When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ordered 6,000 pairs of shock gloves this summer, the agency knew that they could cause such “intense pain” that victims stopped fighting immediately and became fearful of more shocks.

That’s according to The Associated Press, which on Oct. 6 revealed the existence of a U.S. Army study on the gloves. ICE put in a $17 million order for the product, known as the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter (GLOVE), in August.

In October 2024, the GLOVE was tested on Army employees at the military prison in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to see if it could be incorporated into their practices to move noncompliant prisoners between cells.

According to the AP: “The shocks had a profound impact on Army employees who played the role of combative prisoners during the exercise… The participants, several of whom were large-statured men, stopped resisting seconds after officers applied shocks by touching gloves to their skin, and were left with “fatigue, soreness and excessive apprehensiveness to being shocked again,” the study found.

After experiencing the effects of the GLOVE,… [“]participants stated just seeing the GLOVE was enough to make them want to comply,” the authors wrote.

The report later noted that unlike a taser, which is designed to cause the body of a noncompliant person to freeze, the GLOVE is meant to elicit pain. It “works by overloading the peripheral nerve endings,” the study said. It also noted that participants with water or oil on their skin experienced more severe shocks and that one was left in pain for 30 minutes afterward.

The full report has not yet been released to the public; however, a four-page memo from the Department of the Army’s Office of the Project Manager for Close Combat Systems summarizing its findings can be found on the website of the GLOVE’s manufacturer, Compliant Technologies.

ICE has described the shock gloves as a tool to “de-escalate” conflicts in the street with targets of the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, as well as protesters against the policy—it has said the gloves would be used to subdue those “actively or passively resisting” agents’ commands.

In the wake of several fatal shootings by agents that lacked clear justification, the agency has described the gloves as a “low-impact tool” that will allow agents to avoid escalating to more extreme uses of force.

When politicians have called to restrict access to the gloves, ICE’s parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), accused them of trying to deprive federal officers of “safety equipment.”

The user manual of the GLOVE notes that the “pain stimulus” it delivers can produce psychological changes associated with sudden death, including increased blood pressure, heart rate, and adrenaline, as well as changes in blood chemistry and heart rhythm. It also notes that those shocked with the gloves could face serious injuries from falling after suddenly losing control of their extremities.

The manual recommends that the gloves not be used against older people, small children, people who are pregnant, and people with certain disabilities.

As Reagan Williams, a researcher at Human Rights Watch’s Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division, noted in August, agency operations have regularly targeted these groups.

“Electric shock devices have long been abusively deployed around the globe, including as a method of torture and other ill-treatment. Given these risks, the European Union has implemented trade restrictions on these devices,” Williams said.

“The scale of this technology’s potential harm in the hands of ICE, an abusive agency whose recruits are deployed with minimal training, could be considerable.”

Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, which provided the report to the AP, noted that while the Army report concluded the gloves were effective, it said little about their safety.

“The military assessment in ICE’s own files shows that these gloves can cause ‘intense pain’ and force compliance. It does not establish that they are safe,” Chukwu said. “Everyone should be alarmed that ICE is preparing to deploy a tool designed to inflict, at best, intense pain, without showing that it is safe for the people who will be subjected to it.”

While tasers can leave severe burns and welts on subjects, the shock gloves being adopted by ICE can deliver a painful shock without leaving a mark, making it much harder to prove their use. For law enforcement agencies, this is one of their most alluring features.

“I highly recommend these gloves to anybody that’s looking for a utility they can use that is conducive to not leading to lawsuits,” said Bob Couey, chief deputy of the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia, in a promotional video posted by Compliant Technologies in 2024 and resurfaced in August by Mother Jones.

Even a former ICE acting director, John Sandweg, has warned that because the gloves are so easy to use, agents might feel compelled to deploy them haphazardly.

“It’s too easy for this to get misused, against a population that doesn’t pose a threat,” Sandweg, who led the agency for about six months during the Obama administration, told MS NOW in August.

The gloves have drawn substantial criticism from Democratic members of Congress. In late August, Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) led a group of 49 members of the U.S. House of Representatives to demand the contract be canceled.

“Introducing low-visibility electric shock weapons into our immigration enforcement system is an unacceptable escalation that prioritizes physical intimidation and unaccountable force over human safety and administrative accountability,” they said in a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

ICE, meanwhile, has been less than forthcoming about what guardrails will govern the use of the shock gloves. In late August, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and 15 other Democratic senators asked the agency to answer questions about how the gloves will be used, who they’ll be used against, and whether it has conducted safety evaluations.

Cortez Masto told the AP that over a month later, the agency has not answered her and her colleagues’ questions.

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Nolan Wells’ parents, Christine and Elmore Wonsley, and their legal team held a press conference on Oct. 5 in Inglewood, California, on the renewed push for the investigation. The push follows a Mississippi grand jury decision not to indict anyone in connection with the death of the Black teen.

Nolan, 18, traveled from his hometown of Ocean Springs, Miss., to Horn Island with a group of people on July 4. In a widely circulated photograph, he was pictured aboard a boat with three young White men, who returned to the mainland without him. His body was discovered two days later off the shore of the island.

The state autopsy reported that no fluid or debris was found in Nolan’s airways, and his stomach was empty. The Mississippi State Medical Examiner and the family’s independent medical examiner, Dr. Roger Mitchell, documented contusions to the back of Nolan’s head. The cause and manner of Nolan’s death are undetermined.

“There is so much that screams out that we should not close this investigation, that we should keep asking questions. We should keep dotting every ‘i’ and crossing every ‘t’ because Nolan was Christine and Elmore’s son. But in many ways, he was all of our son,” civil rights attorney Ben Crump, part of the family’s legal team, said at the press conference.

Congresswomen Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) are supporting the family’s call.

At the press conference, Atty. Crump read a letter from Rep. Wilson addressed to Jessica Bowron, the acting director of the National Park Service, requesting a “prompt and exhaustive investigation” into Nolan’s death.

Horn Island is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore and is administered by the National Park Service. Rep. Wilson urged Ms. Bowron to direct the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch to “examine every circumstance surrounding Nolan’s death and pursue every available lead.”

“Nolan Xavier Wells was a son whose life was precious and whose life mattered and whose future was full of promise. The loss of his life has left his family with a question they should not have to fight to have answered: ‘What happened to our son?’” her letter read. “Nolan cannot speak for himself.

Therefore, we have a duty, all of us, to ensure his death is met with the seriousness it deserves. Not only are we asking that you hear the pleas of Nolan’s mother and father and his family, but we’re asking that you hear the pleas of the Congressional Black Caucus as well as all of us all across America saying, ‘What really happened to Nolan Xavier Wells?’”

Cynthia Choi, executive director of Stop AAPI Hate, further demanded that the Justice Department conduct a full and thorough federal investigation.

“We stand with the Wells-Wonsley family for as long as it takes,” she said.

Nolan Wells’ parents have been fighting for answers about their son’s death for more than three months. Ms. Wonsley was recognized at the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum’s 30th Anniversary Gala, where she received the organization’s “Voice of Courage Award.” Nolan was Black and, through his mother, was also of Filipino heritage.

“It has been 93 days. I want that to sink in. 93 days,” Ms. Wonsley said at the press conference.

“Our child went out with young men who he thought were his friends. Everyone made it home but Nolan. Two days later— two days later—he’s found dead. He’s found dead. No longer here to give us a hug, tell us he loves us, tell us corny jokes, put his cellphone in our face first thing in the morning.

We do not have that anymore. What we were left with were many, many inconsistent stories, as well as our local authorities early on telling us this is likely an accidental drowning,” she added. “Body has not even been processed and ME (medical examiner) has not done her job.

It’s just already the narrative is likely a possible drowning. That’s it. That’s all. Nothing to see here. Then the grand jury comes back and they say, ‘You know what? Consistent. It’s consistent with drowning, accidental drowning.’”

But she posed several questions: Why were there no photos taken of the back of Nolan’s head, why wasn’t a thorough investigation done and where is the physical evidence from the autopsies?

“Elmore and I, our family, our friends, the community, all of you, we cannot accept that. We cannot. So, it is our plea that his case is reopened, re-examined but also that the authorities do their job,” she said.

Nolan’s father, Elmore Wonsley, echoed the call.

“Our son was found on federal land, and we are asking the F.B.I. to step in and do a full investigation. We’re not asking for special treatment. We’re asking for what any father would do for his child, and that’s to find the truth of what happened to his child,” he said.

“My message to the F.B.I., please open this investigation and give our son the seriousness he deserves. To every parent listening, call your children today. Tell them you love them. Don’t wait.”

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And keep your duty to Allah, by Whom you demand one of another (your rights), and (to) the ties of relationship. Surely Allah is ever a Watcher over you.”

—Holy Qur’an, Surah 4, Ayat 1

ATLANTA—Salat-ul-Jumu’ah, the weekly Friday congregational prayer is a special time for Muslims as the ummah (community) gathers for spiritual upliftment and to fellowship with one another. This year’s jumu’ah held during the Holy Day of Atonement weekend, commemorating the 31st anniversary of the historic 1995 Million Man March, was poignant and reflective.

Members of the Nation of Islam from around the country convened at the American Hotel in downtown Atlanta on Oct. 9 to pray shoulder to shoulder with one another and to listen to the khutbah (sermon) delivered by Student National Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad, who served as the khatib (one who delivers the sermon).

“We as Muslim followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad could never thank Allah (God) enough for His Divine intervention in our affairs in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad,” Student Imam Sultan began as shouts of “Allah-u-Akbar” were heard from those gathered in the prayer hall.

As Muslim followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad we should be thankful to Allah for this intervention, that raised in our midst, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, he shared.

“We thank Allah for His guiding us from a condition of spiritual darkness into the light of guidance that Allah, Most High, established for all of His creation. For He never leaves a people alone without guidance.

Therefore, Allah, Most High, His arm is not short. He has the reach to touch every one of us throughout time— specifically, individually and as a people,” Student Imam Sultan continued.

Allah’s Divine intervention raised the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad to be a perfect example, “and in that example that is a reflection of the establishment of the Nation of Islam…. Yet it is our divine reality—Islam, that we have been turned to,” he continued.

“We can never thank Allah enough for returning us to ‘self.’” During his message, Student Imam Sultan referenced Surah 4, Ayat 1 of the Holy Qur’an, the Islamic book of scripture to explain the importance of individually and collectively making and understanding our journey toward Allah, but also the journey toward self.

The Arabic word “Rabb” one of the Attributes of Allah, is mentioned in this Surah. Student Imam Sultan explained that “Rabb” has several meanings, including, “Lord,” “Nourisher,” “Cherisher” and “Sustainer” and “Evolver.”

Of these meanings, he emphasized “Evolver,” noting that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan deepens our insight into this Attribute (Rabb) of The Creator, pointing us to the Divine Single Essence of The Evolver, from which Allah (God) is Guiding us to reconcile our differences and return to our origin of self as one human family.

Coming from the womb of our mother we have been “fed” by Allah from this attribute even as He presents us with difficulties once we are born. “The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said that with everything of value there is a difficulty factor,”

And in the Holy Qur’an it states that man was created in struggle, Student Imam Sultan continued. However, the purpose of difficulties we may face is not to run away from them but to face it.

We all have a duty to ourselves and to each other as a community and “duty demands action,” he continued. “Duty demands the ability for us to do what is to be done to keep our ties together.”

The ties of our relationships with one another is key, Student Imam Sultan explained. “If we think we can come up short from our demands that are established through our relationships, Allah says He is ever a watcher over us.”

“So, in the precincts of our home, in the quiet of our own bedroom, in the recesses of our mind, Allah, Most High is ever watching over you,” he explained.

Student Imam Sultan also shared how jumu’ah, means “the gathering” and that the next jumu’ah (Friday, October 16) will mark the date of the Million Man March where Black men came together, at the call of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan “in one of the greatest, largest gatherings in human history.”

“That was a miracle, nothing less!” he said. “Thirty-one years since nearly two million Black men stood shoulder to shoulder on the Mall (in Washington, D.C.).”

It was a peaceful gathering where Black men took a pledge before the world but “more importantly, before Allah,” said Student Imam Sultan. That day was a Holy Day not just for Black Muslims in America, but it was “for all who seek to return to their God.”

The blessing to attend jumu’ah during the weekend commemoration of the Million Man March and Holy Day of Atonement was not lost on Sister Leticia Muhammad, who traveled from Detroit where she is a student in the ministry class of Mosque No. 1.

“Whenever our people have the opportunity to gather for spiritual renewal, it is significant. To be in congregation and to be in communication and prayer with Allah, those two things together are an incredible force.

It’s not just that we’re relating to each other, but we are relating to each other and The God and that is essential for our relationship with Allah and our good relationships with each other,” she said.

—Starla Muhammad, Interim Editor

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On Oct. 16, 1995, nearly two million Black men gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., at the call of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan under the theme, “Atonement, Reconciliation and Responsibility.” Atlanta’s Local Organizing Committee (LOC) and other LOCs across Georgia helped bus thousands to the March.

Before the weekend of events, Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad, National Assistant to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and member of the Nation of Islam’s Shura Executive Council, went on a two-day media and engagement blitz.

He spoke to the Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc., on several podcasts and radio shows and to the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus. Throughout, his messages was the same point: The time demands Black people to repent and atone to Allah (God) or suffer the consequences of His Judgment now coming down upon America and the world.

Held at the Vicars Community Center on Oct. 8, the Concerned Black Clergy welcomed the Nation of Islam to Atlanta and invited Student Minister Ishmael for a conversation on unity, faith and community.

“This is not a meet and greet. This is a family get together,” Rev. Shanan Jones, president of the Concerned Black Clergy, said. “The Concerned Black Clergy and the Nation of Islam are joined at the hip, and for the 43 years the Concerned Black Clergy has been in existence, the Nation of Islam has been here.”

He called the Million Man March 31 years ago a “majestic day” that lives in his heart.

“During that call, the Minister (Farrakhan) beckoned us to atone —to atone to God and to atone to one another for the disunity, the killing, the mean-spiritedness that spread throughout our community and began to tear us apart,” he said.

Community leader and activist Rev. Timothy Mc Donald shared how Atlanta’s LOC for the Million Man March was one of the strongest in the country. The committee, comprised of several faith leaders, continued meeting years after the march.

“I have never had a spiritual experience, personally, more powerful than the Million Man March,” he said Le Von “Veto” Mc Kee remembers attending the March as a little boy with his father, Lester Mc Kee.

As Student Minister Ishmael spoke of that historic day and the principles it espoused to Black men on the “Vibin with Veto Podcast,” Veto’s father sat in the back of the studio, dabbing his face as he shed a few tears.

Reec Swiney watched the gathering on television at 12 years old. “I was in New Jersey with my father, and I was watching it, and he was like, ‘You’re about to witness something incredible,’” he shared with Student Minister Ishmael on his show, WAMJ Majic 107.5/97.5.

Derrick Boazman of WAOK radio recalled being at a conference learning how to better serve his community during the time of the March. Though he was not physically present, he still recognized the importance of the day and the principles that must continue to be taught in the Black community.

Below is a compilation of sentiments Student Minister Ishmael shared throughout the media and engagement blitz on Oct. 8.

The signs of the time

Student Minister Ishmael emphasized the importance of Black people knowing the signs of the time, sharing that “we’re at the 66th book of the Bible: apocalypse, revelation.”

“The nations are angry, and God’s wrath is come,” he said, quoting the book of Revelation 11:18. “Ukraine is angry. Russia is angry. The United States is angry. The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is angry. Iran is angry. China is angry. Japan is angry.

Dissatisfaction and anger all over our planet, but at the same time, God’s Wrath is come.” He pointed to the rain, the wind, the storms, the tornadoes and the earthquakes as examples of God’s Wrath, along with pestilence, famine, war and rumors of war.

He questioned the pastors, “What is our mission? What is our job now, pastors? What is it? It is to be—not talk, but be Jesus’ disciples.”

The 1995 call

Student Minister Ishmael shared how the Million Man March was the first time in history that Black people gathered on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., not to demand the government for jobs and justice but to answer a call from God.

Minister Farrakhan’s call 31 years ago was a call from God. “It was a call for atonement, reconciliation and responsibility. It was a call that resonated in our souls. Why did it reach the soul? It went past the ear, past the mind.

But right to the soul…. So only God can call the soul to itself, and God made that call through (the Honorable Minister) Louis Farrakhan,” he said. “We didn’t hear a man’s faith.

We heard his calling us. Calling us to do what? Repent. What was Jesus’ ministry? What was his call to the people? Repent. What was Jesus’ ministry rooted in?

Love. Unity.”

Student Minister Ishmael shared how labels went out the door. “We saw each other that day as God would have us see each other, as brothers,” he said.

“We share a common root, a common struggle, a common heritage and tradition. That’s why we have to find our way to each other again,” he added.

He further shared that if Jesus and Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) were alive today, they would be walking side by side and that all of the prophets of God would be working together to do the Will of God.

A message to Black youth

Student Minister Ishmael was 10 years old when his father, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, departed in 1975. He shared intimate parts of his life growing up: dealing with expectations and judgments as the son of a great man but also, as a teenager, experimenting with things like drugs and alcohol.

“But at a certain point, I recommitted myself,” he said. Around 15, he made a prayer to Allah (God) that he was going to “go away for a minute” and that he might fall and lose his way, but if he does, he pleaded with Allah, “Please don’t forget me. Reach out and pull me out.”

Once he accepted the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad for himself, he called the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and dedicated himself to helping Minister Farrakhan rebuild the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s work.

Now, as Minister Farrakhan’s National Assistant, he is questioning why the story of the Million Man March hasn’t reached the younger generations of Black people.

“That important, most significant day in our history is not even presented to our young people. Why? Because they don’t want your generation and the generation that’s coming up to really learn and see what it will take for us to dwell together as brothers in unity,” he said on the “Vibin with Veto Podcast.”

He sent a direct message to Black youth on WAOK radio with Derrick Boazman. “To our beautiful young people: The answer has always been God, and what you have to do is establish a relationship with God. And wherever we have failed in our struggle is because we deviated from God,” he said.

“You have to make up your minds that you’re going to follow God, follow His solutions to the many problems, follow the agenda that He’s given to us, and as long as you commit yourself to God, you’re going to gain the victory. You’re going to be successful.”

The continued call to repent, atone and accept responsibility

Student Minister Ishmael talked about the importance of repentance, submission to Allah (God) and atonement. “When Jonah preached the message of repentance and atonement, the king of Nineveh heard. The king all the way down to the little man in the street put on sackcloth and ashes and stayed the hand of God. Nineveh had 40 days to repent, and the king heard,” he said.

He also renewed the call for Black people to take responsibility for themselves and their communities. “It’s our responsibility to teach our children. It’s our responsibility to make our communities a decent and safe place to live. It’s on our shoulders to rebuild the Black community, make it what it should be,” he said.

He urged Black people to harmonize with Allah (God) and with the universe.

“There is no higher vibe, no higher frequency than truth. And the Holy Qur’an tells us that Allah created the heavens and the earth and all in between with truth,” he said.

“God wants to harmonize us. He wants us to be in accord— in accord with nature, in accord with creation, in accord with the creatures and the insects and everything that’s in creation, for He made it for us to master. He put the sun, the moon and the stars and everything under the foot of the human being. But we’re out of alignment.

“Everything is a vibe. Everything is a beat. Everything is rhythm. We’re out of rhythm as a people. We ain’t vibing,” he added. “So, you have to strike the right chord, the right note, and in the right note, we start vibing, and that’s what (the Honorable Minister) Louis Farrakhan did 31 years ago.”

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Three decades later, the historic Million Man March and Holy Day of Atonement still resonates with Black people around the world. This year’s commemoration of that special, miraculous day was held in the city affectionately known as “Black Mecca”—Atlanta, Georgia.

Muslims from around the country convened in the city from October 9-11 for a weekend of reflection, bonding with family and community and continuing the principles of the Million Man March theme of “Atonement, Reconciliation and Responsibility.”

The state of Georgia is also significant for another reason, it is the birthplace of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam.

His son, Student Minister Ishmael R. Muhammad, National Assistant to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, delivered the keynote message from Minister Farrakhan on Sunday, October 11 in front of thousands at the Georgia World Congress Center.

Student Minister Ishmael expressed gratitude to the city of Atlanta for welcoming the Nation of Islam and expressed humility at being tasked with delivering the keynote message.

“Trust me when I say that I am not worthy to speak on behalf of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, but it gives me great pleasure to serve this great man, serve in the cause and serve our people.

And I pray that Allah will guide me to deliver the word with his spirit from his mind, from his heart, to all of us today because we are meeting at a very critical time in world history.

And we’re living in the time of the transition of one world, one civilization, one order of things to a brand new world,” said Student Min. Ishmael Muhammad.

He called Atlanta a great city that takes pride in its legacy of Black excellence and referred to its other moniker, “Black Mecca” due to its foundation in areas of Black entrepreneurship, civil rights and political power. “It is a historic center of Black culture, religion, business and entertainment.”

He went on to name some of the great luminaries that hailed from Atlanta or other parts of Georgia including, his father, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rep. John Lewis, Ray Charles and Jackie Robinson to name just a few.

“So it is fitting, it is proper and right for us to hold this special Holy Day of Service in this great city. And from this city to the Nation and the world that is on the brink of a pit of fire. We honor all those who came from this city and state.”

The keynote message was streamed live via internet and to view it its entirety, visit media.noi.org and to order this message, visit store.finalcall.com. See pages 4 and 5 for more coverage and stay tuned for additional coverage from the 31st Anniversary of the Million Man March and Holy Day of Atonement in an upcoming issue of The Final Call.

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Then any photo from the 1995 Million Man March will reflect the beauty and peace of that day when nearly two million Black men convened on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., under the theme of “Atonement, Reconciliation and Responsibility” and received instructions from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan to first atone with God.

Our challenge today is to revisit his instructions and the pledges we made and work to make the change. What were those directives, what was our pledge? Under the theme “Atonement, Reconciliation and Responsibility,” Minister Farrakhan put the burden on us to come out of our condition rather than calling on others to solve our problems.

Atonement means making amends and correcting wrongs. Reconciliation means restoring relationships damaged by those wrongs. Responsibility means becoming accountable for the work required to sustain that restoration. If applied, these principles allow us to move from acknowledgment to repair to continued action.

He invited leaders of major Black institutions, nationalists, integrationists, women and youth to say a word to the masses. Minister Farrakhan shared the platform to let our community and the world know that the message was not exclusive to the Nation of Islam, but inclusive of the breadth of Black thought. He delivered a clear message.

Minister Farrakhan called for a cessation of violence, respect for family and our women, building a Black economy and personal development. He called for every man to join a faith-based group and an organization that is doing work to improve the community, register to vote and build independent Black political power, increase the Black adoption rate, and eliminate crime, among other objectives.

He created the Eight Steps of Atonement that, if followed, would help resolve every area of conflict without confrontation or violence. (See page 32) Men stood on that mall—some for 10 hours or more in one place—and took the pledge to strive to love my brother as I love myself;

Never to use the “B word” to describe any female; never engage in the abuse of children for sexual gratification; to build businesses, houses, hospitals, factories and enter into international trade, and more.

How have we done?

Every day we lament violence in our neighborhood, much of it involving Black young men. Television news shows young mothers or grandmothers shedding tears over senseless loss of life, either at the hands of our own community or at the hands of ruthless law enforcement. It is evidence that we have not yet collectively heeded Minister Farrakhan’s call.

We rarely examine the forces and agendas that help keep our communities in this condition. We might ask but never answer why calls for Black liberation are repeatedly resisted by the oppressor. Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Kwame Ture and others spoke in uncompromising terms about liberation; their messages sought not to attack others, but to unite Black people.

Minister Farrakhan has said the idea for a Million Man March was not his—it was inspired by Allah (God) when he spoke it during a speech. Once he realized what he said, he went to work to make it a reality. He launched a year-long tour—“Let Us Make Man!”— speaking to men only.

The unseen hand of the enemy immediately went to work, inviting others through media narratives to join the condemnation: Why only men? Why can’t women attend?

Thankfully, most of our community saw through the subterfuge. Many women brought their husband and sons to these meetings while they stood outside cheering them on.

Organized efforts toward Black unity have repeatedly faced opposition from government agencies, media institutions and outside organizations. The enemy’s propaganda led some of our leaders and organizations to publicly work against Mr. Garvey’s call.

The Black Panthers did miraculous work in the community. Some of their programs were even reproduced by the U.S. Government. Yet, the F.B.I. moved to neutralize them. They infiltrated Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s movement. The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s self-help platform was called “hate teaching.”

Opposition to the Million Man March was, at that time, a culmination of efforts by leaders in White America to derail Minister Farrakhan’s attempts to unite Black people.

Throughout our history in the U.S., when Black America takes two steps forward, eventually we’re forced to take a step backwards. Reconstruction bred Jim Crow. Forty acres and a mule was never realized. Progress experienced under one political party, Republican or Democrat, results in regression under the next administration.

From “Emancipation” in 1863 to 2026, vital statistics of the Black community show that despite progress, we have serious disparities in health, wealth, life expectancy, infant mortality, unemployment, and the list goes on.

The Million Man March created an opportunity for Black men to demonstrate a drastic change in personal conduct, family responsibility, community safety, economic development and political engagement.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has been a faithful warner to America and the world and a true lover of Black people. He has sacrificed 71 years of his life to the Teachings of his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam. He has survived, by Allah’s (God’s) grace, attempts to take his life.

He gave us instructions on October 16, 1995. As Black men, we now must rededicate ourselves to those demands and make our communities safe and decent places to live.

It’s not too late to make that change. And better yet, our women and children will celebrate it.

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

THERE IS AN INCREASINGLY conservative and hostile climate growing in America towards the aspirations of Black people and people of color for justice.

The “Contract with America,” proposed by the Republicans and thus far agreed to by the Congress is turning back the hands of time, depriving the Black community of many of the gains made through the suffering and sacrifice of our fellow advocates of change during the ‘50s and ‘60s.

The recent Supreme Court decision on Affirmative Action has set the stage in the U.S. for closing the doors, thereby impeding the progress made in Black enrollment, and graduation from colleges and universities; and minimizing business opportunities and the hiring of Black Americans in the public and private sectors.

Each day, somewhere in this nation, the Black community witnesses and falls prey to an increased rate of crime and violence. Aspects of the “Crime Bill” suggest that Black males will be filling the jails of America and will spend the rest of their lives working for little or no pay in the new prison-industrial coalition.

The unfair use of the death penalty to punish the Black male is in fact a systematic genocidal tool being institutionalized to significantly decrease the Black population.

The proliferation of drugs and gun-related violence in the Black community, and the escalation of Black male fratricide has diminished the positive role and attributes of Black men, and instead has elevated ugly images of Black men as thieves, criminals, and savages—projected through movies, music and other communications, technologies throughout the world.

The epitome of these major challenges to the Black male and our community is this mounting force of hate being built against our people, particularly Black men.

We, therefore, have deemed it necessary in this critical hour to call for one million disciplined, committed, and dedicated Black men, from all walks of life in America, to march in Washington, D.C.—showing the world a vastly different picture of the Black male.

As the sons of a proud people, we are coming together and moving forward to chart the course for our future as responsible heads of our families; to reclaim and build our neighborhoods; to unify our families; to save our children who will lead us into the next In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. millennium.

We recognize October 16th as “A Holy Day of Atonement and Reconciliation.” We believe that it is only when we are as one—at peace with ourselves and our Creator—can we then begin to reconcile ourselves with the Creator.

We then are fortified with the ability and the capacity to successfully reconcile our differences, and accelerate the upward mobility of the Black community.

We believe that as men, we must recognize and unconditionally Atone for the absence, in too many cases, of the Black male as the head of the household, positive role model and builder of our community. We believe that we must Atone for, and establish positive solutions to, the abuse and misuse of our women and girls.

Our presence in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, is a day set aside to reconcile our spiritual inner beings and to redirect our focus to developing our communities, strengthening our families, working to uphold and protect our civil and human rights, and empowering ourselves through the Spirit of God, more effective use of our dollars, and through the power of the vote.

We are asking all religious leaders of the various denominations of Christianity and the various Faith Traditions within the Black community to declare October 16, 1995, as a Holy Day of Atonement and Reconciliation—a day of fasting and prayer for those who are able.

This will be the first time since the institution of slavery that Black people would have declared a Holy Day for our people. We must designate and recognize this day in accordance with the Word of our Creator.

We are asking the Black woman, particularly our mothers, to be with our children teaching them the value of home, self-esteem, family, and unity; and to work with us to ensure the success of the March and our mission to improve the quality of life for our people.

We take this historical moment to recognize the major contributions that the Black woman has made, and continues to make, toward the advancement of our people.

Bonded under the guise of leadership and strength, we, as one people must come together to improve the quality of life for our children and for the Black family. For, the long and winding road that we must travel to define our future shall be determined by the depth of our unification.

We are asking that the church doors be opened and that all those who have differences within the congregation go to their house of worship to reconcile their differences.

Parents, our children, and members of our community should come together by the end of the day, at a religious temple of any denomination to pray for the success and well-being of the Black man, woman, and child, and our community.

We are asking all those who have not registered to vote to go to a house of worship on October 16th, to get registered. There are approximately eight million Black persons in the U.S. eligible to vote, but who remain unregistered.

Our goal is to have a registrar in as many churches as possible. There will be teachers present to provide guidance, instructions, and information.

The most critical election of this century will be held in 1996. This will be the last presidential election of the century. We are determined that never again shall any political party take the Black vote for granted.

We are asking that you join many of our leaders who have gathered together to develop a national agenda for our people, as a follow-up to the Million Man March. Religious, political, civic, and youth leaders will be called to come together to incorporate sound ideas and recommendations; and to amend and finalize this national platform of action.

We shall take this platform of action to various communities in America to hold town meetings to encourage the Black community’s input and secure our people’s approval and active support of this agenda.

We shall emphasize in our actions and in the written word that the Black community shall not give our vote to anyone who is against, or is not willing, to represent the best interests of our people.

We believe that by the grace and goodness of our Creator, the success we envision for the Million Man March, and beyond October 16, 1995—our first declared Holy Day of Atonement and Reconciliation—will be captured in the annals of history as a landmark period in which Black people came together to effect the greatest promise of change for Black people in America, and throughout the world.

The post Why a Million Man March? appeared first on Final Call News.

There are so many of us who are ready to argue and dispute about the God. If you don’t believe that he is a man, then bring me the one that you represent.

You say, “I don’t believe in God being a man.” What do you believe in? Show me what you believe in. I can show you my God. Show me yours. On the Day of Resurrection, the Bible and the Holy Qur’an teach us that we will be brought face to face with The True God; the evil and the Good One. This is going on today, my friends. If I preach to you that the White race is the devil, then where is the Good God? If this is the evil god, then where is the Good One?

If you tell me that he doesn’t have any form, then I say how in the world can you prove to me that you are making me acquainted with a God? How can I see nothing? Some enemies of the True God, the Visible God, have deceived you and are making you think that there is no such thing as a visible god.

I want to say to you, my friends, if you don’t have one that is visible–see Allah the visible way!

The Bible and the Holy Qur’an teach you and me that on this day there is a man whom God Chose for His Last Messenger. Whom have you benefited by other than a man? Do you sit down and pray to the space in the sky to drop you down some wheat? You may look up that way, but the wheat comes out from under your feet. You don’t plant wheat in the sky. You plant it in the earth and it comes up out of the earth. And the Holy Qur’an teaches us that we have root in the earth.

Everything that breathes is Allah’s. Out of it (the earth) comes our bread and meat and out of it comes us. We come out of the earth. We don’t drop down out of space. But all of us come up out of the earth. If we are born from some man and woman, they came from the earth. The very sperm that makes a human being appears out of water and out of the vegetation of the earth–it didn’t drop out of space.

I want to teach you who you are. So many people have been made blind, deaf and dumb to the knowledge of God. Why are they made deaf and dumb to the knowledge of God? Because they are blind, deaf and dumb to the knowledge of self. How can they know God? But Allah Is here and Has Risen up in your midst by the Power and Wisdom of the Supreme Who is a Man to teach you the knowledge of self and the knowledge of God and the Devil.

Some people don’t want you to teach them who the devil is because they love the devil. They don’t want to bear with me that this is the devil. But the Holy Qur’an teaches you and me and the Bible also. They don’t want it translated into their language, but nevertheless they didn’t get all of this out of our knowledge. They are visible people; they are not invisible people. They are visible and on the Last Day these true people will be made manifest to you and me. The devil will be made manifest to us as he is. The Holy Qur’an teaches that he is an open enemy. He is not something concealed; he is not something invisible. But he is a visible being.

Your Lord Is One Lord. If He were a spirit He couldn’t be one spirit because there are many spirits. Can you believe that your God Is something that is not visible, but yet He has great interest in man’s affairs? Who other than a man will care about your affairs? Take, for instance, the wild beasts–they don’t care anything about you or me…except to try and stay out of our way! Now here is something standing out here with no form at all…and on the Day of Resurrection we will see Him, but nevertheless He still will be invisible; He will be a spirit!

We should get away from that. We used to not believe that man could go to the moon. But if he goes to the moon, that shows you that he is god and not the moon and the flying apparatus that he made and went up there on. No one came down from the moon and taught him how to get up there; He was god enough in himself to fix up a machine that would take him to the moon. It was not an invisible god that taught him how to measure the distance. It was a visible God that taught him mathematics.

You may ask me, “Well why did we not know all of this?” Because you were under an enemy of yours who wanted to make you ignorant so he could move you and me. That is why you are in such condition that you are now, because he actually made you like this.

(Reprinted from “Our Saviour Has Arrived,” 1974.)

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It has been estimated, by some, that most people use but a very small amount of the potential of their minds. I’ve read percentages. How they arrive at those figures, and justify them, I don’t know. But the point they make is that human beings live very far within their capacity for demonstrating the qualities that make them “human.”

What does a fully developed human being look like? How different would he or she be from the vast majority of us, who are living far within our capacity for the best or full manifestation of the capabilities of a human being?

We already have countless examples, past and present, of the capacity of human beings to express the most depraved, degenerate, wicked, heinous qualities imaginable. But what of the opposite kind of human being?

There are many, the world over, who believe that there were powerful people, on this earth, who lived lives that were sublime, awe-inspiring, or even divine. Then, later or closer to our times, they point to the transcendent lives of the prophets. They also mention others, who although not on the level of the prophets, nevertheless lived magnificent and extraordinarily productive lives.

We’re taught that we ought to take example after these exceptional men and women, who led exemplary lives, even though they lived under the evil rule of Satan. Satan is the one, who according to Jews, Christians and Muslims, is the ultimate enemy of God and of humanity, and has ruled the earth for the last six thousand years, by His permission, and is the root cause of the misery of human life. How much better were humans, or could humans be, without Satan?

Most people don’t live by the principles of the lives of the prophets. And so the “religious” people teach of the Judgment Day. They state that the prophets foresaw a day when God Himself would change everything for the better–especially human life.

The Day of Judgment involves not just the doom and the destruction of this present world, or system of things, but the establishment of an infinitely superior world, in which people will live lives that express the best that is in the human being.

Now, what is that “best” that is in the human being? What kind of world will such people build, under Allah’s guidance? And, furthermore, what words would you use, now, to describe the human beings who will build, rule and live in such a world?

Here is one approach to this question. In Surah 2:285 of the Holy Qu’ran, we read: “The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. They all believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His messengers.”

The messenger of the Qu’ran and the messengers of Allah before him, were all taught by Him. The messengers of Allah and their followers, take on “Allah’s colour, and who is better than Allah at colouring, and we are His worshippers.” (2:138)

Yusuf Ali translates this passage with these words: “(Our religion is) the Baptism of Allah: And who can baptize better than Allah? And it is He Whom we worship.”

In footnote number 137, Mr. Ali translates the Arabic word (which he transliterates “sihgat” with the English word “baptism” and states that “the root meaning implies a dye or colour” and that “apparently the Arab-Christians mixed a dye or colour in the baptismal water, signifying that the baptized person got a new colour in life.” He continued: “We do not believe that it is necessary to be baptized to be saved. Our higher baptism is the “Baptism” of God, by which we take on a colour (symbolically) of God, and absorb His goodness in us.”

It follows, then, that the more and more a person takes on the “color” of the Almighty, the more and more that person becomes like God; godly or divine.

The great majority of Muslim scholars teach that Allah possesses 99 attributes, or qualities that compose His character or nature. They teach, in effect, that living an excellent life, in essence, is living a life that expresses His attributes. If taking on the colouring of Allah means the absorption and the manifestation of the attributes or qualities of the character of Allah, then how much of our capacity for such life are we presently living? How many are expressing or manifesting what is called the 99 names of Allah?

Certainly we have the capacity to express the principles (or fundamental truths) that form the character of those who take on the color of Allah, but look at us and look at the sea of humanity throughout the earth. Most live miserably.

In his introductory letter to his study guides, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan stated that: “each study session is designed on the guidance of Allah to produce … the self-accusing spirit.”

He made clear that these study guides were intended to activate within us the divine spirit that would move us out of the lowest state, or stage of human life, in which we are really savages, who live a beast life and cause in us that movement towards our true selves or to become one with Allah–God Himself.

Since this is the time of the end of this world, the end of Satan’s rule over human life, it’s also the end of the time of human-beast-like life.

The present rulers are to be replaced by rulers who will be spiritually, mentally or intellectually and morally superior in contrast to the present wicked rulers. That’s in the workings now, in the changes now taking place.

Now, what are some of the terms you would use to describe the people of the next world, in whom envy, jealousy, murder, disputing, slander, etc. finds no place?

Can you imagine a people, so taught and trained, that they have become masters of the laws of the spiritual, mental and moral aspects of their beings, and whose physical health is constantly in a state of excellence? Can you mentally see a people who have reached the point of maturity, that they display the most fitting view of, language for, emotional reaction towards and actions respecting every situation they encounter?

Would not such a people also have reached a level of internal power that would enable them to have power over the forces, or laws, of what is called nature; that govern the whole of creation?

Could the word “gods and goddess” be terms you could justifiably use to describe a people, who have become living manifestations of God’s attributes? What of our present state of development? Does the term “the children of God” apply to us, as we are now?

If we are using Minister Farrakhan’s study guides properly, to activate the spirit of God within us, what are we now, and what are we becoming?

If you say you can’t qualify for such a process, you are “dead” wrong. But if you continue without God’s purpose for you, and if you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time.

Does history, prior to this world’s existence, science and the scriptures support the above?

More next issue, Allah willing.

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“And certainly We gave Abraham his rectitude before, and We knew him well. When he said to his sire and his people: What are these images to whose worship you cleave? They said: We found our fathers worshipping them. He said: Certainly you have been, you and your fathers, in manifest error.” –Holy Qur’an, Surah 21, verses 51-54

To atone means to be in harmony with the essence of one’s divinity in perfect union with God. To be spiritually elevated into the mind and thinking of God is to know who and what God is, and to know who and what we are, in relationship to the Divine Creator. The Eight Step Atonement message delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on October 16, 1995, brought us back to that union with God and the Divine order of the worship of the One God, whose proper name is Allah.

The sounding of our mental death and destruction from severe affliction and oppression to the state of mind of peace, harmony, happiness and joy is at the core of the message of the Million Man March. This message struck a universal cord that has vibrated around the planet. It was this picture on the Washington Mall at the Capitol steps with nearly two million Black men–Christians, Muslims and other faith traditions–that captivated and inspired people, families and nations around the globe. It was this explosion of sound and sight that reverberated around the world. This picture spoke more effectively than a thousand words.

This sound and picture was translated into the A-Tone-Ment message, expressing the musical note of the “A” tone that vibrates at 440 revolutions per second. This number also represents the number of years that we have been held in captivity by strangers in a strange land. This momentous occasion opened even wider the door of the lion (representing Black and Indigenous people) in a cage (in America), who are now steadily on the road to exodus.

The history of Abraham, recorded in the 21st Chapter of the Holy Qur’an, represents the divine work of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and his greatest helper, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, who are destroying the false worship of our enemies as idols, taking them as god before God. Following the Million Man March, the lion in the cage came out into the open territory that truly belongs to him if he is to exercise his full freedom of citizenship along with all others.

With modern equipment of the computer age and rapid transportation, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was divinely guided to travel around the world in three historical World Friendship Tours to open dialogue for peace with nations as never before. This period began in 1996 and continued through 1998 with several peace initiatives and strategic journeys to the Middle East and troubled spots, including Arabia, to deliver the reconciliation and atonement message for peace.

Since that interval of time, our global condition in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas have worsened with increased violence, humiliation and bloodshed. Yet, the number one problem that America faces in regards to her hold over some 40-plus million ex-slave population is still begging for resolution on the basis of justice and freedom.

In a review of our history, three mighty attempts have been initiated in the process of our redemption to free us as the lion in the cage–beginning in the year 1930 with the coming of Master W. Fard Muhammad. The raising of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad as the first begotten of the dead began in 1931 as the second door and way out of our captivity. The third door and way out in our exodus journey has come through the efforts of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan as the divinely appointed spokesman and representative of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, serving his nation as Aaron was to Moses and Ali was to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).

The coming New Year, 2004, we will have completed a cycle of 74 years since the Master’s coming, who laid the foundation cornerstone of our rebirth as a Nation. The 19 mathematical code of the Holy Qur’an is revealed in Surah 74, verse 30, as a timeline announcing the end and the doom of our open enemy and oppressors.

According to the problem to be solved concerning the lion in a cage, the time to accomplish this work in the mission of the resurrection of our dead people is limited by the hour, by the day and by the year clocked at 60 minutes, 24 hours in a day, and 365 days in a year, which is the measurements of this world according to the present Gregorian calendar. When all these figures are added together (60 + 24 + 365), the sum is 449. When we reach the year 2004, this figure would mark 449 years since our enslavement in America.

These are thoughts to think about as we reflect on the Million Man March and the meaning of the A-Tone-Ment message as we enter into the year 2004.

“And they intended a plan against him, but We made them the greater losers. And We delivered him and Lot (directing them) to the land which We had blessed for the nations.” –Holy Qur’an, Surah 21, verses 70, 71

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