“Effective immediately, I establish FORTRESS America as a program of the Department of War,” Sec. Hegseth wrote in a memo to senior Pentagon leadership, commanders within the combatant commands, and agency and field activity directors. “The program aligns basing and infrastructure projects to ensure they are collectively advancing toward greater independence. It puts America first, and it does what should have been done long ago,” he said.

FORTRESS (Federal Operations for Resilience, Troop Resources, Energy, Supply and Survivability) is a Pentagon program to harden major military bases through an initiative to operate independently for at least 90 days with its own power, food, water, fuel, communications and supplies in the event of cyberattacks, wartime disruption, sabotage or other emergency situations.

“All Military Departments, Defense Agencies, and Field Activities shall support its execution without reservation,” Sec. Hegseth said. “We will put America first, we will defend the American homeland, and we will build a permanent structure equal to the moment. We begin today,” the memorandum said in part.

In his subsequent State of the Force address at Marine Corps Base Quantico, also September 30, he told the officers and non-commissioned officers present that FORTRESS America would require every military base to generate its own power independent of the civilian grid, that rare earths and other strategic minerals would be mined and processed in the U.S. and that other supplies, from food, water, medicines and munitions, would be stored and maintained on those bases. This would let them continue operating uninterrupted by crises or shortages outside their gates.

“We are hardening every installation on American soil against cyber intrusion, sabotage, and drones,” Sec. Hegseth said during his address. “And we are securing the high ground and the airwaves. Our satellites. Our spectrum. Our ability to see, to navigate, and to talk to one another,” he said. He also said their plans include the building of new military bases inside the United States.

As cuts to federal spending, rising prices, and inflation continue to ill-effect the poor, the elderly, and place additional stressors upon the middle class, the National Defense budget estimate for Fiscal Year 2027 is projected to top $1.03 trillion or more, according to a recent report from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller. In the face of this, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) announced that the burden of providing aid during times of national, regional, or local crises will be shifted from the federal government to the individual states.

According to an October 20 online article by Politico: “FEMA tells states to handle disasters on their own,” the agency’s administrator, Cameron Hamilton, “told state officials Tuesday they must increase their financial reserves and emergency capabilities to handle most disasters on their own, without federal help,” during a conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he described the Trump Administration’s “long-planned shift of disaster responsibilities to states.”

“Every state must have the appropriate financial reserves” and other abilities “to ensure that recovery efforts can start immediately and not necessarily be held up simply because of the federal [disaster] declaration process,” the article quoted the FEMA head as saying.

“The agency will face substantial challenges—both logistically and politically—preparing states to take a lead role in disaster prevention and recovery,” POLITICO continued, adding that many state disaster agencies are often underfunded and understaffed while heavily dependent on federal dollars and resources.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan cautioned about America’s military budget, its cuts to FEMA, and the potential fallout during crises. On page 31 of his book, “A Torchlight for America,” published in 1993, Minister Farrakhan writes in part, “The military budget is as great as during war time, yet senators in states with strong weapons industries fight for military budget increases so that contracts can remain in their states—in effect saying to hell with the country and its budget woes.”

He warned, “Allah (God) has a way of showing His disapproval to those who are wise enough to read the signs. FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Act, was enacted to finance emergencies and recoveries from national disasters. Natural disasters are God’s way of indicating His displeasure and are a sign of impending doom. FEMA doesn’t have enough money to pay for the earthquakes that hit San Francisco during the World Series a few years ago. FEMA does not have enough money to pay for Hurricane Hugo, Cyclone Omar, the hurricanes in Hawaii, the tornadoes that have torn up Tampa Bay, and Hurricane Andrew. All of these catastrophes increase the budget deficit. And more of these catastrophes are on the way to America with ever-increasing rapidity. This is God’s way of nudging or forcing government leadership to accept real solutions to the country’s problems. Jehovah used 10 plagues against Pharaoh. Those 10 plagues, including natural calamity from snow, rain, hail and earthquakes, are seen in the world today, particularly in America.”

Dr. Wilmer Leon is a lecturer in the political science department at Morgan State University and a radio talk show host. He told The Final Call that the Trump Administration is preparing the United States for a perpetual state of war, shifting federal priorities away from the general welfare of the people and toward the interests of the military-industrial complex.

“I think in the near term for the American citizen, it’s evident that the focus on the social safety net and the focus on investing in American infrastructure or the improving of the quality of life for the American people is secondary,” Dr. Leon explained.

“This is following the very same pattern as every other empire in the history of the world. We’ve seen this movie before,” he said. “We’ve seen it in Rome, we saw in it Greece, we saw it in Türkiye with the Ottoman Empire. We’ve seen it in Britain with the British Empire,” he said.

“Every empire comes to an end, and it seems to center around overreach, militarization that it can’t afford to sustain, and changing technology that it is not prepared to adapt to,” Dr. Leon insisted. “I think that they are desperately trying to stay afloat, understanding that they are really drowning and they are drowning as a result of their own arrogance and they’re drowning as a result of their inability to understand reality and adapt to it as they need to adapt to it and the American people are going to suffer,” he warned.

“What FEMA’s move signals to me is more evidence that the government is running out of money because of all the money that’s been shifted to the military-industrial complex,” Dr. Leon added. He noted that the American people must accept that, during times of emergency, little or no help will come for them and that solutions must come from the bottom up.

“The landscape is shifting and we’re not prepared for that,” Dr. Leon explained. “I was telling my students (that) America hasn’t begun to suffer and because the economic stratum in this country is such that the folks on the bottom are catching hell and the middle-class is starting to catch hell.”

—William P. Muhammad, Contributing Writer
Final Call staff contributed to this report.

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To help preserve that legacy, Muhammad Mosque No. 46 in New Orleans recently held its Second Annual Historic Million Man March Essay Contest, challenging young people nationwide to study Minister Farrakhan’s address and examine its relevance today.

Sister Alaylah Rashad of Chicago earned first place and Brother Malik X of New Orleans received second place.

Under the theme “The Million Man March: More Than a Moment in History,” contestants explained the gathering’s historical significance, analyzed at least two quotations from Minister Farrakhan’s address, and demonstrated why his message remains important.

Participants submitted original, two-page essays without the assistance of artificial intelligence. Research materials included the original March footage, Minister Farrakhan’s speech transcript, and historical coverage published by The Final Call.

First-place winner Sister Alaylah distinguished herself through a thoughtful examination of atonement, personal responsibility, and unity.

One of the essay judges, Brother Sedrick Muhammad praised her essay for its organization, effective use of Minister Farrakhan’s words, and direct treatment of the contest’s central themes.

Sister Alaylah explained that she began her writing process by watching the recorded address and identifying what she believed were Minister Farrakhan’s principal messages.

“To me, the historical significance of the March was not just a gathering but a gateway to speak to the fathers, sons, and husbands of our community,” she said. “I wanted to clearly express that the goal was for us to work together and on ourselves to build a better nation.”

Reflecting on her first-place finish, Sister Alaylah expressed gratitude while emphasizing her desire for continued growth. “I want to stay humble about my win and use this achievement to encourage myself to improve my writing skills and further expand on my knowledge,” she said.

Second-place winner, Brother Malik, examined Minister Farrakhan’s call for accountability, emphasizing the responsibilities of both individuals and government. His essay explored the importance of acknowledging wrongdoing, making amends, and confronting injustices that continue to affect Black communities.

For Brother Malik, participating in the contest provided an opportunity to deepen his understanding of an event he had frequently heard discussed as a registered member of the Nation of Islam and a student in the ministry class.

“I had a lot of fun writing my essay!” he shared. “As a registered member of the Nation of Islam, who is also in the Student Ministry Class, I hear a lot of people teaching on the Million Man March during my course of study. However, this is the most in-depth I have been able to go in understanding just how monumental the Million Man March was and is.”

Brother Malik explained that he was introduced to the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad around the 30th Anniversary of the Million Man March in 2025.

“Revisiting this a year later with the mind of a Muslim has opened up new understandings for me on who it is I say I follow,” he said. He also credited the writing experience with helping him more closely examine the impact of Minister Farrakhan’s work on America.

For Student Minister Willie Muhammad, the contest represents an effort to ensure that the Million Man March is understood not simply as a remarkable gathering, but as a significant spiritual and historical event.

“The idea behind this essay contest is to help keep the legacy of the historic Million Man March alive and to make sure that future generations continue to learn about this historic gathering,” he said.

“The Million Man March was also a bearing of witness to the presence of Allah (God) and His Servants in our midst. We do not want our young people to simply know that a million Black men gathered in Washington, D.C. We want them to understand why they gathered, what Minister Farrakhan taught that day, and what responsibility is placed upon us today.”

Minister Farrakhan’s call for atonement, reconciliation, responsibility and self-improvement remains as relevant today as it was in 1995. Through the contest, organizers hope to encourage young people to study these principles and apply them in their lives and communities.

Participation increased in this year’s competition. In recognition of their efforts, contestants who did not place first or second were given appreciation gifts.

Muhammad Mosque No. 46 expressed gratitude to the donors who supported the competition and the six judges who volunteered their time: Sister Michelle Muhammad, Brother Sedrick Muhammad, Brother Gilbert Muhammad, Sister Nandi Muhammad, and Sister Phyllis X of New Orleans, and Sister Angela Muhammad of Jacksonville, Florida.

Above all, organizers thanked every young person who accepted the challenge to study the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s historic message.

—Submitted by Student Minister Willie Muhammad of Mosque No. 46 in New Orleans

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Several cities led by Black mayors have reported progress against violence. Community leaders say that making neighborhoods safer still needs more work, resources, and trust, but that there have been positive steps.

Baltimore saw 61 fewer homicides in 2025 compared to 2024. Los Angeles had a 19% drop in killings, and Chicago’s year-end numbers showed homicides down by about 29%. Mayors say focused policing, violence intervention, and more opportunities for young people have helped. Los Angeles, Chicago, Baltimore and Birmingham, Ala., are a few of the cities touting progress.

Baltimore, D.C., and the work behind the numbers

Baltimore police’s year-end report on January 1, 2026, counted 133 homicides in 2025, down from 194 in 2024, a 31% drop. Nonfatal shootings fell from 412 to 311, about a 24.5% decrease. Police said they updated past homicide numbers so cases match the years when the incidents actually happened.

Mayor Brandon Scott’s administration uses both enforcement and a public health approach to address violence. The Group Violence Reduction Strategy pro-vides services to people at high risk for shootings and focuses enforcement on those responsible for violence. The city also relies on Safe Streets mediators, hospital intervention programs, and victim services.

In a July 2026 review, the administration said it connected over 400 people to life coaching and other support through Youth Advocate Programs and Roca. An evaluation found that in the first 18 months of the strategy in the Western District, shootings and homicides dropped by 33% without more arrests. While this result covers only one district and time period, not the whole city, it is significant.

Student Minister, Student Imam Abdul Salaam Muhammad, of the Nation of Islam’s Mosque No. 6 in Baltimore, told The Final Call that relationships among religious leaders, grassroots organizations, and city government have strengthened the work.

“During the COVID years, mosque members joined church leaders and others in walking through neighborhoods,” he said. Fruit of Islam (F.O.I.) Student Captain Andrew Muhammad and the F.O.I., the Nation of Islam’s men, continued that outreach, following the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s instruction and guidance.

“We have to make our own community a decent place to live and make it safe and habitable for our people,” Minister Farrakhan said in a 2016 year-in-review interview with The Final Call. He explained the need “to free where we live from senseless violence and to free this community from police.”

“They don’t need more training. They’re well trained. Their training shows in other communities, it’s only when they come into our community that another kind of training comes into force. They are an Occupying Army to colonized people. When we make our own community a decent place to live, we don’t want them in our community at all. We want to police our own community,” Minister Farrakhan said.

“In Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood, I don’t see us on the University of Chicago and university hospital police force. That is a police force that polices its own community.

We can do the same. We have professional people who have gone to police training. We need to pull up some of our young people and train them and ask the Whites to leave.

“You go and patrol your community. We will police our own. We can begin taking our community and making it ours and making those who come in to respect our territory, like we have to respect theirs, but that will never happen until we respect ourselves,” Minister Farrakhan continued.

In Baltimore and other cities, the efforts continue. Student Min. Abdul Salaam Muhammad welcomed the progress in Baltimore but noted that grassroots organizations often start with commitment and limited resources.

“Those who know how to reach young people need dependable support,” he said. “So greater unity, more resources, and consistency in the work will get the job done.”

Baltimore’s update on October 1, 2026, reported 83 homicides, down from 98 at the same time in 2025, a 15.3% drop. Nonfatal shootings fell by 4.2%.

However, an October 20 report from The Baltimore Banner said Mayor Scott called public safety leaders together after a series of shootings. This shows that progress can still be fragile.

Mayor Muriel Bowser said in January 2026 that violent crime in Washington, D.C., dropped by 29% in 2025, including a 32% drop in homicides.

The Metropolitan Police Department reported 127 homicides, down from 187 in 2024. D.C. police credited Operation THRIVE, which brings agencies together in neighborhoods affected by gun violence, and the Real Time Crime Center, which helps with investigations and responses.

Education and opportunity in Benton Harbor

Benton Harbor, Michigan, is much smaller than the big cities getting national attention for their efforts. Even so, Mayor Marcus Muhammad believes its approach offers important lessons.

He told The Final Call that community policing, restorative justice, and more job and education opportunities have helped the city improve. He explained that restorative justice is about understanding that people can make mistakes but can still change.

“Engagement and education give people tools to make better decisions. Increasing access to work and constructive activities also matters,” he said.

Public Safety Director Dan McGinnis said crime dropped 24% as 2025 ended, according to a December 22 TV Station WNDU report citing The Herald-Palladium. Mayor Muhammad also mentioned a 25% drop in his interview.

For the mayor, education is still central to keeping progress going. He said, if government is going to help people, “education must be at the forefront.”

He also linked community improvement to the legacy of the 1995 Million Man March and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s call for Black men to love one another and return home committed to making their communities clean and safe. “That message has resonated,” he said.

Chicago, Los Angeles and Oakland invest in prevention

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s year-in-review on December 31, 2025, said there were 416 homicides through December 30, about 29% fewer than the same period in 2024. Shooting incidents dropped by 34.5%. These numbers are from just before the end of the year.

Mayor Johnson’s administration credited partnerships between police, community groups, and violence intervention workers. They also focused on youth employment. City officials said One Summer Chicago gave jobs to 31,122 young people in summer 2025, according to Chicago PBS station WTTW’s report from a November budget hearing.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced on February 17, 2026, that citywide homicides dropped by 19% in 2025. In Gang Reduction and Youth Development zones, where neighborhoods get special services, homicides fell by almost 27%.

Mayor Bass’s office said the city invested in prevention, reentry services, and community activities. The Summer Night Lights program served more than 110,000 people at 42 parks and recreation centers in 2025, according to the mayor’s office. However, community organizations warn they need steady funding to keep their work going.

The Urban Peace Institute described crisis response, conflict mediation, and outreach through the LA Peacemakers Initiative, but said its funding will end in 2026.

Oakland, California, has also seen progress with decreases in crime reflected in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024, including a 21% drop in homicides and a 29% decrease in all violent crime, according to the midyear report by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Associated Press reported.

“Officials credited collaborations with community organizations and crisis response services through the city’s Department of Violence Prevention, established in 2017,” AP noted.

“These results show that we’re on the right track,” Mayor Barbara Lee said at a news conference. “We’re going to keep building on this progress with the same comprehensive approach that got us here,” she said, according to AP.

Birmingham and other cities report gains

Birmingham, Ala., Mayor Randall Woodfin has focused on investigations and police resources. Birmingham television station WBRC reported he cited 86 homicides in 2025, down from 152 in 2024. Another count from Birmingham Times/AL.com listed 88. Both numbers show a large drop.

In February 2025, Birmingham police introduced a strategy with specialized enforcement. They arrested people wanted for violent felonies, worked with federal partners, and fought illegal gun trafficking. They also restarted their youth athletic program.

Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration reported that homicides fell by 17.5% and shootings dropped by 23% from 2024 to 2025. In her December 2025 State of the City speech, Mayor Parker emphasized prevention, intervention, and enforcement, and said the city spent $25 million on community-based violence prevention that year.

Residents felt safer, but concerns remained. A Pew survey from January to March 2025 found that 56% of Philadelphians felt safe in their neighborhoods at night, up from 44% in 2022. Still, 61% said crime, drugs, and public safety were the city’s top issues. The survey was done before the full 2025 results were available.

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens said in his January 2026 inaugural speech that Atlanta ended 2025 with fewer than 100 homicides. He also highlighted youth programs such as Midnight Basketball.

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka’s State of the City speech in April 2026 said there were 31 homicides in 2025, down from 37 in 2024, and nonfatal shootings dropped by 36%. Newark’s Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery helps with neighborhood intervention, supports victims, and works with young people.

In July, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Vera Institute of Justice hosted a virtual roundtable and Q&A on the crime declines and to present what they called “a proactive vision of public safety.” The gathering included Mayor Scott, Mayor Baraka, Durham Mayor Leonardo “Leo” Williams, U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12) and U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown (OH-11).

“For too long, leaders in Washington and around our nation have weaponized the issue of public safety with a failed ‘tough on crime’ approach that drives fear and division while fueling a cycle of mass incarceration, instead of delivering real solutions that make communities safer,” said CBC Chair Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09).

“While Trump focuses on ‘tough on crime’ fearmongering and counter-productive gimmicks like deploying the National Guard, Black Mayors across the country are doing the real work to make cities safer. I’m proud to stand with my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus to set the record straight and advocate for real public safety solutions,” added Rep. Brown.

More work ahead and community responsibility

Community leaders interviewed by The Final Call said that keeping up progress means recognizing those doing the work and investing in their ability to keep going. Student Imam Abdul Salaam said Baltimore’s coalition work is moving in the right direction. The goal, he said, is for the city to reach a point with no murders.

While progress has been made and Black mayors are doing what they can to address challenges in their cities with the resources available, responsibility also lies with community residents.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan offered guidance and solutions during his Saviours’ Day keynote message on March 1, 2009, at the Rosemont Theatre in Rosemont, Illinois, titled, “Accepting Responsibility To Build Our Community.”

“In building a community, everybody has to go to work. Everyone’s talent has to be put to use. We’ve got people among us who know how to organize people effectively. Preachers, scholars, lawyers; local, national and international activists; and entertainers:

Don’t you think that we could come together and plan spiritual education, pool our preachers together and stop hooping, shouting and going crazy and leaving the people in ignorance?

Can’t we plan a spiritual curriculum based on the Bible and Holy Qur’an, and educate people that when they come to church it should be a learning experience about God as it was today?” Minister Farrakhan said.

“We can multiply what we see here all over the country. It’s time now, because if we don’t do it now and lose this opportunity, then our people and their children will never forgive us.

Barack has done his job. Now we’ve got to do ours,” he said, referring to former President Barack Obama. Minister Farrakhan’s guidance in 2009 is just as applicable in 2026.

“Let’s gather the house. We don’t have a lot of time. I need help. I know I can’t do it by myself, but I know we need help, and the help is here. The people are ready. The question is: Are we ready to go to work and build a national community? Who is going to help me do that?

There are people all over the world that will help us if we would determine to help ourselves. All of you: Let’s go to work. Let’s build our community and make it a decent place to live. If we do this, we can take our young brothers away from the violence, away from the guns, away from the self-hatred,” Minister Farrakhan said.

Final Call staff contributed to this report.

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Tamir Hayman, Tel Aviv University’s executive director of the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) think tank, writes that a public conversation must take place regarding Israel’s “national identity.”

He lists 10 “theoretical and deliberately exaggerated” interpretations of “new” principles for discussion, including the primacy of Jewish identity over democracy, settlement and civilians as central to security, and prioritizing an independent industrial defense capability, among others.

Although the principles are the de facto, unstated position of the government in light of Oct. 7, the paper suggests clarity on the principles will inform deci-sion-making and dictate Israel’s approach to security.

To preserve security, Israel must be in a constant “state of war” that cannot “be

replaced by a state of peace,” he writes. The intensity of the war may vary with circumstances, but “its constant presence is an asset to national security.”

“Any arrangement with Arab actors is temporary and deceptive,” writes Mr. Hayman, a retired general. Therefore, “any agreements are merely technical and temporary.”

Being self-reliant and not dependent on powers like the United States is necessary because “excessive adherence to restrictions imposed on Israel by a U.S. administration is dangerous.”

He describes the U.S. as a “declining power” that ultimately will “abandon Israel” and subject the colonial state to a “progressive American value system” incompatible with Israel’s Jewish character.

“Severing ties with the United States is therefore not only inevitable, but essential to Israel’s independence and the resilience of its Jewish national identity,” he writes.

The author suggests preemptive strikes—similar to the U.S.-Israel Feb. 28 unprovoked attack on Iran—should be a strategic norm rather than a rarity.

Establishing “forward defense” zones where Israel occupies parts of another nation—as in Southern Lebanon—provides a base to destabilize that nation and allows Israel to move conflict into “enemy territory.”

Dima Yassin mourns over the body of her mother, Dina Yassin, during the funeral of her parents, who were killed in an Israeli army strike on an apartment in Gaza City, Oct. 20.

The paper suggests that a state of Palestine exists as a Western narrative rooted in “post-colonial guilt” and the conflict should instead be viewed as a “permanent Israeli-Arab” conflict.

The ebb and flow of the Palestinian resistance against Israel constitutes the Arab attempt to fight and destroy the State of Israel, he suggests. However, any Arab inhabitant of the “Land of Israel” who chooses to remain in the Jewish state will be granted residency rights and local self-governance, the document says.

The general acknowledges the history of Israeli aggression prior to statehood in which Israelis established settlements in areas occupied by Palestinians or legally purchased land and organized voluntary paramilitary organizations, or “underground militias.”

“Defense is established by creating communities and outposts in all areas of friction with the Arab population, in Judea and Samaria [occupied West Bank area], and in security zones in Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip,” the document says.

Traditionally, the Declaration of Independence defined Israel as a Jewish state committed to the principles of liberal democracy, General Hayman writes. He calls into question the survivability or the legitimacy of Israel remaining a “civic and democratic” state versus “making religious sources” the framework for setting security priorities. Can a policy seeking to curtail the civil rights of Israel’s Arab citizens still align with Israel’s definition as a “Jewish and Democratic” state, he asks?

This all bears witness to what the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said in his February 25, 2024, Saviours’ Day address, where he warned of Israel’s intentions.

“The first Nakba or ‘catastrophe’ on the Palestinians was done in 1948 when Israel became a state. And they exiled 700,000 Palestinians and made them like vagabonds in the Earth. But Netanyahu had in mind that he was going to use the pain of their loss to destroy the whole Palestinian community not only in Gaza but the West Bank, (and) East Jerusalem. It was a genocidal attack that he knew would preserve his place as a ‘great Jewish leader,’” Minister Farrakhan said.

“People do strange things when their hatred is so great of the people that they are killing; that their intention was to cleanse Gaza of every Palestinian that lived there and cleanse the West Bank and East Jerusalem so that Israel would not be bothered with Palestinians anymore,” he continued.

“Now some of you, my Black brothers and sisters, you are not concerned about the Middle East; you’re concerned about the refugees that are coming into the major cities that you feel may take your place. But to charge Israel with genocide and have the proof of their charge: South Africa stood up and took Israel to the International Court of Justice at The Hague,” Minister Farrakhan said.

—James G. Muhammad, Contributing Editor

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The report, issued Oct. 26 by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said Israeli forces have carried out these acts despite a Gaza ceasefire agreement hammered out by the U.S. in 2025. The document is titled “Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.”

Since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israeli concertgoers, Israeli officials have demonstrated “a consistent intent to establish permanent military control over Gaza and to change its demographic composition while systematically destroying Palestinian life,” the report says.

The UN report reflects a white paper issued a week earlier by an Israeli general documenting the “unofficial” operational policy toward Palestinians. (See related story on this page)

From October 7, 2023 to October 9 2025, over 72,600 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza and over 1,000 in the West Bank. From the October 10, 2025, ceasefire to September 30, 2026, 1,431 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including 300 children and 130 women, and 137 in the West Bank, the report notes.

The OHCHR has made the finding of genocide in previous reports.

The Israeli Knesset (Parliament) passed a 2024 resolution confirming the perception that a Palestinian state west of the Jordan River would pose a threat to the State of Israel and Israeli Jews.

One legislator was moved to declare in the Knesset that “ … there will never be a Palestinian state in the land of Israel, because there is no such thing as a Palestinian people.” That mentality contributes to a military culture where Palestinians are dehumanized, equated with terrorists and are legitimate targets, the report says.

Therefore, soldiers have broad discretion to use lethal force against a perceived threat, regardless of whether the target poses real danger, the report says, noting instances of killings of unarmed Palestinians.

Major General Avio Bluth said in May 2026 that Israeli soldiers were “killing like we haven’t since 1967,” the document says.

Examples of the brutality include: On June 5, 2026, a seven-month-old baby was shot in the head by Israeli soldiers while in a car with parents. Video footage shows the driver slowed down, stopped and raised his hands when approaching the soldiers. No medical assistance was offered to the family, the report says.

In another incident, four members of a family of six were shot in the head by soldiers on March 15, 2026, while in their car. Two members of the family survived but were subsequently assaulted by soldiers.

Israeli authorities have repeatedly provided “false justifications” for the use of lethal force, intending to deflect responsibility, the report says. In an example of an extrajudicial killing, Israeli soldiers beat, shot and killed two unarmed Palestinian brothers after they approached them with hands raised. Video footage of the incident refuted the Israeli claim that the men attempted to snatch the soldiers’ weapons.

The Israeli government continues to use sexual and gender-based violence, according to the report. Tactics include gang rapes of men, genital violence, forced nudity and cavity searches.

These findings contradict the report by the Trump administration’s “Board of Peace” which reported to the Security Council in May that the ceasefire has largely held, bringing “enormous relief to the civilian population.” The Board of Peace was established in January to draft a peace plan for Gaza.

The report alleges, the Palestinian (PA), a Palestinian-led governing body established to assume interim responsibilities in parts of the West Bank and Gaza, has also committed acts of sexual and gender-based violence to silence women human rights activists, violated freedom of speech and association rights, and the right to peaceful assembly.

In the illegally occupied West Bank, the PA exercises little to no authority over the three areas—A, B and C—with no governing authority over Israelis in either area. In Area A, which contains major Palestinian cities, for example, the PA exercises full civil and security control over Palestinians. The PA has no governing role in Area C.

The PA’s legally binding agreement to cooperate and collaborate on security measures with Israeli authorities, along with the PA’s abuses, has created distrust among Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, the report says.

U.S. observers hold out little hope for change coming from political leaders in the U.S. or Israel. Real hope lies in the current trend by civilians in the U.S. to curb military support for Israel.

A Palestinian man carries metal sheets past the ruins of buildings destroyed during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza City, Oct. 18. Photos: AP/Jehad Alshrafi

“These kinds of reports do not lead to change on their own,” said Phyllis Bennis, director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies. “They’re important as tools for civil society in our mobilizations, challenging Israeli genocide, Israeli ethnic cleansing.”

“Those crimes are carried out with U.S. weapons, paid for by U.S. tax dollars, protected by U.S. vetoes at the UN Security Council. So, the U.S. government is complicit in those crimes. The question is, how are we as civil society, social movements going to use these important UN reports as further evidence of what many have been saying for a very long time?” she said.

The OHCHR made nine recommendations to the State of Israel, two recommendations to the State of Palestine, five to UN Member States and one recommendation to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court.

Recommendations to Israel included a demand for an immediate end to the commission of genocide in Gaza, an end to “unlawful occupation” of Palestinian territory, and to provide effective remedies, including compensation, restitution and rehabilitation, for families of persons killed or injured, including victims of sexual violence, and those who suffered destruction of property.

To Palestine, it called for independent investigations of human rights violations and to provide remedies for harm suffered and to cease targeting human rights activists.

The Israeli Government did not respond to two requests for information from the OHCHR.

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Haiti’s story is not one of failure. It is one of thefts, disguised for two centuries as diplomacy, aid, and “stability.” In 1804, enslaved Black Africans did what no other nation on Earth had done before:

They defeated the armies of Napoleon Bonaparte, one of the most powerful military forces in the world, and declared themselves free. Haiti became the first independent Black republic in the Western Hemisphere, the second independent nation in the Americas, and a living rebuke to the entire architecture of slavery.

The White world never forgave them for it.

In 1825, France returned to Haiti—not with soldiers, but with warships anchored menacingly off the coast, and an ultimatum. Pay 150 million francs in exchange for France’s “recognition” of Haitian independence, or face invasion and re-enslavement.

Haiti, a nation founded on the blood of the formerly enslaved, was forced to pay for its own freedom.

“Haiti won its independence on the battlefield in 1804. There was nothing left to negotiate,” says Attorney Joseph Makhandal Champagne, Nation of Islam Representative to Haiti, in an interview with The Final Call. “What France demanded in 1825 wasn’t a debt. It was ransom. They were charging a nation for the crime of freeing itself.”

The sum—later reduced to 90 million francs, still an astronomical figure—was calculated to compensate French colonists for the “loss” of their human property. Haiti was, in effect, billed for freeing its own people.

Atty. Champagne does not soften the framing: “Call it what it is—financial slavery. It was designed to be genocide against a nation—not with bullets, but with balance sheets.”

The numbers bear this out. Haiti spent an estimated 122-125 years paying off the debt and the loans it took out—mostly from French banks and later American ones—just to service it.

Some economists estimate the total drain on Haiti’s economy, adjusted for lost growth and compounded interest, could be worth over $20 billion in today’s dollars.

The New York Times’ 2022 investigative series, “The Ransom,” calculated that Haiti paid its former colonizer the modern equivalent of $560 million in wealth extracted—money that could have built schools, hospitals, and infrastructure instead.

Judge Lionel Jean Baptiste explained that in 1806, the U.S. imposed a trade embargo on independent Haiti as part of a broader policy to isolate the Caribbean country, and it refused to recognize Haitian independence until 1862. Decades later, the U.S. invaded and occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934, gaining and exercising extensive control over Haiti’s finances.

Judge Baptiste further explained that the U.S. occupation led to constitutional changes that allowed foreign land ownership. The Caribbean country has experienced more than 30 coups and violent regime changes, “much of it by military personnel that were imposed by the United States,” Judge Baptiste said.

U.S. compounds Haiti’s misery

Haiti’s debt did not end with France. In 1910, the National City Bank of New York— the institution that would become Citibank— took a controlling interest in the Banque Nationale de la République d’Haïti. Five years later, the United States occupied the country outright, seizing $500,000 from Haiti’s national reserves and controlling the country’s finances until 1947.

Pastor Frantz Ulysse, who heads the 1st Haitian Church of God of Prophecy, has spent years studying this pattern of external control. He describes it as a system built not to help Haiti stand, but to keep it kneeling. He argues that every time the country has tried to assert economic independence, foreign interests— political and financial—have found a way to intervene.

Rev. Dr. Josephis Dafils of the Haitian American United for Change frames the crisis in similarly structural terms, pointing to how foreign-backed coups, from the ousting of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991 and again in 2004, consistently followed moments when Haitian leadership pushed for economic sovereignty or raised the demand for French restitution.

No discussion of Haiti’s engineered instability is complete without Jean-Bertrand Aristide—a former Salesian priest turned politician who became one of the most consequential and contested figures in Haiti’s modern history.

Aristide was democratically elected president of Haiti in 1991 and again in 2001, serving terms from 1991 to 1994, from 1994 to 1996, and from 2001 to 2004. Between those terms.

He lived in exile twice—first from 1991 to 1994, after being ousted in a military coup just months into his first term, and again from 2004 to 2011, after a second coup widely thought to have been backed by foreign powers.

Mr. Aristide’s offense was not mismanagement. His offense was popularity. He was a voice for Haiti’s poor majority, and that made him a threat to the arrangements that had long benefited foreign interests and Haiti’s entrenched elite. Twice, when Haitians chose him at the ballot box, outside forces made sure that choice did not stand for long.

Observers widely note the complicity of foreign colonizers in indigenous Haitian leaders they helped to put into power to aid in bilking the nation of its resources. Examples are the administrations of Francois “Papa Doc” Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude “Baby Doc” Duvalier, who ruled from 1957 until 1986.

They were known for their ruthless brutality and use of a militia known as the Tonton Macoute. Papa Doc had once declared himself “president for life.” He died of natural causes in 1971.

Baby Doc became the youngest head of state, inheriting the mantle at age 19. A popular uprising forced him to flee to France in 1986. He returned to Haiti in 2011 to face corruption charges and died of a heart attack in 2014.

Atty. Champagne describes this cycle as economic pressure that creates desperation; desperation destabilizes government; unstable government weakens institutions; and weak institutions invite more exploitation. “It’s a wheel that keeps turning,” he says. “And every time it turns, the Haitian people are the ones crushed beneath it.”

The global media narrative around Haiti often stops at the surface: gang violence, political chaos, natural disasters. Rarely does it ask why. Rarely does it connect the 2010 earthquake— which killed over 200,000 people—to a nation that had already been stripped of the fiscal capacity to build earthquake-resistant infrastructure, precisely because it had spent a century sending its wealth abroad.

Rev. Dafils calls this the “manufactured instability” narrative—a convenient story that allows the world to look at Haiti’s suffering and shrug, as though the nation’s condition were inevitable rather than engineered.

Rev. Ulysse goes further, arguing that international aid organizations following the earthquake often did more to enrich outside contractors than to rebuild Haitian communities—a pattern watchdog groups documented after the American Red Cross built only six permanent homes despite raising nearly half a billion dollars for Haiti relief after the earthquake.

And yet, Haiti stands

“You cannot talk about Haiti without talking about the spirit of its people,” Atty. Champagne says. “This is a nation that has been sanctioned, occupied, indebted, and abandoned—and still, they organize. Still, they build. Still, they sing. That resilience is not an accident. It is the same spirit that defeated Napoleon’s army. It never left.”

That spirit is the throughline connecting Haiti’s revolutionary past to its present-day organizing. In 2011, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, traveled to Haiti and, standing on Haitian soil, invoked the names of the revolution’s architects—François Makhandal, Dutty Boukman, Dessalines, Toussaint Louverture, and Henri Christophe—calling on their spirits to rise again in the Haitian people.

It was not a ceremonial gesture. It was a reminder that the same forces that broke the chains of slavery in 1804 still live in the nation’s DNA.

In a message he delivered in downtown Port-au-Prince near the National Palace on December 14, 2011, during his tour of various Caribbean islands to share the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Minister Farrakhan said in part, “[W]here is Toussaint now?

Where is Dessalines now? Where is Cristophe now? Where is Boukman now? I’m looking at Toussaint! I’m looking at Christophe! I’m looking at François Makandal! I’m looking at Dessalines! They are in you! So, rise up Haiti! Take back your land! Take back your heritage!”

If the last two centuries were defined by outside forces extracting from Haiti, Atty. Champagne believes the next chapter must be defined by Haitians building for themselves.

“We are not waiting for France or the United States to have a change of heart,” Atty. Champagne says. “Economic self-sufficiency is the only reparations Haiti can fully control. We build our own institutions. We train our own people. We keep the wealth that we generate inside our own communities.”

This is not a rejection of accountability from foreign powers; it is a refusal to let that accountability be the only strategy. Ulysse and Dafils echo this sentiment in their own work, emphasizing that faith-based and community organizing must fill the gaps left by governments that have failed Haiti from both inside and outside its borders.

Haiti’s story has for too long been told as one of misfortune. It is time to tell it as what it actually is: the story of a nation punished for winning its freedom, taxed for its own liberation, and blamed for the poverty that punishment produced. The debt was paid. The interest has never stopped accruing—not in francs, but in stolen decades, stolen infrastructure, stolen lives.

Haiti did not fail. Haiti was failed—by France, the United States, and international institutions that have spent two centuries treating Black self-determination as a threat to be managed rather than a right to be respected.

“We have the most beautiful beaches, the most beautiful food, and fortresses like the Citadel—one of the wonders of the world, built by us after independence,” Rev. Dafils says. “We have everything we need. What we need now is real Haitian empowerment.”

That is the reckoning still owed to Haiti— not sympathy, not another cycle of aid that enriches everyone but Haitians, but power returned to the people who have fought for it since 1804.

The post The ransom of freedom: How Haiti became a nation shackled by debt, intervention, racism and broken promises appeared first on Final Call News.

“If Haiti was in a stable condition, a lot of Haitians would find themselves going back home without even being pushed to go back. They will willingly sell everything they have and relocate back home because that’s where we came from,” Atty. Champagne, Haitian Representative from the Nation of Islam, said to The Final Call.

“We did not experience the kind of abject poverty and manufactured crisis of gang violence and gang conflict and hunger that we see today. It’s almost like we were forced to go into exile from our own land,” he added.

He and other Haitian Americans are fighting for the U.S. to implement a Marshall Plan for Haiti that would allow the Caribbean country to rise after Western powers have worked to destabilize it.

“The plan is just a tactic, but the strategy is the fight to have some economic recovery and development for Haiti,” Cook County, Illinois, Judge Lionel Jean Baptiste said to The Final Call. He and others first called for a Marshall Plan after the 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the late president of Haiti.

“A number of us got together and said, look, we really need a Marshall Plan for redevelopment of the nation. We are in constant turmoil, constant crises and we need to find a way to engender economic development,” he said.

Judge Baptist and others are pushing forward a congressional bill, H.R. 1114, the L’Ouverture Economic Development Plan for Haiti, which would authorize the establishment of a Haitian American Enterprise Fund, described as a U.S.-supported investment fund to mobilize the Haitian American diaspora, private and public sector resources and expertise for Haiti’s economic development.

Collectively, Haitian Americans and the global diaspora send more than $4 billion annually in remittances to their friends and loved ones in Haiti. The bill aims to channel the resources already in the Haitian diaspora into a more structured approach to Haiti’s development.

It would authorize Congress to appropriate $1 billion annually for six fiscal years. After six years, the fund would be required to repay the U.S. Treasury in full and would terminate.

Advocates for the bill include the Coalition of Haitian American Organizations in the Chicago Area, the National Haitian American Elected Officials Network, the Haiti Renewal Alliance and the Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti.

Atty. Champagne said the enterprise fund would shift U.S. policy away from repeated crisis response and toward a long-term model of investment, private-sector development, institutional capacity, and Haitian diaspora participation.

Judge Baptiste sees the enterprise fund as a way to rebuild Haiti, the world’s first independent Black nation, after decades of destabilization. “Haiti has been impoverished by the war that’s been waged against it for having fought to liberate itself,” he said.

He explained that after Haiti defeated the French and expelled the foreign country from its land, becoming free and independent, Haiti helped Latin American countries liberate themselves from Spain and other colonizing countries may have influenced Black people in the U.S. to rebel against their slave masters.

“Haiti became a danger because it attacked the fundamental system that undergirded Western society, and so it then suffered the consequences, the wrath of the slave masters, the slave systems internationally,” said Judge Baptiste.

In 1825, a mere 21 years after its independence, France demanded Haiti pay 150 million francs in indemnity, roughly $20 to $30 billion today, according to modern estimates. (See related story on this page.)

Just as Haiti once rose as a beacon of Black freedom and independence, Haitian Americans are fighting to see their home country rise again through economic development and government reform.

“We are constantly in transition. That needs to stop. A legitimately elected national government would have greater authority to set national priorities, negotiate international partnership, decentralize development, create conditions for diaspora return and investment, and work with the enterprise fund on long-term reconstruction,” Atty. Champagne argued.

A nation in turmoil

Problems in Haiti exacerbated after the assassination of President Moïse. Today, nearly 1.5 million people are internally displaced due to gang activity, and more than half of Haiti’s population needs humanitarian assistance, according to a recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW).

From January 2023 through June 2026, more than 19,000 people in Haiti were killed in violence involving criminal groups, “self-defense groups” and government security forces, the report says.

The annual death toll rose by about 24% between 2023 and 2025, and more than 3,000 people were killed during the first six months of 2026.

Haiti is divided into 10 departments. So-called criminal groups primarily operate in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital, in the Ouest (West) department, but the HRW report states the groups have expanded into rural communities in at least five departments.

They are allegedly carrying out sexual violence, controlling territory, terrorizing and punishing residents and forcibly displacing communities.

How these groups are getting guns and equipment is not widely known. Haiti does not manufacture firearms or ammunition. According to the UN, the weaponry is coming from the U.S. and also across the border from the Dominican Republic.

According to the non-profit ITIAHaiti, “Haiti’s gang violence is sustained by supply chains that extend beyond its borders and reach into its own security institutions.

United Nations investigations document weapons trafficked from the United States, ammunition diverted from Dominican security-force stockpiles, and supplies originating from Haitian public inventories recovered from armed groups.”

Now, with the termination of Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS), which allowed eligible Haitian nationals to live and work in the U.S., the U.S. government has been deporting Haitians back to a country marked by instability.

The post Haitian Americans fight for economic development plan for Haiti appeared first on Final Call News.

This was the case for 749 Haitians deported on nine U.S. flights between Aug. 20 and Oct. 21, according to figures cited by EL PAÍS, a Spanish newspaper headquartered in Spain. These flights have continued since the July 27 termination of Haiti’s Temporary Pro-tected Status (TPS), which allowed eligible Haitian nationals to live and work in the U.S.

Upon arrival in their home country, Haitian deportees are immediately faced with challenges about where to live, where to work, and above all, how to stay safe, as international security personnel attempt to break up the control of armed groups over various communities.

“Haiti is not in a position to receive these people, whether they come from the United States, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Chile or Brazil. They are all arriving to a place that cannot support them,” Allie Pasieka of the International Rescue Committee told EL PAÍS from Port-au-Prince.

“Even if they can reach their families, assuming they can move around, they will probably face the same vulnerabilities as those families. It is not a country with sufficient resources to support these people. “Haiti is right now a humanitarian disaster.

So, sending anyone here contributes to that humanitarian disaster,” she added. She visited Artibonite, one of Haiti’s 10 departments, located in the central part of the country, and described a health care system on the brink of collapse, with only two hospitals in the region she visited still operating.

Only one of the hospitals was accessible without crossing into gang-controlled territory, and even then, the hospital needed beds, medicines, medical equipment and power, Ms. Pasieka explained.

Human Rights Watch’s senior researcher for the Americas, Nathalye Cotrino, visited Cap- Haïtien in August and interviewed 44 deportees who arrived on the first two flights since the termination of TPS for Haiti. “The main thing they are saying is that they need money and job opportunities.

And that if they leave Haiti, it will be for another country that allows them to work, not for the United States,” she said to EL PAÍS. “They are thinking maybe of trying to go to Brazil, to Chile or to nearby Caribbean places, because it’s less costly to arrange that trip.”

She shared that Haitians leaving their native country “are not fleeing only the violence but also a prolonged humanitarian, economic and political crisis.”

At an Oct. 19 United Nations Security Council briefing, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for Haiti, reported that between July and September, more than 1,000 people had been killed in Haiti, more than 400 had been injured and more than 100 had been kidnapped.

Deaths and injuries associated with security operations accounted for 52% of recorded casualties between July 1 and October 1, according to the UN secretary-general’s October report. The report attributes 808 casualties to security operations, including 148 people who were not associated with gangs.

Mr. Massieu also reported that nearly 1.5 million Haitians have been internally displaced, including 740,000 children. Sexual violence is also rampant, with 689 women and girls reportedly raped by gang members in July and August, according to the UN briefing.

Although much of the current gang violence has been concentrated in Port-au-Prince and surrounding communities, armed groups have increasingly expanded their activities into other departments. In Port-au-Prince, located in the Ouest (West) department, armed groups retain extensive territorial control, including over neighborhoods and transportation routes.

Other areas of the Ouest Department have experienced ambushes of security forces, fights over territory and revenue between armed groups and deadly attacks on civilians. Armed groups have expanded attacks into rural communities, and attacks have affected farmland, homes and public infrastructure.

“On the ground, we are witnessing increasing reliance on retaliatory violence against communities, including hostage-taking and other forms of intimidation, as gangs seek to undermine State authority, preserve territorial control and spread fear,” Mr. Massieu said.

Despite the crisis, the country is attempting to prepare for its first national elections since 2016. Mr. Massieu described more than 35 political parties and groupings and more than 3,500 registered candidates. As of Oct. 5, more than 750,000 voters had registered, out of an estimated 6.5 million eligible voters.

The first round of presidential and legislative elections was originally scheduled for Dec. 13, and the second round for Feb. 21, 2027. However, Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council postponed the elections indefinitely, according to UN News.

The presidency has remained vacant since the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. The terms of Haiti’s last elected officials expired in January 2023, leaving the country without nationally elected officials for nearly four years. Interim and transitional officials have exercised authority while the country’s parliament remains vacant.

Election challenges include armed groups controlling areas where residents must register, campaign, and vote, as well as questions about the eligibility of certain candidates. At the Oct. 19 briefing, Mr. Massieu cautioned: “The repeated announcement of electoral dates without a true assessment of their feasibility only serves to weaken the credibility of Haitian institutions.”

Security forces in Haiti, including an international, UN-backed Gang Suppression Force, which supports the Haitian National Police, have attempted to crack down on the violence. El Salvador has contributed soldiers to the force.

Though security forces in Haiti are intensifying their operations, the gangs are not giving up but instead are adapting their tactics, according to the UN briefing. As of Oct. 12, the Gang Suppression Force had more than 1,500 uniformed members.

On Oct. 18, an armored vehicle transporting Salvadoran personnel was attacked near Port-au-Prince. Four Salvadoran aviation technicians went missing following the attack, prompting search-and-rescue operations.

El Salvador deployed additional special forces to aid in the search. Approximately 1,000 Salvadoran troops had arrived in Haiti in late October, a Haitian security official told Reuters on Oct. 27.

The UN Security Council extended the mandate for the Gang Suppression Force to March 31, 2027.

During the UN briefing, Mr. Massieu acknowledged that security operations alone are not enough to create lasting stabilization in Haiti. “Sustainable progress requires a comprehensive Haitianled approach that combines territorial recovery with a sustained State presence and coordinated efforts in disarmament, dismantlement, and reintegration, with particular attention to children recruited by gangs,” he said.

As Haitian citizens and international parties work to stabilize the Caribbean country, Haitian Americans are also fighting to improve their home country through economic development and government reform. (See related story on page 3)

“We send more than $4 billion in remittances to the country to our people. People are involved in education. It builds schools. People are involved in assistance through agriculture,” Cook County, Illinois, Judge Lionel Jean Baptiste said to

Judge Baptiste has been instrumental in creating a “Marshall Plan” for Haiti’s economic recovery and redevelopment.

“We fight for the rights to vote, the right to dual citizenship. There is an effort, now, to try to move forward in the process to get the election done because we’ve been in a transition since 2021. … We’re fighting for reform inside the government,” he said.

“We’re looking to influence the new leadership that may be coming to office, so that they can look beyond the United States for alliances to try to bring support from People’s Republic of China, from Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Dubai, and everybody that they could bring in, in terms of the support system, to move the country forward.”

The post Haiti gripped with ongoing violence, missing Salvadoran soldiers and postponed elections appeared first on Final Call News.

At the conclusion of the historic program on February 22, under the theme “We Must Make Our Community a Decent and Safe Place to Live,” a sobering announcement was made.

“As we just asked Allah to bless us and protect us; keep us safe on the road and through the sky, we just were made aware that we lost two members of the Nation of Islam from Durham, North Carolina, in a car accident earlier this morning. And they did not survive the accident,” said Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad.

“Brother Andre Muhammad, Sister Carla Muhammad, may Allah be pleased. And this is just a reminder that the next moment is not guaranteed to any of us. We must cherish every moment. So always pray for your brother and your sister. May Allah be pleased and reward them as He will for the good that they did,” he said.

As the tragic news circulated, people took to social media to share their condolences and fond memories of Sister Carla, and her husband, Brother Andre.

As students of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and as members of Mosque No. 34, they dedicated their lives to nurturing young people through education, sports, and community service, especially feeding those in need.

No matter the weather, Bro. Andre served hot meals every week in the streets of Durham. He would show up at Mosque No. 34 on Sunday mornings with food in heating trays, ready to feed people as soon as the service ended.

He would drive around the city looking for brothers and sisters sleeping outside in tents or congregating around barrels filled with fire to keep warm. He lovingly handed out physical food along with spiritual food contained in the pages of

In the wake of their return to Allah (God), Bro. Andre and Sis. Carla’s mission to feed people was adopted and continued by Brother Oczaveus X and Brother Jasper X. They assisted Brother Andre on Sundays, observing his consistency, love, methods, and routes.

“When I was at Saviours’ Day and received the information about our Brother Andre and Sister Carla, may Allah be pleased with them, I called Brother Jasper.

My exact words were ‘You know what we have to do’ and he said, ‘Yes Sir, pick up the baton for our Brother Andre,’” shared Bro. Oczaveus X.

“Immediately after the shock wore off from hearing about the passing of Brother Andre and Sister Carla, may Allah be pleased, the idea to pick up their mission crossed my mind.

When I first spoke with Brother Oczaveus, he had the exact same idea. It hit us at the same time, and we were excited to pick up the baton,” said Bro. Jasper X.

The post Feeding the people of Durham, N.C., in memory of two faithful servants appeared first on Final Call News.

Zbigniew Brzezinski said, “It is easier to kill a million people today than to control a million people.” And while at the same time the Third World peoples are multiplying, the White population is diminishing in Europe, it’s diminishing in America, by The Power of Allah (God)!

Putting poison in the water to sterilize human beings so that the gift of reproduction, which God gives to every creature to maintain and sustain and reproduce itself:

That very process is being killed by food that we need to eat, water that we need to drink; poison in the air that we need to breathe, and poison in the earth that is under our foot to produce what we put in our mouths as food and as seeds for planting.

Yes, even the seeds, too, are poisoned. And in next week’s broadcast, we will mention “Monsanto” and “DuPont,” and what they’re doing to seeds.

In the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s monumental book, “How To Eat To Live, Book 1,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote over 50 years ago about the dangers of chemical sterilants and additives being put in our water and food!

[By the way, all of you: If you don’t have this book, why don’t you write to us and get a copy of it? And if you have it, take it down and re-read it. And when we get into this book on “How To Eat To Live,”

We will bring you the new writings from the M.G.T. & G.C.C. class of The Nation of Islam that will show you not only what to eat, but how to cook it; and the nutritional value of everything that you put in your mouth … .]

On Page 26, in the chapter “How Allah’s Way Prolongs Life,” he writes: “Many are advertising what to eat, and what medicines to take to make you eat or stop you from eating.

Many books are written and sold on good and bad foods, as well as on reducing the weight and on how to increase the weight, introducing the many chemicals used to bring about the desired result.

“But Allah, in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, to Whom praises are due forever, has given us a better and safer way to do these things.” Which, of course, we will go into in future broadcasts. And on pages 107-108, in the chapter “Poisonous Food and Water,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad continues:

“Take, for instance, the use of fluoride, chloride, and sodium, which if not used correctly can destroy our entire life. Maybe it is best to find something else that will clear our water without killing both us and the poison in our food and water.

The scientist should not advocate the use of such poisonous chemicals as fluoride, chloride, and sodium, which may have a bad effect on our brains and our human reproductive organs.

“The scientist that uses such poison on human beings wants to either minimize the birth rates or cause the extinction of a people. D.D.T., which is sprayed on food while it is growing up from the earth, is also a poison that should not be put into the human body, regardless of the desire to kill the insects that loves to dine on the same food on which we dine. The poison may not take instant [effect] on us, as it does the insects, but it can, over the long years, help shorten the span of our lives.

“We live in world commercializing on everything where money is involved, and this has speeded production of everything but human lives, in order to fill the demand of the people. This has caused many scientists to overlook the dangerous effects that such fast production has on the health of the people.

“Therefore, the only way out for us, the poor Lost-Found Black man and woman of America, is to seek refuge and guidance in Allah for our protection from the evil plannings and doings of Satan.

Allah (God) has pointed out to us in both the Bible and the Holy Qur’an the right foods for us to eat and He has pointed out the poisonous food and drinks. Follow Allah (God’s) guidance or suffer the consequences.”

In fact, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad says of His Teachings: “What I am teaching you is life! Accept it and live! Reject it, and the consequences are an untimely and early death.”

The post Combating America’s Depopulation Plan: We Must Learn ‘How To Eat To Live’ appeared first on Final Call News.