From The Final Call Newspaper

More Than A Vision: Black America’s Saving Grace
By Anisah Muhammad, Contributing Writer
- September 19, 2023





Social networks have been aflame with jokes, memes and reels about “unidentified flying objects” (UFOs) ever since the U.S. government’s admission of their existence. Black people, in particular, have taken to social media to question, “What does that have to do with me? I have bills.”

The existence of the objects has everything to do with Black people, according to the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam. The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad started teaching on the reality of the objects as early as the 1930s, before they were ever on the government’s radar. He identified a “Mother Plane” or “Mother Wheel” that carried within her 1,500 smaller wheels, or “baby planes.”

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, has since given in-depth accounts and descriptions of the Mother Plane and her smaller baby planes.

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad

On September 17, 1985, he was directly brought aboard the Mother Plane in a Vision-Like Experience in Tepoztlán, Mexico. The 38-year anniversary of his experience has now come to pass. Following his September 17 experience, Minister Farrakhan delivered a detailed press conference at the JW Marriott hotel in Washington, D.C., on October 24, 1989, titled, “The Announcement: A Final Warning to the U.S.-Government,” where he exposed the plans of the U.S. government based on the words he received from the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad during his experience.

“It is perhaps more significant today than ever before,” Memphis-based Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad said to The Final Call, in reference to Minister Farrakhan’s experience. “This experience that the Minister underwent would not just affect him, but would ultimately affect the Nation of Islam, our critics, our enemies, and eventually the world.”

The Great Announcement

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan opened his Announcement with words from the Book of Ezekiel, Chapter 3, verses 18 and 19: “When I say unto the wicked, ‘Thou shalt surely die,’ and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way to save his life, the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.”

Pyramid built on peak of the Sierra de Tepoztlan, Mexico.

“It is in this spirit that I make this Announcement,” Minister Farrakhan said.

He then detailed his experience. It started with him being carried up a mountain with a few friends. As they reached the top of the mountain, which lies the ruins of a temple dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, the Christ-figure of Central and South America, a Wheel appeared at the side of the mountain. A beam of light came from the Wheel and carried the Minister up into it.

“As the Wheel lifted off from the side of the mountain, moving at a terrific speed, I knew I was being transported to The Mother Wheel, or The Mother Plane, which is a human-built planet, a half-mile by a half-mile, which the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us of for over 60 years,” he said.

“The pilot, knowing that I was fearful of seeing this great, mechanical object in the sky, maneuvered his craft in such a way that I would not see The Mother Plane and then backed quickly into it and docked in a tunnel. I was escorted by the pilot to a door and admitted into a room.”

While in the room, Minister Farrakhan heard the voice of his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, from a speaker on the ceiling.

“He spoke in short cryptic sentences; and as he spoke, a scroll full of cursive writing rolled down in front of my eyes—but it was a projection of what was being written in my mind. As I attempted to read the cursive writing, which was in English, the scroll disappeared and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

 began to speak to me again,” Minister Farrakhan said. Photo taken in October of 1989 with the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, D.C., delivering a press conference on his Vision-like Experience on the Wheel. Photo: Final Call archive

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to him: “President Reagan has met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff to plan a war. I want you to hold a press conference in Washington, D.C., and announce their plan—and say to the world that you got the information from me, Elijah Muhammad, on The Wheel.”

After the experience, events unfolded from September 1985 into February 1986 that caused Minister Farrakhan to slowly realize that the war mentioned by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was against Muammar Gadhafi and the people of Libya.

While in Tripoli, Libya, on March 16, 1986, Minister Farrakhan repeated his vision publicly to representatives of approximately 80 nations, and he warned President Reagan and then-Secretary of State George Shultz.

“During the confrontation in the Gulf of Sidra between the United States Air Force and the Libyan Air Force, it was reported in the press that a bright orange object was seen over the Mediterranean. The Wheel was, in fact, present and it interfered with the highly sensitive electronic equipment of the aircraft carrier that was in the Gulf of Sidra, forcing it to return to Florida for repairs,” Minister Farrakhan said during his Announcement.

In 1987, a year after Minister Farrakhan publicly announced President Reagan’s plans in Libya, the truth of his Vision-Like Experience was verified in the news. The news that President Reagan and his Joint Chiefs of Staff had secretly planned a war made the front pages and the headlines of The New York Times Sunday magazine and the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.

“In the article which followed, the exact words that the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad spoke to me from The Wheel were found, that the president had met with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and planned a war against Libya in the early part of September 1985,” Minister Farrakhan said.

That war, he said, only served as a sign of “an even more significant and consequential event, which was to come several years later:” that President George H.W. Bush had met with his Joint Chiefs of Staff, under the direction of General Colin Powell, “to plan a war against Black people of America, the Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan with particular emphasis on our Black youth under the guise of a war against drug sellers, drug users, gangs and violence.”

After announcing President Bush’s plans, Minister Farrakhan then laid out the operations of the FBI, including the campaign to destroy Black leadership, the dirty tactics used against those who fight for justice, the agents planted in Black organizations, including the Nation of Islam, and the counterintelligence program under FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. He also talked about how the media fed the American public negative portrayals of Black youth and how police instigated gang warfare to justify the government’s plans of slaughter.

Minister Farrakhan closed his Announcement with a warning to the president, the government and the people of America to leave the Nation of Islam alone and to cease and desist from planning against the future of Black people in America and the world.

“I warn you that I am backed by the Power of Allah and His Christ and the Power of that Wheel in which I received this Announcement. And the moment you attempt to lay your hands on me, the fullness of Allah’s Wrath will descend upon you and upon America.

And before you will be able to establish your mockery of me, if that is what you wish to do for what was revealed to me in The Wheel, you will see these Wheels, or what you call ‘UFOs’, in abundance over the major cities of America,” he said.

“And the calamities that America is presently experiencing will increase in number and in intensity, that you might humble yourselves to the Warning contained in this Announcement, or be totally destroyed from the face of the Earth.”

“This is a final warning to you. The ball is now in your court. You may do with it, with me, and with us as you see fit,” he concluded.

Controversy and the Night Journey

Shortly before Minister Farrakhan’s Vision-Like Experience, he found himself in a controversy with members of the Jewish community due to his defense of Rev. Jesse Jackson during the reverend’s 1984 presidential campaign.

Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad, author of the book, “UFOs And The Nation Of Islam: The Source, Proof, And Reality Of The Wheels,” shared that just before Minister Farrakhan left for Tepoztlán, he spoke at a forum in Los Angeles, where members of the Jewish community were chanting, “Who do you want? Farrakhan. How do you want him? Dead.”

“It was these members of the Jewish community that were calling and urging on the Minister’s assassination. So it was under that pretense, if you will, under those conditions, that the Minister left Los Angeles and went to Tepoztlán where he received this Vision,” Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad said.

The atmosphere of hostility concerning Minister Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam was still present when Minister Farrakhan delivered his Announcement. Two weeks before George H.W. Bush was elected president, he delivered a speech at the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles and promised that he would lead the fight “against those whom he and certain leading members of the Jewish community determined to be anti-Semites,” Minister Farrakhan said.

“He indirectly referred to me as ‘the villain.’ Evidence is now mounting that those were not empty words of the president, but those words, as in the past, have been translated into a program, a policy and a war that has been designed to destroy the Nation of Islam and Minister Farrakhan with a particular focus on the growing strength of Black youth,” he added.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s Vision-Like Experience, which occurred amidst controversy and hostility, is both biblical and Quranic.

Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) received a similar experience amidst a hostile environment. When the Prophet (PBUH) visited the city, Ta’if, shortly after the passing of his uncle and wife, he was met with mockery and ridicule. The people threw rocks at him, causing him to be wounded and covered in blood.

After the Prophet (PBUH) recovered from the attack and re-entered Mecca, he experienced his Night Journey and Ascension, where he traveled from Mecca to Jerusalem in the span of one night. Though the Prophet (PBUH) was called a madman, similar to the labels placed on Minister Farrakhan, like the Minister, he was able to describe in detail his experience.

“Allah blessed him to experience what became known as the Night Journey, wherein he received revelation and was taken into the inner sanctum of Allah. Well, that is a foreshadowing and a prefigurement of the Honorable Minister Farrakhan’s More-Than-A-Vision Experience, where he, too, was taken up into the inner sanctum of Allah where one Mighty of Power had taught him, the Lord of Strength,”

Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad said. “And it is this experience that we read about in the Qur’an and that we read about in the history of the Prophet, and we are actually living the fulfillment of it right now as we speak, and the point person in all of this is that messianic figure among us, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.”

Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad described that the Prophet (PBUH), just like Minister Farrakhan, has human qualities and that the Night Journey solidified certainty from Allah.

“Nobody wants to be rejected. Nobody seeks that type of controversy, that dangerous controversy,” he said. “So this experience came at a time that offered the Minister a level of certainty from Allah, and it is that certainty that has allowed him to withstand the most powerful Satanic forces of this world.”

He shared that everything of significance Minister Farrakhan has done can be traced back to that Vision-Like Experience, from the “Stop the Killing” and “Men Only” tours in the early ’90s to the historic Million Man March on October 16, 1995, which was attended by almost two million Black men.

“The Minister knew the plots and plans that were afoot from the highest echelons of government because he had received divine revelation in the Vision-Like Experience, and that revelation has proven to be a saving grace for Black America,” Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad said.

The government’s continued activity

In 2023 just a few weeks shy of the Minister’s anniversary of his Vision-Like experience, the Pentagon unveiled a new website for the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, the office charged with investigating what the government has dubbed, “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAP). Via the website, the office has shared “UAP reporting trends,” information gathered on the objects via congressional reports and briefings and press material from the Department of Defense.

Min. Louis Farrakhan, shown above with the late Liby-an leader Muammar Gadhafi, in Africa. Photo: Final Call archive

The office will soon be accepting reports from current or former U.S. government employees, service members or contractors with direct knowledge of government programs or activities related to UAP dating back to 1945. It will announce when a reporting mechanism for the general public will be available.

Though the government “has finally expressed that they are and have been concerned over the presence of these planes,” Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad said he doesn’t “expect the government to be fully truthful in their efforts, because if they are truly honest and sincere about UFO disclosure, then they would come to those who disclosed this information in the first place, which is the Nation of Islam.”

“But since they have not done so but instead have done just the opposite by trying to censor us and run from the truth that we have that answers these phenomena, then we find most of their efforts hypocritical,” he added.

As for Black people jokingly questioning on social media what UFOs have to do with their everyday livelihood, “if we knew better, Black people would understand that the presence of these so-called UFOs is proof and evidence that a superior power is here on our behalf,” Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad said. “And it is extremely important that we take heed to this reality, because our salvation, our physical salvation, our salvation as a people and our future is directly connected to this reality.”

“Black people should be the first and foremost to be standing and shouting over the fact that there’s a power in the world that is greater and far superior than our oppressor’s power. So only a fool would mock such a reality that governments and militaries have been spending countless billions, even trillions of dollars trying to study,” he added.

“If it’s that important to the most powerful governments and militaries of the world, we would look like a fool trying to mock this phenomena in this day and time when all the evidence proves it to be true. But more importantly, we should be thankful, and we should understand that that power is represented by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.”

Earlier this year, Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad released the first episode of a documentary film series titled, “Answered.” Though the episode is just a prelude that gives an introductory overview of the reality of the wheels, it has received great feedback.

“Every review that we’ve had has been nothing short of spectacular. So, there’s a great anticipation for part two, and that episode of ‘Answered’ will involve the Coming of God,” Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad said. “And fortunately, we hope in the coming weeks to have that available for viewing as well, so get ready.”

The prelude episode can be found on media.noi.org, under the category, “The Wheel.”

From The Final Call Newspaper

HAPPY 70TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY TO THE HONORABLE MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN AND MOTHER KHADIJAH FARRAKHAN
By The Final Call
- September 12, 2023





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

“He it is Who created you from a single soul, and of the same did He make his mate, that he might find comfort in her. So when he covers her she bears a light burden, then moves about with it. Then when it grows heavy, they both call upon Allah, their Lord: If You give us a good one, we shall certainly be grateful.”

~Holy Qur’an, Surah 7, Verse 189

And of His signs is this, that He created mates for you from yourselves that you might find quiet of mind in them, and He put between you love and compassion. Surely there are signs in this for a people who reflect.

~Holy Qur’an, Surah 30, Verse 21

Happy 70th Blessed Wedding Anniversary to

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and Mother Khadijah Farrakhan,

who were married on September 12, 1953.

May Allah continue to bless you and your family.

We Love You!

From The Final Call Newspaper

Latest racist attack on Blacks is further proof we must ‘separate and be saved’
By J.S. Adams, Contributing Writer
- September 5, 2023





Black America added yet another deadly racist attack to the growing tally when recently a 21-year-old White man used his assault-style rifle to kill three Black people at a Jacksonville, Fla., Dollar Store.

Incidents such as these are a stark and brutal reminder of the supermarket shooting in Buffalo, N.Y., where a White man slaughtered 10 Black people in a mass shooting; the Charleston, S.C., mass shooting, where a White man targeted a Black church, killing nine worshippers, and more.

The growing number of deadly attacks leaves no room for doubt, that White people are disagreeable to live with in peace, and that Black people must establish independence in order to survive.

Sabrina Rozier, center, holds her granddaughter, Je Asia Gallion, during an Aug. 28 news conference with attorney Ben Crump, far right, regarding the Aug. 26 racially motivated mass shooting in Jacksonville, Fla. Je Asia is the 4-year-old daughter of Jerrald Gallion, one of three people killed in the attack. Rozier is the girl’s maternal grandmother, and Gallion was once engaged to her daughter. Photo: AP Photo/Russ Bynum


Horror in Jacksonville



The U.S. Justice Department is investigating the Jacksonville shooting, which happened August 26, as a hate crime and an act of racially motivated violent extremism, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. The gunman, identified as Ryan Christopher Palmeter, shot and killed Anolt Joseph “AJ” Laguerre Jr., 19; Jerrald Gallion, 29; and Angela Michelle Carr, 52, before he killed himself.

Prior to targeting the store, authorities say Mr. Palmeter stopped by Edward Waters University, a historically Black college in Jacksonville, but was deterred after students reportedly saw him putting on a tactical vest, then notified security. Mr. Palmeter had left racist writings and used racial slurs before his rampage, according to Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters.

Diallo-Sekou Seabrooks, a Jacksonville-based activist, says he was disturbed and saddened upon hearing about the shooting. However, he’s not surprised.

“We have to always look at the systemic and long, long, deep-rooted issues of Jacksonville, Florida, which is rooted in racism and rooted all the way into the power structure that’s here,” he said.

Jacksonville is a city located in northeastern Florida, near the Georgia state border.

“People may think, through television and promotion, that [Florida] is just a retirement state but this isn’t,” he said. “This is Jim Crow South.”

Rodney L. Hurst Sr., a civil rights activist, historian and Jacksonville native, writes about the city’s racist roots. In 1960, he was Jacksonville’s NAACP Youth Council president and witnessed “Ax Handle Saturday.” He, along with other protesters, had staged sit-ins at segregated lunch counters. In August of that year, 200 Whites had armed themselves with ax handles and baseball bats and attacked them across the city.

The Civil Rights Movement Archive has a snippet of Mr. Hurst’s book titled, “It Was Never About a Hotdog and a Coke!” He writes, “Here is a country based on the Christian ethic of loving your fellow man and embracing Jesus Christ. … Yet, here is a country throwing those very teachings and its accompanying love out the window, violently attacking young Blacks for pursuing their God-given and constitutionally assured rights.”

He further writes, “Blacks in Jacksonville endured an enormous amount of racism, discrimination, pain, and suffering in the fight for civil rights. They endeavored to leave a legacy and heritage from which we can benefit and of which we all can be proud.”

“In the wake of Charleston, Buffalo, and now our hometown here in Jacksonville, there seems to be a pattern that folks want to see how far they can go,” said Anthony Brown, co-founder of the Red Alliance for Justice, an organization dedicated to the revitalization of Black communities. “And if there’s not going to be any pushback or any resistance or retaliation, then you will continue to see these tragedies take place.”

Student Minister Nolan X of the Nation of Islam’s Mosque No. 66 in Jacksonville, says attacks like the one in Jacksonville are related to Black people attacking one another.

“The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan pointed out in the scriptures where God will send fiery serpents and he mentioned fiery serpents just simply means angry White people,” Student Minister Nolan X said. “So, we keep killing each other, we keep doing harm to each other, hating each other. … The more we keep harming each other, the enemy, by God’s permission, is going to turn it up.”

A climate of violent racism and grounds for separation

On April 13, Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager, was shot in the head by an 84-year-old White man in Kansas City, Missouri. Ralph, who’s now 17, was trying to pick up his younger brothers but went to the wrong home. He survived the shooting. Now a judge has ruled the gunman, Andrew Lester, must stand trial. He was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action and previously pleaded not guilty.

Ralph Paul Yarl, in the hospital in serious condition on April 2023. Photo: MGN Online

D’Monterrio Gibson, a 25-year-old Black man, says he was fired from his job at FedEx on July 26, after two White men chased and shot at him in Mississippi in 2022. A judge recently declared a mistrial for the father and son charged in the attack, citing police errors.

In Amherst, Penn., a White man armed with a shotgun was accused of threatening two women before attempting to enter a predominantly Black church on Aug. 31. According to the Associated Press, investigators say they have no evidence the man was motivated by racial hate, to the dismay of the members of that church.

And the list goes on.

Krystal Muhammad, the national chair of the New Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, says she receives messages describing racial attacks on a daily and weekly basis.

“There are tons and tons of local reports of racial attacks and the exaggerated energy of racism that’s being displayed openly,” Ms. Muhammad told The Final Call. She says these reports don’t always reach the national media.

“We’re living in a time where we just formerly were under the presidency of a well-known racist, who came out on a platform to basically be the opposite of what (President Barack) Obama was to Black people, for the Whites in this country, which would be, Donald Trump.”

She says these attacks have never slowed down, but the advent of social media has made them more visible.

Dr. Jared Ball, a professor of communications at Morgan State University, says, “At the end of the day, these random acts of violence, as horrific as they are…to paraphrase what [Martin Luther King Jr.] says, they are the derivative crimes of an already criminal arrangement that we have with this society. They are themselves extensions of a society’s public policy of a national material and immaterial will against Black people.”

Church members at the St. Paul A.M.E. Church pray with four Edward Waters University students, center, who attended a prayer service for the victims of a mass shooting, Aug. 27, in Jacksonville, Fla. Photo: AP Photo/John Raoux

Ms. Muhammad points to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s solution to these issues, which is separation. The Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam’s program which includes separation is found in the Muslim Program, “What The Muslims Want” and “What The Muslims Believe.” The program was printed in every edition of Muhammad Speaks newspaper and is also on the inside back page of The Final Call.

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad stated, “We want our people in America whose parents or grandparents were descendants from slaves, to be allowed to establish a separate state or territory of their own—either on this continent or elsewhere.”

He further states, “Since we cannot get along with them in peace and equality, after giving them 400 years of our sweat and blood and receiving in return some of the worst treatment human beings have ever experienced, we believe our contributions to this land and the suffering forced upon us by White America, justifies our demand for complete separation in a state or territory of our own.”

As long as Black people are under the rulership of the slave masters’ children this pattern of violence and attacks by Whites will continue, explained Ms. Muhammad. “You can’t get a scorpion to change their ways. You can’t get a rattlesnake to not be a rattlesnake.”

On page 204 of His monumental book titled “Message to the Black Man in America,” The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes, “We, once slaves, have grown to be a nation of twenty million or more in a nation that enslaved our fathers and to this day has deprived us of equal justice under their own laws.

No equal civil rights–most of us are treated by White citizens of America as animals. It is common to see and hear of White mobs attacking, beating, and shooting down poor Blacks whose fathers’ and mothers’ labor, sweat and blood helped make America the richest government on earth; nevertheless, we are yet the most hated and mistreated people.”

“Allah (God) wants to make a great nation out of us (so-called Negroes). But if we desire to remain the slave of servants for our slave-masters, it is all right with Allah. Do we love ourselves and our children? If so, why not build a future for ourselves rather than beg the same slave-masters for jobs and equal shares in whatever they have even to equal membership in their society and families (intermarriage).”

Krystal Muhammad says an honest dialogue must be had within the Black community about the current reality, and Black children must be told about the kind of people they are dealing with.

“We are going to have to be honest and stop trying to just stay assimilated into a system that is stacked against us,” she said. “But what we have not done and have yet to do and it’s gonna be the only solution is to make the decision to separate and operate as a separate nation and to be self-governed.”

Mr. Brown believes there are legislators who “represent (the community) in rhetoric but don’t represent them in practice. And until that improves, you’re not going to see the type of legislation that you need in order for us to have that protection.”

But he also believes Blacks need to start taking matters into their own hands.

“I think these communities need to be a little bit more proactive in creating a neighborhood watch or a group of individuals that kind of patrol their own community and make sure that nothing irregular is taking place, make sure that someone who looks suspicious that they can kind of do what they need to do because if you’re waiting on the government to come at this particular time, you might be waiting a long time,” he said.

As Jacksonville begins its journey toward healing, Mr. Brown and Student Minister Nolan X plan to participate in a September 6 town hall that will enable local organizations to plan strategically and offer resources to the community.

“Allah (God) is showing us who the true enemy of self is,” Student Minister Nolan X said. “This is going to continue to escalate and get worse and worse and worse, so teaches the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, if we continue to do what we have been brainwashed to do. But the Teachings (of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad) have washed our brains and we have to be acquainted with the God that saves and the true reality of ourselves.”

 

People gather at a rally to support Ralph Yarl, April 18, in Kansas City, Mo. Yarl, a Black teenager, was shot by a White homeowner when he mistakenly went to the wrong address to pick up his younger brothers. Photo: AP Photo/Charlie Riedel

A May 2022 Time magazine article titled “Anti-Black Violence Has Long Been the Most Common American Hate Crime—And We Still Don’t Know the Full Extent” reported that as the country publicly declared itself to be in the midst of a racial reckoning, “it turns out Black Americans were being hunted and hurt at a level unmatched since 2008—the year that saw the election of the first Black president and an attendant, hate-fueled backlash.”

In 2020, the most recent year for which the FBI has gathered and reported nationwide hate crime data, 2,871 Black Americans became victims of hate crimes, the article noted.

In a message titled, “Can Black and White Live Together in Peace,” from part 39 of the 2013 online lecture series, “The Time and What Must Be Done,” Minister Farrakhan stated:

“The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that one of the things that must be done, in this time, is that we must be separated from our former slave masters and their children—because time will prove that they will become more and more disagreeable to live with in peace.

“Unfortunately, race relations will continue to get worse because the government just cannot provide enough food, clothing, shelter and jobs, or justice, for us. And as we sit around, waiting for somebody else to do this for us—and demanding what we feel are our basic rights as so-called citizens—

We are making our former slave masters and their children more angry with us; and thus, they are becoming more disagreeable to live with in peace. That’s why the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, ‘We must be separated if we don’t want to continue to suffer great loss.’”

Final Call staff contributed to this report.

From The Final Call Newspaper

Black Business Conference unites Black businesses and professionals under one agenda

By Anisah Muhammad, Contributing Writer
- August 29, 2023





ATLANTA—When traveling down the lobby escalators of the Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Black people from all over the country and the world were presented with a visual display of African art and culture. The display was a welcoming introduction to the 123rd National Black Business Conference that took place in Atlanta on August 24-26.

The National Business League, the National Black Chamber of Commerce and The World Conference of Mayors unified to host the conference. More than 1,000 Black businesses and professionals registered.

“This conversation about Black business, that’s what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as well as Minister Farrakhan, they believe in. Black people supporting their own businesses, Black people governing their own businesses, Black people turning over the dollar in the Black community. We hope to accomplish all of that as a result of a conference like this,” said former Tuskegee, Alabama, mayor and president and founder of The World Conference, Johnny Ford said, to The Final Call.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, listed the science of business as one of the three sciences never taught to the Black slave, the other two being the science of mating and the science of warfare.

On page 40 of His book “Message to the Blackman in America,” Mr. Muhammad recalled a congressional debate in the early 1920s concerning the appropriation of funds for Howard University. During the debate, a senator voiced that they would not teach Black people those much-needed sciences.

“He knew these were things free people must know in order to protect, preserve and advance themselves,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad writes.

“Inspiring Black people to go back, go into business. Start their own businesses. But the point is, we have to come to a conference like this to learn where the money is. And many times, we can generate the money ourselves. That’s what Minister Farrakhan believes in, Black people spending money with themselves ,” said Mayor Ford.

The conference is important because it brings together institutions with resources that Black people can take advantage of, he added.

The conference came on the heels of a recent partnership between the National Business League and the National Black Chamber of Commerce. The two organizations partnered in September 2022 to create the National Alliance for Black Business, to develop a unified Black business agenda.

“This is the foundational nucleus for us to mobilize the entire country. Every Black chamber in the country, every business league in the country, in connection with all of our historic Black towns and settlements, and the endorsement of all the Black mayors not just here in the United States of America, but throughout the world,” Dr. Ken Harris, president and CEO of the National Business League, said during the conference’s opening ceremony on Aug. 2

The organizers noted the importance of a unified alliance to create an economic destiny.

“This is the beginning of the enactment of a unified global economic empowerment by way of entrepreneurs,” said Chuck Debow, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. “It’s been our mission. It’s been something that we theoretically and philosophically had espoused. But what you are a part of is the actuality of it.”

The conference stands on the shoulders of Booker T. Washington, founder of the historic Tuskegee University in Tuskegee, Alabama. Booker T. Washington founded the National Negro Business League 123 years ago, in Boston, Massachusetts. On August 23, 1900, the league held its first national conference.

“It was Booker T. Washington who brought together Black business leaders as well as Black political leaders, Black educators, Black nonprofit organizations, organizations from throughout the nation and the world to organize a national business league,” Mayor Ford said during the opening program.

A pre-conference took place at Tuskegee University on Aug. 23, which included a tour of the university, a news conference and ribbon-cutting ceremony and a reception. The university is the national headquarters of the National Business League.

Conference organizers recognized the presence of representatives from Amazon, Comerica, Prosper Africa and the United States Commission on Civil Rights. Representatives from several African countries were also present, including Senegal, Uganda, Kenya, Barbados, Gambia, the Ivory Coast, Mali and Tanzania, along with a representative from New Delhi, India.

The in-person conference was accompanied by an event app, Whova, where Black business owners and professionals scheduled their own meetups on different subjects, linked with fellow conference attendees and posted on the community discussion board.

Attendees also had the opportunity to directly support Black businesses via a Black business expo that took place on Aug. 26. Products and services ranged from food, clothing and books to personal care products and investment and consulting services.

Panel discussions

Conference panel discussions on Aug. 25 included “Re-Building Black Wallstreet,” “Pan-African Diaspora Global Business,” “Black Women in Business” and “Access to Capital for Black Business.” The National Black Chamber of Commerce held a “30th Anniversary Dinner” in the evening, which included a red-carpet international fashion show.

“Re-Building Black Wallstreet” panelists acknowledged the detrimental effects of integration, namely, how Black-owned and operated businesses began to decline.

When Alberta McCrory was growing up in Hobson City, Alabama, the first established Black city, everything was Black-owned and operated, from the service station to the grocery store. She is now the mayor of Hobson City and is encouraging the pooling of resources and for young Black entrepreneurs to return to their communities.

Dr. Tyrene Wright commented that though Black people “integrated our dollars,” White people didn’t integrate their dollars.

Jay Bailey, the president and CEO of the Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs, noted how GDP (gross domestic product) is lost every year simply due to Black people residing in the parts of town that lack access to resources and opportunity.

From left, Mayor Jimmie Gardner of Pritchard, Alabama; Sherman Copelin, pres- ident of Alexander’s Inc.; Mayor Johnny Ford of Tuskegee, Alabama, and Frank Jackson, the vice president of The World Conference of Mayors pose for a photo at the conference.

Panelists also discussed the importance of the intentionality of spending money, how spending is a form of protest and strategies of resistance. They said White acceptance, assurance and capital are not needed for Black people to create their own economies.

“You spend your money where your people are. You can transform your people, which transforms your community,” Dr. Lakeysha Hallmon, CEO of the Atlanta-based Village Market and Our Village United, said. Her organization has spent $8.3 million in direct sales on Black people.

“Everything started with a single idea of inspiring people to move, to mobilize where you are, to use those smartphones; to make sure your shopping cart was Black, make sure your dentist, your doctor is Black, make sure the guy that’s working on your roof is Black,” she said.

Dr. Tyrene Wright of City University of New York (CUNY) commented that “Whatever we consume, we should produce.”

Black women in business spoke to a majority-women audience on the importance of mentorship, finding a tribe, having partnerships and collaborations and social media and influencer marketing. They also answered questions from the audience.

The “Access to Capital for Black Business” panel covered key barriers such as financial education and the willingness of financial institutions to share the rules of the game and to discuss underwriting.

“Your idea upon which you create your business will become your value,” Joe Cecala, founder and CEO of Dream Exchange, said. “A lot of great ideas can start in a garage,” he added.

Panelists mentioned the importance of finding an accountant, a financial adviser and a lawyer and staying in constant communication with them. They also talked about the importance of education and sacrifice for a successful business.

“The secret is education. The secret is sacrifice. The secret is being on a path with goals and objectives and executing the goals and objectives to achieve success,” Frederick L. Daniels Jr., of the Black-owned Citizens Trust Bank, said.

Workshops

The next day’s agenda consisted of Black business workshops. Topics included trusting yourself, the transformative power of wellness, institutions of change, the athletic mindset in business, the U.S. Census Bureau, intellectual property ownership, the international trade association, mastering content creation, legal advice for start-ups, trade-marking, doing business internationally and globally, business plans and models, business planning and development, mental health of business, mastering public relations, getting your business legit, obtaining federal contracts and grants, where to start when owning a business and emerging markets and industries.

Tiffiney Ward from Atlanta attended the conference to see what other people in the business world were doing and to learn from their mistakes and successes. She was interested in attending the session on business plans and models, to help her company, Wordflux Solutions.

“Everyone has a business plan, but a business plan is always being tweaked so that you have a stronger business plan,” she said to The Final Call. “I’m hoping to glean some new ideas and new tools that I can use to make a business plan stronger.”

During a workshop on making your business legitimate, Racheal Allen, the CEO of Operations School, testified on how she left her job and started running a successful business within the span of a year. She outlined five steps people should take to have a legitimate business: getting legal, getting branded, getting operational, getting profitable and getting noticed.

Getting legal includes having an EIN, articles of organization and an annual statement, an operating agreement, licensing and permits, insurances, service, contractor and non-disclosure agreements, commercial savings, tax and payroll accounts, tradelines and a paydex score.

Getting branded includes having a domain name, branded email, evoice phone number, lifestyle and headshot photos, a brand archetype, a style guide, a logo and a website.

Ms. Allen talked through five needed systems to get operational: lead conversion such as subscription websites, project management such as Monday or Asana, operations such as Google Workspace, customer service and financials. She concluded that the main system needed is customer relationship management.

To get profitable, she voiced the importance of developing your customer avatar, creating a value spectrum, utilizing multiple payment systems, knowing your numbers and becoming oversubscribed.

To get noticed, she advised attendees to tell their stories, to create something newsworthy, to write their own press releases, to leverage digital marketing and to go where their customers are.

In another workshop, Diane Palmer, founder and managing director of B3 Elevation, shared five things every Black-owned business needs to succeed: a finance team, a legal team, digital presence, certification and elevation of the mind.

A concurrent session of workshops was held via a “Pan-African Diaspora Black Business Summit,” presented by Prosper Africa. Those workshops included fostering trust and collaboration between the African diaspora and Africa, defining and exploring the African diaspora and its role, Africa’s place in the global economy and supporting African self-reliance and diasporan independence.

A film titled, “Hapi,” was shown, presenting a snapshot of economic history and the flow of money and information over time.

The day concluded with the “Booker T. Washington Black-Tie Awards Gala,” which included a keynote speech from civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump.

Dr. Royelle Comer from Montgomery, Alabama, attended the conference to learn more about access to capital. “You want to be around people that are like-minded. You want to understand what’s going on in the business world and how we can make our business grow and flourish,” he said to The Final Call.

“Build relationships, take that back to our companies and grow them, and hopefully become part of this network as these conferences happen over the years.”

Forrest Carter, the national director for the National Black Supplier Development Program of the National Business League, listed closing the wealth gap as one of the objectives of the conference.

“This many coming together of Black excellence from across the country, it’s important to be able to scale. The same agenda, same objective, but it is only when we come together collectively en masse that we’re able to accumulate the resources and the gravitas that could bring our objectives into fruition,” he said to The Final Call.

From The Final Call Newspaper

A Soldier, Scholar, and Friend laid to rest

By Tariqah Shakir-Muhammad, Staff Writer
- August 8, 2023





A final salute was made to Brother Minister Jabril Muhammad in a sentimental and beautiful interment ceremony on August 2 at the Phoenix Memorial Park and Mortuary in Phoenix, Arizona.

The “exemplar in the classroom of God” and longtime companion, aide and supreme witness to the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan departed this life on July 16. The Janazah (Islamic prayer service) for Minister Jabril Muhammad was held on July 30 at Mosque Maryam in Chicago (See The Final Call, Vol. 42 No. 43 for the special tribute to Minister Jabril Muhammad and visit media.noi.org for a replay of the janazah service).

In Phoenix, Minister Farrakhan led the burial service sharing poignant and reflective sentiments and fitting tribute to his dear brother and friend.

 

“Sister Bernique Cushmeer, the mother of these children, shall always be remembered with honor and a deep and abiding respect,” said Minister Farrakhan speaking about the family of Minister Jabril Muhammad. He is survived by his wife, Sister Dr. Patina Muhammad. Minister Jabril’s legacy is carried on by his loving and devoted family, including his children from his first marriage with Sister Bernique Cushmeer: Sister Naeemah, Sister Ati Hamid, Sister Bari, Brother Elijah, and Brother Barnar.

“I shall always be grateful to Allah (God) for this man in this casket or coffin,” Minister Farrakhan continued during the August 2 service. “For what he did for me had caused me to awaken to the nature of God that would build up in me, made by the same God that made our father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. He made me to be the helper of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. And Jabril Muhammad gets the credit eternally!” he said.





Minister Farrakhan, who is an expert violinist and released a musical project, “Let’s Change The World,” then described the importance of an aspect of music unique to composers when discussing Brother Minister Jabril. On his album, there is a song that Minister Farrakhan’s violin instructor dedicated to a close friend.

The Minister, to mark the occasion of laying Brother Minister Jabril to rest, dedicated the song to his close friend.

“Every one of the great composers made a largo, a piece that is solemn, a piece that makes one think deeply on whatever you’re thinking on. Mozart had a largo, Handel had a largo, and Beethoven had a largo, and now we have a largo for our brother, Jabril,” the Minister closed.

The closing prayer was performed by Student National Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad, resident imam at Mosque Maryam in Chicago.

Participants who were present as well as those watching the livestream via social media were able to follow the service. Muslims carefully covered the coffin in silence while others reflected on the life and legacy of Jabril Muhammad as the melodic and beautiful largo played in the background.

A repast was held after the burial service at Muhammad Mosque No. 32 in Phoenix. Please see page 20 to read the message delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Final Call staff contributed to this report.

From The Final Call Newspaper

An Angel Among Men
By Michael Z. Muhammad, Contributing Writer
- August 1, 2023





Download Special 8-Page Spread: Minister Jabril Muhammad

“O soul that art at rest, Return to thy Lord, well-pleased, well-pleasing, So enter among My servants, And enter My Garden!”—Holy Qur’an, Surah 89 Verses 27-30

CHICAGO—Mosque Maryam at The National Center of the Nation of Islam was full to capacity as family members, friends, and Believers from around the world gathered to pay tribute to a man who was and is a pillar of Islam as taught by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and exemplified by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Brother Minister Jabril Muhammad, known affectionately and lovingly as “Brother Jabril,” was honored during a janazah (Islamic funeral service) on July 30. The program was streamed live around the world. Minister Jabril Muhammad was a longtime companion, aide and supreme witness to the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.




His casket was ceremoniously brought into Mosque Maryam accompanied by Nation of Islam Honor Guard dressed in striking blue uniforms. At the front of the sanctuary, they lifted the casket above their shoulders before carefully putting it in place.




Bro Jabril Muhammad Janaaza 7-30-23 (Photos Abdul K Muhammad)

As the believers in the audience stood, raised their arms and saluted, the air was filled with the heartfelt chorus of “Allah U Akbar!” (God is the Greatest).

“We are gathered here today for a very special tribute in honor of one of the great helpers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, Minister Jabril Muhammad,” said Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad, National Assistant to Minister Farrakhan. “We mourn the loss of a father, a grandfather, a husband, an uncle, a brother, a soldier in the cause of Allah (God). We lift his lovely wife, his children, his family in our prayers and thoughts.”




Bro Jabril Muhammad Janaaza 7-30-23 (Photos Abdul K Muhammad)

Student Minister Ishmael explained, “Today we will be introduced to this special man, this beautiful human being, Jabril,” and that “we will learn something of his life through the obituary.” But, we will learn his divinity and the special divine role he played in the liberation struggle of Black and oppressed people as well as his priceless, invaluable contribution to the Nation of Islam, he continued.

“And that role that he played will be introduced to us by none other than the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. In my humble opinion and I’m sure it’s shared by many: Brother Jabril was the greatest witness of the Messiah, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Jesus—hands down! He was the greatest witness of his brother, his Minister, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. We thank Allah for Brother Jabril Muhammad.”

The service was a testament to this man’s incredible achievement as the central and key figure of assisting Minister Farrakhan in resurrecting the Nation of Islam after the departure of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1975.





The service detailed Minister Jabril’s life history through a beautifully crafted program. The reading began with Brother Cedric Muhammad, who took those in attendance back to Minister Jabril’s early years. Born as Bernard Edward Moore in the Bronx, New York, on June 28, 1936, his upbringing was profoundly influenced by his mother, Ruby Anna Mae Parker-Moore, and his father, Bernard Moore, Sr. Growing up, his mother nurtured his public speaking skills. She instilled in him the importance of education and diligent study.

Minister Jabril developed a deep passion for research and the arts as a young man. In 1953, he first heard about the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and attended a mosque meeting at Temple No. 7 (as they were called at that time).

The following year, he had a transformative six-hour conversation with Minister Malcolm X, where he made a powerful commitment regarding what Malcolm told him of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad: “If this man is who you say he is, I will help him,” read Brother Cedric.

Brother Cedic concluded by noting that in June 1954, Minister Jabril had a transformative experience when he read J.A. Rodgers’ book, “From Superman to Man.” This book reminded him of a previous conversation with Minister Malcolm X, sparking his interest even more. He soon started attending Temple No. 7 in Harlem, and after his fourth visit, he officially joined.





A year later, he met and instantly connected with Brother Louis X (the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.) This friendship would prove to be one of the most significant and enduring bonds in both men’s lives, Brother Cedric read.

Additional historical highlights of his life stated that in 1965 Brother Jabril was appointed minister in Phoenix, Arizona, where he had the distinct honor of living with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Minister Jabril was blessed to receive direct teaching and training from his teacher.

Student Minister Ishmael noted that in 1966 Minister Jabril corresponded with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who confirmed his thoughts about his departure on the heels of a death plot that would not succeed.

In 1972, Minister Jabril accurately predicted the day, month, and year of the Messenger’s departure. Three years later, on February 25, 1975, the world received the news of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s passing. This event plunged the Nation of Islam into a period of darkness and led to the dismantling of the works of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.





Sister Dr. Patina Muhammad, the wife of Minister Jabril, highlighted her husband’s role as an “extraordinary helper to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.” During a meeting in Hollywood, California, in September 1977, Minister Jabril had the opportunity to present his book to Minister Farrakhan, who was on the verge of returning to show business. He felt the unwavering love the Minister still had for Allah in Person, The Great Mahdi Master Fard Muhammad, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Black people.

Minister Farrakhan completed reading the book in just three days and assured Minister Jabril that his “eye operation” had been successful, Sister Dr. Patina read.

In the same year, Minister Jabril revealed that he was able to lift Mother Tynnetta Muhammad, the wife of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, as well. The trio’s bond was unbreakable, and Mother Tynnetta became like a sister to Minister Jabril. Together, the three of them worked tirelessly to rebuild the Nation of Islam.

Minister Farrakhan bestowed the name Jabril Muhammad upon Brother Bernard Cushmeer in honor of the angel Jibril, who revealed the Holy Qur’an from Allah to Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him). Minister Jabril approached Minister Farrakhan with profound spiritual insight, urging him to “READ.” Minister Farrakhan acknowledged that Brother Jabril knew him better than anyone else due to his deep understanding of scripture.





Sister Iman “Latonja” Ali worked with Brother Minister Jabril read portions that further shared facts about his life. She highlighted his admiration for author J.A. Rodgers and his influential book which inspired his writing endeavors.

His strong determination to accurately portray the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan led him to produce remarkable works, showcasing his scholarly expertise and unwavering support for these two divine servants of Allah.

She stated Minister Jabril demonstrated an unwavering dedication to the written word as evidenced in his numerous books, such as “This is the One: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad We Need Not Look for Another,” “A Special Spokesman,” “A Written Testimony,” and “Is It Possible the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is Still Alive???” His impactful insights were also featured in his weekly column, “Farrakhan the Traveler,” in The Final Call newspaper.

Minister Farrakhan then mounted the rostrum and shared a touching tribute. The Minister expressed his admiration and gratitude, saying the name of his brother and trusted companion should be celebrated and shared with the world.

 




He described Brother Minister Jabril as a mentor and teacher who helped him regain his true self. The Minister highlighted the commendable assignment undertaken by Minister Jabril, which he successfully fulfilled.

“Our actions align with the Teachings found in the scriptures, spanning from Genesis to Revelation,” the Minister stated. Minister Jabril’s guidance has prepared me “to be a victor over Satan.”

Minister Farrakhan highlighted the recurring nature of history. He cited the example of Prophet Muhammad, who was initially unable to read but later received a book upon the command of the Angel Jibril. Similarly, Master Fard Muhammad bestowed the Holy Quran in Arabic to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who could not read it at first. However, a profound understanding of the Qur’an emerged through Elijah Muhammad, leading to the discovery of an entirely new realm of knowledge.

Lastly, he noted the story of Peter, who denied Jesus upon his death. Addressing the audience, he inquired, “What is my assignment?” Answering, he pointed to the Bible’s book of Luke, Chapter 22, where Jesus says in part, “But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.”

“I came back and got you,” Minister Farrakhan said as the audience stood to their feet in applause. Please see the special insert in The Final Call to read the Minister’s message.

The service ended with the janazah prayer led by Student Imam Sultan Rahman Muhammad and Student Minister Ishmael Muhammad. Following the customs of the Nation of Islam as taught by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, mints were handed out to honor the sweet and meaningful life of Minister Jabril Muhammad. A repast was held next door at Muhammad University of Islam where guests fellowshipped and also greeted family members of Brother Minister Jabril.

Brother Minister Jabril Muhammad married his wife, Sister Dr. Patina Muhammad in 2011 and she remained a trusted and faithful companion. Brother Minister Jabril was preceded in death by his second wife, Sister Nafessah Muhammad.

His legacy is carried on by his loving and devoted family, including his children from his first marriage with Sister Bernique Cushmeer: Sister Naeemah, Sister Ati Hamid, Sister Bari, Brother Elijah, and Brother Barnar.

And his stepchildren with his wife Sister Dr. Patina, Sister Vanteresa Underwood-Muhammad, Brother Isaiah Underwood-Muhammad, and their children Kalaiah, Isaiah, Kai Jr., and TahRyah Prince Lee. Brother Jabril’s legacy also includes his seven cherished grandchildren: Gabrielle, Kaia, Joaquin, Noah, Ehren, Hasan, Hanif, and Emir Nasr Karriem. To view this special service in its entirety, visit media.noi.org.