The four countries together represent over two-thirds of the world’s global cocoa production. At the recent Cocoa Value Addition Summit 2026, in Abuja, Nigeria, they declared that establishing this new agreement has the potential to coordinate policies, promote local cocoa processing, bring production standards into harmony, and strengthen the continent of  Africa’s bargaining power in the global cocoa industry.

Cocoa is a seed from the Theobroma Cacao Tree and is the primary or essential raw material in the making of chocolate. According to confectioneryproduction.com, the world’s demand for chocolate has developed into a $150 billion industry

“with African countries supplying over 70% of the cocoa for it—yet its farming communities reportedly gain no more than between 5-10% of that overall value, due to the longstanding supply chain system that has seen the majority of profits returned to largely European-based processing facilities and corporations.”

“Value added” is simply the addition given to raw material by processing it before selling it abroad. In Walter Rodney’s book, “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa,” he explains how Europeans and Americans have a history of undervaluing Africa’s substantial mineral wealth by exporting raw material and processing it abroad.

This is the ultimate form of exploitation, and the primary hallmark of the capitalist imperialist economic system, Dr. Rodney points out. Throughout the book, one of Dr. Rodney’s main arguments is that through this exploitation, Africa developed Europe at the same rate that Europe underdeveloped Africa.

Perhaps this agreement between Cameroon, Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast will be a step toward the West African nation breaking off this European and American exploitation.

According to Nigeria’s Punch Newspaper, in speaking in advance of the July 14, Cocoa Value Addition Summit, Senator John Owan Enoh, who is the Minister of State for Industry in Nigeria, said African cocoa-producing countries were determined to change a century-old trade model that has left producing nations with little economic value despite supplying most of the world’s cocoa.

“For a hundred years, Africa has sent its cocoa to the world in sacks and received it back in wrappers, paying at both ends of the transaction,” said Senator Enoh, the outlet reported.

“The distance between a bean and a brand is measured in jobs and in dignity, and on July 14, in Abuja, four nations begin closing that distance together. We do not gather to lament the market. We gather to redesign our place in it,” the senator who is also a cocoa farmer said.

During the summit sponsored by the Nigerian government, the country’s president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, unveiled a “far-reaching” plan designed to enhance the country and wider regions of cocoa production to retain a greater share of its overall commercial value, noted confectioneryproduction.com.

The president was represented at the summit by his Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari. The theme of the summit was “From Bean to Brand: The Bean in My Hand, The Brand in Our Future.” 

The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security noted that Kyari pointed out that “Nigeria is shifting from exporting raw cocoa to processing it domestically, to create jobs, attract investments and earn more foreign exchange from (the) cocoa sub-sector.”

He added that “Seven of every ten cocoa pods on this earth ripen under the African sun. They are grown by African hands-on African soil with African knowledge passed down through generations, and yet of a global chocolate economy now valued at well over $130 billion and by some recent estimates approaching $165 billion,’’ reported Agriculture.gov.ng.

“We will grind our beans at home, we will press our butter at home, we will make our chocolate at home, brand it at home and sell it to the world on our own terms.’’ 

During the summit, participants received updates on the construction of what is expected to become Nigeria’s largest cocoa processing facility, a 70,000-metric-ton processing plant being developed by Sunbeth Global Concepts in Sagamu, Ogun State, which is scheduled for commissioning in 2027.

In addition, the Ghanaian news site Pulse reported that the country is set to join Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria and Cameroon in a landmark agreement aimed at transforming Africa’s cocoa industry by increasing local processing, strengthening the continent’s bargaining power and reducing its dependence on exporting raw cocoa beans.

According to Brandspur Brand News, “Nigeria will also sign a separate Cocoa Value Addition Accord with cocoa-producing state governments, farmers’ associations, processors, researchers and development finance institutions.

The agreement is expected to drive investment across the cocoa value chain, expand domestic processing capacity and improve earnings for cocoa farmers through coordinated implementation.”

Later this year on October 7-8, Nigeria will host the Africa Cocoa and Coffee Conference. It will convene an unprecedented assembly of cocoa and coffee stakeholders across the full value chains—farmers, cooperatives, processors, roasters, exporters, researchers, policymakers, development finance institutions, and multilateral organizations—to drive concrete action on the most urgent challenges and opportunities facing Africa’s cocoa and coffee sectors.

The conference is presented by the Cocoa and Coffee Farmers Alliance Association of Africa (COCEFAAA) in partnership with the Federal Ministry of  Agriculture and the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria.

Follow Jehron Muhammad @africawatchfcn on X

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In a July 28 social media post, CNN host Jake Tapper highlighted the DOD’s silence about the school attack, noting that “the White House and Pentagon have so far refused any accountability or transparency.”

Tapper then posted a timeline of accumulated evidence that the U.S. was responsible for the deadly strike, while also including a quote from Rachel VanLandingham, a retired official from the Judge Advocate General’s Corps (JAG), who said “it’s atrocious that we haven’t had an acknowledgment, an explanation, and an apology yet” from the Pentagon.

Earlier this month, CNN reported that the investigation into the school bombing was essentially complete, and it found that U.S. military commanders “bypassed warnings” indicating that their database of strike targets inside Iran was badly out of date shortly before authorizing the attack on the building.

Two of CNN’s sources said senior commanders ignored the warnings out of “expediency,” as they did not want to significantly delay providing target lists during the outset of the war, which Trump illegally launched in February without authorization from the U.S. Congress.

A group of experts at the United Nations last week renewed calls for the U.S. to release the findings of its probe into the school bombing, noting that the U.S. has “obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.”

“Five months following the school bombing in Minab, the U.S. and Israel have not made any findings public, raising valid questions regarding the impartiality, effectiveness and transparency of any investigation that may be underway,” they said. “Justice delayed is justice denied.”

Two weeks ago, a group of 25 Democratic U.S. senators sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pressing him to release the results of the Pentagon investigation and to submit to Congress a “prevention and remediation plan that identifies the specific corrective actions the Department will take to ensure this does not happen again.”

“The United States military has a legal and moral obligation to take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian harm,” the senators wrote. “When a U.S. strike kills civilians, the Department owes Congress, the American people, and the victims’ families a clear accounting of what happened and a credible plan to prevent future failures.”

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An investigation published by the Financial Times on July 22 estimated that Washington has collected more than $13 billion from Venezuelan oil exports since taking control of the country’s oil sales in January, following the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro Moros.

The report said the revenues were expected to provide a major boost to Venezuela’s economy, where oil accounts for roughly one-quarter of national output.

However, despite the sharp rise in oil income, Venezuela’s economic recovery has remained weak, raising questions over Washington’s control of the revenues and whether the funds have reached the Venezuelan economy.

The report highlighted that only one transfer of $300 million has been publicly recorded on a Venezuelan government website created to monitor the U.S.-controlled oil revenues.

It also highlighted conflicting statements from Washington regarding who controls the funds and how they are being managed.

A January executive order described the U.S. role as merely holding the money in a custodial capacity, yet Trump later boasted that Washington was “making a lot of money” from Venezuelan oil.

He cited oil revenues as one of the benefits of the U.S. aggression against Venezuela, saying, “48 minutes to win that war,” and claiming, “We brought millions of barrels of oil out,” after taking control of the country’s oil exports.

A senior State Department official, Michael Kozak told Congress in April that roughly $3 billion had been transferred to Venezuela. However, lawmakers later said they had received no further disclosures regarding the funds.

The lack of transparency has prompted lawmakers from Republican and Democratic party to demand answers, with Republican Representative Maria Elvira Salazar calling on the administration to publicly disclose how the funds are being used and ensure greater financial accountability.

Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro said “Trump’s invasion of Venezuela has been about oil, power and graft from the very beginning, with billions of dollars in Venezuelan oil revenue being controlled by the Trump administration without transparency or safeguards.”

The report said questions over the management of the revenues have become even more urgent following the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24.

The United Nations estimated that damage to buildings and infrastructure alone amounted to approximately $37 billion.

Despite the country’s extensive reconstruction needs, the report found no public evidence that the overwhelming majority of the oil revenues collected by Washington have reached Caracas.

Economist Francisco Rodríguez told the newspaper that Venezuela’s first-quarter growth of only 2.5 percent, the weakest rate in nearly five years, suggested that the United States was retaining control of the oil revenues.

Former opposition lawmaker and economist José Guerra raised similar concerns, saying that Venezuelan oil revenues should have been substantially higher and asking: “Where is the money? There is no transparency and the U.S. government does not inform us.”

The report added that the estimated $13 billion figure covers only oil exports and does not include revenues from Venezuelan mining exports, some of which U.S. officials have acknowledged are also being collected by the Trump administration. (Presstv.co.uk)

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This country has a history of unjustly locking up Black men and women who dare critique, criticize, or point out the injustices perpetrated against our communities. While the U.S. government is often quick to point to other countries in its accusations of holding “political prisoners,” and others who have been incarcerated abroad, it fails to look in the mirror at its own injustices.

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad understood the wickedness of the U.S. government when it came to unjust imprisonment of Black people and spoke to this in “The Muslim Program,” which is published weekly on the inside back page of The Final Call.

Under “What The Muslims Want,” in Point No. 5 it states in part: “We want freedom for all Believers of Islam now held in federal prisons. We want freedom for all black men and women now under death sentence in innumerable prisons in the North as well as the South;”

and in Point No. 6, it states in part: “We believe that the Federal government should intercede to see that black men and women tried in white courts receive justice in accordance with the laws of the land—or allow us to build a new nation for ourselves, dedicated to justice, freedom and liberty.”

America has held many Black political prisoners who have languished behind bars for decades, have died while still incarcerated or after being released while sickly, in old age, and die soon after. Imam Jamil Al-Amin, Dr. Mutulu Shakur, Kamau Sadiki, and Sundiata Acoli are just a few of the names.

Also on this list is Mumia Abu Jamal. He and his supporters, including the Coalition to Free Mumia, have been fighting for his freedom for decades. This December will mark 45 years of his imprisonment. The former journalist, activist and Black Panther was convicted in 1981 of killing a Philadelphia police officer.

He and his supporters have always proclaimed his innocence. His trial was fraught with inconsistencies and observers argue he did not receive a fair trial. While behind bars, Mumia has suffered many health issues, but his resolve remains, despite these conditions.

He is serving time at Mahanoy Correctional Institution in Pennsylvania, on a life sentence with no chance of parole. His original death sentence was overturned in 2011 after federal courts ruled his original 1982 sentencing instructions were unconstitutional.

Amnesty International and other human rights organizations have appealed for his release or, at the very least, for a new trial. Recently, the UK-based, The Guardian reported that Mumia “is taking his claim that he has been subjected to arbitrary imprisonment for a crime that he did not commit to a new tribunal: the United Nations in Geneva.”

On July 28, according to theguardian.com, “… Abu-Jamal, 72, lodged a petition with the UN’s working group on arbitrary detention, a body within the Human Rights Council. It marks the latest attempt by the internationally renowned prisoner and prolific author of 15 books to seek relief, having exhausted all domestic channels through state and federal courts.”

The cruel and unusual punishment of Mumia’s incarceration speaks volumes about the U.S. “injustice system.” In the 20-page petition to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, it states:

“Mr. Abu-Jamal’s mandatory sentence of life without parole (LWOP), also known as Death by Incarceration (DBI), is inherently arbitrary because it is indefinite and contains no meaningful periodic review of necessity or reasonableness;

it is also unreasonable as applied to Mr. Abu-Jamal in light of his advanced age, declining health, and the lack of any risk he poses to the public, rendering his continued detention arbitrary under the Working Group’s Category I.

“Mr. Abu-Jamal has been continuously targeted for his political expression and associations, prior to his arrest, at trial, and over the course of his incarceration and appeals, raising questions as to violations of this Working Group’s Category II;

his judicial processes and the decades-long repression of his political speech have also been influenced by discrimination on the basis of race, raising questions as to violations of this Working Group’s Category V.”

The petition was submitted by the Abolitionist Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union, the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Center for Constitutional Rights and the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign.

The fight to free Mumia is not over, and it is important that we continue to advocate for him and other brothers and sisters who continue sitting in prisons and jails in U.S. correctional facilities for crimes they did not commit.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has also been one of the strongest voices speaking out on Mumia’s plight and fight.

“My dear brothers and sisters, right now as we speak:  Mumia Abu Jamal is absolutely a prisoner of conscience.  A ‘prisoner,’ that if they get their way, they will sentence my brother, and order his death.  But in a hearing, they wanted to give him a new trial, where his attorneys could produce evidence that might lead to Mumia Abu Jamal’s freedom! 

But those that oppose it are seeking, now, to overturn the lower court ruling, and sentence my brother to death.  Mumia Abu Jamal is a political prisoner,” Minister Farrakhan stated, during part 24 of this 2013 lecture series, “The Time and What Must Be Done.”

“What is a ‘political prisoner?’  According to the American Heritage Dictionary, a ‘political prisoner’ is ‘a person who has been imprisoned for holding or advocating dissenting political views,’” Minister Farrakhan continued.

So, while the U.S. points its fingers at other countries for the treatment or mistreatment of their political prisoners, it is hypocritical for those in governmental authority to ignore what is happening in America’s own backyard.

We must not forget! Free Mumia Abu Jamal and all political prisoners unjustly locked up in the prison capital of the world!

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In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

As-Salaam Alaikum!  I am so happy to be here, and to thank Allah for each and every one of you, and for the great senseis who have come in support of our Grandmaster and sensei in this time of our sadness. But joy comes in the morning.

And even though we are a little sad, yet we are so happy to be followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and believers in his Great Saviour and ours, Master Fard Muhammad.

Mother Khadijah Farrakhan (‘The Wind Beneath My Wings’)

Yes, I brought her with me. I can never come here without Khadijah. So, I’m here now—but I am not without Khadijah. So, you all go and do what you do, and I’m with you if you’re giving a tribute to the woman whom God gave me that is the best gift I could have other than His Presence, and the presence of the truth and the mission that He gave to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

So thank you so much for your tribute to her, because really, that sets the stage so completely perfect for me. Thank you very much. Thank you, sisters.

Forsake vanity, self-conceit in order to become a great student

Wow. With tears in my eyes in remembrance of The Queen of my life, I know she would be overjoyed to have witnessed what I witnessed today, this afternoon. I want to thank all of the senseis.

And I pray that God, Allah, will give you long life, that you may continue to teach young people and old people to take care of their bodies which is the real house of God. Take care of your diet, which demonstrates your love for the house that God wants to live in with you.

God wants to live in us!! You didn’t hear me, so I’ll say it again!Allah (God) wants to live in what He created, but you have to understand Who you are and Who you want to be like and belong to!

I am so overwhelmed looking at my young baby brothers. Now, when an old man sees a baby doing the things that these babies did, I know our Nation is safe. To my right and my left, my son and my son—not my physical son, but a spiritual son.

My physical and spiritual son[s], I thank Allah for the both of you, and for my other son, Grandmaster Abdul Azziz Muhammad. Come over here, sit with daddy. (Smile)

When the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to me, “Brother, you may sit in my seat as the father of the house in my absence,” just think about that. “You are not the father”: I am not “the” father, but I can sit as the father. What makes me sit as the father? Because I have become his begotten son.

I rejoice in you today. I am inspired by you today. … Because what my grandmaster brother [Oso Tayari Casel] said. Oh man! Where mi brudduh from Jamaica [Captain Robert Hibbert], man? Come, man, come! I love you, man.  All the grandmasters … .  Listen!

Where would we be without these great men and women who taught us, who are teaching us? Oh, my dear brother who gets beat up all the time [Shodan DeMonet Bernstein], Sit right down here, brother! I am honored to have you as my son!

What a young man! And he has been doing this since he was almost a little boy. He has been the one that they beat up every year! But he is a warrior, man! I was so impressed with him one year, I wrote a check to him, to say, “Brother, you are such a wonderful helper to the masters, as you are becoming a master.”

“Why, somebody asked me, was it you, Farrakhan?” She was dying. My son is my witness that I really didn’t know at first what to say to her; because she was disappointed in the choice of me.

In the middle of our talk I was talking to her as a brother who honored her and loved her, and love her still, for the sacrifice that she made in her life to give me a teacher in her husband, the great Yusef Shah.

Malcolm was my teacher, but Yusef Shah was my maker. You can’t be a great minister unless you become a great follower. And if you are not a strong follower of a great teacher, you will never achieve the greatness because your vanity will rob you of the power that you need to equal the masters that teach you.

As I looked at you and I thought of my wife, when I came here today, I told you “I brought Khadijah with me.” You may say, “Man, this is a spooky dude!” Yeah, well you need to get “spooky” like me, because you are not listening to the Farrakhan that you knew. You’re becoming acquainted with The One that I am becoming, and really, have become.

I want you to pay attention! Because vanity, self-conceit, putting your desires over the desire of your teacher, will cripple you and cause you to cripple those under you. You come under a teacher to learn from a teacher, that one day you may take the place of that teacher and learn to be a greater teacher like the master said.

“What master?” I’m talking about Jesus. “What about Muhammad?” That’s Jesus. Jesus and Muhammad is one and the same. You may not understand it yet because you see Muhammad as a Muslim. What do you see Jesus as?

Not one time in the Bible did you ever hear him say, “I am a Christian.” He never said, “I am a Baptist,” though he was baptized. He never said, “I am a Methodist,” though he said, “I Am The Way.” He said, “I Am The Way. I Am The Truth,” “I Am The Life.”

‘I Am The Life’: The Example of a Great Student Fusing with a Great Master

Jesus didn’t say, “I am A Life.” “I Am The Life.” What did he mean? I can tell you. Not because I know of myself, but because I have grown by His Grace into him. How could Jesus say, “When you see me you see the father”?

And he said to his disciples, “Have I been among you this long and you have not seen my Father?” You don’t know who you’ve been looking at! Look again. My Father is now in me, and I Am in Him. Me and My Father have become One.

Wait, now! Wait! “What about ME?” you say. I am a proof of what we all can be if we stop thinking about who we are and think about Who The Creator is. Because He is in us!

To know Jesus is to strive to become one with him. If he found the purpose for life when he could say, “I Am The Way, I Am The Truth, I Am The Life,” what “Life” are you, Jesus? He is The Life that God put in every single one of us! And none of us have reached The Goal. Your life, and its purpose, is to mature in that life to become One with God, your Creator.

See, when I told you I was “coming with my wife,” you didn’t understand what I was saying. “How were you coming with her? She’s dead.” The hell she is! You just don’t understand! Allah says in the Holy Qur’an, “Think not of those who die or are slain in the way of God as dead. They are alive but you perceive not (you understand not).”

What is it about “life” and “death” that we don’t understand? You don’t understand the words that I said when I came. “I came wrapped up in Khadijah.” “Well, how could that be? She is dead.” To you. But she lives with God.

And what this man [Oso Tayari Casel] said, I want you to pay attention to what he said; because he is not just a great sensei, we just have to go deeper into what he says.

“There are stars out there,” and he broke down the chemistry of a star, and the light that they give us. But they die…  “Stars die; you can blow them out,” they are like a candle. “But you can’t destroy the light. The light is traveling through space from stars long dead. But the light that they have, the light that they gave to us is still giving light.”

My teacher once said to me—you notice how I said that? “My teacher.” I have a great teacher. Elijah Muhammad, to me: I couldn’t have a better teacher. You say, “Well God is the greatest Teacher!” Yes, He is. But when a man of God—look at the preposition “of”: When a man of God has given himself to God and is obedient in every way in his life to God, then God takes him into Himself and fuses him.

It’s not “fission.” See, “fission” is just a cracking of an atom. “Fusion” is the marriage of the atom and the molecules into oneness. How could that brother come out here with a sword and have you put the sword to his neck, and put a man there, pushing another man that can push the sword up into his throat, and he push them back?

How could he do that?! … It’s Divine Science. It’s not nigga science! It’s not cracka science! It’s not White folk science! It’s not half-ass man science!

You say, “Damn, Farrakhan! You, you kind of carrying on today!” I have to say it right: Damn right. And I’m not cussing! See, “damn” is a word that is describing “right.” It’s an adjective in this case. “Damn right” is so right that it dams up your foolishness … .

Damned fool. Like a dam holds back the water, “God damn” holds back all this bull…! Foolishness is not wisdom. Foolishness is stopping you from being wise; it is stopping you from growing and becoming complete.

Well, boy! I’m getting fired up in here. But if you didn’t get fired up over what you saw, there’s something wrong with you. If it didn’t move you, you’re clogged up, and you really need something to remove the [cause] of the clog up and unclog your brain of what you call “knowledge.”

Learn the lessons in what is being demonstrated before you

This was a demonstration today, to me, for Mr. Trump, for Mr. Netanyahu. Wait! Wait! I know I wasn’t supposed to “go there,” but write it down! See, every one of these young men and women, you saw what they did not with a weapon.

But with the mastery of their brain, their hands. Taking a weapon … . Boy, don’t nobody come with a weapon with you, brother [Captain Hibbert]. That happens every year and they can’t get a shot off!

“What are you saying under that, Farrakhan?” The man that had the sword, I am sure he had to think, “Should I do this?” But the sensei said, “Come on,” and then he put a man behind that man to make sure that he would push, and keep that man standing still. Do you know what that was? That’s the power of a mind over the molecules and the atoms that appear to be losing; you know, moving about so.

But I knew this as a young Muslim when I was standing post for Elijah Muhammad, and they said somebody was going to take his life. The instruction was, “You all go out and stand post.” I never stood post shaking. Look at my record, brothers.

I was the first to stand up every time I was in the line, and my Teacher was threatened. One time the Supreme Captain said, “Minister, you’re just so small.” I said, “Yes sir.” He said, “You  don’t have no weight; you couldn’t stop a bullet.”

Well, the fat one over there, if he don’t know how to turn that fat into steel, he’s just butter for a bullet. But when that brother steeled himself! Look in his face; he wasn’t smiling, he was making his body firm. He was making his throat harder than the wood that that sword was in.

“You mean you can do that??” Yes, you can! Was it Sampson that whooped all these people with the jawbone of an ass? Poor Goliath. Such a punk! And he got punked! Didn’t it only take one smooth stone out of the brook by a man with the heart to stand up against a bully?

I want to say this with all respect to warriors who trust in their weapons. What these brothers showed us, what these sisters showed us, learn the lesson. The lesson is this: If you are on the outside of this and you said, “Damn! I don’t know.

I don’t wanna mess with them,” well, that’s wise. But not only is it wise, it’s supreme intelligence. Why is that? You see, when you think you’re powerful and you forget God Who is The Real Power, then you don’t have the power to move what He created to make it like what that brother did to hold that sword from piercing his skin.

Now, they say this on television, “When you see masters doing things, now, don’t go out there stupid”; they tell you right away, “No, no, no. Don’t try that.”

Try this: “Let me first make myself into what God can use.” Please listen! God is in everything that He created! And there is no thing out here that was a creation of somebody else but God, The Author of all life, The Author of all creation. Oof! I’m … I’m going to finish; I’m going to wrap it up, now! But be careful, now, [laughs]. I’m a Baptist preacher, you know?

An aggressor is a loser

I’m going to let you go, but you get the tape and study it, because they’re going to be talking about it. “That man ain’t no hater, he is a lover. He is a lover of God”—and he knows the incompleteness of man. See, you think because you’re a man, you’re complete. Wrong!

You think because you’re all grown up that you’re mature. You’re wrong! “Maturity” is not in a B.S. degree, or an M.S. degree, or in a Ph.D. degree. Yes, we got it, but put it on the wall and study it, because you can’t do almost anything with it. You’ve got a doctorate in sociology, and all the sickness in the society and you don’t know how to heal it?

You’re a Doctor of Economics and whatnot, and you don’t know what to do with garbage? We’ve got garbage on a barge going up and down the river because you don’t know what to do with garbage. Isn’t that something? But there’s no garbage in the economy of God’s Knowledge.

You die, and there’s a vulture there. You won’t last long out there; you won’t look the same, but the vulture will eat. And The Messenger told me that the buzzard has so much sense, that they’ll fly around. Are they just flying around? No, they’re looking as they’re flying. They’re listening as they’re flying. They are waiting for that which appears dead to really die.

Well, some of us are like that. You’re a damn fool if you work your life all the way to build wealth and then turn it over to a jackass. And they ask you, “What is your legacy?” and your children are jackasses. We ain’t got no damn “legacy”!

You’ve got bloodsuckers of the poor. You’ve got eaters of the dead. See, when you don’t know how to work for what you get, or are waiting for somebody to die to see what you can get, think about it, those sisters, those brothers, taught us this lesson: An aggressor is a loser.

I am saying this to the president: An aggressor is a loser. Because God is never with those who are aggressors, oppressors, tyrants, bullies, who love to make people afraid. During the demonstrations, there was a brother moving around, but the poor man lost the stick (knocked out of his hands).

Those brothers were mean out there! And if you are an aggressive fool, looking at what you saw, then the lesson is: Don’t be a bully. Find a better way to solve a problem! Yes, you’ve got an armada. Yes, you’ve got ships. Yes, you’ve got armies.

Yes, you’ve got ballistic missiles. Yes …  But you don’t have God. And if you don’t have God, you don’t have the forces of nature! And God is unleashing the forces of nature now! Don’t try Him. Don’t try Him, please. If you want to live, put the gun down, put the bomb down.

You can threaten Iran. Iran has a little something to fight back. But my Teacher told me that this war was going to start with conventional weapons and it will end with nuclear weapons. You heard it first from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

I say this as warning before the war gets hot. Stop, and think. Precious lives are on those ships, but God can maneuver the water in such a way, which you will see, and sink your ship. See, nothing can stand against the force of nature when it is unleashed.

Please  …  I am from God, whether you know it or not! Damn it, if you haven’t seen it yet, you are blind as hell! But I am telling you, I am from God! And what I say, you’re going to meet it again if you think you’re going to destroy people with your bombs, with your weapons! You will be destroyed!

So Khadijah, thank you for letting me say what I didn’t come here to say! But God asked me to say it while I am speaking. Because I told them [motions to Brother Mustapha and Brother Ishmael seated on either side of him], “You can let it go out on TV, I’m not going to say nothing.”

(Smile) I’m sorry. I wasn’t lying, but I didn’t intend to go as far as I did. But God is the Father of my words, and I am a warner to the nations.

I’m telling Saudi Arabia: Don’t let them lure you into the trap, promising you atomic weapons! They will never give them to you as long as Israel is by their side.

You say, “Well, Farrakhan, they’re going to … they’re going to put this in the media tomorrow!” Maybe you should, because there isn’t anyone telling them what they shouldn’t do! So God sent me to warn you all: The playing with God is over; the hypocrisy of saying what you believe and you’re a liar! Don’t play with Allah! Don’t play with God! Don’t play with the life that He gave you!

Live your life. Don’t let praise blind you—you ain’t made to handle it. [We applaud our teachers (“Great, sensei!”)], but the sensei is wise. I applaud you because I am proud of you.

But if you ever get so proud of yourself that you forget Who is The Giver of gifts, Who is The Protector of you in your exhibition and exploitation of your gift, then the gift will wrap you up as a present to Satan. And when you open your gift, Satan, you’ll see a damn fool. Because anybody that follows Satan is a damn fool.

All those who bow down in submission to The Lord of all creation, you have a chance to win!

I guess I have said it all. Khadijah told me: “You should go now and get some rest.” But I had a great time. And to all the senseis that came to help Brother Abdul Azziz, and demonstrate the greatness of your gift.

I pray that Allah (God) will give you long life, and strengthen you in your gift, and give you many students. And tell them, “Don’t be an aggressor,” and you have learned your lesson; “Don’t be arrogant,” and you have learned your lesson.

So, The Messenger tried me, that’s why he could sit me in his seat as the Father! And all of you know I have never tried to be what I am not! I am learning now to accept my own and be myself. You do the same.

The post Message at the 31st Annual National Training Conference ‘An Aggressor is A Loser’ appeared first on Final Call News.

This year’s theme, “We Must Make Our Communities a Decent and Safe Place to Live,” carried added weight throughout the weekend, as the conference unfolded in the wake of two significant losses for the Nation of Islam.

Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, wife of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and First Lady of the Nation of Islam, returned to Allah (God) on June 27. Sister Azziza Muhammad, affectionately called “Mama Azziza,” wife of Grandmaster Dr. Abdul Azziz Muhammad, the Student Assistant Supreme Captain of the Nation of Islam, returned to Allah on July 15.

Both heavy losses were felt throughout the weekend by participants and attendees—nowhere more than in a tribute delivered on the mat by the sisters of USOS Lion’s Paw Martial Arts.

And as he has in years past, Minister Louis Farrakhan addressed participants at this year’s International Training Conference (see related coverage this issue), continuing a tradition that has made his presence the weekend’s most anticipated moment for martial artists, security trainers, and families gathered from across the country.

Prior to Minister Farrakhan’s message on July 25, the conference’s opening day and session featured remarks from several of his longtime helpers, including his National Assistant, Student Minister Ishmael R. Muhammad; his son, Student Supreme Captain Mustapha Farrakhan;

Student Minister Nuri Muhammad of Mosque No. 74 in Indianapolis; Student Minister Jeffrey Muhammad of Mosque Maryam in Chicago; and Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad of Mosque No. 55 in Memphis.

Student Min. Ilia centered his remarks directly on the conference theme. As a beekeeper, he drew an analogy to the conference’s theme by describing bees as a model of self-sacrificing, cooperative community-building directly relevant to the conference’s aim of making our communities and neighborhoods a safe and decent place to live, as taught by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

The responsibility is on Black people just like the responsibility for the safety and protection of the “hive” falls on the “community” or “nation” of bees in that hive.

“Everything the bees do they do it for their ‘nation.’ … They do it for the whole,” he said.

‘Accept Your Own And Be Yourself’

In his remarks during the conference opening, Student Minister Ishmael spoke on the discipline that training provides. “The training gives us the requisite discipline that is found in the teachers. The training gives us skill that allows for us to do what Allah (God), through His Messenger Messiah, would have us to do,” he said.

The International Training Conference brings together martial arts practitioners, security professionals and students of all levels, ages and backgrounds. It is a gathering that focuses on not only physical preparation and training, but mental and spiritual training as well.

Student Min. Ishmael spoke on the story of David and Goliath from the Bible, framing the young shepherd’s victory as a matter of faith rather than physical preparation. “It comes from the strength of his heart and the rich soul.

It is the faith that removes fear,” continued Student Min. Ishmael.  He also spoke of the “whole armor of God” as spiritual protection, and described the greater struggle as an internal one. “Satan is already in our heart … the real enemy to defeat is Satan on the inside,” he stated. 

He concluded his remarks with a call to self-discipline. “… develop yourself. Be yourself. Learn about yourself. And cultivate yourself, because yourself is God.”

Over four days, the conference combined martial arts training and competition with workshops on security, family life, agriculture, and youth development, alongside spiritual observance including Friday’s Jumu’ah (congregational) prayer.

Nation of IslamStudent National Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad, who led Jumu’ah prayer Friday afternoon, focused his khutbah (sermon) around the Arabic roots for light (Nur) and fire (Nar), applying the distinction to the conference’s community-safety theme. “We are charged with the divine command to make a more decent and safe place to live,” he told the congregation.

“Are we part of the fire that is destroying our community? Or are we part of the light that is bringing about the transformation of our people?” he asked.

Throughout the weekend, special workshops and sessions were held. On July 25, martial arts masters and senseis from various styles and schools demonstrated self-defense techniques, giving adults and children a chance to learn and participate.

Then the anticipated moment arrived, when the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan arrived to thunderous applause, before the audience was seated on mats, in anticipation of hearing from him. However, before his message, martial artists continued demonstrating techniques.

Children and youth entered the mat as one played a wind chime before they sat down. Sister Dr. Khalilah T. Muhammad, flanked by Sister Tamiko G. Muhammad, then addressed Minister Louis Farrakhan.

“Brother Minister?”  Sister Khalilah said over the microphone. “Yes!” he answered, breaking into a bright smile as the room laughed. “As-Salaam Alaikum, sir,” she continued. “Walaikum salaam. I can see you!” he replied.

“Today we would like to present a tribute to Mother Khadijah Farrakhan,” Sister Khalilah said. “I have her with me,” Minister Farrakhan interjected.  “We have often heard you say that Mother Khadijah is the wind beneath your wings,” she continued. “Yes,” he said.

“So, every time you hear the wind blow, we want you to know that she is always with you, no matter where you are. This tribute is for you,” Sister Khalilah concluded.

“Yes, I brought her with me!” Minister Farrakhan answered.

Some conference-goers smiled, laughed, others wept.

Minister Farrakhan then received the gift of the tribute itself, telling the Sisters of USOS: “You all go ahead and do what you do and I’m with you if you’re giving a tribute to the woman whom God gave me.

That is the best gift I could have other than His Presence and the presence of the truth and the mission that He gave to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. So, thank you so much for your tribute to her because really that sets the stage so completely perfect for me. Thank you very much.”

“Allahu Akbar” rang out, followed by applause, as the tribute resumed.

Professor Zahalea Anderson, of Ra Life Defense at the Urban School of Self Defense, paid honor with a kata routine filled with grace, reverence, beauty and strength.  As the young students exited the mat, Sister Sensei Gabrielle X stepped forward along with a group of sisters who are students of USOS Lions Paw. 

They gave courtesy (bowing) to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Grandmaster Dr. Abdul Azziz Muhammad, Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, and to Sister Shodan (first-degree black belt) Azziza Muhammad.

In speaking about Mother Khadijah and Sister Azziza, Sister Tamiko said, “May their legacy continue to inspire for generations to come. May their memory forever live in our heart,” adding that the sisters were presenting the kata (form) “as a tribute to strength that does not overpower, but endures, to movement that is fluid but is unwavering, and to power expressed with grace, intention and balance.”

Reflections and lessons learned

There were special men-only, women-only, and youth sessions, as well as other family-friendly events during the weekend like the singles social and a “Rep Your Generation Party.”

Workshop sessions included: “Protecting our houses of worship!” “Hands-on session on emergency response, “The Great Famine,” and “Defensive Driving.” 

Participants and presenters enjoyed the sessions.

Sister Vivian Muhammad and Brother Hadi Muhammad guided youth during a workshop on gardening. Sister Vivian Muhammad runs an urban farming project in Indianapolis.

“Your community, first of all—gardens, neighborhood gardens, your own yard—that’s neighborhood beautification … that is helping to make your community a decent and safe place to live,” she said.

Sister Niara Siddiq, of New Orleans, said a workshop on famine preparedness led by Brother Randy Muhammad of Osafa’s Oasis farm in Georgia impacted her. “We really do need to take charge … because our lives are at stake and we can’t just wait around. He (Bro. Randy) did motivate me to start gardening,” she said.

Sister Angie Muhammad, who traveled from Los Angeles with her three daughters and young niece, described the weekend as something she “could not even put into words,” saying it was her family’s first time physically seeing Minister Farrakhan in person in nearly four years.

A belt promotion ceremony led by Grandmaster Dr. Azziz and Shihan Daniel Muhammad of USOS Lion’s Paw recognized students across ranks, including two Jr. blackbelts.

On the final day of the conference, July 26, the Scimitar Open Martial Arts Tournament offered martial artists a chance to compete in various categories, including kata, martial arts weapons, and sparring.

The post The 31st Annual International Training Conference A weekend of spiritual, physical uplift and preparation appeared first on Final Call News.

Gain-of-function research refers to experiments that intentionally alter an organism or pathogen to give it new or enhanced biological properties.

Dr. Fauci served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1984 to 2022 and as President Biden’s chief medical advisor from 2021 to 2022.

According to multiple sources, including Worldometers.info, approximately 1.2 million Americans died from the virus during the pandemic. Dr. Fauci was pressed for answers during the hearings.

Republican senators, led by Committee Chair Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), grilled Dr. Fauci on his research in Wuhan and his response to COVID-19. They accused him of funding research that they alleged may have led to a laboratory origin of COVID-19, improperly handling federal records and resources and concealing information about vaccine-related adverse effects.

Dr. Fauci refused to answer all questions posed by the Senate during the nearly three-hour hearing, stating that on the advice of his attorneys, he was exercising his constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment, which protects people against self-incrimination.

Senate Republicans criticized his refusal to testify. Senate Democrats argued that the hearing was a political exercise, stating that Dr. Fauci had already testified before Congress numerous times. One of Dr. Fauci’s attorneys attempted to intervene during questions, leading Sen. Paul to order security to remove the attorney from the room.

Sen. Paul also announced plans for the committee to consider holding Dr. Fauci in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions.

Questions asked during the hearing directed to Dr. Fauci pertained to: gain-of-function research; Dr. Fauci’s private communications and federal recordkeeping; why NIH-funded research involved the Wuhan Institute of Virology; laboratory safety oversight and NIH oversight of Chinese laboratories; vaccine safety and suppression of alternative COVID-19 treatments.

Regarding vaccine-related injuries and adverse effects, the senators brought up more than 1.6 million submitted reports from the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (published weekly on page 8 of The Final Call), including more than 39,000 reports involving deaths. They also referenced individuals who reported suffering serious injuries after receiving COVID-19 vaccines.

In his July 4, 2020, message, titled “The Criterion,” the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, warned Black people not to take the vaccine. Regardless of the physical origins of COVID-19, he described the virus as a “pestilence from heaven.”

“Don’t take the vaccines. There are 14 therapies that are in the world today that we can use to fight against the COVID virus. America, you won’t solve it. The scientists of the world, you won’t solve it,” he said. “I want to tell you what will solve it. This virus is a pestilence from heaven so scholarship from hell can’t deal with a pestilence that came from heaven.”

—Anisah Muhammad, Staff Writer

The post Dr. Fauci pleads the fifth in COVID-19 Senate hearing appeared first on Final Call News.

Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was driving to a construction job with his brother and two others on July 7 in Houston when ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents in unmarked vehicles pursued his car. They pulled him over and fatally shot him through a passenger window.

Just six days later, on July 13, an ICE agent fatally shot Colombian immigrant Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 25, in Biddeford, Maine, while attempting to stop his vehicle.

Neither man was an intended target of the immigration operations. Protesters connected the shootings to the January deaths of Renée Good and Alex Pretti, two U.S. citizens who were fatally shot during a federal immigration crackdown in Minneapolis.

Mr. Araujo, who lived and worked in the U.S. for 35 years, was a husband and the father of three children who are U.S. citizens. His sons have been outspoken in the weeks following his death.

During a congressional forum on July 24, his son Salgado Araujo Jr. asked listeners to put themselves in his and his brother’s shoes.

“I want you in your mind to think of a loved one—your brother, your father, your cousin, a beloved coworker. Picture their face and silently say their first and last name. Picture that loved one’s face pinned to the ground in pain and yelling out in desperate need of help.

Picture the anger and helplessness of watching that person bleed out through a video on your phone,” he said. “What would you do after? How would you cope with the feeling of losing your protector, your role model, your mother’s loving partner, your grandmother’s little boy?”

His other son, Ronaldo Salgado, delivered a statement to the Houston City Council on July 28 demanding a full, independent and transparent investigation and justice for his father.

In a wave of protests in cities across the country, including a nationwide day of action on July 25, activists and organizers demanded independent investigations, release of video evidence, identification of the officers involved, greater disclosure of disciplinary records, restrictions on immigration-based vehicle stops and an end to local police cooperation with ICE. 

In Portland, Maine, a road sign was hacked to display the message, “No More ICE Killings.” Three “ICE Out of Maine” laws went into effect on July 29.

The two deaths resemble a pattern that has become all too familiar: agents, sometimes in unmarked cars, approach or box in a vehicle; the driver attempts to move or escape, and DHS (Department of Homeland Security) claims the vehicle posed a deadly threat.

In some previous cases, video or witness accounts have contradicted the government’s initial description. In the Houston and Maine cases, federal authorities have not publicly released evidence indicating that either driver posed an imminent threat.

Advocates also condemned the death of Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, 28, a Mexican man who visited the U.S. on a valid tourist visa. He was struck and killed by a tractor-trailer while running from federal immigration officers in Florida on July 14. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

In a July 14 statement, Mexico’s government announced plans to take legal action in response to the deaths of Mexican nationals in ICE custody or immigration-enforcement operations.

The statement said the Mexican Embassy would submit complaints to the U.S. Justice Department and relevant state prosecutors and that the government had begun sending what it called cease-and-desist letters to detention facilities where Mexican nationals had died.

After the two July shootings, administration officials reportedly ordered ICE to suspend most vehicle stops. President Donald Trump then publicly reversed course and said the stops must continue. 

The two shootings came amid rapid ICE expansion. In June, ICE arrested more than 43,000 people, the highest monthly total of President Trump’s second term, according to ICE data analyzed by The Guardian. The detained population reached more than 65,700 by July 11. 

Congress provided approximately $70 billion in additional funding for ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, including money for enforcement, detention, staffing and related operations.

News reports, lawmakers and former officials have raised concerns that ICE’s rapid hiring campaign comes at the expense of sufficient background checks and training. 

Mr. Guerrero was a husband and the father of a young daughter. The Maine Attorney General’s Office is conducting a state investigation. The Colombian Embassy is also monitoring the case.

The post Recent killings by ICE officers spark renewed calls for transparency, accountability appeared first on Final Call News.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, has pointed out that the current public school system in America is not beneficial for Black children.

“Elijah Muhammad taught us if a man won’t treat you right, what would make you think that man would teach you right? In the public schools, the enemy wants to make us better tools of service for him,” Minister Farrakhan said during his Holy Day of Atonement 2018 address in Detroit.

In his book, “A Torchlight for America,” published in 1993, he further stated, “The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that education is the torchlight of civilization. If the educational system is declining, this is a sign that the whole of the civilization will follow into a state of decline.”

More than 30 years after his book was published, public schools in the U.S. are in a crisis. Nearly 1,200 public schools closed during the 2025-2026 school year, according to newly released data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). This was the fourth consecutive annual increase in school closures. In comparison, 755 public schools closed in 2021-2022.

While the number of majority-Black public schools that closed has not been calculated, researchers have documented that majority-Black public schools are disproportionately likely to close compared with schools serving other student populations.

Racial inequities in public school closures

In a 2023 study, researchers Dr. Danielle Greene-Bell and Dr. Francis Alvin Pearman examined racial inequity in school-closure patterns in California and across the country.

They looked at public school closures from 2000 through 2018 and found that majority-Black schools represented about 10% of U.S. public schools but were more than three times as likely to close as schools with other racial compositions. Differences in enrollment, achievement, school size, poverty, location and other measurable characteristics did not fully explain the gap. 

Dr. Greene-Bell, chief engagement officer at Richmond Public Schools, started her research into public school closures at a majority-Black high school in Oakland, California, where she noticed anxiety around the school possibly closing.

“People, when I would ask about it, would say, ‘Well, you know, we’re one of the only majority-Black schools. You know they love to close down Black schools,” she said to The Final Call.

From there, she pulled data from the NCES and worked with her professor at the time, Dr. Pearman of Stanford University, to demonstrate scientifically that “majority-Black schools across the nation are more likely to be closed.”

“If you have two schools that are essentially identical, and the only difference is one is majority-Black and one is any other racialized composition, the majority-Black school will be the one that is more likely to be closed,” she said.

In the paper, the researchers argue against those who attempt to dismiss anti-Black racism as one of the reasons for Black public school closures.

“What I say instead is while I can’t say for certain, scientifically, that it’s anti-Black racism, we also can’t say that it’s not,” Dr. Greene-Bell said. She gave the example of a school that was closed in Virginia because it was built on a landfill.

“The reason people will say, ‘It’s not because the kids there are Black. It’s because it was built on the landfill, and it is toxic to the children. It’s actually better for the Black children that their school gets closed.’

But actually, when you think about it, why would a school be allowed to have been built on a landfill, and would a school have been able to be built on a landfill if it had been built for any other children other than those who are Black?” she questioned.  

A March 2026 analysis added another layer to Black school closures: the language used to justify closures. It argues that districts often frame decisions through technical terms such as “right-sizing,” “portfolio management,” or “efficiency optimization,” while failing to acknowledge priorities expressed by Black residents.

Black communities in different parts of the country are currently being challenged with school closures. In metro-Atlanta, the DeKalb County School District announced in February its consideration of closing 27 schools, citing a decline in student enrollment. DeKalb County is 51% Black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

A local news outlet in San Jose, California, reported in February that the local school district’s “choice to close up to nine elementary schools this year will disproportionately impact Black and Latino students.”

East Arcadia School, a majority-Black school in North Carolina, had its last day of classes on June 4 before being closed for good. Board members cited declining enrollment, financial issues and staffing challenges, according to The Assembly, a media outlet in North Carolina.

The outlet reported that 11 public schools with majority-Black student populations closed in North Carolina this year and that 73% of the state’s traditional public schools that closed between 2011 and 2025 disproportionately impacted non-White students.

In July, parents in Pittsburgh filed a civil rights complaint alleging that approved school closures discriminated against Black students. On May 27, the Pittsburgh Public Schools Board of Directors approved a plan to permanently close nine school buildings and 12 schools, reconfigure 10 schools and terminate magnet programs.

“The Plan disproportionately burdens Black students by causing them to lose the unique educational resources provided at their schools, failing to explain how those resources will be provided at reassigned schools, and disproportionately requiring Black students to absorb the disruption, transportation, and academic costs of transitioning to a new school,” the complaint says.

What happens to Black communities when majority-Black schools close? Dr. Greene-Bell said the neighborhood is more likely to be gentrified.

“In some places, schools are community hubs. They provide community resources. They provide grounding. They offer historicity to the area,” she said. “People talk about those schools as if they are part of their identity.”

“For the children inside of those schools, you have to think about what it means to be moved from your norm, a place where maybe you have strong relationships with your teachers, strong relationships with your friends, and school might be the only consistent thing for you in your life,” she added. 

Taking control of our own education

As public schools close, advocates of homeschooling and independent Black education said they have seen upticks in Black parents looking to other options. In fact, that may be one of the reasons for declining enrollment in public schools, they said.

“What we’re finding is that there are a lot of students that are leaving public schools for charter schools, for private schools. Homeschooling has also taken a surge in the last 20 years or so, but certainly since COVID, and so a lot of people are pulling their children out of public school,” Baye Kemit, president of the Council of Independent Black Institutions, said to The Final Call. 

Joyce Burges, co-founder of the National Black Home Educators, said more Black people are choosing to homeschool their children for a variety of reasons, including family togetherness, spending one-on-one time teaching their children, tending to children with developmental challenges and keeping their children safe and secure.

“Children learn better face-to-face. You can’t beat one-on-one instruction,” she said to The Final Call. “A parent can pour into a child academically, because that child is right there, and they’re giving that child one-on-one attention.

Especially a parent who really desires for their children to learn to read, learn to do basic mathematics, on and on, how to write, a parent can spend that time one-on-one with that child and know that that child is getting exactly what they need.” 

She started homeschooling her children in 1990. Now, her children are homeschooling their children. “When I look at the children and how they are raising their kids, I see that homeschooling benefited our family greatly. That is proof to me that homeschooling worked for our family,” she said.

Mr. Kemit and his wife founded two Black/African-centered schools in Trenton, New Jersey, and Atlanta. 

“Independent Black schools protect the Black child. Independent Black schools are created as a complement to the Black family,” he said. Mr. Kemit said their goal is to look at how this type of education is going to better our families, our communities and our people.

“We’re not just necessarily trying to have our children pass a test. We’re not necessarily trying to make them good workers for someone else’s corporation. We’re trying to make them think in a way that is going to create a nation of self-sufficiency for Black people,” he added.

He shared that historically, as early as the 1790s, from abolitionist Prince Hall in Boston to the Nation of Islam, Black people have always sought to educate their own children in the U.S., recognizing education as essential to freedom and self-determination. 

“The first thing that we talked about when we came out of enslavement is that we need land, we need families and we need schooling,” he said. “It was always this push for education all throughout all of our movements, through our challenges here in America.

We are not in any situation today that we have not ever been in. We’ve been in the same situation for [400] years in this country. And until Black people understand that the government, that the state, is not going to educate your children in the way that is going to save our families, then we’re going to continue to have the problems that we have.”

Today, Black independent schools stand on the shoulders of those who suffered, like the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the early pioneers of the Nation of Islam, who were arrested in Detroit for taking their children out of the public schools to teach and educate them in their own school.

“When we took our children out of the public school, they came to the school and arrested the teachers. Elijah Muhammad went to the jail and said, ‘I am their teacher so if you’re going to arrest them, arrest me too,’” the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said in his 2018 Holy Day of Atonement address.

“Today if you have an independent school, somebody paid a price. If you have Afrocentric education, somebody paid a price. If you know how to stand up for your beautiful Black self, somebody paid a price.”

In a 2012 interview with Cliff Kelley on Chicago’s WVON 1690AM radio station, Minister Farrakhan said Black people need to “scrap” that which has proven to be unworthy.

“I know that our children are being given an inferior education; and those who want to control the minds and hearts of the American people have purposely dumbed down the American people. We must change the education in the public schools,” he said. “We have to be concerned about education, the right kind of education, for all American children: Black, Brown, Red, Yellow and White!

“America’s education system has failed—but we, The Nation of Islam, have a System that would not only be good for Black people, it would be good for White people! It would be good for all people, because everyone needs a Superior Education in order to master the circumstances that Life presents,” he added.

“While the education model we have is not yet perfect, and we are perfecting our model, we are still a long way from the madness that we see in our public schools.”

He shared the desire for American educators to allow the Nation of Islam to help teach Black students who attend public schools. “We’re not there to teach them hatred of any people, but to get them to fall in love with themselves!” he said. 

“And the more you teach them the richness of their history and The Nature of God that sits deep within them—and the power that they have once they are ‘turned on’: We’ll never have to beg another people again.”

The post Public school closures demonstrate need for independent Black education appeared first on Final Call News.

Mr. Trump announced a tentative agreement July 30 for Hamas to disarm, an announcement not signed by Mr. Netanyahu or the Israeli government. The resistance group has stated it will not disarm until Israeli forces withdraw from Gaza. But Mr. Netanyahu has declared no withdrawal until full disarmament.

Calling the agreement “a major milestone,” Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social that the plan “will be carried out in carefully structured phases. As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors.”

Mr. Netanyahu’s government had passed legislation for such a Force, including 200 soldiers from “friendly countries,” to work with new Palestinian law enforcement.

To the disappointment of observers, Mr. Netanyahu’s National Public Diplomacy Directorate chief Tzipura Hotovely said there was no pressure from the president in the meeting for Israel to move forward with the reconstruction of Gaza, nor was there pressure to withdraw IDF forces from Syria or Lebanon—appearing somewhat in contradiction to the announcement of progress with Hamas.

More countries entered the Iran conflict as the U.S. and Saudis launched a joint attack July 29 on groups in Iraq the U.S. alleges are affiliated with Iran, killing more than a dozen fighters. The attack was in response to missiles fired into Saudi Arabia, allegedly by Iraqi militias.

Saudi Arabia initially entered the conflict when Saudi missiles hit an airstrip on July 13 in Yemen as a plane carrying Ansar Allah dignitaries and Iranian security forces approached for landing. Ansar Allah (also called Houthis) struck back, hitting a Saudi oil facility and announcing a blockade of Saudi ships exiting the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, vital for oil exports.

The Saudi government has announced the formation of an international alliance to guard the Red Sea from attacks by Ansar Allah. At least three Red Sea countries have agreed to participate—Egypt, Djibouti and Sudan. The U.S., Pakistan, Germany, France, Türkiye, and others have also been invited, according to media reports.

Mr. Zelenskyy arrived in the U.S. with an agenda to acquire U.S. Patriot missiles, which he said are vital to defend his country’s airspace from daily Russian attacks. His country had been drawn into the conflict on July 25 after a Ukrainian drone hit an Iranian cargo ship in the Caspian Sea, killing one sailor. Iran vowed the attack “will not go unanswered.”

Analysts purport that reasons for Ukraine’s aggression are an Israeli effort to draw Europe and U.S. forces closer in the wars on Iran and Russia and a NATO effort to test the battlefield. Both scenarios would open new fronts of battle for Iran.

“It’s evident that the U.S. is pulling in vassal states,” said Ajamu Baraka, director of the anti-war Black Alliance for Peace North-South People(s) Centered Human Rights. He said Gulf states are realizing the U.S. can’t provide the security they imagined and may be considering different paradigms for peace in the region.

Mr. Baraka noted the “enormous amounts” of resources Gulf states have in Western financial institutions and questioned where they would go except to China, something Mr. Trump would take note of. He added that Mr. Zelenskyy “wanted to demonstrate his loyalty” to President Trump through his attack on the Iranian vessel.

“U.S. warmongering has consequences for us,” he said. “Trump feels it’s more important to fight wars with public resources than to address the public’s needs” to lower costs of gas and food.

U.S. poll: ‘Stop the War!’

With upcoming midterm elections to determine control of Congress approaching, American citizens are expressing disapproval of Mr. Trump’s “war of choice.” Roughly 75% of Americans think the war should be stopped immediately, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

A quarter of those polled think military action should continue. Roughly 3 in 10 want to pause military action while seeking a renewed ceasefire, the poll, conducted July 23-27, reported.

During a message to the International Training Conference, a martial arts gathering in a Chicago suburb July 25, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, expressed dire concern for the lives of armed forces in the combat zone and the possibility of igniting a global conflict.

In an appeal for peace streamed on the internet, Minister Farrakhan repeated words of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam:

“My teacher told me that this war was going to start with conventional weapons and it will end with nuclear weapons,” he said. “I say this as warning before the war gets hot. Stop and think. Precious lives are on those ships. But God can maneuver the water in such a way … and sink your ships. Nothing can stand against the forces of nature when it is unleashed,” Minister Farrakhan warned.

He cautioned President Trump: “An aggressor is a loser because God is never with those who are aggressors, oppressors, tyrants, bullies who love to make people afraid. Don’t be a bully. Find a better way to solve a problem.”

In chapter 27 of the book “The Fall of America,” the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad also warned: “America goes abroad and makes war against other people. Then she charges them with making war against her when she is the one who is guilty of the war-making. The Bible says Allah (God) will destroy those who delight themselves in making war.”

International leaders have also called for a halt to the unprovoked U.S.-Israel attack on Iran that began in February. An open letter signed by hundreds of politicians, lawyers, academics and other influential leaders in Jordan called for the U.S. to withdraw military forces from the country, a letter described as a rare public challenge to ruling figures.

“We maintain that their presence exposes Jordan to security, political and economic risks that serve no national interest and increases the likelihood of our country being dragged into a regional conflict to which it is not a party,” the letter states.

Iran’s Press TV reported a response to the people of Jordan from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp: “Noble and discerning people of Jordan, your sincere solidarity and cooperation, especially the forthright positions taken by groups of Jordanian intellectuals, have narrowed the enemy’s room for maneuver and left them frustrated and desperate.”

Jordan hosts around 4,000 U.S. troops and has served as a key hub for the American military, which Iran says gives their country justification for attacking U.S. bases. Jordan has also helped to intercept Iranian missiles and drones targeting the Israeli-occupied territories.

Reports circulated July 29 that Iran had signed a contract with China to purchase 400 Chinese shoulder-fired air defense missile launchers. The purchase is valued at $60-70 million, Reuters reported.

China’s Foreign Ministry called the report “completely groundless,” and President Trump expressed amazement, saying China’s President Xi Jinping had vowed not to sell arms to the Islamic Republic.

Imad Hadad, director of the American Human Rights Coalition, told The Final Call, that Mr. Netanyahu and Israel’s pursuit of regional superiority would be the only winners in the conflict. He cited that Mr. Netanyahu was allowed to visit the U.S. as a “war criminal” wanted by the International Court of Justice.

The invitation to Netanyahu causes “anti-American sentiment to increase and it invites hostility against Americans, as an American nation, and against our interests in the region,” he said.

Trust in the U.S. and the administration’s word has already been damaged by breaking previous agreements toward ceasefires, he said, adding Israel continues to sabotage efforts to stop the war.

“Everybody knows that President Trump and the administration are the only party that can compel Israel to back down. However, I don’t think President Trump has full authority and control.

“Israel continues to exercise tremendous political pressure. While we’re talking about the U.S.-Iran war, Israel continues its occupation and its killing machine in Lebanon, destroying more villages, more towns in the West Bank, the same in Syria,” he concluded.

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