From The Final Call Newspaper

Weather ‘nightmare’ pummels America as winter storm engulfs the country

By Charlene Muhammad, National Correspondent
- December 27, 2022





The natural strength of God’s power over nature is manifesting more and more as the Four Great Judgments of rain, hail, snow and earthquakes sweep across America from coast to coast. Millions of people are still dealing with the aftermath of the latest weather event that has hit the U.S. Frigid temperatures gripped America in a winter storm and bomb cyclone that at presstime left more than 1.5 million people without power, caused thousands of flight cancellations, and caused flooding across the country during the week of December 22-25, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

“The scope of the storm has been nearly unprecedented, stretching from the Great Lakes near Canada to the Rio Grande along the border with Mexico. About 60 percent of the U.S. population faced some sort of winter weather advisory or warning, and temperatures plummeted drastically below normal from east of the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachians, the National Weather Service said,” reported pbs.org.

At least 25 people died in Erie County, New York, as a result of the massive winter storm county officials said Dec. 26, bringing the nationwide death toll to 47, reported CNN. Heavy snow, strong winds, and dangerous wind chills slammed various parts of the country.

“The updated number of deaths in Erie County, which includes the city of Buffalo, comes as parts of western New York remain buried by up to 43 inches of snow, leaving vehicles stuck and power out for thousands over the Christmas holiday, just one month after the region was slammed with a historic snowstorm,” noted CNN.com.

Vehicles sit along U.S. 131 north by 84th Street on Friday, Dec. 23, 2022 in Byron Center, Mich. A blizzard warning is in effect for Kent County and the surrounding region. Winter weather is blanketing the U.S. as a massive storm sent temperatures crashing and created whiteout conditions. (Neil Blake/The Grand Rapids Press via AP)

“This is such a serious time for us as Believers, but it is a serious time for every human being that walks upon the earth that belongs to Allah (God),” said the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, when he opened the Islamic Month of Ramadan on the Ramadan Prayer Line, via telephone on April 2.

“Allah is warning us and telling us that we must do that which is necessary to cast off the burden of sin. Our iniquitous behavior all over the Earth has caused the anger of God but also we are living in the time of the ending of a world of wickedness. This is the time of the Judgment of God. This is the time that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad has pointed out to us as the Days of Allah,” added Minister Farrakhan, referencing his Teacher and Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam.

Forecasters said bone-chilling air behind the storm system would cause temperatures to plummet rapidly, by 40 to 50 degrees in some places, according to an online Yahoo Newsreport.

Buffalonews.com published an article titled, “Storm turns ‘wickedly bad’: 47,000 without power in Buffalo Niagara; winds as high as 79 mph.”

“Because of greed and ignoring that self-interest as the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan points out, in his monumental book, ‘Torchlight for America,’ leadership has ignored the infrastructure and ignored the Divine warnings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, in terms of the Four Judgments of America, therefore, the infrastructure is not prepared for the natural calamities that are taking place. Unfortunately, nor are the people,” stated Student Minister Dr. Haleem Muhammad, Southwest Regional Representative of the Nation of Islam who is also an urban planner.

Winter storm over the U.S. Dec. 22. Photo: MGN Online

“The people cry about death and destruction playing havoc over America, but they never cry about the evil that they are committing, which is the cause of this destruction coming into her borders bringing floods, rain, ice, hail and earthquakes daily and nightly somewhere on the surface of the land of America,” wrote the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in his critically important book, “The Fall of America.”

The arctic blast gelled diesel fuel and stalled semi-trucks on Colorado highways, according toKDVR (FOX 31).At the Travel Center off Interstate 70 in Wheat Ridge, the lot filled up quickly on Dec. 22. Across the state, others ran into a slew of problems. The Colorado Department of Transportation said multiple trucks couldn’t make it up the hill to the Eisenhower Tunnel, forcing them to shut down the interstate on that morning. In Cheyenne and Kiowa counties, Colorado State Patrol said multiple trucks broke down because of diesel gelling, continued KDVR.

Days before the unprecedented, deadly storm struck the country, earthquakes shook California.

Seventeen people were injured in Humboldt County, Calif., when a powerful 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck Dec. 20, also damaging roads and buildings and knocking out power and water to thousands of people, authorities said, according to CNN. At least two people died after the earthquake hit at 2:34 a.m. in Northern California’s Eureka area, continued CNN.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Minister Farrakhan have repeatedly warned that God’s Judgment has entered America for her historical and ongoing wickedness against the Darker people of the planet. God will use the forces of nature to humble America, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught.

“The four (4) Great Judgments that Allah (God) promises to destroy America with are now coming upon her … hail, snow, drought, earthquake. Allah (God) has reserved His treasures of snow and ice to be used against the wicked country America in the day of battle and war. These are some of Allah’s (God’s) weapons, the storms that we see going on,” he warned in “The Fall of America.”

“This is a horrible situation,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz,” said during a news conference. The storm generated comparisons to Buffalo’s famous blizzard of 1977. During the Dec. 26 news conference, Mr. Poloncarz said the current storm’s “ferocity … was worse than the blizzard of ’77,” CNN reported. And in a news conference the day before, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called the current storm the “most devastating storm in Buffalo’s long storied history,” the network noted.

Homeless shelters were overflowing on Dec. 22 amid one of the most treacherous holiday travel seasons the U.S. has seen in decades, with temperatures plummeting 50 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas.

Associated Press reported that frigid air was moving through the central United States to the East, with windchill advisories affecting about 135 million people over the coming days, weather service meteorologist Ashton Robinson Cook said shortly before the U.S. Christmas weekend. Places like Des Moines, Iowa, will feel minus 37 degrees, making it possible to suffer frostbite in less than five minutes.

In South Dakota, five died in recent storms, including a blizzard in late December stated Robert Oliver, Rosebud Sioux Tribe emergency manager, AP continued. Tribal authorities have been working to clear roads to deliver propane and firewood to homes but face a relentless wind that has created drifts over 10 feet in some places, he said.

In Texas, temperatures were expected to quickly plummet on Dec. 22, but state leaders promised there wouldn’t be a repeat of the February 2021 storm that overwhelmed the state’s power grid and was blamed for hundreds of deaths, according to AP.

“Lawmakers passed a $1.7 trillion budget recently with earmarks for pet projects, and of course, funding for the government agencies. But if one will look at the United States budget, you will notice according to the budget where America’s priorities lie, because there is a great increase in the military budget, but not as much an increase in domestic spending, on non-military spending,” stated Student Minister Haleem Muhammad. Whether it’s infrastructure, education, health or other priorities, the military gets the bulk of America’s spending, he elaborated.

The cold weather extended to El Paso, Texas, and across the border into Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, where migrants have been camping outside or filling shelters as they await a decision on whether the U.S. will lift restrictions that have prevented many from seeking asylum, indicated AP.

In Austin, Texas, Christina Muhammad, coordinator for the 10,000 Fearless First Responders, and her team are working with warm weather shelters to assist residents who may be homeless. “If you think about it, right now, you are considered a homeless person, because your home has failed. (Meaning) you may not have that much gas, so now, you are a homeless person outdoors,” explained Ms. Muhammad.

“Your next thing is to know where these warm weather centers are, and these warm weather centers are just temporary, to get people off the street, get you into some warm weather until everything subsides.”

For those who need help, she recommended people locate such centers—many of which are located near downtown areas—via radio. Ms. Muhammad also recommended getting candles and other safe heat sources to stay warm, layer with as many blankets and clothing as possible, and using gas stoves to heat up water, if one is in their home.

Even without water, there are ways to stay warm, she added. “If you’re in a home right now, and you don’t have power, and it’s freezing outside, you get into one room,” said Ms. Muhammad. “If you can’t go anywhere, body heat is super important! Allah (God) has a way of bringing our families together,” she added.

Elsewhere in the U.S., authorities worried about the potential for power failures and warned people to take precautions to protect older and homeless people and livestock, and, if possible, to postpone travel. Some utilities were urging customers to turn down their thermostats to conserve energy, APcontinued.

Further, according to AP: Michigan State Police prepared to deploy additional troopers to help motorists. And along a toll road on Interstate 90 in northern Indiana, crews were braced to clear as much as a foot of snow as meteorologists warned of blizzard conditions there starting the evening of Dec. 23. And Denver, also no stranger to winter storms, was the coldest it has been in 32 years on Dec. 23, when the temperature dropped to minus 24 degrees in the morning at the airport.

The Weather Channel—which has named winter storms for the past 11 years—named the current weather phenomenon, “Elliott,” which according to various sources, is a gender-neutral name of Hebrew origin meaning “the Lord is my God,” and is originally a biblical name derived from “Elijah.”

Can America “flip the deadly switch,” to reverse her current course of destruction?

It could, given the examples of the Prophet Jonah and the leadership of Nineveh, taking off their royal robes and putting on sackcloth and laying in the ashes for repentance, thereby sparing Nineveh’s destruction, explained Student Minister Haleem Muhammad. But the question is also asked, could Babylon have been saved? he stated.

“And the answer is yes. It could have been. But unfortunately, its leadership will not heed the Divine warnings coming to it. So, therefore, Babylon lies as the example of what will happen when one defies and ignores Divine warnings,” he said.

(Final Call Staff contributed to this report.)

From The Final Call Newspaper

Jesus Crushes the Head of Satan The Hope of the First Gospel Is the Real Reason for the Season

By Demetric Muhammad, Guest Columnist
- December 20, 2022

Ricardo Barrett, of Washington, accepts a turkey from church volunteer Rita James, left, during an annual Thanksgiving food giveaway at The Redeemed Christian Church of God New Wine Assembly, Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022, in Washington. "Prices went up and a lot of jobs were lost this year," says Barrett, "times are hard." (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)


“I do believe that if my poor, blind, deaf and dumb people could be taught the true knowledge of the true history of Jesus, they would awaken at once.”

—The Most Hon. Elijah Muhammad July 7, 1957 (Pittsburgh Courier)

The First Gospel

According to Biblical history, the origin of the concept of Messiah and Christ, is found very early within the Bible’s Old Testament verses. It is in the book of Genesis, the 3rd chapter and 15th verse that we read the beginning of the Messianic Hope and Expectation:

“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers;

“He will crush your head, while you strike at his heel.”—Genesis 3:15

This verse is known among scholars as the “proto-Evangelium” or the First Gospel.

According to Walter Kaiser Jr., author of “The Messiah in the Old Testament”:

“Genesis 3:15 has commonly been called the proto-Evangelium (the ‘first gospel’) because it was the original proclamation of the promise of God’s plan for the whole world … it gave our first parents a glimpse … of the person and mission of the one who was going to be the central figure in the unfolding drama of the redemption of the world. The ‘seed/offspring’ mentioned in this verse became the root from which the tree of the OT promise of a Messiah grew.”

I find this fascinating! Think of the popular marketing campaign that has been used by American and European enslavers and colonizers throughout history, who painted Jesus to Black, aboriginal and indigenous peoples around the world. They presented him to us a part of what Dr. Benjamin E. Mays described as the Negro’s “compensatory view of God.”

America and Europe were conquering our land and resources and to compensate for losing the heaven on earth we once owned, they indoctrinated us with belief and hope of a heaven in the sky, where the suffering Jesus would be waiting for us.

Jesus was given to Black people in the image of a “suffering servant”; a savior who “saves through suffering.” So, for such a long time we have been looking at the Messiah as being lowly, meek and mild.” My teacher, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, has exclaimed, we were given “a watered-down milquetoast Jesus.”

More Than A Suffering Servant

Yet this First Gospel, the scholars acknowledge, creates a hope of a Messiah who “saves the people through crushing the head of the serpent.” The Messianic hope and expectation are of a man whom Allah (God) births from the womb of a woman, who is from a people who have suffered under the deception of the serpent. The serpent here is a symbolic reference to Satan. The Holy Qur’an similarly refers to Satan (shaitan) as a “slinking devil.”

Author Jared M. August, in his insightful exegetical work entitled, “The Messianic Hope of Genesis: The Protoevangelium and Patriarchal Promises,” states:

“In light of the promise given in 3:15, they are left with the hope of a coming ‘seed’ who will defeat the serpent and the serpent’s ‘seed’ (that is, the serpent’s followers, ultimately including the serpent’s influence in the world). Since, the serpent may be identified as the evil one, the promise of future victory over the serpent implies the defeat (or elimination) of the serpent’s negative influence from the world. In other words, this victory includes the future destruction of evil.”

It is this kind of information that helps me understand better why the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad stated:

“I do believe that if my poor, blind, deaf and dumb people could be taught the true knowledge of the true history of Jesus, they would awaken at once.”

The whole world has been deceived over the true identity and purpose of Jesus, the Messiah (Christ). But no community has been more deceived than the Black people of America.

 


America: Headquarters of the World Serpent

The purpose of Jesus as the Messiah and Christ is to “crush the head of the Serpent.” This is the real reason for the “season” where there is a celebration for the birth of Jesus. Unfortunately, Christmas has become a commercialized celebration that promotes the conspicuous consumption of material things. It has become a pagan holiday that, while being associated with Jesus, is at the same time far removed from who Jesus was and is and what his purpose is.

The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad identified the rulers of America as fulfilling the scripture’s symbolic description of “that serpent of old called the Devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). A now epic and powerful political cartoon by Eugene Majied was commissioned by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad to graphically depict America as the location where the headquarters of the world serpent exists.

Within the teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, we have learned that the Biblical descriptions of Jesus the Messiah and Christ are largely indicative of a man whose work was not achieved 2,022 years ago. He states:

“Nearly 75 percent is referring to a future Jesus, coming at the end of the White races’ time. …” September 21, 1957 (Pittsburgh Courier)

To bear witness to what the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote, we cite the work of the legendary group of scholars known as the Jesus Seminar, who authored the book “The 5 Gospels: What Did Jesus Really Say?” When they concluded the exhaustive study of the New Testament, it was written in the Los Angeles Times that:

“The provocative Jesus Seminar on Sunday concluded six years of voting on what the Jesus of history most likely said, ruling out about 80 percent of words attributed to him in the Gospels … .”

This exclusion of 80 percent of words and actions attributed to Jesus in the New Testament by the scholars of the Jesus Seminar is close to the 75 percent of the scriptures that the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad said referred to a “future Jesus” who is present now to produce the resurrection of the “mentally dead Negroes” in America.

Nation of Islam Does Work of The Messiah

During the 1960s the infamous J. Edgar Hoover of the FBI discussed the prevention of a Black Messiah from emerging to unify the Black community. Hoover stated as one of his primary goals the following:

“Prevent the rise of a ‘messiah’ who could unify and electrify the militant Black Nationalist movement.”

Hoover’s use of a religious term like the word “Messiah” in his confidential law enforcement memos reflects his overall attitude towards the Black community within America, and I believe it indicates that he understood that the oppression suffered by Black people would soon produce a Messianic liberator. What Hoover stated is a witness bearer to when the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote:

“The white man of America is well informed through his scientists and scholars, who are paid just for studying the problems of prophecy and especially the future destruction of America which he knows is fast coming. … His greatest mental burden and physical strain at the present time is how to prevent the spread of Islam among his ‘X’ servitude slaves in these last days.”

—Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad,

“Doom of America,” the Los Angeles Herald-Dispatch

The work of Jesus the Messiah and Christ began with the coming of Master W. Fard Muhammad and continues in the work of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and today the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. This work under the name Jesus is symbolically presented within the Biblical text as having been done by one singular man.

The modern history of Black people in America proves it is a work conducted by three men, who are of one accord; one mind; one purpose. The Messianic work of Master W. Fard Muhammad, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Min. Louis Farrakhan resembles what Allah (God) included within the Holy Qur’an wherein we read the following:

“And set out to them a parable of the people of the town, when apostles came to it. When We sent to them two, they rejected them both; then We strengthened (them) with a third, so they said: Surely we are sent to you. They said: You are only mortals like ourselves, nor has the Beneficent revealed anything—you only lie. They said: Our Lord knows that we are surely sent to you.”—Holy Qur’an 36:13-16

The most controversial aspect of the overall work of these three men has been and continues to be just as it was described in the “proto-Evangelion” or First Gospel; “to crush the head of the serpent.”

Evidence that the Nation of Islam has been crushing the head of Satan can be observed in the transformative work among the Black community throughout our 92-year existence in America. Writer James Baldwin famously observed in his book, “The Fire Next Time”:

“Elijah Muhammad has been able to do what generations of welfare workers and committees and resolutions and reports and housing projects and playgrounds have failed to do: to heal and redeem drunkards and junkies, to convert people who have come out of prison and to keep them out, to make men chaste and women virtuous, and to invest both the male and the female with a pride and a serenity that hang about them like an unfailing light.”

Professor Michael Eric Dyson notes in the book, “The Farrakhan Factor: African-American Writers on Leadership, Nationhood and Minister Louis Farrakhan”:

“The Nation’s singular focus on helping Black men get their lives together is driven by its ideology of resistance to White supremacy. The Nation has worked diligently to make proud men out of Black prisoners, those in jail or those whose self-image is distorted because they are captives to a worship of the White world.

Long before the decline of Black male life became widely apparent; and long before Black males were vilified and glamorized by both the cultural right and the left, the Nation of Islam preached its own brand of salvation for Black males. And from the very beginning, the core of the Nation’s message has not changed. NOI followers believe that Black men can be saved only by being restored as loving leaders in Black families where they receive and return adoration and respect.”

This transformative work that the Nation of Islam has done among Black people has crushed the satanic idea of “White supremacy and Black inferiority” from the minds of those who have been influenced by the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. For it is these poisonous concepts that Satan, the World Serpent, has used to rule the world. The idea of White supremacy and Black inferiority are deeply embedded in all of this society’s institutions.

And it is our transformative work that has attracted to the Nation of Islam, the most vehement opposition from Jewish leaders and from the U.S. Government.

When you see vehement opposition to the message of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, you should know that it is because he threatens the continued existence of the World Serpent/Satan. And just as the Pharisees and Sadducees and the Scribes hated Jesus within the Bible’s New Testament, in the modern era Minister Farrakhan is just as hated and opposed by the 12 major Jewish leaders of America.

He is not hated because of any sin or wickedness. The Minister is hated because he, through his powerful ministry, is both producing the awakening of the masses of the people and revealing the “man of sin”/Satan. And just as a tree cannot survive once its roots are exposed to the light of the sun, “the world serpent”/ Satan/ “the man of sin” cannot survive once the light of truth is used to reveal his identity and his works to the masses of the people whom he has deceived.

Brother Demetric Muhammad is a Memphis-based author and student minister in the Nation of Islam and member of the Nation of Islam Research Group. Follow him on Twitter @BrotherDemetric. Read more at www.researchminister.com.

From The Final Call Newspaper

Up With Jesus, Down With Santa 2022

By Anisah Muhammad, Contributing Writer
- December 13, 2022





‘This (lack of Black businesses) is why we see a huge issue in our community with poverty, with crime, because although we are making strides towards, we still aren’t all the way there with having the majority of our businesses being owned by us. So when that happens, businesses that aren’t owned by us, they hire outside. And they also don’t put back into the community. ’

–Cassiopeia Uhuru

“Up with Jesus, Down with Santa.” That was the clarion call issued seven years ago by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, during his 2015 “Justice Or Else” national tour and gathering on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. He called on Black and poor people to boycott Christmas and holiday spending, to support Black-owned businesses and to put Jesus at the forefront of their lives.

A recent episode of Elevated Places on Blog Talk Radio, a show founded by Student Minister Dr. Ava Muhammad, brought to the forefront the ongoing movement of economic withdrawal, buying Black and building the Black community. Many on the call reflected on the life and legacy of Dr. Ava Muhammad, the Nation of Islam’s spokesperson who passed earlier this year.



“I cannot help but to reflect on our great sister, Sister Dr. Ava Muhammad, who led the charge on matters like this, matters pertaining to separation, matters pertaining to us building and pooling our resources for independence,” said guest host, researcher and student minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad from Memphis, Tennessee.

The show’s guests, attorney Abdul Arif Muhammad, Student General Counsel for the Nation of Islam, and Asika Muhammad, a banking professional from Memphis, tackled topics such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words on redistributing the pain, the origin of Christmas and the history of Christmas and holiday spending boycotts in the Black community.

“As the merchants are marketing and getting ready to get their pockets fat and take from our community, we want to have the right mindset going into this holiday season, and we don’t want Santa or Satan to be able to benefit from us,” Student Minister Ilia Rashad Muhammad said, reiterating the meaning of “Up With Jesus, Down with Santa.”

“Rather, we want to be able to benefit from the nickels and dimes and dollars and from the talents and resources and skills that we already have in our community,” he added.

Atty. Arif Muhammad and Brother Asika Muhammad referenced a Final Call article by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan titled, “Why We are Calling You to Boycott Christmas.” In the article, Minister Farrakhan described the boycott of Christmas as “an old idea relevant to our present-day demands for justice.”

A young brother shows pride in giving back to the community. Photos: Melanie Brown

In his message, the Minister referenced words from Dr. King’s final speech, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” delivered April 3, 1968, in Memphis.

“God sent us by here, to say to you that you’re not treating his children right. And we’ve come by here to ask you to make the first item on your agenda fair treatment, where God’s children are concerned,” Dr. King said. “Now, if you are not prepared to do that, we do have an agenda that we must follow. And our agenda calls for withdrawing economic support from you,” he added.

“We’re going to do that until the Black life, the cause of justice, is honored and respected,” Minister Farrakhan added.

According to a Nov. 3 press release by the National Retail Federation, 2022 holiday spending is expected to increase six to eight percent over 2021, to between $942.6 billion and $960.4 billion. Last year’s holiday sales grew 13.5 percent over 2020 and totaled $889.3 billion. Adjusting for high inflation rates, other forecasters say holiday sales this year are slightly in the negative.

A report by Adobe Analytics says consumers spent $9.12 billion on Black Friday and $11.3 billion on Cyber Monday. On average, individuals spend between $800 to $1,000 during the holidays, additional reports say.

Cassiopeia Uhuru (right), co-owner and CEO of The Black Mall, with a supporter. 

Photo: Final Call archives

“Now $1,000 to someone making $70,000 a year doesn’t seem like a lot, but $1,000 to someone making $12,000 a year, that’s a whole lot,” Brother Asika Muhammad said on the Dec. 1 episode of Elevated Places.

Atty. Arif Muhammad defined “economic withdrawal” as “instead of going to his (the White man’s) cleaners, open your own. Instead of going to his supermarket, open your own.”

“I heard the Minister say one time, everything that you want comes from the earth. You have the same ability and right to go get it from the earth. But if you keep spending your resources with him, then you continue to uphold him, while the God Himself is lashing him. He wants us to withdraw,” he continued.

The Black Economic Council of Massachusetts has an ongoing campaign titled “25 Days of Black-Owned Shopping.” The organization has been highlighting one Black business a day on its social media platforms. Others promoted Black people buying Black on Black Friday.

In partnership with Google, rapper Ludacris released a song, featuring Flo Milli, on Nov. 17 titled, “Buying All Black,” in a campaign known as “#BlackOwnedFriday.” Lyrics included “when I’m shopping man, I’m buying all Black” and “go and buy some land before you go and cop that four door.” The music video featured multiple Black businesses and business owners based in Atlanta and encouraged listeners to “choose to buy Black on Black-owned every day.”

Cassiopeia Uhuru, co-founder and CEO of TheBlackMall.com, a digital marketing solution, directory and marketplace for Black businesses, based out of Chicago, is doing an ongoing holiday pop-up until February. She partnered with the Greater Chatham Initiative, an organization helping to revitalize several neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side, and the BopBiz Center. The pop-up gives Black vendors the opportunity to have their products in a storefront.

A shopper examines clothing on the rack. Photo: Pexels.com

“The storefront that we’re in that’s doing the pop-up is helping to get the community re-engaged with shopping in their own neighborhood and having nice places to shop in their own neighborhoods where it can feel welcoming and inviting,” Ms. Uhuru said to The Final Call. “And that it’s not just featuring liquor and corner store items. They’re getting nice, beautiful jewelry and clothes and gifts, items that you would love giving to your family or friends.”

For her, buying Black is a 365-day lifestyle. She hopes that the holiday season ignites that lifestyle in others.

“We’re giving them a nice taste of what it looks like to recycle your Black dollars during a time when people do most of their shopping, but we hope that they create relationships with these brands,” she said. “A lot of these brands have things that you just need throughout the seasons, throughout the years. There are skincare brands. There are clothing brands. There are jewelry brands. Things that you purchase, household necessities. There are brands that sell your deodorants and toothpaste and toilet paper, things you have to buy on a weekly or monthly basis.”

A report by Adobe Analytics says consumers spent $9.12 billion on Black Friday and $11.3 billion on Cyber Monday. On average, individuals spend between $800 to $1,000 during the holidays, additional reports say. Photo: Pexel.com

She explained that the way to keep the Black dollar in the Black community is to establish an economic engine: a community filled with sustainable businesses owned by the residents of that community that hires from within the community.

“This is why we see a huge issue in our community with poverty, with crime, because although we are making strides towards, we still aren’t all the way there with having the majority of our businesses being owned by us,” Ms. Uhuru said. “So when that happens, businesses that aren’t owned by us, they hire outside. And they also don’t put back into the community. They don’t have a vested interest. They only have an interest in taking money out,” she continued.

“When things are taken from you, you become poorer. And when we have more poverty, then you automatically have more crime because people still have an instinct to survive,” Ms. Uhuru pointed out.

“If I can’t afford to get the things that I need, I’m going to take the things that I need. So it’s very important for a community to be strong, for the money to stay within it, to recycle inside that community, and that’s how you build it up.”

As far as some of the White corporations with their history of racism, the entrepreneur said, her focus is not on those corporations anymore. “It’s just on us,” she said. “The more we develop us, we don’t have to worry about what other people are doing.”

Callers on the Elevated Places episode stated that Black people need to get back into collaborative farming and business.

“Business—you have to satisfy the needs of the people, food, clothing, and shelter. And the only way you can get food, clothing and shelter is to go through the land. So that’s why agriculture and the development and control of resources are so important,” said Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad, manager of the Nation of Islam’s Muhammad Farms in Georgia. He noted how the economic boycott gives young people a way out without fighting with their blood.

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said in his boycott Christmas article: “Stand up, Black People! Stand up, Brown People! Stand up, Indigenous People! Keep your money, and let’s show the world our unity—and watch them bow.”