Grandmothers fighting for the family
(FinalCall.com) - Once upon a time grandmothers in the Black community were the rock of the family. From Lena Young, the matriarch in the Lorraine Hansberry play, “A Raisin in the Sun,” to Mama Joe, the matriarch in the movie “Soul Food,” grandmothers' jobs were to keep the family together. Today, with younger grandmothers–55 percent not yet the age...
A meeting between mighty men of vision
WINDOW ROCK, Arizona (FinalCall.com) - Arriving with great anticipation on the sacred ground of the Navajo Nation, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and a delegation from the Nation of Islam was received with brotherly love. Upon the invitation of Navajo President Joe Shirley, as a follow-up to a four-hour meeting between the leaders at Minister Farrakhan's home in Phoenix,...
10 things to know about the Navajo Nation
(FinalCall.com) - After the brief visit to the capital of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, priority issues emerged that revealed not only the richness of the tribe, but also its vulnerabilities. Here is a brief overview of 10 valuable elements of the Navajo life and struggle in North America. 1. The Navajo Nation is the largest federally recognized Native American...
Boston fights against systemic roots of violence
(FinalCall.com) - Activists in Boston, Mass. say they are fed up with the street violence: More than 200 people have been shot this year, almost 20 percent more than in 2003, when the streets were quiet. “We have no choice now. We have to get into the streets,” argues Captain True C. Allah, head of the Fruit of Islam at...
Film charts plight of gang members’ parents
Black Hollywood Education & Resource Center (BHERC) HOLLYWOOD (FinalCall.com) - “Summer time is the killing season,” teenager and gang member Jameeka recurred throughout a 22-minute documentary revealing the plight of parents of active gang members. But it no longer can or has to be–at least that is what film writer Miriam Holder-Jacobs impressed with the July 8 screening...
Tragedy brings opportunity for youth in Chicago neighborhood
By Richard Muhammad CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) - The month of March was not a good one for Rep. Bobby Rush, with the tragic deaths of two young girls killed by stray bullets fired on the streets of Englewood. The Democratic congressman didn't despair. He went to work convening major corporate, political and community leaders. He called for a joint effort to bring...
Washington D.C. Residents say ‘no’ to slots
WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) - On the boarded up corner of Good Hope Road and Martin Luther King Ave. in the poorest section of the city, protesters gathered July 6 to let the city know that video lottery terminals, a.k.a. slot machines, are unwanted in their community. “They'll just create chaos and more crime,” 16-year-old Montray Brown told The Final Call....
Essence music festival presents the brilliance of Black minds
HOUSTON (FinalCall.com) - If you traveled here for the Essence Music Festival simply to party at clubs and official concerts July 4th weekend, the three days of exquisitely organized empowerment seminars were wasted on you. The weekend also marked the official launch of Essence Cares! A Call to Action to Secure Our Youth. With an emphasis on mentoring, the...
Some of this Earth to call our own
According to Minister Abdul Akbar Muhammad, International Representative of the Nation of Islam based in Ghana, West Africa and St. Louis, Mo., “Historically, there has always been talk about our returning to Africa.” The thing that has always been absent in the discussion “is keeping our feet on both continents,” similar to how Jewish Americans claim kinship with...
America is unprepared for disasters
In spite of 9/11 & Katrina, Americans still not prepared for disasters NEW YORK (FinalCall.com) - On a rainy Saturday morning, Zaid Abdullah, 60, and his wife Bonnie, 64, traveled to Brooklyn to participate in their second “Evac-U-Walk,” which was sponsored by the International Preparedness Network (IPN). “We feel it necessary to be out here, rain or shine, because we want...