In the conclusion of a multi-day trial, jurors deliberated for approximately eight hours before reaching a verdict. The verdict was handed down on June 1.

“I’ve been practicing law for almost 30 years. I’ve never seen anything like this. I don’t understand it. I’m at a loss to explain it to his father, Troy, standing beside me. I’m at a loss to explain it to his mother, who couldn’t take it and had to leave.

I’m at a loss to explain it to his family, because I too don’t understand it,” the Carmack/Belton family attorney, Todd Rutherford, said in a statement to reporters that night.

On May 28, 2023, Cyrus Carmack-Belton walked into an Xpress Mart Shell station then owned by Rick Chow, who is Asian. While inside of the store, Cyrus was followed and watched closely by Mr. Chow’s wife, Alice Chow, according to surveillance footage. 

Video footage shows the teen opening a refrigerated container door and taking out four bottles of water then immediately putting all four bottles back inside. After being questioned by Ms. Chow and her son, Andy Chow, on whether he had taken a water bottle, Cyrus shook out his hoodie then left the store.

Mr. Chow, accompanied by his then 20-year-old son, followed the teen out and pursued him for more than 100 yards, roughly the length of a football field, before fatally shooting him in the back.

“The anger is palpable tonight. You can feel it, you can touch it, because people saw a child that looked like their own, that did nothing wrong, a child that all the witnesses described had fear in his eyes when he left the store,” Atty. Rutherford said.

“He started to run as two grown men chased him down over a football field and shot him dead. This should not happen. This makes us feel as if our children don’t matter, and they do. This makes us feel like Cyrus’s life did not matter, and it did.”

Protests, rallies, memorials and vigils were held in the days following the verdict, including demonstrations outside of both the gas station and the South Carolina State House. 

“It was devastating for me to get a call from Alvin S. Glenn [Detention Center] letting me know that Rick Chow was released. That broke me more than you can ever imagine, because [the] murderer of my son was set free, and it’s not fair, and it’s unjust,” Cyrus’ mother, Nicole Carmack, said at a June 3 gathering at the site where her son was killed.

She described her son as strong, smart, loving and kind and expressed her thoughts that the entire Chow family should be held accountable.

“Every day I will not be able to speak to my son, hear his voice change, see him grow, go to prom. He will never get married. I will never hold my grandchildren. Nothing,” she said. “But Chow is able to go home with his lying son, Andy Chow, and they’re able to have dinner with the wife, Alice.”

The trial

Kinnedy Carson was sitting inside her mother’s SUV when she saw Cyrus running with two men behind him. “His eyes were big,” she said to the 12 jurors during the trial, according to WLTX, Columbia’s CBS affiliate. “His shoe had fell off, and he was holding his pants up with one hand and pumping his arms with the other.” 

In the aftermath of the fatal shooting, Mr. Chow accused Cyrus of stealing a water bottle, and claimed the teen pointed a gun at his son and said he acted in defense.

Investigators with the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said surveillance video showed Cyrus had not stolen anything from the store, and prosecutors argued that Rick Chow and his son, Andy Chow, created the confrontation by leaving the store and chasing the teen, according to WLTX.

In addition, witnesses Kinnedy Carson and her mother, Lori Ann Carson, testified they never saw a gun pointed at Rick Chow or Andy Chow, according to the media outlet.

Richland County Sheriff’s Department deputy Derrick English, one of the first deputies to respond after the shooting, testified that while a handgun was recovered near Cyrus, witnesses did not initially tell deputies they saw Cyrus point a gun, the media outlet reported.

Fifth Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson asked jurors: “In what world do you get to falsely accuse a 14-year-old of stealing? Chase a 14-year-old 130-plus yards down the road while you’re armed with a pistol. Shoot that person in the back, then claim you’re defending your son?” 

Next steps in fight for justice

Richland County is nearly 50% Black, and Columbia is about 41% Black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Seven of the 12 jurors in the case were Black.

Still, critics raised concerns about what took place inside the courtroom, as Mr. Chow’s prior history was not brought up during the trial. South Carolina law generally prevents prosecutors from introducing prior crimes, wrongs or other acts to argue that a defendant acted in accordance with a past pattern of behavior.

According to The State, a South Carolina newspaper, Mr. Chow was involved in two prior reported shooting incidents, one in 2015, when he fired six shots into the side of a vehicle, and another in 2018, when he fired two shots at a person identified as an alleged shoplifter, striking the person in the leg.

“He’s had multiple accounts, assaults, accounts caught on video, and this is not even the first shooting that was reported on him. This is just the first time that we’ve had a fatality,” Nation of Islam Student Minister Anthony Muhammad of Mosque No. 38 in Columbia said to The Final Call. “It took someone to actually die to put some attention on this man.”

Cyrus’ parents, Troy Belton and Nicole Carmack, filed a civil lawsuit in July 2024 with similar allegations. The complaint alleges that Rick, Andy and Alice Chow had a pattern of intimidating, threatening and harassing customers whom they suspected of shoplifting. It also argues that Shell and the business entities operating the store failed to prevent those practices.

Mr. Belton and Ms. Carmack are seeking damages from Mr. Chow and his family, Shell USA and related business entities, including Grene Investments, Grenefrog Stores and Xpress Mart.

The lawsuit alleges that Cyrus was a lawful customer in the store when he was racially profiled, falsely accused of shoplifting, unlawfully detained, chased and ultimately killed. It brings eight legal claims, including negligence and recklessness, wrongful death, intentional infliction of emotional distress, civil conspiracy, false imprisonment, assault and battery and kidnapping.

Cyrus’ parents are seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, funeral and related expenses, damages for emotional distress and grief, attorney’s fees and costs and a jury trial.

The civil suit was put on hold until the criminal case concluded. After the not guilty verdict, the family’s attorney, Todd Rutherford, said the family would be moving forward with the lawsuit.

“Rick Chow, while found not guilty, we’re still going to sue him. He owes. He owes for what he did to Cyrus. He owes for what he did to the family. He owes for what he did to this community,” Atty. Rutherford said in his statement following the verdict.

“What he did was wrong. He took a life that he should not have. He had no reason—no one ever does—to chase a child 130 yards and shoot them in the back. I don’t care what that jury said.

There is no justification for that. It should never happen again, and it is not open season on Black people for anybody to feel like they should be able to do it, because the jury found him not guilty.”

Black-Asian relations in the midst of tragedy

In a June 9 statement, Stop AAPI Hate, an organization exposing and combating racism and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S., condemned the shooting of Cyrus and called for cross-racial solidarity.

“Cyrus’ death was a tragedy then, and it remains a tragedy today in the wake of Chow’s acquittal,” the statement said. “As Asian Americans, we can’t look away from the questions this case raises or the tensions it inflames. From Cyrus Carmack-Belton in South Carolina to Latasha Harlins in California, too many Black children have lost their lives over too little.”

Latasha Harlins was a 15-year-old Black girl who was shot in the back of the head by a Korean convenience store owner in 1991.

“That history demands self-reflection about anti-Blackness within Asian American communities. Anti-Black racism—just like anti-Asian racism—is a tool of White supremacy that divides communities of color against each other, reinforces racial hierarchies and encourages people to see one another as threats instead of allies. We must not give into it,” the statement said.

The group also called on Asian Americans to condemn the death of Cyrus Carmack-Belton and the “miscarriage of justice that allowed Rick Chow to walk free.”

The root of anti-Blackness is fomented and rooted in White supremacy that has engulfed the entire world.

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad also teaches Black people to unite and “do for self,” which the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has commented about Asian communities for being able to do.

“Did you know that if we just spent one-tenth of 1 percent of what we spend for these holidays with Black businesses, they would be able to hire thousands of Black people, giving them jobs?  Imagine if we knew how to invest the money that we would save; we could be free, justified and equal, building our own economic base,” Minister Farrakhan stated in a 2015 Message titled, “Why We Are Calling You To Boycott Christmas.”

In the same message he points to the example of Asian and other communities and how the spend money with their own people.

“Did you know that the money that we get out of our economy, $1.1 trillion to $1.3 trillion, we spend it almost as fast as we get it?  I was shocked when I heard some statistics; that:  The Asian people, Chinatown, Koreatown: 

Their money circulates in their community nearly a whole month before it goes.  The Jewish people:  Their money circulates in their community for 20-some days before it leaves.  Even our Mexican family: 

They are better than we, in turning their money around in their own community.  But when I heard that our money leaves in six hours:  Where did that come from?” Minister Farrakhan pointed out.  

Following the South Carolina verdict, Black people are pointing out the need to establish and support Black businesses. 

“We must unite and do for self. Spend with ourselves before we can go and spend with another. The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad even tells us in ‘Message to the Blackman in America’ that we must find those with like minds and go into business with one another and not have wanton criticism of Black owned businesses,” Student Minister Anthony Muhammad said. “Stop going into places where you’re not wanted,” he continued.

“Keep the Black dollar within the Black community,” said Student Minister Anthony Muhammad. “We must unite. The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad said our unity is more powerful than an atomic or hydrogen bomb. We must take that into consideration.”

The post Black family, pursues lawsuit, federal review after jury finds store owner not guilty in shooting death of teen in South Carolina appeared first on Final Call News.

The twin-island Caribbean state gained independence from Britain in 1981 but remained a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth, with the British sovereign serving as head of state.

Tuesday’s (May 5) swearing-in followed a constitutional amendment approved by Parliament late last year, removing references to King Charles III and his heirs from the oath of allegiance. Under the revised wording, elected officials now pledge loyalty to Antigua and Barbuda, its constitution and its laws.

The ceremony came days after Prime Minister Gaston Browne secured a fourth consecutive election victory, extending his party’s more than decade-long hold on power.

The election was called nearly two years ahead of schedule by Browne to seek a fresh mandate amid global economic uncertainty and resulted in a landslide victory for his Antigua and Barbuda Labor Party, which secured 15 of the country’s 17 parliamentary seats.

Antigua and Barbuda remains part of the Commonwealth, with British monarch retaining the role of head of state despite the revised oath.

Fifteen out of 56 countries in the Commonwealth still recognize the British monarch as sovereign. Barbados became the most recent Caribbean nation to become a republic in 2021 while remaining within the Commonwealth.

Debate over the monarchy’s future has also intensified in Britain. A 2025 British Social Attitudes survey found support for the institution had fallen to its lowest level since records began in 1983, with just 51% in favor of keeping it. (RT.com)

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Multiple homes and businesses were damaged and families were displaced in Mineral Wells, a small city about 45 miles west of Fort Worth. Two people were taken to the hospital and others with minor injuries were treated at the scene, according to Ryan Dunn, the city’s fire chief. There were no immediate reports of fatalities or people missing.

Dunn warned people to stay out of an industrial area where there’s “major damage and major hazards that are all across the roads.”

The wild weather came just days after a tornado-producing thunderstorm left at least two people dead in northern Texas and displaced at least 20 families.

The April 28 thunderstorms, including at least one unconfirmed tornado, were caused by large storm cells that were drifting southeast from north-central Texas, said Brian Hurley, a meteorologist with National Weather Service.

The storms continued April 28 night as they moved across Texas and into Arkansas and Mississippi, according to the National Weather Service. The storms could produce hail larger than two inches, damaging winds and some tornadoes, according to the agency.

In Mineral Wells, where the streets were left littered with fallen trees and other debris, the mayor declared a local state of disaster. The city also instituted a 10 p.m. curfew that was lifted around daylight as authorities continue to assess the damage, said Tim Denison, the city’s police chief. He said the curfew was to “make sure that we keep people out of the areas and also try to help these victims out, and keep their personal belongings safe.”

Officials directed anyone who needed help to the local high school, where the Red Cross was setting up.

Fast-moving storms pummeled parts of the Midwest with hail, strong wind and heavy rain April 27, flooding streets, stranding commuters and downing many trees, including one in western Michigan that landed on a man and killed him.

More than 56 million people in the Midwest and parts of the South were at risk of severe storms, with tornado warnings posted in southeastern Missouri, southern Illinois and northern Arkansas, the National Weather Service said.

A thunderstorm that whipped through Kent County, Michigan, with powerful winds caused a tree to fall and kill a 39-year-old man who had been outside with friends, the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

The friends said “the man warned them to move just before the tree came down, actions they believe likely prevented more of them from being struck,” according to the sheriff’s office. The storm resulted in dozens of downed trees and wires.

Across Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan, more than 250,000 people were without power April 27 night.

We Energies in Wisconsin said it had restored power for more than 35,000 customers, but thousands more remained without electricity. Milwaukee said it had nearly 100 emergency calls for downed trees and branches. Trees uprooted by strong winds blocked streets.

In Kansas City, Missouri, the fire department responded to 11 water rescues from vehicles starting at shortly before 6 a.m., Battalion Chief Riley Nolan said in an email.

He said most “were in our typical ‘high-water’ areas following heavy rains.” Nolan said no boats were required and no injuries were reported.

The weather service reported that 3.2 inches of rain fell in a six-hour period ending shortly before 7 a.m. at the Kansas City International Airport.

Hundreds of schools in the St. Louis area closed early, and many after-school activities were canceled.

Temperatures near 80 degrees Fahrenheit and other factors were contributing to “atmospheric instability,” said Evan Bentley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

The storms followed rounds of violent weather over the weekend.

Compiled from Associated Press reports.

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Titled “Sounding the Alarm: The Health Effects of the Cuban Oil Blockade,” the virtual gathering brought together medical professionals, U.S. Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY).

Cuban Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera, Barbados Ambassador to CARICOM David A. Comissiong, and other international voices to expose what speakers described as a preventable humanitarian catastrophe unfolding just 90 miles off the coast of Florida.

“The health consequences of the Cuban oil blockade are profound and demand urgent global attention,” said Dr. Roger A. Mitchell Jr., 126th president of the National Medical Association.

“As physicians, we have a responsibility to elevate the human impact of these policies and advocate for solutions that prioritize health, dignity, and access to care for all people.”

Dr. Mitchell detailed how persistent power outages, driven by restricted fuel access, are disrupting neonatal care, dialysis, chemotherapy and surgical procedures across Cuba’s hospitals and clinics.

The 2026 Cuban crisis is an oil shortage and economic catastrophe caused by an American fuel blockade, the United States’ first effective blockade of Cuba since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

On January 29, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14380, declaring Cuba “an unusual and extraordinary threat” to U.S. national security, imposing tariffs on any country supplying the island with oil.

Maternal mortality spikes 50%

Dr. L. Khadijah Lang, NMA Region VI chairperson and director of Medical Bridge of the Motherland, drew a direct line from the fuel embargo to the deterioration of outcomes for pregnant women and infants.

“My perspective comes as a physician in the U.S. who is doing obstetrics in America and witnessing the ridiculous and criminal maternal mortality that we are experiencing for Black women.

It is heartbreaking when I see a country like Cuba, which has done so well in controlling maternal mortality, have an increase of 50% in its maternal mortality rate as a result of this oil embargo,” Dr. Lang said.

She added that Cuban women are “not even able to get ultrasounds” to detect congenital problems or receive early indications of pregnancy complications. “Infants who have committed no crime,” she said, cannot get “a healthy start in life.”

Dr. Lang also spoke of more than 5,000 cancer patients waiting for surgery, unable to access life-saving oncological procedures due to energy shortages.

Having worked alongside Cuban physicians in medical missions in Mozambique and Grenada, she praised their skill and dedication while condemning U.S. policies that obstruct their work.

“For us as a nation to intentionally prevent this type of work from being able to continue is unethical, it’s unprofessional,” Dr. Lang stated. “It goes against everything in our Hippocratic Oath that we have all taken. We must stand together and bring this to an end.”

Real risk to human life and dignity

Cuban Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera detailed how U.S. regulations prevent Cuba from accessing medical technology with more than 10% U.S. components, forcing the country to source equipment at significantly higher costs. Of Cuba’s list of 511 essential drugs, 69% have been affected, and 364 are currently unavailable.

“Health is a fundamental human right,” Ambassador Torres said. “It should never be impacted by governmental policies. What we are facing in Cuba today are not abstract challenges. They present real risk to human life and dignity.”

She noted that 72,000 pregnant women require ultrasound and lab monitoring under Cuba’s maternal-child health program; 30,000 children need timely vaccinations dependent on refrigerated transport chains; and nearly 19,000 patients depend on oxygen therapy or dialysis—treatments requiring stable, continuous energy now under threat.

Congressman Meeks: ‘Cruel enforced logic’

During the April 15 webinar, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, characterized the U.S. position as a “failed strategy of maximum pressure” designed deliberately to make the Cuban people suffer.

“That’s what the strategy is intended to do—to make the Cuban people suffer, so that they believe that that would cause them to rise up to overthrow the Cuban government,” Rep. Meeks said. “This is something they’ve been trying to do for the last over 60 years. It does not work. It is a humanitarian devastation.”

Rep. Meeks announced he is working with Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) to raise alarms and introduce legislation prohibiting U.S. tax dollars from being used for unauthorized military force in Cuba, citing concerns about potential U.S. action similar to interventions in Venezuela.

While acknowledging differences with the Cuban government, Rep. Meeks insisted, “The best way to hash out our differences is dialogue and diplomacy, not through ravaging a country’s health care system or threatening military action.”

He noted that the President Barack Obama administration had begun normalizing relations and opening doors for medical supplies, but those policies were reversed and never restored—even under President Joe Biden.

“The Cuban people are in desperate need right now,” Rep. Meeks said, calling for united voices to “fight to change this archaic policy that we’ve had for 60 years.”

Caribbean urged to act

Ambassador David A. Comissiong of Barbados to CARICOM recalled the courageous 1972 decision by Caribbean prime ministers—Eric Williams, Michael Manley, Forbes Burnham, and Errol Barrow—to defy the United States and the Organization of American States by establishing relations with revolutionary Cuba.

“The time has come for us, the people and governments of CARICOM, to do our duty and to help our Cuban sisters and brothers to make it through this severe existential crisis,” Ambassador Comissiong said. “Cuba is desperately in need of food, medical supplies, solar energy, heaters, and other appliances to help mitigate the energy crisis.”

He noted that 187 nations voted in the United Nations General Assembly in 2024 in favor of a resolution demanding an end to the U.S. embargo, with only the United States and Israel opposing.

“Beyond Cuba is the entire edifice of multilateralism and international law,” he warned. “We all owe a duty to Cuba. By doing so, we might just find that we would have taken a critical step to preserve the order and safety of the entire human family.”

A call to action

“The NMA stands in solidarity with health care professionals working under constrained conditions and reiterates its commitment to advocating for policies that protect patient care, preserve human dignity, and uphold the fundamental purpose of public health,” Dr. Mitchell said.

The webinar, held ahead of the NMA’s annual convention, is part of the organization’s ongoing work to expose what it calls the injustice of political censure being used against the medical supply chain.

The NMA has previously sent representatives to Cuba, hosted graduates of the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM) at its conventions and passed resolutions asking physicians to support ELAM students and graduates upon their return to the United States.

As Dr. Lang put it: “Every human being is a child of God. And we are all supposed to be looking out for our brothers and sisters.”

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E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many … One!

On February 21, 2026, I was honored to be invited, along with approximately 50 other Omega Men, for an in-person meeting with the Honorable Brother Minister Louis Farrakhan. It was truly one of the highlights of my life.

For many years, I have seen and heard him speak. With each message, I left wishing I could someday meet him up close and personal.  To be honest, I thought that day would never come.

Then recently, upon hearing of the loss of Brother Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr., I, again, thought about reaching out to request a meeting with Minister Farrakhan, but again, I thought it would never happen.

However, as God would ordain, within one week of having this thought, I received a call on Friday, February 20, 2026, and was invited to a historic meeting, with 50 or so Omega Men, the following day with the Honorable Brother Minister Louis Farrakhan in Detroit, Michigan.

Therefore, very excited, I went home to get a few hours of sleep. I then got up at 2 a.m. and drove from Milwaukee to Detroit for the meeting. Yes, it is fair to say that I was not going to miss this meeting.

And yes, I was very excited to meet the man who I have heard and admired for many, many years. Most importantly and most meaningful to me, I wanted to tell Minister Farrakhan how his words inspired and empowered me to make it through two combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan.   

A story from the combat zone

While I had never personally met Minister Farrakhan, I had heard of him. When I moved to Milwaukee in 1993, Brother Roosevelt X told me about Saviours’ Day, so I started to attend every year that I could.

Minister Farrakhan’s presence and words were empowering and uplifting, and it resonated with my spirit. His messages often spoke to the mental shackles on the minds of our people and how we can change our situation if we lived a righteous life and learned to do for ourselves.

While I knew Minister Farrakhan was a person who is known all over the world, I did not know that he was such a genuinely respected international and global leader whose influence and spirit is in the hearts and minds of many people all over the world. 

I realized this fact in the combat zone as a soldier deployed to Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom III in 2004-2005. During one of our many missions, (this was during the Ramadan season,) I, along with other soldiers, were training and supporting Iraqi soldiers to one day support themselves upon our redeployment.

As you can imagine, some days things went well and some days things were very stressful as tensions were very high. And yes, there were days when things got very combative and dangerous. And, yes again, we all had real weapons.

We used to always say, “Stay Alert, Stay Alive!” However, during one of those 130-degree very hot and high-tension days, one of the Iraqi soldiers approached me in an angry and uncomfortable way. Adding to the tension, he was speaking their language, and I could not understand what he was saying.

Then another Iraqi soldier came to try and assist with communication. I still did not understand, so I stayed on high alert. Then a third Iraqi soldier approached with a translator.

The translator, who spoke English, communicated to me that the soldier came as a representative on behalf of other Iraqi soldiers upset because they had not received their food and payment. I then communicated to them that was not my area, but I would communicate it to the people who could address this issue immediately.

While that initial response eased tension a little, I could tell that was not the end of it. However, the translator communicated to Iraqi soldiers that was all that could be done at that particular moment.

Then, the angry soldier reached into his pocket. Initially, I thought it was a gun, but his gun was over his shoulder. However, he pulled out a picture and asked the translator to ask me if I knew him. To my disbelief, but also to my pleasure, it was a picture of Minister Farrakhan.

I smiled and laughed with pride when I saw the picture and they smiled and laughed when they saw me. I confirmed that while I had never met Minister Farrakhan in person, I did indeed know of him and that it was one of my greatest wishes to one day meet him in person. It was at that moment the uncomfortable tensions ceased, and a sense of peace was restored.

I said to myself, “Minister Farrakhan is saving lives in this war zone and doesn’t even know it!” Moreso, I thought, “Where in the hell did he get that picture of Minister Farrakhan?”

Also, I thought, as I sat there in a combat zone, about how much respect these Iraqi soldiers had for Minister Farrakhan that they would bestow that grace upon me just because I knew of him. And yes, as you can see, I lived to die another day! And yes, I thanked God and said “Allahu Akbar” (God is the Greatest)! 

During the Iraq war (OIF III), I asked Brother Roosevelt X to send me a few videos of the Minister and he did. I would listen to his speeches in my spare time! There were many things that he said that resonated with me.

However, one quote in particular stuck with me and I have never forgotten it. In one of his messages, the Minister was talking about working and doing for yourself. In his message, he said, “Big fields await the wide awake man to go work out in!” 

It inspired me and reaffirmed that I and we have all the tools and access to the resources we need to uplift ourselves mentally, physically, and economically … if we discipline ourselves.

In essence, if we work just as hard on developing ourselves as we do on a job working for others, then we too can experience the American Dream for ourselves and future generations of our families and our people—as we too are America.     

For more than 65 years, Minister Farrakhan has been a bridge builder who dedicated his life to rebuilding and uplifting our people here and all over the world. It is inspiring to think that so many years ago, with courage and conviction.

A man who is a world-class musician put his instrument aside and picked up the torch to light the path and show our people the way to enlightenment so that we would not be blind, deaf and dumb to the knowledge of ourselves!

Minister Farrakhan is without question one of the most influential and respected leaders in the world!  Through decades of a mixture of high praise, ridicule and constant threats, Minister Farrakhan has stood tall, never bowed or bent his back and has never wavered as he fought.

Advocated and challenged the powers that be and America to live up to the promise that has been denied to the majority of Black and other poor people around the world!

The Final Call will publish the conclusion of this article in an upcoming edition.

Darrell L. Williams, Ph.D., is a distinguished educator, civic leader and retired 29-year combat veteran (Awarded Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal), Rust College Graduate C/O 1993. Dr. Williams is an Editor at Large for ReelUrbanNews.com and a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.

The post The Honorable Brother Minister Louis Farrakhan: One of One! The Historic Meeting with the Men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc., Part 1 appeared first on Final Call News.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Final Call staff contributed to this report.

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The brothers make their way to streets, intersections and door-to-door in communities around the country and share the life-giving Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad as taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

These Muslim men are husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, friends, community servants and strive to propagate the faith of Islam in the communities they serve.

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DETROIT—Produced and presented by husband-and-wife team Brother Timothy and Sister Nadiyah Muhammad, the Saviours’ Day 2026 Waltz and Etiquette workshop on February 21 was an elegant display of cultural refinement and high civilization.

Sister Nadiyah began with the “rules of engagement,” which included treating others as you want to be treated, offering a sincere greeting of peace, lowering one’s gaze and guarding one’s modesty, and wearing gloves while dancing. “The Waltz is a lead and follow dance,” she explained.

To provide visual instruction and inspiration, students of the Waltz and Etiquette class, who were men and women of various ages, offered demonstrations for attendees while Sis.

Nadiyah guided them. Each student was dressed in their best, with the women wearing beautiful, modest gowns and matching headpieces, and the men in black suits with matching bowties, handkerchiefs, and boutonnieres.

The workshop continued with live practice for those interested in learning how to dance, orchestrated by Bro. Timothy. “The Waltz is not a romantic dance,” he said. “It’s a social dance.”

The workshop itself was highly anticipated. Sis. Francesca Muhammad was very excited to participate after seeing the promotional-introduction videos from the Nation of Islam’s Ministry of Arts and Culture. “It was very nice,” she told The Final Call.

Following the demonstration, a briefing on the history and science of the Waltz featured quotes from the autobiography of Bernstein Sharrieff Muhammad, the only secretary to Allah (God) in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad. The autobiography is entitled “I Am Bernstein Sharrieff Mohammed, Reformer and Secretary to Master W.D.F. Mohammed … And These are Some of My Experiences.”

“When you see the Waltz, you see Caucasians; but when you see leaders of science, you also see White folks. But just because you see it now doesn’t mean that it came from them,” Bro. Timothy said. He explained to attendees that the Waltz, as well as learning etiquette and cultural refinement, is a part of the Black man and woman being themselves.

Performers at the Waltz workshop continued to dazzle participants and attendees with further demonstrations, but the closing act, which drew a “Wow!” from the audience, was the “Not a Drop of Water” competition.

Each student couple danced with a glass of water on their head, the challenge being not to spill a single drop. Master Fard Muhammad would demonstrate the Waltz balancing a glass of water on His head.

Although the winners of the challenge were Sis. Saniyyah Muhammad, 22, and her husband, Elijah Muhammad, who is also 22, Bro. Timothy proclaimed that all the students were winners for attempting. —Tariqah Muhammad

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NEW YORK—“A mighty Iroko tree has fallen. Its roots were planted in Greenville, South Carolina, its trunk strengthened in Chicago, and its branches extended across continents,” WBAI Pacifica Radio AfrobeatRadio host Wuyi Jacobs told The Final Call.

Rev. Jackson, 84, was surrounded by his family when he transitioned on February 17, in Chicago. Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2017, he passed from elements of the neurological disorder progressive supranuclear palsy.

The Jackson family announced week-long service details in Chicago at Rainbow PUSH, and in South Carolina and Washington, D.C.

When former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. announced the public funeral services two weeks ago, he said, “These homegoing services are welcome to all—Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative, right-wing, left-wing, because his life is broad enough to cover the full spectrum of what it means to be an American.” 

Born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1941, Jesse Louis Burns, the former A&T quarterback and sociology graduate—renamed Jackson after his stepfather—chose to immerse himself in the civil rights movement.

He was “A transformative leader who changed this nation and the world,” said National Action Network President and Jackson protege Rev. Al Sharpton, of his mentor. He dedicated his weekly Harlem rally to Rev. Jackson, alongside Spike Lee, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Rev. Jackson’s forcefully delivered “I am somebody” rallying cry has been embedded in the lexicon of Black people opposing institutionalized racism the world over.

It was in Rev. Herbert Daughtry’s Downtown Brooklyn House of the Lord Church in 1984, where Rev. Jackson announced the launch of his presidential campaign.

Rev. Daughtry, 95, has coined a phrase, stating: “Practically every Black politician in a position of power and influence is a Jacksonian–meaning that they came under the influence of Rev. Jackson.” 

Former City Council and Assemblymember Annette Robinson said Rev. Jackson’s 1984 run for president was launched in Brooklyn. Future, but not yet elected politicians Al Vann and David Dinkins, were his campaign managers for New York state. “We had a lot of meetings and rallies for Jesse Jackson. We had the largest delegation. He won New York City, but He didn’t win the state,” Mr. Robinson said. 

“All the folks who were running for office came on his (Rev. Jackson’s) coattails. David Dinkins became mayor, Attorney General Tish James worked for Al Vann. All the people who got elected benefited from the cumulative impact of Jesse Jackson’s run for president of the United States, because he changed the rules for how votes were counted. We got so many people involved. He impacted the landscape. Una Clarke and I went to the city council, then I went to the Assembly. Jesse Jackson had everyone feeling that they were a part of the political landscape,” he added. Ms. Clarke served in the New York City Council from the 40th district from 1992 to 2001. 

“Before President Barack Obama could run, Rev. Jesse Jackson had to run and pave the way,” Dr. Segun Shabaka, Chairman of the International African Arts Festival, said. “That campaign was unofficially launched in Brooklyn, New York, with the encouragement and endorsement of Al Vann and his Vannguard organization, the Black United Front, along with many other individuals and organizations. From that 1984 campaign and his subsequent 1988 presidential run, Blacks became entrenched in the Democratic Party machine,” he said.  

“No doubt that today’s Black Democratic Party standings are largely due to those Jesse Jackson political runs. Unfortunately, his Rainbow Coalition did not fully flourish as an independent Black and ‘Third World’ led political alternative.”

NYC Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said, “We’ve lost an absolute icon of American history in this country. Reverend Jackson waged a lifelong crusade for racial justice and social progress.” Without his two “revolutionary campaigns” for the presidency in 1984 and 1988, Mr. Williams added, “We may never have seen the generations of Black leadership to follow, from President Barack Obama to public advocate Jumaane Williams to Black elected officials all across this country.”

Imam Izak-El Mu’eed Pasha from Harlem’s Historic Masjid Malcolm Shabazz said that Rev. Jackson should be acknowledged for “the great work that he’s done for us as a people, and his influence for all people seeking justice. We hope that our young folks will study his works and the dignity with which he did that work.”

“The same issues that resonated when he was 21 are the same issues today in 2026. We have plenty of work to do,” he added. 

With “a Pan-African consciousness,” NYC radio host Wuyi Jacobs stated, “Rev. Jackson understood that the Black freedom struggle in America was inseparable from the liberation struggles of Africa and the Diaspora—from the streets of Chicago to the townships of South Africa; from the Caribbean independence movements to the quest for economic justice across the Global South.”

Through the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Jackson “advanced a politics rooted in inclusion, economic equity, and multiracial democratic participation. His presidential campaigns expanded the American political imagination and organized the marginalized in the United States into a formidable constituency that built the coalition framework that would eventually make possible the presidency of Barack Obama.”

“That’s my brother,” the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said at the Nation of Islam’s Saviours’ Day convention in Detroit on Feb. 22. “To his dying breath, he worked for us … and I will never be found dogging his name when he did so much to help our people rise to where they are,” Minister Farrakhan said. 

During his 1984 presidential campaign, Minister Farrakhan provided security to Rev. Jackson and his family in the aftermath of threats they received and the bombing of his campaign office. The F.O.I. (Fruit of Islam, the men of the Nation of Islam) secured and protected the Jackson family. 

Charles Barron, former New York City and state Assemblymember said “rest in power for a job well done,” regarding Rev. Jackson. 

“I was around for the 1984 presidential campaign, and I respected Minister Louis Farrakhan for his support of Jesse, and the F.O.I. for providing security for Jesse.”

For decades, Rev. Jackson had organized marches and impactful boycotts,  against Jim Crow laws, entrenched discrimination, and worked with Dr. Martin Luther King with the creation of Operation Breadbasket, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. Jackson founded Rainbow-PUSH Coalition, and the Wall Street Project, fought to end South African apartheid, and with his “citizen diplomacy,” he became a chief negotiator helping to free hostages like Navy Lieutenant Robert Goodman from Syria, reportedly Iraq 700 women and children in Kuwait,  U.S. military personnel and “human shields” across the world, including Gambia, Liberia, Cuba, and Yugoslavia.

New York-based Nigerian-American actor Gbenga Akinagbe told The Final Call from Lagos, “We stand on the shoulders of giants who refuse to accept injustice as inevitable. Reverend Jesse Jackson showed us that faith and action belong together — that justice requires persistence, courage, and an unshakable belief in the dignity of all people.”

Akinagbe, the Founder of socially conscious lifestyle and apparel brand Liberated People continued, “As we honor his life, we recommit ourselves to the work: building economic power, protecting civil rights, and organizing with purpose. Though he is no longer with us, his vision, his teachings, and his unwavering commitment to justice will continue to guide and inspire generations to come.”

Student Minister Henry Muhammad of East New York’s Mosque 7C, said, Rev. Jackson worked as a “disciple of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. However, when he asked Minister Louis Farrakhan to be with him in support of his bid for President of the USA…he showed the Black community and the world, Muslim/Christian Unity…[He] opened that door, and America wasn’t ready for it. But, like it or not, that door isn’t closed.”

WBLS FM Executive Producer and Radio Host Fatiyn Muhammad  said, called Jackson “one of the greatest moral and movement leaders of our lifetime.”

The producer of Rev. Al Sharpton’s Keepin’ It Real radio show, added, “Rev. Jackson was not simply a civil rights icon. He was a freedom fighter, a bridge builder, and a relentless voice for justice — not only for Black people, but for the poor, the marginalized, the forgotten, and the oppressed across the globe…Rev. Jesse Jackson’s legacy will live forever — in the institutions he built, in the lives he touched, in the battles he fought, and in the generations he inspired to stand up, speak out, and serve humanity.”

Dr. Bernice A. King, CEO of The King Center said, “Rev. Jackson opened doors so Black people and other excluded communities could step into opportunity and dignity.” Sharing a photograph of Jackson with her father, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., she stated, “They are both now ancestors…”

Yusef Jackson, Chief Operating Officer of Rainbow PUSH, stood outside the Southshore family home with four of his siblings including Congressman Jonathan Jackson,  former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., and said, “Our father is a man who dedicated his life to public service to gain, protect and defend civil rights and human rights to make our nation better, to make the world more just, our people better neighbors with each other.” 

Nayaba Arinde is a freelance Editor-at-Large and award-winning reporter and activist. Follow her on Instagram @NayabaArinde1

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This family-friendly event provided the community with free food, an award ceremony, guest speakers, and music by DJ Blaze Rae.

Several organizations contributed as sponsors, including Hillsborough County Parks and Recreation; J.B. Printing (Janice Fitzgerald), who were responsible for making the awards presented; BayCare, which offered medical support;

The Charmettes, a sisterhood dedicated to improving life through the support for cancer research provided book bags and school supplies; and All Love Tampa (Get Kids on Bikes), whose mission is to provide bicycles to empower youth and promote healthy lives, headed by Sean Bell.

The believers of Muhammad Mosque No. 47, located in Progress Village, distributed copies of The Final Call newspaper and donated school supplies.

Also in attendance were political candidates, Lady Venom Ryderz, a motorcycle club that promotes peace, Progress Village’s own rapper Kraze, music producer Jaxson McNeely, Pastor Andre Wright and a host of new and former Progress Village residents.

Student Minister Chad Muhammad of Mosque No. 47 in Tampa, Florida, a Progress Village native, was awarded 2025 King of the Year for his dedication, service, leadership, and impact in the community, which he credits to the believers.

As one of the guest speakers, he spoke briefly about unity and change, quoting from the Holy Qur’an, Surah 13:11: “Surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition.”

He also emphasized the importance of reading The Final Call newspaper and attending the Nation of Islam Friday Night Self-Improvement Study Group, quoting what the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan taught, which is: “Self-improvement is the basis for community development.”

Other honorees included Mimi Copeland, Joyce McNeal, Tasha Mingo, Jeff Key and Larry Sanders. The event, held on December 27, was impactful, uplifting, and a true reflection of unity and service within the Progress Village community.

—Submitted by Student Minister Chad Muhammad

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