Black People: Let’s be ABSENT on Black Friday and boycott Christmas like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted to do. We’re boycotting White corporations from Nov. 25 – Jan. 2. #RedistributeThePAIN
‘Tis NOT the season! We must continue to redistribute the pain. Boycott Black Friday, Cyber Monday and all holiday season shopping at major White corporations this year from November 25th until January 2nd.
Support Black-owned businesses!
MEMPHIS (Source: FinalCall.com) – Prior to the delivery of his message here on the evening of Aug. 20, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was led on a private tour of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel.
The location is well known because it was on the balcony of the motel where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot down by an assassin’s bullet April 4, 1968. The museum opened in 1991 and underwent major renovations in April 2014.
“I thought as I was getting out of the car how many of our Christian brothers and sisters, when they go into the holy land, they want to visit the place where Jesus was born, they want to visit the place where Jesus gave his life for humanity,†said Min. Farrakhan. “As I stand in this place, it is really a sacred place because here is where our brother gave his life for a cause that would make men free of ignorance and hate, and it really is a great privilege to stand in this place, especially on the balcony where he gave his life.†[READ MORE]
Originally published 1.14.15
WASHINGTON (FinalCall.com) – The movie Selma is, and will likely remain, one of the most talked about films of 2015.
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It earned four Golden Globe nominations, for: Best Picture; Best Actor, David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; Best Director, Ava DuVernay; and won Best Original Song, “Glory†by John Legend and Common. And it is certain to be a contender for multiple Academy Awards as well.
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Selma is an exceptionally well crafted depiction of the last successful campaign in the career of the most charismatic and possibly most misunderstood leader of the 20th Century Civil Rights Movement. It takes its greatness from portraying the tension caused by blood in the streets of Alabama in the mid-1960s brought on by violent, White-racist, legal and extra-legal resistance to the legitimate demands for the right to vote by Blacks in the South, and from the political push and pull generated from the teeming grassroots represented by Dr. King, all the way to the desk of President Lyndon B. Johnson.
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The movie tells the story of three months in Selma, Ala., in early 1965 when Dr. King was mobilizing for the fight for voting rights. The bloody, one-sided “beat-downs†of peaceful, unarmed, non-violent protestors by vicious police, some on horseback, some with dogs, with tear gas, with billy clubs and other weapons, provokes a painful reaction to the scenes of the injustice and reminds moviegoers of the public moral outrage in 1965 which became massive public support for the passage of the Voting Rights Act by Congress later that year.
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And while a great deal of “artistic license†is taken with the presentation of, or the exclusion of important Black figures in the voting rights struggle—Fannie Lou Hamer, Stokely Carmichael, Ella Baker, Floyd McKissick, among others—it is President Johnson’s screen role in the infamous Selma marches which has garnered the loudest rebuke.
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Historians and former Johnson administration officials have insisted that the film is flat-out wrong in the way Mr. Johnson is shown, as an opponent of the Selma voting rights marches, when in fact the march was his idea, his former aides insist.
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In the film, one dramatic climax occurs when Dr. King scolds the reluctant and tough-talking president, about the immediate need for federal voting rights legislation, all the while with a portrait of George Washington looking on in the background. [Read more]
Originally published 1.17.11
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 10 years before I was born.
As an elementary, middle and high school student, I learned about him once a year through plays, books, lectures and his ever-quoted “I Have a Dream” speech delivered on August 28, 1963 during the March on Washington. However, like many of my classmates at that time, I did not truly understand Dr. King.
Something happened while I was attending Prairie View A&M University that gave me a deeper understanding of Dr. King, especially the post-“I Have a Dream” Dr. King. I heard someone talking about how Dr. King was more than a dreamer.
I learned more about a wide-awake Dr. King that rallied against the Vietnam War to call on America to take care of its poor at home; a Dr. King that delivered an anti-war speech titled “Breaking the Silence” in 1967; a Dr. King that said, “I’m tired of marching for something that should have been mine at birth”; a Dr. King that was spied on and plotted against by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI COINTELPRO from 1961 to 1968; the Dr. King that was lied on by the government; the Dr. King that met one-on-one with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1966; the Dr. King that many in America did not like.
I was introduced to a different Dr. King than the one my teachers gave to me. This man wanted an end to what he called the “triple evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism.”
This disturbed me, because I wondered why we we’re not taught these things about Dr. King early on in school. Unfortunately, this cycle continues in 2011 with schools force-feeding our young people a watered-down Dr. King by omitting his post-“I Have a Dream” years. Are our children being robbed?
“Celebrating” Dr. King’s birthday has even become a lucrative business for corporations and for those today that so-call “praise” him, but never would have been with him post-“I Have a Dream.”
The Dr. King of 1963 was not the same man in 1968. His life was cut short just as he was evolving in his tough pattern. We all evolve as human beings, but it seems as if we want to only minimize his impact to one speech. This is not to say I don’t think the speech was and is powerful—because I do.
Yes, Dr. King cared about the condition of Black people and called on us to do something for self, get better organized, build economically and grow in political power. Read this and more in his 1967 speech “The Black Power Defined.” I’m sure some will be quick to call this “separatism”, “Black nationalism” or “racism.”
In 1968, Dr. King and the SCLC organized the “Poor People’s Campaign” to address issues of economic justice and take a stand for the poor of all races in America. How much more could you and I do for the poor in our communities, cities, states and country?
To watch the likes of Glenn Beck and others lead a march on Washington in 2010 was one huge slap in the face to the legacy of Dr. King. Especially since Dr. King would be the target of networks like Fox. People like O’Reilly, Hannity, and Limbaugh would certainly call him “anti-American.”
If Dr. King were here today, I believe he would still be beating the drum of the anti-war movement and would not be silent. I believe he would oppose the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I believe he would oppose what is being done to the Palestinian people. Furthermore, I can’t honestly think he would be encouraging our young people to join the military to go and fight unjust wars on foreign shores. What do you think?
Dr. King said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
Dr. King would have condemned the treatment of Hurricane Katrina survivors, he would have protested the Oscar Grant shooting, he would have opposed the bailout given to major corporations, and he would be addressing the hate being spewed in the name of politics and religion. Dr. King would be showing compassion for the people of Haiti.
In addition, he would want us to honor him; not with just parades, floats, songs, dance, plays, speeches, t-shirts, street signs or even a national day off from work. How about we teach more than the “safe version” of Dr. King? How about we fight for the poor? How about we accept responsibility to build our own communities?
It takes more than dreaming.
It takes action by all of us.
Video: “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam”
(You’re welcome to follow Brother Jesse Muhammad onTwitter, “LIKE” hisFacebookpage, or visit his award-winning siteBrother Jesse Blog)
This Week with Jasiri X Episode 26 tells the story of the connection between Afghanistan and war, leading to her intimate yet volatile relationship with the United States. Afghanistan (HerStory) is produced by Kai Roberts and directed by Paradise the Arkitech of X-Clan. Click below to view!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7E_IHZTTCY
1.28.09
Written Jesse Muhammad
On last night (January 27), I received a text message that the Houston Millions More Movement Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is preparing to hold a press conference to denounce an ad that Houston Mayor Bill White placed inside a recent edition of the Black-owned Houston Defender newspaper.
The text message further stated that Mayor White was trying to compare himself to Dr. King and President Obama in the ad.
Since I had not picked up the latest Defender, I did not know how the ad looks but I knew it must have been controversial if a press conference was being called by the MOJ. This morning I got a call from my brother Deric Muhammad, who also asked if I had seen the ad and if not I could see it online.
He sent me to fellow Houston journalist Isiah Carey’s Blog of Fox 26 because Carey has been on top of it. And behold there it was…..a snap shot of the ad with Mayor White in the middle of Dr. King and President Obama.
According to Carey’s Blog, Mr. White’s campaign manager Mustapha Tameez denied that the ad was approved by them. But Sonceria “Sonny” Messiah-Jiles, publisher of The Defender, stands firmly that Mr. White’s campaign did approve the design that was developed by her graphical team.
My sources have told me that a minimum of four people reviews everything that comes out of Mayor White’s office. So who is telling the truth?
This has sparked controversy. Many people are posing these questions as well: What is Mr. White’s motive for the ad? Is this a tactic to secure the Black vote for his Senate run? Is it really a big deal? Money aside, why did The Defender even publish an ad like this? What should the response be from the Black community? Is this a slap in the face of Dr. King and President Obama?
The MOJ Press Conference will be held on Thursday, January 29, 2009 at 2616 South Loop West Suite 205. The press conference starts at 11:00am CST.
Leave a Comment and Let me know what you think.
Originally published 1.19.09
Written by Jesse Muhammad
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 10 years before I was born. However, as an elementary, middle and high school student, I learned about him once a year through plays, books, lectures and his ever-quoted “I Have a Dream†speech.
But like many of my classmates at that time, I did not truly understand Dr. King.
Something happened while I was attending Prairie View A&M University that gave me a deeper understanding of Dr. King, especially the post-“I Have a Dream†Dr. King. The phenomenal thing that happened was that I was introduced to the words of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on the life of Dr. King. On one of his tapes, I heard him talking about how Dr. King was more than a dreamer because “when one is dreaming they are still asleep.â€
Minister Farrakhan talked about a wide-awake Dr. King that rallied against the Vietnam War to call on America to take care of its poor at home; a Dr. King that delivered an anti-war speech titled “Breaking the Silence†in 1967; a Dr. King that said, “I’m tired of marching for something that should have been mine at birthâ€; a Dr. King that was plotted against by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI COINTELPRO from 1961 to 1968; the Dr. King that was lied on by the government; the Dr. King that met one-on-one with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1966; the Dr. King that America did not like.
This upset me because I wondered why we were not taught these things in school. And this cycle continues in 2009 with schools force-feeding our young people a watered-down Dr. King by omitting his post-“I Have a Dream†years.
“Celebrating†Dr. King has even become a lucrative business for corporations and for those today who so-called praise him but never would have been with him post-“I Have a Dream.â€
Yet, if Dr. King were here today, his life would be on the line, not because of his efforts to integrate, but because he still would be considered an unsafe Black leader in the eyes of the government. The outgoing Bush Regime has prosecuted an unjust war in Iraq and if Dr. King was here today, he would be beating the drum of the anti-war movement and would not be silent.
Dr. King would be speaking out against the slaughter of the innocent Palestinians. He would have condemned the killing of Oscar Grant and the corruptness of police departments throughout the country. He also would be speaking out against Black on Black violence.
He would not encourage our young Black men to “be what they could never be†in the military. He would encourage Black men to do for themselves and to stop depending on the government for anything.
Dr. King would have condemned the Katrina response and the slothful rebuilding that is taking place in New Orleans. He would have marched for justice in Jena, Louisiana and would be advocating for the release of death row inmate Troy Davis.
Dr. King would have backed President-Elect Barack Obama and I believe would be sitting on the platform with him on January 20, 2009 at the Inauguration. But at the same time he would still be pressing our people to take responsibility for their community.
I believe he would want us to honor him, not with parades, floats, songs, dance, plays, speeches, and t-shirts, but by embracing and backing those in our midst today that are taking a stand against injustice.
The fight is not over.
Being just 29-years-old, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated 10 years before I was born. However, as an elementary, middle and high school student, I learned about him once a year through plays, books, lectures and his ever-quoted “I Have a Dream†speech. But like many of my classmates at that time, I did not truly understand Dr. King.
Something happened while I was attending Prairie View A&M University that gave me a deeper understanding of Dr. King, especially the post-“I Have a Dream†Dr. King. The phenomenal thing that happened was that I was introduced to the words of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on the life of Dr. King. On one of his tapes, I heard him talking about how Dr. King was more than a dreamer because “when one is dreaming they are still asleep.â€
Minister Farrakhan talked about a wide-awake Dr. King that rallied against the Vietnam War to call on America to take care of its poor at home; a Dr. King that delivered an anti-war speech titled “Breaking the Silence†in 1967; a Dr. King that said, “I’m tired of marching for something that should have been mine at birthâ€; a Dr. King that was plotted against by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI COINTELPRO from 1961 to 1968; the Dr. King that was lied on by the government; the Dr. King that met one-on-one with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1966; the Dr. King that America did not like.
This upset me because I wondered why we were not taught these things in school. And this cycle continues in 2008 with schools force-feeding our young people a watered-down Dr. King by omitting his post-“I Have a Dream†years. “Celebrating†Dr. King has even become a lucrative business for corporations and for those today who so-called praise him but never would have been with him post-“I Have a Dream.â€
Yet, if Dr. King were here today, his life would be on the line, not because of his efforts to integrate, but because he still would be considered an unsafe Black leader in the eyes of the government. The Bush Regime is prosecuting an unjust war in Iraq right now and, if Dr. King was here today, he would be beating the drum of the anti-war movement and would not be silent.
He would not encourage our young Black men to “be what they could never be†in the military. He would encourage Black men to do for themselves and to stop depending on the government for anything.
Dr. King would have condemned the Katrina response and marched for justice in Jena, Louisiana. And he would want us to honor him, not with parades, floats, songs, dance, plays, speeches, and t-shirts, but by embracing and backing those in our midst today that are taking a stand against injustice.