From The Final Call Newspaper

Black youth in peril: Another case of no justice in America

By William P. Muhammad
- April 25, 2023





Family, friends, community leaders, and a large cross-section of residents expressed deep disappointment with city government after a grand jury failed to return an indictment April 17, against any of the eight Akron police officers, who shot down unarmed Jayland Walker, 25, in a hail of gunfire after the young, Black man exited and ran away from his vehicle during a car chase June 27 last year.

According to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), police fired a total of 94 rounds, including a combined 70 shots from four of the officers, striking Mr. Walker a total of 46 times both before and after his body fell to the ground.

Holding a memorial at the site where police gunfire killed him, local leaders, activists, and residents expressed dismay over the fact that so many shots were fired into an unarmed person, who was purportedly running in fear for his life. According to an official narrative by the Ohio attorney general’s office, BCI Special Agent (SA) Cory Momchilov reviewed and compared Firearm Laboratory results

“with statements, photographs and other evidence” concluding that Mr. Walker initiated the incident by allegedly firing one bullet from his car while being chased. The report also noted that a handgun was found in Walker’s vehicle after police killed him.

“The fired cartridge case that was located on the Route 8 south entrance ramp, near where it was reported that Jayland Walker had fired a shot, returned to the firearm that was located in Walker’s vehicle,” according to the BCI Investigative Report summary. “An additional fired cartridge case was located in Walker’s vehicle. That fired cartridge case also returned to the firearm that was located in Walker’s vehicle,” the report summary continued.

March to Highland Square

But community leaders, activists, and family members have more questions than answers and contend that the excessive use of firepower against one person running away from them is unwarranted and that continuing to shoot into a fallen body demonstrates not an intent to apprehend, but a callous intent to kill without mercy.

Beyond devastated

Stating that he doesn’t see how anyone could even ask how the family is handling news of the grand jury decision, and its refusal to indict any of the officers involved, Pastor Robert DeJournett of St. Ashworth Temple Church of God in Christ, who is also a cousin of Jayland Walker and a spokesman for the family, told The Final Call that none of Jayland’s family members are taking the news well.

“The family is beyond devastated, just totally and profoundly sad, hurt, angry, not really understanding why there were no indictments, and that the presentation of what we saw from the attorney general’s office, we don’t feel that it was a fair presentation because it seems like they were presenting it to justify the actions of the police,” pastor DeJournett said.

“They tried to deflect on Jayland’s character, who he was, his state of mind. We feel it was an intentional effort to deflect because none of these things have anything to do with the 90 shots and the 46 hits to that young man’s body. There’s no justification to that, and if that’s justice, our system definitely needs a 180 (degree) makeover,” he said.

“We need to see the transcripts of everything, even the instructions that they gave to the grand jury because we don’t know what they were charged or overcharged with, and if what we saw is all they saw, then what is justice?” Pastor DeJournett asked. “The systems that are in place are layered in place with policies and procedures, (but) are those policies and procedures, are they made to protect those trying to protect the system, and what does the training look like for those officers?”

 

Danielle Taylor of Akron, Ohio, chants at the start of a protest march Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Akron. Protests continue after a grand jury decision Monday not to charge eight Akron police officers in the shooting death of Walker last summer. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Akron NAACP President Judi Hill agreed that Akron has had a long history of problems between police and the Black community and told The Final Call that many efforts toward reform have been sandbagged by a local government beholden to interests indifferent not only to the plight of Akron’s communities of color but also to Black people specifically.

“It’s unfortunate that in the City of Akron the relationship between police and the African American community, it’s obviously broken, tainted, and I don’t know anyone in their right mind who thought that officers shooting over 90 bullets into a young man’s body was OK. And so we were trying to allow the process to occur, we did that to the best of our ability,” Ms. Hill explained.

Protesters march and block traffic Monday, April 17, 2023, on Vernon Odom Blvd. after a grand jury decision not to charge eight Akron, Ohio police officers in the death of Jayland Walker last summer. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

“What we saw and heard from the grand jury was not just about what they presented in evidence, but they had the nerve to talk about their assumptions about Jayland Walker’s mental state. I find that absolutely ridiculous. His mental state? First of all, (they) are not psychologists, and (they) don’t even know what the hell (they’re) talking about,” she insisted.

“Second of all, they were supposed to look at the facts of the police officers and what they did to Jayland Walker’s body,” the NAACP president said. “If you get a chance to watch that press conference from the attorney general’s office, you will hear something totally different. It’s one of the saddest things. So right now, relationships are fractured, people are angry, they’re frustrated, they’re hurt, our expectation was at least someone would be indicted. Maybe not all eight, but some of them,” she said.

“I can tell you the police department will have to make the changes necessary in order for us to have civility in our city. They’re going to have to make some decisions.” Ms. Hill added. “We recognize that the city has a history, and we have to address it. What would be really good is if they were under a consent decree by the federal government, we’re going to push it and keep talking about it,” she said. “When we talk about a consent decree, they get nervous.”

The purpose and intention of a federal consent decree is to promote police integrity within the departments and prevent conduct that deprives individuals of their rights, privileges or U.S. Constitutional rights.

Other community leaders agree that fractures exist between local police and their interactions with Akron’s Black community and that much work is required to gain the people’s trust and confidence. Pastor Gregory Harrison, of Akron’s Antioch Baptist Church, who is also a retired police officer with 30 years on the force, told The Final Call that there is much more to the story of community and police relations than the public understands. He read a prepared statement to The Final Call for the City of Akron and for the rest of the country to consider:

“I believe that the issues facing Akron right now go deeper than this decision concerning the officers—to charge or not charge the officers. Historically, Akron has had some long, systemic issues of race, poverty, and education to name a few. Akron has not come to the table honestly. Over the last 25 years, they have chosen to handpick pastors who are willing to speak the agenda of a status quo

(the existing state of affairs, especially regarding social or political issues) as opposed to listening to new voices who have been crying for change,” pastor Harrison’s statement noted. “Moving forward, if we are to move forward as a community, we must stop handpicking passive religious leaders who are speaking to maintain a status quo and sit down at the table with people who have the heart of the community and the best interests of all people.”

Love and Justice Coalition Press conference at House of the Lord

We seek truth and justice

The Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, said in His monumental 1965 book, “Message to the Blackman in America,” that Black people have been dishonored, disregarded, and disrespected as so-called citizens of America and that true justice stands afar off for those desiring it.

“What glory and honor does a so-called Negro get under the Stars and Stripes? No honor, no glory—only hell,” Messenger Muhammad wrote. “We have proof of this by their so-called courts of justice. There is no justice for you—and this America knows. She would like to hurt every one of you and make you like it,” he said on page 209. “It pleases her to do you evil.”

Student Minister Stephen Muhammad of the Nation of Islam’s Akron Study Group, under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, told The Final Call that the “No Bill” decision by the grand jury to not indict any of the eight officers who gunned down Jayland Walker, has left the community on edge and in a state of deep sorrow with additional protests starting shortly after the announcement.

Preparing to March

“There are two messages going out right now, the seasoned established clergy are exhorting young people to remain non-violent and don’t burn up property and don’t become destructive, while the grassroots groups have a very different feeling because when you’re hurting and you’re angry, that’s going to come out, so they’re saying that if there is no justice, then there is of course no peace,” Student Minister Muhammad said.

“People are still getting a sense of what all this means, so what we’re doing is we’re trying to facilitate community conversations over the next week at five different locations (where) people can come out—some churches, some community centers—where they can come out and continue to process this grief so we can eventually have a more constructive discussion on what is next for our community,” he said.

“The people continue to say that that young man did not deserve to be shot like that.”

From The Final Call Newspaper

Black women, maternal health and exploring childbirth alternatives
By Tariqah Shakir-Muhammad, Staff Writer
- April 18, 2023




April Valentine thought she was going to deliver her firstborn like any other mother at Centinela Hospital in Inglewood, Calif. However, in just 24 hours she died before meeting her baby girl.

The 31-year-old mother’s family said that hospital staff ignored her complaints of pain and swelling and denied her doula being present.

Mykesha Mack is Ms. Valentine’s family’s spokesperson. She told The Final Call that the family is currently cooperating with an investigation into the mother’s death. “They’re pretty much keeping their heads up,” she said. “There is an investigation going on with the doctor, the nurses and the hospital.”

After multiple attempts to reach Centinela Hospital for comment, The Final Call did not receive a response.



According to its website, in 2017 Centinela Hospital was rated as an “award-winning facility for labor and delivery excellence” by Healthgrades, an online resource for information and ratings about physicians and hospitals. Ms. Valentine went into the hospital Jan. 9, she died on Jan. 10.

This tragedy is unfortunately not new for Black mothers. According to a 2022 Pew Research study, 63 percent of Black women say they’ve experienced at least one of seven negative healthcare experiences, the most common experience being that they were not taken seriously. The other six experiences were: having to speak up to get proper care, being rushed by their health care provider, a feeling of being treated with less respect than other patients, a feeling that they received lower-quality care than other patients, that they were looked down on due to weight, and that their women’s health concerns were not taken seriously.

As a result, many pregnant Black women are considering their options elsewhere.

Alternative solutions

The Final Call asked Black women to share their thoughts via social media on maternal health experiences and steps that should be taken to protect pregnant Black women. Lea Caldwell, a mother and grandmother, responded stating, “We definitely need to go back to how we used to give birth. … Our outcomes were so much better.”

Nichole Lucier, also a mother, wrote, “I will take my chances at home with people I trust.”

Home births, midwives, and doulas have increased in popularity in just over the last few years and it is stories like Ms. Valentine’s that are a primary cause of why more Black women are choosing alternatives to hospitals for childbirth services.

Ms. Lucier continued to say, “… Unfortunately, this world’s medical system seems to be primarily focused on cost-efficient, time-efficient, emotionless procedures. I honestly do believe at times there is a place for that. I don’t believe that time and place is during a mother’s birth.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, the rate of maternal death for women aged 15 to 44 in the U.S. has only gotten worse, rising from a rate of nearly 29 maternal deaths per 100,000 births in 2019 to 45.6 in 2021.

Receptionist Mattie Nichols, right, and Dr. Felecia Brown, a midwife at Sisters in Birth, a Jackson, Miss., clinic that serves pregnant women, review the morning’s appointments on Dec. 17, 2021. The facility utilizes an integrative and holistic approach to women’s healthcare by providing comprehensive services including primary care, midwifery care, home healthcare, childbirth education as well as doula support. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Black women make up most of those deaths at 69.9 percent compared to their White counterparts at 26.65 percent.

Octavia X considers herself a domestic engineer and is a mother of three. She preferred having a midwife to relying solely on hospital staff.

“With my first two children, I had OBGYNs (obstetrics gynecology or gynecologist). My wants and needs were never really a priority of theirs. It was more so what was more convenient for them and less of a liability. With my last child, I had a midwife and she was more of a counselor and (was) genuinely concerned with the mental aspect of pregnancy coupled with usual motherly and wifely duties,” she told The Final Call.

“She helped me tap into blockages I had that I wasn’t aware of which ultimately helped me start laboring.” She told The Final Call that having a birth plan is beneficial because it allows the parents to be in complete control.

Ms. Octavia X also stated that a birth plan is very helpful. These plans are usually written by the pregnant woman that sets out in advance her preferences for labor.

“I believe birth plans are beneficial because the person you chose to be there to advocate for you, can without hesitation speak for you when your focus is elsewhere. It also helps you prepare mentally, seeing it. There’s so many negative opinions about birth and what other people went through and how it didn’t work for them that sometimes if you’re not clear and set on what it is you want for yourself and your baby. Those seeds being planted will germinate and take over what you instinctively know you’re capable of.”

Lakisa Muhammad from Phoenix, Arizona, was a doula for 10 years and is now a midwife. “I absolutely believe that doulas are beneficial for every expecting mother. And the great thing is doulas not only benefit mothers, but they can be a helpful addition to the whole birthing team—fathers, grandmas, midwives, labor and delivery nurses, and obstetricians,” she said.

She emphasized that Black couples should develop birth plans before starting a family.

“A birth plan is essentially a communication tool. This document is meant to convey the wishes of the family in regards to the environment, or vibe if you will, that they envision for the birth. The birth plan outlines the family’s understanding of and consent to common birth practices and interventions. The act of creating a birth plan is powerful in that families now must research and gain knowledge about all of the possible choices they may be faced with before, during, and after the birth.”

Ms. Muhammad is also an executive director at the Phoenix Birth Foundation in Arizona and co-founder and leader at Arizona Birthworkers of Color.

Ms. Muhammad has witnessed many births as a doula (Greek for “a woman who serves”) and midwife and has seen the disadvantages that Black mothers are faced with in the hands of doctors and nurses who did not have their best interests at heart.

According to bellhousedoulas.com, midwives provide medical care during pregnancy, birth, and the immediate postpartum period. Doulas provide the pregnant woman and her family with emotional, informational, and physical support during pregnancy, birth and the immediate postpartum period.

“The system was not created for us to experience safe and healthy births, so we must be prepared and ready,” explained Ms. Muhammad. “We cannot trust that we will be treated fairly or even told the truth in hospital settings. If we must rely on hospitals for birth, the support team must create a protective ring of fire around the mother as she and Allah (God) do the sacred work of bringing forth this new life which is the answer to a prayer. Education and proper support is the key.”

How to Give Birth to a God

Dr. Charles C. Green, whose expertise is in perinatal and pediatric care, told The Final Call, “Essentially, what has happened is that you have to understand the science and financial value of the sick in America. A baby that’s born between 26-28 weeks, the hospital system makes almost one million dollars if that baby survives. In our country, a doctor doesn’t make money when you’re well, they make money when you’re sick. So, it’s not in the interest of the medical system to have a well baby.”

He continued, “Minister Farrakhan has lectures on that, he taught us everything we need to have a healthy baby.” He was referring to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam.

The lectures that Dr. Green referenced was a series titled, “How to Give Birth to a God” which the Minister taught in 1987.

Dr. Green went on to say that as long as a mother has knowledge and understanding of what she is dealing with while pregnant in terms of prenatal care, her outcomes will be better. “If you study the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, you will have a healthy baby,” he said.

Dr. Tamara Muhammad is a certified nurse-midwife and women’s health practitioner. She believes that the best care for a pregnant woman is for her to be in tune with her body.

“Today, as Black women, we want an easy birth, so we also sign up and choose for these things (interventions). To have a regular mom with interventions, the minimum is $20,000.
As a midwife, I am more of an advocate for midwifery—of course! But at the end of the day, the initial health of the mother is what is going to give us the outcome. A lot of times, the (interventions) are not even presented; we sign up for this stuff. We’re two hours into labor and ‘I want an epidural!’ We have babies like White women; it’s their healthcare system. The healthcare system is set up (as a) racist healthcare system.”

Dr. Tamara Muhammad said that in an ideal birth, the mother has complete control. “This is holy ground. That kind of pain—you go through the brink of death to bring forth life—of course Allah (God) is present,” she said. “I don’t think we do enough listening to the mom, we try to tell the mom.”

Alexis X Little is a doula from Chicago. “Having a doula when you’re pregnant and during your labor and delivery is important because you have someone there that you can lean on. During your pregnancy, you can usually reach out to your doula about certain questions—of course, we don’t handle anything medically or clinically but we can at least point you in the right direction so your mind can be a little more at ease as opposed to Googling everything.”

She said that to create a birth plan a mother should ask herself what she wants her birth to be like. “I would say you want to go over your expectations as far as after you have the baby, if you don’t want the baby to be bathed afterward, if you want the baby directly on your chest right afterward, when it comes to vaccines; these are all the things you want to include on your birthing plan so that way when you’re in the transition period, you’re not having to answer major questions and make major decisions while you’re not 100 percent there and focused.”

In addition, Ms. Alexis X believes that pregnancy and the birthing process should be taken more seriously and handled more carefully by the mother, father, and parties involved.

During his lecture series, “How to Give Birth to a God,” Minister Farrakhan stated, “The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us, and the Holy Qur’an bears him witness, that we are supposed to reverence the womb that bore us into this world. To reverence the womb means to hold the womb with deep respect and awe, because the womb is majesty. It is the laboratory where God, Himself, operates. Allah (God) neither begets nor is begotten.”

To get a head start, women can use databases such as Sista Midwife Productions, the Black Women Birthing Center and the Black Mamas Matter Alliance (BMMA) to learn more about maternal health and find a doula and/or midwife near them.

These resources and tools can serve as better alternatives for Black mothers which may help in combating the growing maternal and infant death rate. Black mothers can also be on the lookout for more helpful tools and resources in this year’s Black Maternal Health Week which was observed April 11-17. For more information on Black Maternal Health Week, visit blackmamasmatter.org

From The Final Call Newspaper

Allah’s (God’s) Weapons of Weather South and U.S. slammed by more dangerous storms

By Charlene Muhammad, National Correspondent
- April 11, 2023




U.S. territories still recovering from hundreds of tornadoes braced for more extreme weather in the days to come. According to AccuWeather, there were nearly a dozen tornadoes in the Midwest, April 4, into the 5th, which left at least six dead. Twenty-two tornadoes hit Indiana alone on March 31 and April 1, according to the National Weather Service. Five people died and 11 were injured.

In Bollinger County, Missouri, it looked as if “an angry giant stomped through overnight, crushing homes and twisting trees,” after a tornado touched down, reported The Weather Channel on April 4. That same day, several fresh tornadoes were reported in Iowa and Illinois. In Colona, Ill., about 80 miles southeast of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a tornado ripped the roof from a gas station and uprooted trees, according to the Weather Service.

As of April 4, more severe weather was forecasted for portions of far western Oklahoma, the Texas Panhandle, northeast New Mexico and far southeastern Colorado, as well as parts of Arkansas, Missouri, into southeastern Iowa and west central Illinois, according to the National Weather Service.

It indicated that 81 tornadoes struck 14 states on March 31 and April 1, and more would touch down across the Midwest and Southern states. More specifically, another 50 million people across 19 states—in some of the same areas struck by tornadoes over that weekend—would be swept again with storms of heavy snow, strong winds and blizzard conditions according to the National Weather Service.



“Obviously, we’re looking at, as the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, America being curtailed from all sides. We understand that those who are looking and looking at scripture see it as the Biblical response in what has been foretold as to what was to come,” stated A’ishah Muhammad, Nation of Islam Student National Auditing Coordinator and a member of the Nation of Islam Executive Shura Council.

What is being witnessed is very humbling, because as America gears up for war and weapons of destruction and interference in other parts of the world, Allah (God) and His Exalted and Living Christ and Mahdi (the Honorable Elijah Muhammad) are showing out in America, continued A’ishah Muhammad. She expressed gratitude to the Messiah, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, for his guidance and instructions to prepare for this crucial hour.

 

FILE – A woman walks near an uprooted tree, a flipped vehicle and debris from homes damaged by a tornado on March 27, 2023, in Rolling Fork, Miss. Gov. Tate Reeves declared a state of emergency Tuesday, April 4, in five north Mississippi counties where severe storms killed one person and damaged hundreds of homes over the weekend. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

“In Mecca, now, the floods have hit the Ka’aba; the floods have hit the roads going into Mecca. The floods have pushed trucks and cars up on themselves as the water is raging. It’s like the water is angry, because the floods are coming in succession, one right after another, storm after storm. And it’s not America alone, Asia is getting hit; Japan, India, Pakistan” stated Minister Farrakhan, during his message delivered on “The Ummah Reflects” podcast. It was livestreamed via the Podbean app on Thursday, March 23, 2023, which marked the first day of the Holy Month of Ramadan observance for Muslims in the United States.

Minister Farrakhan continued, “Everywhere on the Earth where you think you were safe yesterday, there is no safety today.Allah is rocking the earth under our foot; where we used to put it down and feel the firmness of the earth, now earthquakes are shaking the Earth!”

‘All of us have to prepare’

A’ishah Muhammad noted that it doesn’t matter where one lives today. Tornadoes are not just occurring in predominantly White communities, but Black communities have been struck as well. And people are seeing softball-sized hail, she stated.

“All of us have to prepare … but the first thing we have to do is get right with Allah (God). That’s it. We want His Divine protection. We want His guidance. We want His arms around us and our loved ones. We have to pull it in and live by the law that we say we believe in,” A’ishah Muhammad added.

The Nation of Islam plans to hold a disaster preparedness seminar soon and cover various aspects to help ensure people aren’t ill-prepared for what is about to come, she continued. Part of the focus will be situational awareness, in consideration of where people would and should go if disaster struck and their homes, community centers and points of reference were all wiped out, she said.

Jalandria Ellis Isola, left, and Jyran Kitchen, relatives of longtime Silver City, Miss., resident Mary Kitchen, carry out salvageable items, Tuesday, March 28, 2023. The home, like many hit by Friday’s tornado in the Mississippi Delta, sustained severe damage. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

“How do you know what to do? What does that do to the mind?” she questioned. “So even though we can tell us to prepare our homes, have the right supplies, how to make a fortress out of our homes, teach our families how to be quiet, if you do all of that and your home is underwater, flattened, then what do you do?”

Plan for the inevitable, she encouraged, such as making arrangements for safe lodging with other friends and families. In the meantime, people are encouraged to store food and medical supplies, and not waste time or spend it frivolously on things that won’t help them in the time when they need it the most, cautioned A’ishah Muhammad.

Shameka Muhammad of Greenville, Mississippi, said no one was prepared for the storm that struck Rolling Fork, and likewise for Little Rock, Arkansas. They did not have food or water, nor did they receive any warning, thus had no time to react, she told The Final Call.

Official reports indicated that some tornado warning devices and sirens did go off. But this was not the case, said Shameka Muhammad and her husband, Nation of Islam Student Minister Basil Muhammad.

“Some of these residents were displaced. Their homes were demolished, crushed, destroyed,” he stated. Some families in Rolling Fork are now staying 11 to 17 in one household, and some, who had holes in their roofs and all of their windows shattered, said they didn’t receive any type of warning, and some communities only have systems that warn once tornadoes touch the ground, he stated.

 


Shameka Muhammad described seeing their cousins sitting outside of their damaged homes looking stunned and shocked by what happened and because they had nowhere to go. “Seeing that was like, ‘Oh, Allah! What can we do? What are we supposed to do at that moment of time when you see something like that?’” she stated.

“When you see death and destruction of that magnitude, and it’s utter destruction in some of these neighborhoods. I mean even the poles that hold the lights and telephone wires, they’re gone! The rooftops, and on some houses the bricks were peeled away from the wooden structure,” added Basil Muhammad. Also, some houses were completely pancaked by the trees tossed from other communities, he said.

“It’s unprecedented! The barks and branches just ripped off of trees. Whole trees lifted out of the ground and thrown across like a spear, a javelin, so when you see that amount of death and destruction and we have the Divine Warning coming from God’s Representative in our midst, the Qur’an tells us that the Believers do not grieve,” he stated, referring to the Islamic book of scripture.

Accountability on all levels

Basil and Shemeka Muhammad recalled seeing a discount dollar store in which six or seven people were crushed in twisted metal. Standing on the barren concrete slab, they saw firsthand the results of how the force of the wind took a steel girdle and twisted it as straw or a wrung-out dish towel.

Unfortunately, according to Basil Muhammad, the area is flooded with non-profit organizations, that appear to be taking advantage of the suffering community. He said he has personally witnessed many of the groups counting heads to log accountability of their services, instead of providing help to residents.

“When they pull up, for instance, at some of our very own family members’ homes, there was one White, young teenager on the back of a truck offering hot plates. There was a younger White girl inside of the same pickup counting the number of people in the yard and recording that. That’s what I witnessed myself,” stated Basil Muhammad.

He said he doesn’t have a problem with accountability, but the concern is using the tragedy as a mechanism to steer funds for their own efforts, he explained. This would be much in alignment with Mississippi’s historical record of Blacks being disenfranchised from everything from financial resources to the ability to get decent food, he said.

He said he and his wife witnessed some of the aid groups helping, but they witnessed more than three-quarters of the people that were there (Rolling Fork) riding around in all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) and pulling trailers. “I don’t know if they’re opportunists! I don’t know if it looks like everybody is helped. But that’s not what we saw. Everyone was not helped,” said Basil Muhammad.

“We watched people digging out their underwear, digging out clothes to put on their back. We watched it happen, them digging it out of the rubble and they were by themselves! And these big diesel trucks and big four-wheel drive vehicles that were pulling these ATVs and had 10 and 15 people on there, they weren’t getting out, trying to help in those areas. They were just driving through, looking around, but I watched them take down head counts,” continued Basil Muhammad.

According to police officials and others they’ve spoken with, the need is manpower, he stated. Water, food and shelter are taken care of but they need help cleaning up and getting back to what they had before, he said. “Our people need their people on the ground with them. People willing to get dirty, get down, and do the back-breaking labor of basically clearing the land again,” he said.

He also recommended that better preparedness is required on the front end, such as revamping emergency response systems, especially tornado warning systems. Also, more congruency is needed on a city and county level with national weather stations that can monitor and locate where this type of atmospheric disturbance is starting to brew, he explained.

It is important to understand the disaster declaration process because when the tornadoes recently hit the South, disasters were declared almost immediately, according to Charles Sharp, chair/CEO of the Black Emergency Managers Association International (BEMA International). “But all disasters are local,” he stated.

The question is are the city, county and state emergency management offices taking care of all of their constituents and all communities, he questioned. Mr. Sharp also rhetorically asked why disasters are declared so swiftly. He then answered that the aim is to get Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding. But who’s getting restitution during that process, he questioned?

Mr. Sharp, a retired U.S. Air Force Emergency Manager, cautioned to not rely solely on FEMA but to press local representation into action. “Why did the water issue from the emergency management standpoint occur in Jackson, Mississippi, for so long and no one knew about it?” argued Mr. Sharp.

“FEMA comes in and provides assistance that the states cannot take care of. If you’re planning correctly for the threats and risks in your community, you know a tornado comes through every year. Why aren’t you planning for it? You know who lives there. Why aren’t you doing more construction so these buildings survive any level type of tornado?”

From The Final Call Newspaper

Distress, dissatisfaction and discontentment among nations

By Brian E. Muhammad, Staff Writer
- April 4, 2023

Tens of thousands Israelis protest against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul plan outside the parliament in Jerusalem, Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP Photo)


“And there shall be signs in the sun and in the moon and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity …” Luke 21:25

The nations are in conflict and confusion; a time of darkness has enveloped the Earth and leaders have been impotent and perplexed about solving world crises. Divine Warning and Guidance have come concerning a time such as this. It is an hour of great upset where nations are stockpiling weapons of war and mass destruction. Angry citizens are on the streets of major capitals engaging in anti-government protests, and peace and stability stand far off, if on the horizon at all.

For nine decades, warnings to the nations about this hour and its requirements were given by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad of the Nation of Islam. They warned a universal change fostered by Allah (God) Himself is underway. An old world of tyranny, oppression, war, and exploitation is going out, and a new world structured on righteousness, freedom, justice, and equality is coming in. In Chapter 13 of His monumental book, “The Fall of America,” the Honorable Elijah Muhammad explained that “evil has spread far and wide.”

“Never since the creation of Adam and Eve have there been such chaotic times as we are witnessing today—with the worst yet to come!” He wrote. “There is no peace among the nations of the earth.”

During a presentation on The Ummah Reflects Podcast opening the Muslim Holy Month of Ramadan on March 23, Minister Farrakhan spoke on world crisis, the prophesied “War of Armageddon,” and The Great Mahdi (Self-Guided One) of the Muslim world.

“This blessed Ramadan, I want to remind us that the War of Armageddon has already started,” the Minister said. “The War of Armageddon is a holy war: It is a war that God Himself is very much a part of; and He is The Commander of the forces of righteousness, and He is The Commander of the army of Allah who now must unite and be ready to take on the unrighteous rule of Satan,” he explained.

“As this war drags on—and we just passed the first year—more and more people are wondering where this is going,” said Madea Benjamin of Code Pink, the anti-war group.

People are growing weary, and some conclude there will be no winning on the battlefield and are questioning why governments keep pouring more weapons into it.

“People are also concerned about the danger of a nuclear war or World War III,” added Ms. Benjamin. “I think as this becomes more unpopular among the American people, there are more people who are speaking out, going to demonstrations (and) putting pressure on their Congress people,” she explained.

A major gathering of anti-war activists and organizations was in the streets of Washington, D.C. and simultaneously in other cities to demand, “No To Endless U.S. Wars!” The March 18 demonstration coincided with the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Dubbed the “National March on Washington: Fund People’s Needs, Not the War Machine!” challenged the U.S. penchant for war and militarization. Organizers condemned the nearly $1 trillion defense budget while healthcare, education, and the social welfare needs of everyday folks go inadequately met.

 


Analysts say the growing dissatisfaction is not surprising as the U.S. spent over $100 billion on Ukraine in a war that is increasingly being seen as a U.S.-NATO proxy war against Russia—the world’s foremost nuclear power.

“Let’s face it, the American people don’t benefit from a war with Russia or China,” Ms. Benjamin told The Final Call. “We benefit from putting our resources into addressing the climate, poverty, education, people’s real needs. But we have to do more to stop those in power, who think that war is the answer,” she said.

But if Russia was not enough, late last year the heavily U.S.-influenced North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) declared China an existential threat to Western power that must be stopped.

The War of Armageddon is gathering all nations and preparing the men of war to fight. Conflicts are popping off from Africa to the Middle East; distant places in the South Pacific, and from Asia to Eastern Europe where war has been raging for over a year between Russia and Ukraine. Peace advocates say if conditions remain, popular anti-war and antigovernment pushback will only grow.

 

Tens of thousands protest against plans by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to overhaul the judicial system in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, March 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Temperatures of hostility are rising in the Asia Pacific region centered on China, North Korea, and an expanding military ambition of Japan. Despite Japan practicing decades of military pacifism, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida won national elections in 2022 with a promise to “substantially” increase defense spending. His ruling Liberal Democratic Party promised to double the military budget to about 10 trillion yen ($68 billion) within five years, reported Reuters.

That extra money will pay for longer-range missiles that can strike distant warships and land targets in China or North Korea. Each of these actors, including America is increasing defense budgets to stockpile more war ware. Although America is declining as a power, it continues to increase its bloated defense budget, now using China as the latest pretext. Defense officials are requesting congress to approve enormous amounts of money to prepare.

 

Nina, 60, shows her destroyed house in the liberated village Ruski Tyshky, Ukraine, Monday, March 27, 2023. After the winter, many residents of the liberated territories of the Kharkiv region return home to rebuild their homes after the fighting between the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko)

“The $842 billion fiscal year 2024 budget request for the Defense Department is driven in large part by strategic competition with China,” Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin, told the Senate Armed Services Committee in a March 28 hearing.

He said the amount is a 3.2 percent increase over 2023 figures and is 13.4 percent higher than 2022. “This is a strategy-driven budget—and one driven by the seriousness of our strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China,” Mr. Austin said, justifying the amounts.

In addition, The Pentagon is also putting the beg on Congress for more than $300 billion for weapons procurement to replenish arms and munitions the Pentagon sent to Ukraine, as well as for research and development in the upcoming 2024 budget, Bloomberg reported.

 

This photo made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, shows a Yars missile launcher of the Russian armed forces being driven from a shelter in an undisclosed location in Russia. The Russian military on Wednesday launched drills of its strategic missile forces, deploying Yars mobile launchers in Siberia in a show of the country’s massive nuclear capability amid the fighting in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Mr. Austin said in the face of China in the Indo-Pacific region the Department of Defense is investing in a “more resilient force posture” that includes expanding the size and complexity of war exercises with allied nations in the region. In short speak—it means more war preparation. Washington’s cantankerous posture toward China is worsening with a reciprocal sentiment from Beijing.

Asia watchers argue that Washington must take ownership of what is quickly deteriorating towards a perilous outcome—which is war.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote the old world must be removed to make way for the new world and there would be no peace until the peace-breakers are forcibly removed by God.

He wrote citing the Bible Book of Isaiah that God, Who is orchestrating the change is “despised and rejected” and “evil is accepted and honored” and “justice stands afar off, and equity cannot come in.”

Mr. Muhammad further wrote: “The Holy Qur’an warns us to fear a day when evil is spread far and wide in the days of God’s presence at the end of the satanic world to bring it to naught. Allah (God) causes the evil world to be upset since they have been the enemies of peace and the haters and destroyers of the righteous who would have brought them peace if they had accepted those worthy (the Prophets).”

There is a universal struggle being waged against the beginning of the new world and according to recorded history the efforts by the old world opposing the change will fail, as did former opponents of Allah (God), said the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

The social and geopolitical upset can be attributed to the fall of White world rule and their response to the change and God’s or Christ’s presence to destroy this evil world. “This false regime should be destroyed by the Christ, the Crusher of the wicked, the Great Mahdi of Islam (Allah ‘God’ in person),” He said.

 


Angry citizens in the streets

Minister Farrakhan has also warned that the powerful are at the crossroads of reaping what they have sown. They sow war, bloodshed, and looting of natural resources and mineral wealth of marginalized nations. They will reap the bitter cup of their own demise and diminution of fruits.

For the warmongers and mischief-makers who expend much, and wax rich on war in foreign lands, while their people suffer from depleted resources at home, they too will pay, he warned.

While resources are always available for war-making, the peace breakers are now experiencing backlash at home from citizen uprisings against massive inflation.

Germany had one of the largest worker walkouts in decades as Europe’s biggest economy reels from inflation. The 24-hour strike of airport and railway workers on March 27 brought the country to its knees. Employees are demanding higher wages to offset the debilitating effects of 9.3 percent inflation. Germany was greatly dependent on Russia for gas prior to the war in Ukraine and was hard hit financially as it scrambled for new energy sources.

The strike is part of a ripple of recent labor strikes in wealthy European countries including France and Britain, where hundreds of thousands of transport, health and education workers are demonstrating.

Sparked by adverse pension policy changes, French workers turned cosmopolitan Paris into a theater for weeks of anti-government protests and violent clashes with authorities. In addition, industrial actions disrupting French refineries have left some petrol stations short of fuel, also hitting liquefied natural gas terminals, power supply and nuclear reactor maintenance.

In the Middle East, a “Satan casting out Satan” scenario is playing out in the Zionist State of Israel pitting Jews against their ultra-rightwing government, aiming to hijack control of its judiciary. Thousands of disgruntled Jews demonstrated on the streets against the power grab. Meanwhile, as Israel implodes, a potential “Third Intifada” like resistance is brewing among Palestinians, suffering the worst onslaught of Israeli occupier violence in two decades. The occupied West Bank is home to about 2.9 million Palestinians and an estimated 475,000 Israelis who live in “state-approved” settlements, illegal under international law.

Minister Farrakhan has explained that such unrest is part of an “intensifying universal cry for justice,” pushing people to rise up against unjust leaders and tyranny. He has stated the function of “The Great Mahdi” is to eradicate tyranny and establish a universal government of peace and echoing the Honorable Elijah Muhammad: it is time for the God of Justice to rule. The Minister has also warned America that what is seen overseas will soon make its way to its shores.

Although the world is spinning in death and destruction, the invitation to balance and choose life is still available, but the window of opportunity is narrow, the Minister noted.

“This is a time for all of us to seek a refuge in Allah, because there is no refuge anywhere!,” cautioned Minister Farrakhan.

From The Final Call Newspaper

‘This is The Final Call to Islam (Submission to The Will of Allah)’ by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan

By The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
- March 28, 2023





[Editor’s note: The following message was delivered by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on “The Ummah Reflects” podcast, livestreamed via the Podbean app on Thursday, March 23, 2023, which marked the first day of the Holy Month of Ramadan observance for Muslims in the United States.]

To each of you who are listening: Ramadan Mubarak. I pray that Allah will make this one of the best experiences in your Islamic life; that this Ramadan will be the best for you and your family in such a trying time as this.

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, The Lord of the worlds! We thank Him so much for His intervention in our affairs in the Person of Master Fard Muhammad, The Great Mahdi, Who is expected by the Muslim world—but we have received Him. He came to us in North America. And the words and the work of Master Fard Muhammad through His servant, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, testifies to His Presence among us.

The War of Armageddon begins with The Presence of God, The Presence of Truth

On February 26th, which is the birth day of our Saviour, I was inspired by Allah with two words that formed the basis of our talk, and they will form the basis of my talk this morning to you. The first word that He gave me was “anti-Semite,”which has been dogging my footsteps ever since we started rebuilding the work of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. The withering heat of the dislike of our strength and our stand caused me to be labeled from the time that Reverend Jesse Jackson [during his 1985 presidential campaign] asked me to open my mouth, that the people may receive whatever Allah was giving me.

 


I have been labeled by members of the Jewish community as a “new Black Hitler,” and an “anti-Semite,” and they have gone throughout the world dogging my footsteps; coming behind me with evil, going in front of me with evil. But here we stand.

This blessed Ramadan, I want to remind us that the War of Armageddon has already started. The “War of Armageddon” is a holy war: It is a war that God Himself is very much a part of; and He is The Commander of the forces of righteousness, and He is The Commander of the army of Allah who now must unite and be ready to take on the unrighteous rule of Satan. The Bible told us that “Satan has deceived the whole world.” So he has used the freedom that God has given him, through rule, to deceive the world through a masterful use of tricks and lies, so the War of Armageddon begins with the Presence of God and the presence of truth.

The Holy Qur’an teaches us: “And mix not up truth with falsehood, nor hide the truth while you know.” Truth is the most precious quality of our lives—and we must avail ourselves of the truth that Almighty God Allah has given to us through The Great Mahdi, that will guide us and aid us to get through this dark hour that we have entered.

The War of Armageddon is gathering all of the nations, and preparing the men of war to fight. And the Bible tells us that they should take their instruments of cultivation and turn them into instruments of war. “Take your pruning hook and turn it into a spear,” take the things that you use to cultivate the earth, and turn it into a weapon of war.

All over this Earth today, every nation is buying weapons of war and destruction, because it is that time. A “holy war” is a terrible war because it is a war to decide who will live on this Earth after this war is over.

Seek refuge in Allah Whose Power is greater than any carnal weapon

The Muslims in the West who have been guided by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who was taught by The Great Mahdi, we do not have any carnal weapon. The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad told us, “Do not use the carnal weapon of this world. He (Master Fard Muhammad) came to protect us, and He brought a Weapon with Himself”—a Great Wheel, that is seen throughout the Earth, now. It has visited all of the installations in America of atomic and nuclear weapons; and some of them It put out of commission, to show America that we have the power to shut down what you have made for destruction. This is a Great Wheel that is like “a city in the sky,” and that Wheel is referred to in the Bible as the “New Jerusalem.”


The “old Jerusalem” is finished as a guide for the human family. Even Mecca has been hit with torrential rain in the desert, something that we have not seen before! So I want to call to attention those of us who have been blessed with life, look at the weather that has turned the Earth upside down. They have to bring new terminology to describe the weather: a “bomb cyclone,” an “atmospheric river”; that over our heads, they see a “river of water” that is now being dumped on the planet. The glaciers are melting! The waters around America are rising; The Pacific is rising, The Atlantic is rising, The Gulf is rising! And soon, those waters will overspread all coastlines of America, and the people of America will be pushed into the center of the country.

Ramadan Mubarak: This is a time for all of us to seek a refuge in Allah, because there is no refuge anywhere! People are digging places out of the Earth, bunkers; trying to dig deep into the Earth to hide from the wrath of God—go down into the earth and hide, and watch Allah meet you there with His destructive power; go up in the cloud and see if you can escape His wrath! The airplanes, now, are meeting terrible turbulence, because the air has become violent. And even though the pilots are well-trained, and they try to find a place of refuge in the sky from the terrible pulses of air that are beating the planes (and they are being beaten up!), only Allah makes it safe for them to go from one city or town to another.

This is a great month of Ramadan, but this is the time when we, who want to live after the War is over, must change and clean up our lives. And nothing will help you clean up your life better than 30 days of The Fast of Ramadan!

In Mecca, now, the floods have hit the Ka’aba; the floods have hit the roads going into Mecca. The floods have pushed trucks and cars up on themselves as the water is raging. It’s like the water is angry, because the floods are coming in succession, one right after another, storm after storm. And it’s not America alone, Asia is getting hit; Japan, India, Pakistan …

Everywhere on the Earth where you think you were safe yesterday, there is no safety today. Allah is rocking the earth under our foot; where we used to put it down and feel the firmness of the earth, now earthquakes are shaking the Earth!

Al-Mahdi: The Only One Who can solve the problems among The Ummah

My beloved brothers and sisters, I don’t want to keep you long, but I want to keep you strong, with God’s help; because no one, no one, is safe in this time from the wrath of God. No one! So the kings and the rulers have to get it together.

Can you imagine Muslims sitting down with the great president of China, who is acting as a peacemaker for Iran, and for Saudi Arabia—a non-believer in God is sitting down with factions of “the belief in Allah,” helping you to solve your problems with each other? That should tell you that if you have lost the way to solve the problems of our disunity, and someone who is not necessarily a believer in God will come and put you together, that means you have lost the path. And that is why Al-Mahdi (“The Guide”) is what you need to solve your problems.

The Great Mahdi is among us. He is with us! When I was blessed to be in Iran, I represented to the Supreme Leader of Iran that The Master of this day of judgement is present in the world. Al-Mahdi is present in the world; He is guiding us inside America, and we are rising as this world is falling.

So beloved, this war is to decide whether we and our progeny remain. The choices that we make today will sentence the line, the lineage that we represent—it will cut us off, and there never will be anything from our line ever coming back up to walk on God’s Earth if we don’t make the change that Ramadan offers us all.

Ramadan is a prescription from God for a sick people and a sick world. We say to the kings and the rulers: Stop a moment and consider what you are planning, what you are thinking, what you are doing, because The War is on you now! You will not duck the consequences of the mistakes that you are making because you are not guided aright. The Guide is here; He is offering us life. He is asking us to submit our life into the hands of The Guide, and your life will be made better and more prosperous and successful as we go through this hour.

 


Do not neglect the path of righteousness; ‘this is the final call to Islam’

I thank you so much for allowing me this privilege to talk with you. The Wheel is above your head. I represent a “trumpet.” The Messenger of God told me to have a trumpet coming out of the corner of the page of the paper called “The Final Call.”

And this is “the final call”: You won’t get another one if you don’t hear the final call. Like when you go and rush to the train station, when they tell you on “track so-and so and so-and-so” a train is about to take the passengers away—and you are late because you did not start on time. So, the final call catches you, when you should have been ready and prepared for the journey! Now this is “the final call,” and it is the final call to Islam.

I am not talking about the “Islam” that you think you know, I am talking about the submission to the Will of God that is being offered by The Great Mahdi through the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and his minister, Louis Farrakhan. Take it or let it alone! This is a Holy War… And none will survive except those that Allah chooses for life.

So, as Moses was talking to Pharaoh, he said: “This day, I set before two signs: one of life, one of death.” Choose life, that you and your seed will live! Or choose death, and you and your line will be cut off, and will never have a foot to walk on God’s Earth living in unrighteousness. This is not a joke. President Biden needs to think! America is $31.5 trillion dollars in debt, and you are arguing with your brother, the Republicans, to raise the debt limit. Because the only thing that can keep up “the front” that America has been keeping up for all these years is to raise the debt limit; so you can press the Federal Reserve to print some more paper so that you can hide in paper what you are being manifested as.

There is no hiding place for none of us today from the wrath of God, so accept life. “Life” is submission to the will of God! Accept life! Change! Satan has got you spinning like a top; you don’t know up from down, right from wrong, east from west. It’s a terrible condition. And our world is like that today. Accept life, that you and your seed may live.

Thank you for listening, and may Allah grant to all of us the light of understanding, that we may choose life for our self and our family, and walk away from death, and walk away from Satan. Satan has no power whatsoever to guide you aright! His power is to deceive; and in the Holy Qur’an, he boasts to Allah that he will “make all of us deviate from the path of God.” And Allah says to Satan, “Whoever follows you, I will certainly fill hell with you all.”

“Hell” is kindled, now: Many more bodies are to fall into the pit of hell if you continue the path that you are on, neglecting the path of God.

Take this Ramadan to heart. It is a prescription for those who want to guard against evil. Take the fast! Make our prayers! Clean up our lives! And offer life to our friends and neighbors, our family, because soon the destruction will get worse and worse, and a hot war will be raging on the Earth—and it will go to nuclear war. Only your obedience to Allah will cause this nuclear conflagration to avoid us.

Thank you for reading these words, and may Allah bless all of us with a peaceful, and safe, productive Ramadan. As-Salaam Alaikum.