‘Lens of Ansar’: Celebrating the life of a brother, friend, servant Ansar El Muhammad
Family and friends from all walks of life gathered for the Janazah (funeral) service for Brother Ansar El Muhammad at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance on August 30, 2023. Among the attendees were the former mayor of Denver, the Honorable Wellington Webb and his wife, Wilma. Mama Cleo, the founder, artistic director, and choreographer of the 50-year-old Denver-based artistic institution,...
Trial begins for three Tacoma officers charged in death of Manny Ellis
TACOMA, Wash.—Jury selection started Sept. 18 in the trial of three Tacoma police officers charged in the death of Manuel “Manny” Ellis, a 33-year-old Black man who was tackled, punched, shocked with a stun gun and held face down on a sidewalk on March 3, 2020, two months before George Floyd met a similar fate. Officers Christopher Burbank and Matthew...
New law returns Native American remains for reburial in Illinois
SPRINGFIELD, Ill.—For centuries, Europeans carving up the prairie to suit their own idea of settlement dug up the graves of Native Americans as they conquered lands and pushed tribes to the West. Now, Native Americans whose ancestors’ remains ended up held for study in sterile, nondescript boxes on shelves in educational facilities or displayed in cultural locales hope a new...
16 states underfunded historically Black land-grant universities, Biden administration says
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Historically Black land-grant universities in Tennessee and 15 other states have missed out on $12.6 billion in funding over the last three decades, according to the Biden administration. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack sent letters to the governors of each state asking them to increase funding, news outlets reported. The letter said the...
Organic community garden aims to bring eating to live to South Side
CHICAGO—The Salaam Community Wellness Center, a holistic healing space, recently held its grand opening and ribbon cutting of their latest collaboration, “Eat to Live Urban Farm, Paradise Garden: Food Is Medicine.” Dr. Constance Shabazz, a noted healthcare professional, serves as CEO and co-founder of the Salaam Community Wellness Center. “When we started the Salaam Community Wellness Center, one of our...
The War Against Ivermectin: A Tale of Two Drugs
Ivermectin first exploded onto the scene as a potential therapeutic for COVID after researchers at Monash University in Australia published in April of 2020 that SARS-CoV-2 essentially disappeared from cell culture within 48 hours of being exposed to Ivermectin. Pulmonary specialist and critical care physician Dr. Pierre Kory, in his December 2022 series titled “The Timeline of Major Battles...
Appeals Court Rules FDA ‘Exceeded Its Authority’ by Advising Public Against Use of Ivermectin to Treat COVID
by Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D. The Defender The 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 1 ruled the U.S. Food and Drug Administration exceeded its authority under federal law when it advised the public against using ivermectin. This article was originally published by The Defender—Children’s Health Defense’s News & Views Website A federal appeals court last week overturned the dismissal of a...
Nation of Islam Prison Reform Ministry visits Tampa area, Part 2
by Rasheedah Salahu-din Muhammad While in the Tampa area earlier this summer, Nation of Islam Student National Prison Reform Minister Abdullah Muhammad and prison ministry delegation visited with inmates at the Medium Complex of the Federal Correctional Complex (FCC) in Coleman, Fla. (see Final Call Vol. 42 No. 47). Student Prison Reform Ministry Coordinator Zachariah Muhammad of Mosque No. 29 in...
109-year-old Tulsa Massacre survivor reflects on legacy of slavery in UN visit
Viola Fletcher was just seven years old when she was forcibly displaced from her hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma, by an armed mob which destroyed the predominantly Black enclave of Greenwood, killing hundreds of residents. Together with her grandson, Ike Howard, the 109-year-old Ms. Fletcher came to UN Headquarters at the end of August to commemorate the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural...
Patients need doctors who look like them
DETROIT—Dr. Starling Tolliver knew she wanted to become a doctor. Yet, as a Black girl growing up in Akron, Ohio, it was a dream that felt out of reach. She rarely saw doctors who looked like her. As a child, she experienced severe hair loss and struggled to find a dermatologist who could help. Tolliver made a pact with two...