Misidentified: Faulty witness ID nearly wrecked a life
By Charlene Muhammad CHARLENEM (FinalCall.com) - Rio Appling was 31-years-old, enjoying life as a music producer, recording artist, actor and real estate investor. But a case of eyewitness misidentification and overzealous prosecution nearly ended it all, his attorney says. Mr. Appling served 11 months in prison until his release earlier this year. Although he was nowhere near the scene of a severe hit-and-run...
Jobs still key issue 50 years after historic D.C. march
By George Curry NNPA Editor-in-Chief PHILADELPHIA (NNPA) - One of the primary goals of the 1963 March on Washington was finding or creating jobs for Blacks. At a panel discussion during the annual convention of the National Urban League, jobs was mentioned more frequently than any other topic as leaders discussed the famous march 50 years ago and an upcoming one...
More NYPD racial profiling in 2014?
By Saeed Shabazz -Staff Writer- NEW YORK (FinalCall.com) - “People are angry, they feel betrayed by mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, and we intend to follow him around the city wherever we can find him until he hears our complaints concerning stopping ‘stop and frisk,'” anti-police brutality activist Juanita Young told The Final Call. Days before his victory in November, Mr. de Blasio reportedly...
Working the block: The Nation’s Fruit of Islam continue to push for peace and the resurrection mission
By Saeed Shabazz-Staff Writer- NEW YORK - Over the past two years Black communities throughout America in the summer months witnessed the men of Nation of Islam, known as the Fruit of Islam, come into neighborhoods working to lessen tension and increase peace through positive interactions and offering knowledge to combat ignorance, despair and self-hatred that breeds Black-on-Black violence. The Honorable...
Black women mobilize for Marlene Pinnock
By Charlene Muhammad CHARLENEM FCN Full Coverage: Justice for Marlene Pinnock LOS ANGELES (FinalCall.com) Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Attorney Caree Harper, and more than 60 Black women from local women's organizations held a press conference and fundraising reception for Marlene Pinnock, the 51-year-old then homeless Black woman savagely beaten by California Highway Patrol Officer Daniel Andrew. During the Sept. 12 event at the...
Report focuses on how to eliminate racial inequity inside the American criminal justice system
By Charlene Muhammad CHARLENEM (FinalCall.com) - The Sentencing Project's report “Black Lives Matter: Eliminating Racial Inequity in the Criminal Justice System” was another scathing indictment of over-policing in Black and Brown communities and its adverse effects. The report, released Feb. 2, by the Washington, D.C.-based organization surveyed programs and policies in more than 20 states and the federal system aimed at reducing...
Ramadan Prayer Line ends with divine message for 10-10-15!
ERICTOUREM -Contributing Writer- This year more than 10,000 listeners are estimated to have tuned in live to hear the 5 a.m. Fajr, Ramadan prayer message from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. Marking its 10th anniversary this year, the Ramadan Prayer Line, organized by members of the Nation...
Prison Ministry Training Session, Informs And Inspires
By Leonard Omarr Muhammad In the traditions of our Native American family exists the art of storytelling. Our great Student National Prison Reform Minister, Brother Abdullah Muhammad, is certainly gifted by Almighty God Allah with this very important art form. Recently Brother Abdullah participated in a training course, for 60 Federal Bureau of Prisons chaplains from across the country. This...
Town Hall Meeting Opens Eyes To Alleged CDC Cover-Up
-Contributing Editor- CHICAGO–Tears streamed down the cheeks of Maisha Muhammad as she spoke of her son Elijah, who started to exhibit signs of autism around his second birthday. The infant had been doing so well, she told an audience May 7 at Mosque Maryam at the National Center, headquarters of the Nation of Islam. He had started walking at...
Women’s March On Washington Is First Step In Resistance Campaign
and Bryan Crawford The Final Call WASHINGTON–Controversies leading up to the Women's March on Washington–ranging from the initial name of Million Women March to the name change to whether Black and Brown women were welcome to whether White women were welcome–didn't quell a sea of pink when women gathered in numbers that far exceeded expectations. Not only were the numbers...