by Dr. Ridgely A. Mu’min Muhammad

White farmers are harvesting cotton and peanuts, but hunting season always
seems to be open on Black men in Terrell County Georgia.

Terrell County Georgia has been given the name "Terrible Terrell"
by Black people who live here and by Black people who may just drive through.
This was the county that although it had a 70% Black population in the early
1960’s had only 5 people registered to vote. SNCC came to "Terrible
Terrell" county to start voter registration drives. A picture of Carolyn
Daniels next to bullet holes in her home in Terrell County is placed in the
Civil Rights Museum in Albany, Ga, eighteen miles down the road, reminds us of
the price that Black people had to pay to have the right to vote in this area.

W.E.B. Dubois even mentions this part of Southwest Georgia in his book
"Souls of Black Folk" where he points out that this was ground zero
for slavery in America. There were more slaves per square mile in Dougherty and
Terrell counties than any place in America during the heyday of slavery.

Interestingly, in the late 1960’s the Honorable Elijah Muhammad bought 4500
hundred acres of land in "Terrible Terrell" county. When the Nation of
Islam folded in the 1970’s, that farm was sold off. However, Minister
Farrakhan resurrected the Nation of Islam and through the implementation of the
"Three Year Economic Program" was able to redeem 1600 acres of that
same farm at the end of 1994, now christened "Muhammad Farms".

I was asked in 1995 to be the farm manager for Muhammad Farms in a
"strange" land unlike anything I had known before in North Carolina,
New Hampshire, New York, Alabama and Michigan – a few of the states that I have
had the privilege to live, work and go to school in. A farm which is trying to
grow food without high levels of chemicals and without an arsenal of expensive
equipment must rely heavily on hand labor. Therefore, we hired a lot of men and
women from the local neighborhoods in and arround Terrell County.

Almost every Black man over the age of 16 that I have met or hired in this
county has been in jail at least once and most are on probation. There are
frequent license and insurance checks on isolated country roads where only deer
frequent. All work on county properties, roads, buildings, etc. seems to be done
with prison labor. New prisons have been built in Terrell county and the other
surrounding counties to handle this overflow of shackled humanity.

I also noticed that a lot of the big farms around here are called
"Plantations". I also learned that these "Plantations" have
a certain level of autonomy and are virtually self-sufficient. When you step on
their property, you must abide by "their rules". Many Black men and
their families live and work on these "Plantations" in
"Plantation" owned housing. If they lose their jobs, they must leave
the "Plantation".

Now with this background information let me tell you the story of a young
Black man who lives not too far from Muhammad Farms. Nelson Bogans approached me
with this story: It seems that on September 18, 2000, a local white farmer
pulled him and another Black man over whle driving on a county road in Terrell
County. The white man pulled a gun on them, and accused them of stealing his
hay. There were no bales of hay on the truck, but this white man threatened to
shoot them if they did not take them to the stolen hay or tell him who stole the
hay. According to Mr. Bogans, he made him get out of the truck that he was in
and ride with him. Mr. Bogans took him to another Black man’s house just to
get out of the truck and have witnesses to see the said gun, and tell them to
call the police.

When the police arrive, Mr. Bogans told the deputy sheriff that this white
man pulled a gun on him. Mr. Bogans tried to take out a warrant on this big
white farmer in "Terrible Terrell" county. Although Mr. Bogans has a
statement from eyewitness of the gun incident, 22 days have passed, it is
October 10, 2000 and the Magistrate of "Terrible Terrell" county has
not issued a warrant for the alleged assailants arrest.

I saw the police report and indeed it does say that Mr. Bogans complained
about this well known white farmer of Terrell County Georgia pulling a gun on
him. We pray that our brother Nelson Bogans stays safe and receives a measure of
justice.

The "signs" still read; "Welcome to the wilderness of North
America"; "Welcome to the ‘Dirty South’, and "Welcome to ‘Terrible
Terrell’ county. Hell still lurks in these woods for the Black man. Our only
defense is Allah (God) and our unity.

You are all invited to join Minister Louis Farrakhan on the Washington Mall
on October 16, 2000 for the Million Family March and let’s flex a "Third
Political Force". Review the section on "Jutice Issues" in the
"National Agenda" on http://www.millionfamilymarch.com .

For further information contact the Terrell County Branch of the NAACP at
(912)995-5961.