. Farrakhan has always offered him.

“That’s what I’m always grateful to the Minister on, and he’s always shown compassion to me and my clients in these tragedies where Black people were killed in some of the most unjustifiable ways,” said Atty. Crump.

“That’s what I tell everybody when they ask about the Minister. People say things. I say, ‘This is what I know about Minister Farrakhan,’ and then I just get away from them,” Atty. Crump told The Final Call.

“As a country and a world, I think we’re headed towards a fork in the road. We’re at a tipping point in America. And I think as it relates to freedom of speech, it is really being challenged now on many fronts,” he added, regarding the relentless, increasing, slanderous attacks against Min. Farrakhan.

The Minister has been an influence and sage to the hip-hop community since the development of the groundbreaking musical genre in the late 1970s. He has continuously taught artists the importance of their role and influence particularly among youth. He has squashed and mediated “beefs” among rappers in efforts to keep the peace.

“I think that some of the things that drew me to the Minister was how he spoke to me personally eye-to-eye,” College Park, Georgia rapper 2 Chainz told The Final Call. He was a recent guest of Min. Farrakhan for his worldwide July 4 message, The Criterion, and has attended a lecture at Mosque Maryam at Nation of Islam headquarters in Chicago. The hip hop artist said he grew up in a Baptist background and his grandparents lived next door to a church.

“When I was invited to hear him (Min. Farrakhan) speak he was able to analyze some of those stories because although he NOI, he’s still able to teach out of the Bible and make it relate on a level where it’s clear and understanding especially for the youth,” said 2 Chainz. “I think that’s probably why you see a lot of younger being interested in what he has to say about certain things. Because when he breaks stuff down to laymen terms it gives you an understanding whereas you’re able to formulate your own opinion based off how it’s given. So, if it’s given to you in that way that’s how I got started rocking with it or just being interested and being in perspective from the industry,” he added.

Through the years, the Minister has spoken at numerous Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) reaching and challenging the minds of young men and women oftentimes declining honorariums. In 2012 after Min. Farrakhan spoke at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He had a private meeting with members of the SGA (Student Government Association), fraternities and sororities, and students in leadership positions. Monica Butler of the Echelon Center of Baton Rouge was working behind stage with the media team and was permitted to sit in the meeting. “This was my first time experiencing the Minister in person,” she explained. “The students had some in-depth questions during the discussion, in which I was thoroughly impressed. But the thing that impressed me the most was the feeling of truth that was overpowering the room, and it all came from him. It was everything he was saying about the Qur’an, the Bible, and Jesus. The responses he gave with these young people bore witness that I was looking at truth right in front of me, and the only thing that deem to be truth to me is the Lord Jesus Christ. So, for me, I saw Jesus and that has affected me, empowered me, and inspired me, from that point on,” said Ms. Butler.

When the Nation of Islam fell after the departure of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the movement was left for dead in the eyes of many people. But in 1977 the Minister began rebuilding his Father’s work and decades later is still going strong.

Min. Farrakhan’s importance as a great spiritual leader is something that cannot be overlooked. People of various faiths have dialogued and learned from him and he has spoken in various houses of worship of various Christian denominations; in masjid’s and mosques of various Islamic schools of thought and also a synagogue. He has shared the message and teachings of his Father, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad all over the world.

“I just want to say I thank Minister Farrakhan for standing up and not being afraid to tell the truth and for lifting up the name of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He has stood the test of time and have walked his post in a perfect manner keeping always on an alert. And I’m thankful he keeps standing up against these so-called Jews,” said Ferguson activist Anthony Shahid.

“I thank Allah that the Minister have kept the Honorable Elijah name up. A man who have taken a scattered and broken people and taught us how to come together and do something for ourselves. I thank the Minister for not deviating from his teacher’s teachings,” said Mr. Shahid.

“My relationship and knowledge of the Minister goes back more than 55 years,” noted Dr. James Smalls, former imam of Muslim Mosque Incorporated (founded by Minister Malcolm X in 1967), an African historian and one of the preeminent scholars in African Studies.

“I have watched him grow as I have grown in these years too. I have watched Minister Louis Farrakhan pick up the spiritual, the political and the cultural banner of Black people. I have watched the Minister come forward in a way that we can even call him a redeemer. People don’t like that term, but when you can take the deadest of your people and put life back in them when everybody and every institution in this country has rejected them and threw them to the bush—the Nation of Islam, and particularly in these last 40 years under Minister Louis Farrakhan—has raised and saved more of our people than any other institution in this country,” said Dr. Smalls.

One of Min. Farrakhan’s close friends for over five decades, Abdul Akbar Muhammad shared some historical occurrences when the character assassination attempts about his friend occurred during Rev. Jesse Jackson’s run for president in 1984. Rev. Jackson received death threats from members of the Jewish community for his balanced approached to tensions in the Middle East between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The dislike eventually leading to hatred of the Minister because he spoke truth regardless of who it may offend and his boldness to stand up with Rev. Jackson increased the attacks made on him by elements within the Jewish community,” said Akbar Muhammad, international representative of the Nation of Islam.

He said during that time a negative propaganda campaign was launched against Min. Farrakhan and powerful Jewish leaders in America blocked the Muslim leader from speaking in Europe. Mr. Muhammad continued “The Jewish element in America pushed the home secretary of England to ban the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan when he was planning to speak in Prince Albert Hall in London and they continued to fan the flames of hatred across Europe against the Minister,” he added.

“The attacks against the Minister has persisted so long because if they let his message get to the ears and the hearts of our people across the UK and all of Europe it would change the direction of Black people for the betterment of them now and generations to come.”

(Charlene Muhammad contributed to this report)

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Fed up with oppression, police violence, emotions are high, U.S. cities explode

The post Seeds of anger, days of rage appeared first on Final Call News.

In Africa, Nigeria has logged about 981 cases and 31 deaths; South Africa about 3,953 cases and 75 deaths; Ghana about 1,279 cases and 10 deaths and Kenya about 336 cases and 14 deaths. Those numbers may seem small now but in countries without adequate social distancing and shutdowns of society, the pandemic has a serious impact and will, hopefully, avoid catastrophic conditions related to the impact of Covid-19—and not just the loss of life. Africa is facing a food crisis because of locust infestation in some areas which could be made worse with people and equipment unable to move easily from country to country. 

“We will only halt Covid-19 through solidarity,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, World Health Organization director-general. “Countries, health partners, manufacturers, and the private sector must act together and ensure that the fruits of science and research can benefit everybody.”

The Final Call newspaper recently organized an important online discussion of the Covid-19 impact on the Motherland, which included the economic impact, the social impact and pandemic concerns either unique to Africa or unsettled, unique concerns germane to the continent. It was livestreamed April 23.

“I was working with Dr. Ndongo Sylla, an economist from Senegal, on how to control the narrative about Africa and creating a platform to get accurate information out. Then the coronavirus hit and I suggested we pull together African professionals that represented the entire continent. We wanted a wholistic approach,” said Jehron Muhammad, Final Call Africa Watch columnist who organized the forum.

“We also included Dr. Desta Muhammad who was trained in Cuba because they have sent doctors all over the world. Cuba has a track record of dealing with pandemics but America hates Cuba and won’t let them help us. Cuba was instrumental in helping China as well,” he said.

The forum covered topics such as testing, economics, women’s issues, leadership and China’s role in Africa.The scholars, activists and advocates who convened online over a video platform were from Senegal, South Africa, Uganda, Kenya and Sudan as well as Chicago and Philadelphia.

Final Call Editor-in-Chief Naba’a Muhammad and journalist Khalil Charles, who lives in Istanbul, Turkey, and has lived in Sudan, were co-moderators. Philadelphia-based writer Jehron Muhammad organized and introduced the session. Participants included Dr. Desta Valdez Muhammad, who was trained in Cuba’s medical school and practices in California; Senegalese economist Dr. Sylla; Kenyan activist and African women’s advocate Crystal Simeoni of Femnet, who is also a fellow with the London School of Economics;   Leah Eryenyu of Uganda, who is a research, advocacy and movement building manager with Akina Mama Afrika and works on the intersection between gender oppression and economic exploitation; Redge Nkosi of First Source Money and Public Banking in South Africa; Christobel Phiri of Southern African Trust in Johannesburg; Riaz K. Tayob of the Southern and East African Institute in South Africa; and Mekki Elmograbi of MC-Media in Sudan, who sent in a video as part of the discussion.

The online session was called “Africa: The Economic Ramifications of the Coronavirus Pandemic.” 

Panelists talked about the challenges of the pandemic, which has closed some borders and put people out of work as social distancing and shutdowns are employed to control spread of the disease.

That may be working given the small number of those infected, who often came from abroad or were visiting abroad and contracted and brought the disease back home, but there are concerns about violence and killings by security forces to keep people in their homes, said panelists.

Most Africans also cannot afford to work from home and must earn a living as social safety nets are frayed and nations are swamped with debt that sucks up money that could be used for services and infrastructure. 

“Each (Covid-19) test costs $50. Targeted mass testing must be balanced against the cost of testing,” explained Ms. Simeoni, who works for one of Africa’s largest women’s rights networks. 

“Over 70 percent of our labor force is informal (don’t have traditional jobs). We have to find hybrid ways to manage the virus. The city (Nairobi) is on curfew from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. We have contact tracing and mandatory quarantine for anyone testing positive,” she said of Kenya.

She echoed those who call for greater global collaboration on health services and against the pandemic. “This is needed especially when countries are becoming more nationalist in their approaches,” said Ms. Simeoni.

Leah Eryenyu, based in Kampala, Uganda, told the live stream audience, “I think one of the things that needs to happen is that the African Union needs to step in because that is the accountability mechanism for states on the continent, and I would say, put in check errant leaders or leaders that are actually putting their citizens lives in danger. But even closer to home, we have regional economic blocs. In the case of Tanzania, it is the East African Community that comprises six countries including Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Burundi.”

“If I can just give a case of Uganda where you have, you had about 10 million people living in poverty, that means that those are people that make about $1.25 a day. That’s their daily income and they’re saying that the shock of the pandemic is going to catapult about 15 million more people into poverty.

“Just because the economy opens does not mean that everything is going to spring back to life. People are still going to have a lot of debt. People are not going to have any money to actually spend even when the shops open. So, it means that there’s a real big need for relief,” she argued.

Final Call Editor in Chief Naba’a Muhammad, who co-moderated the forum, said, “We are witnessing the global system of White supremacy. Through this, White nations settle their differences among themselves to assert their domination over Black people regardless of whether they are in Africa, the United States or Brazil.”

He asked the panelists about the type of global leadership necessary to confront this pandemic. “Weak leadership is affecting the way the pandemic is playing out,” Christabel Phiri of Southern Africa Trust based in Johanesburg said.

“The pandemic has brought to light the weak health care systems we have,” she added.

Ms. Simeoni responded, “There is apartheid in the global governance of Africa. We don’t sit at the table, but we are expected to implement the policies. Africans have to put money in a Covid Relief fund.”

“The pandemic has created an opportunity for African countries to work together. We don’t even trade among ourselves. This could be the start,” she added.

Dr. Sylla, the Senegalese economist, said, “As with many other African countries there are a lot of people who work in the informal sector who cannot afford the lockdown. They cannot afford to be in a situation and face an economic crisis. The (Senegalese) government has tried to aid these people with the food aid program.”

“For the rest of West Africa, you could say the situation is manageable. We have to take care that the official numbers mostly reveal the weak testing capacity in Africa,” he warned.

Dr. Sylla argued African nations must also begin taking out loans in their own currency based on their own projections, resources and collateral. Taking out loans in the currency of Western nations weakens Africa, increases the costs of the loans and undermines true sovereignty, he argued. 

The second half of the three-hour forum was moderated by Khalil Yusuf Charles, deputy news editor for TRT World based in Istanbul, Turkey. “The speakers gave important points and solutions about what should be done. I was struck by Dr. Sylla’s remarks about money and finances. He made a strong case about the pseudo-colonialization going on there,” Mr. Charles told The Final Call.

“Ms. Simeoni from Kenya raised concerns about African leadership. Does Africa have the kind of leadership necessary to handle this crisis? The verdict is still out on that. Our goal for this forum was to give everyone a platform to talk about local production, vaccines, social distancing, infrastructure issues, the brutality of the situation, domestic violence issues for women and border trade,” he continued.

“In South Africa, we are looking at this as a Great Lockdown. Just like we had the Great Depression and the Great Recession,” said Redge Nkosi of First Source Money and Public Banking based in Pretoria.

“Testing has increased across the continent. In South Africa we’ve tested 143,570, the largest amount of testing on the continent, 3,953 tested positive, 1,473 recovered and deaths 375,” he said.

“The largest lockdown period was extended for two weeks. We expect to lift the lockdown at the end of the month. Surprisingly the most infections are in the richest areas of the country. Not the slums where we would expect the slums to be highly impacted,” he said.

While social distancing has been recommended for everyone all over the world this may be difficult to enforce in Africa. Many people without the comfort of bank savings or credit cards may see the cure as worse than the disease and risk breaking the law to work just to feed their families. There are also social norms to overcome.

“Social distancing in Sudan is a very big challenge for this community. The situation has forced people to have social distances like three meters or five meters. People now still shake hands. They sit together very closely. It doesn’t matter if they need to do that or not. A lot of people, they didn’t close their mosques. They pray together and now we are heading to taraweeh prayers in Ramadan,” said Mekki Elmograbi, a writer based in Khartoum via a recorded statement.

“Even if they didn’t pray in the mosque, they’ll pray at home or in small mosques. This is not because they are challenging the government, but it is tough and hard for the Sudanese community to have this social distance. Although there is an awareness with this challenge, but they can’t change their habits in just a few days,” he said.

Much of the discussion centered on governance and economics and what takes priority. “We must put people first not the economy,” argued Riaz K. Tayob of the Southern and East African Institute, who works in South Africa.

“Africans lack a national development plan. That’s why China has gotten away with what it has. Africa needs to set its own benchmarks. That way it doesn’t matter who the developer is, Africa is focused on their benchmarks. This pandemic is a cardiac arrest for the entire global economy,” he said. 

Panelists called for a more united African approach to the pandemic and for progress on the continent. What’s needed is true Pan Africanism, which seeks common benefit, not continent-wide “African liberalism,” which imitates Western economic thought and is obsessed with growth and profit versus the welfare of people, they said.

The IMF and other international lending and financial institutions have pushed programs that decimated social goods, like national health care in favor of public-private partnerships with fees and many cannot afford for services. Too often the focus has been on tackling specific diseases like malaria versus building hospitals and health capacity and focusing on prevention and things like clean water. Too often these institutions have forced austerity programs on African nations in exchange for loans but these programs decimate the social and other needed services, said panelists.

There is a lack of U.S. leadership, which includes pulling funding from the World Health Organization, and Europe but there is not a unified African Union voice calling for debt relief, which would free up money for services and development, panelists argued.

There is fear that if Covid-19 numbers rise in Africa, the health systems will be overrun and in Uganda, for example, there is fear of people who recovered from coronavirus and a stigma for those who come back to their communities after quarantine.

In Senegal, the month of April will be a critical month to see if the pandemic will grow, said Dr. Sylla.

Women who work in marketplaces or who are often food vendors or own small restaurants are specially hit hard by the loss of income, said panelists.

There is also a need for collaboration with Cuba, not just with doctors but with technology sharing and developing Covid-19 tests on the continent, said panelists.

Dr. Desta Muhammad said the Cuban health care model, which focuses on prevention, common good, uses small health centers and regular interaction with local residents can help Africa. In Cuba, the first interaction with health workers is not in hospitals but in regular contact, she said. When an epidemic or illness strikes the health workers already know those who are most vulnerable, she explained.

While Africa faces challenges, panelists said there is room for optimism and the pandemic’s aftermath will leave room for creating something new and different and they want their brothers and sisters in America and the Diaspora to be part of the solution.

(Final Call staff contributed to this report.)

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