"Equal justice under the law does not exist in America for the Black and the poor. This law
suit as it stands has been a nail in the coffin for Black farmers in this country. Where it should
have been something to save us, it has been a part of digging our grave." So stated Eddie
Slaughter, Vice-president of the Black Farmers and Agriculturist Association, at the Congressional
Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Weekend on September 27, 2001 in Washington, DC. Mr.
Slaughter was one of ten speakers on the panel entitled, "Is There A Future For African
Americans In Agriculture?"

We will present to you the major portions of his speech in this article. Mr. Slaughter
continued:

"The reason why you as Black farmers did not get paid is because you own the land…They do
not intend to give us back the land. From Virginia to California we stand to loose 1.5 million
acres of land."

"There was a study done in Haywood County, Tennessee, where this law suit handled 46 cases.
22 of the 25 applicants that were paid had no files, no documents and no proof of ever doing
business with the USDA. Out of the 21 that were denied, 19 of them had papers, files and documents
where they did business with the USDA on a regular basis.

This is how corrupt the system is.

They turn around and say that they have paid out $600 million to Black farmers. The reason why
they did not pay you is because you still stand on the land. If you were successful in the law
suit, they would have had to turn around and give you debt relief and that is what is not
happening.

Right now there is an 83 year old man, Mr. Oscar Bembry, who is right now facing foreclosure
because he was denied in this law suit. Here is a man that clearly was discriminated against. We
have a 77 year old man down in Vienna, GA whose wife has just died and this guy is being thrown off
of his farm. Because no matter what we do when we go to court, there is no equal justice under the
law for the Black and the poor."

"The discrimination against us has increased. This is what they are saying down south, ‘Y’all
went all the way to Washington, DC to federal court and ain’t did nothing. I ain’t go give you
your land back, I ain’t go give you no loan, I ain’t go give you nothing out of this
office."

That same study that they did in Haywood, Tenn. is the same from Virginia to California.

Everybody is getting paid. The facilitators are getting paid, the arbitrators are getting paid,
the 46 adjudicators are getting paid, the monitor is getting paid. Everybody is getting paid but
the Black farmers.

You see the lawyers knew what they were doing in this case. Al Pires did not want discovery. If
they had done discovery, they would have found millions of dollars that was charged to Black
farmers that we never borrowed. Then you would go back and find millions of dollars that we paid on
our bills that was never received. There was this great corruption going on."

"They sent me my $50,000, but that was a slap in the face. Because in the mean time my
interest payments had increased to $79,000. So they sunk me deeply in debt. They didn’t give me
debt relief and now you go take my farm and give me $50,000 and call that justice?

This is what Al Pires said, ‘You have to be careful with lawyers, because every time they open
their mouth, they lie.’

I am convinced that this country wants to take a million and a half acres of land from us,
because I haven’t got my debt relief and had to go all the way to the president to get
paid."

"… The lawyers purposely opened this law suit up to include too broad of a category. What
they said was that …’anybody who over these 14 years walked into a USDA office and asked for an
application, we’ll pay you. If your father farmed over this time but is now dead, we’ll pay
you. We’ll pay all of your brothers and sisters.’ But they have made a conscious decision that
75 to 80 percent of us that are still on the land, they have chosen not to pay because debt relief
would ensue and we would have received justice, which we have not done under this Consent
Decree."

At this time Rep. Eva Clayton stopped Mr. Slaughter from continuing claiming that we had run
over our time. Over the years this author has been at a number of these "Agricultural Brain
Trust" hearings during the Congressional Black Caucus week. Each time they would put
representatives from the Black Farmers and Agriculturists Association (BFAA) last on the agenda,
when all but one congress person would have departed to some other event. They would call time and
always claim that they did not have time for questions or comments from the audience. This year it
was particularly heinous, because a white congresswoman who was not on the program came in and Eva
Clayton allowed her to take up a full ten minutes of the time, politicking.

However, the author did get a chance to serve Rep. Clayton and the other 3 Black congressmen on
the Agricultural Committee, before they left, with a copy of our documentary "Snake
in the Reparations’ Grass" which shows how the Black farmers were fighting both the
government and their own lawyers all the way against this so-called Consent Decree. The author then
asked Rep. Clayton: "When I reviewed this tape, something very shocking was brought to my
attention. Gary Grant stated that in 1997 when he went to visit with President Clinton in what was
supposed to be a Black farmer conference but instead renamed a Small Farmer Conference, President
Clinton shook the hand of an Asian and said, ‘I am so glad that you all are here, and that you
all are looking at farming. I want you to tell your people to keep coming and coming on the land to
do agriculture.’

And considering that I heard that China has to reduce her farm population by 10 million per year
to come into the World Trade Organization, I want to ask, is there a policy of the US to take away
the Black farmers’ land and bring the Asians over here and give them our land?"

Eva Clayton said that she did not know of such a plan. Nobody else at the workshop had anything
to say.

The question still stands.

Peace, Doc

By Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

I feel that the pledge on October 16, 2002 by Dr. Yosef ben-Jochannan of his 35,000 book personal
library to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is one of the most historic events to have
transpired since the death of Malcolm X and the departure of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. For me
it holds a very personal meaning. It showed a most beautiful example of real atonement and
reconciliation.

To me there are two great streams of Black national consciousness; one stemming from what Master
Fard Muhammad brought to a dead people in the wilderness of North America and the other represented
by the Honorable Marcus Garvey. The pride in Blackness started with Garvey. The knowledge of self
and others started with what Master Fard Muhammad brought and deposited in the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad. There was no visible "Black consciousness" movement until the Nation of Islam
took over the large cities and deposited that seed of the Supreme Wisdom in the fertile Black mental
soil of those just up from slavery and Jim Crow.

Many men and women were inspired to go out and research self based on the seeds dropped at the
"Temple". The death of Malcolm X caused a rift within the Black nationalist movement
between those who loved Malcolm and those that loved Elijah. Many of those that loved Malcolm were
also immersed in the study of our history. They identify Malcolm as the person who inspired them to
recognize the importance of history and research into that history.

Words like "Afrocentric" ,"Kemetic" and "Ta-Mera" were brought into
existence due to the research of such great scholars as Dr. John Henrik Clarke and Dr. Yosef
ben-Jochannan. However, that same research showed how the Arabs used Islam as an excuse to take
Africans’ land and enslave them. This historical fact has caused tension between Blacks that
practice Islam and Blacks that expose an African-centered theology.

The historical tension between Dr. Ben and the Nation of Islam may also stem from what Bro. Eric
Ture, activist and writer for the Final Call, calls Dr. Ben’s characterization of Nation members
as having a "lack of respect for scholarship" especially when it came to Ancient Africa.
However, as Dr. Ben looked over his desire for extending his legacy like other great scholars, he
wanted "to put his contribution in a certain light that people can build on." He must have
felt that depositing his works with Min. Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam was his best chance for
such dreams to continue after his departure.

By donating the 35,000 books of his personal library that he used to write his own books,
"It was a tremendous tribute and humbling honor to know that these books contributed to the
knowledge that we have followed through him," Eric continued.

It was very significant that Dr. Ben donated his engineering books. Bro. Eric commented that,
"This indicated his belief system on the Nation’s desire to build and it’s interest in land
other than just having it."

I, personally, never expected Dr. Ben to come to the side of Min. Farrakhan and make such a great
gift available to the Nation of Islam and our people. There are a few reasons why this is so
special:

1. Dr. Ben said that he had looked into other places to leave his legacy including some Black
colleges in Georgia. For him to choose the Nation over them speaks volumes.

2. Dr. Ben has a number of "followers" who would love to have such a collection and
thereby receiving the mantle as the premier Black Egyptologist.

3. Dr. Ben left his books to Min. Farrakhan and the nation of Black people. This says that he
believes that the Nation of Islam will be here and be able to preserve his legacy even after Min.
Farrakhan has left us.

4. Considering the fact that much of the legacy of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was lost after
his departure and not secured by that which took the Nation’s place, it shows that Dr. Ben must
believe that the Nation may have fallen, but has risen and will never fall again.

5. It gives the Nation of Islam a chance to show Dr. Ben and those that respect him that his
characterization of the Nation of not respecting scholarship will be disproved by how we handle this
great gift. Evidently the respect for research and scholarship manifested in the presentations by
Min. Farrakhan has given Dr. Ben hope that the Nation of Islam will disprove all former allegations.

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that Black people practiced "Islam" as a way of
life before the advent of Prophet Muhammad (may Allah be pleased). He taught that all of the
prophets including Muhammad, Jesus and Moses taught "Islam" from portions of the
"Book" as a "moon" to temporarily light the footsteps of fallen humanity within
this 6,000 year void until the true light of understanding was revealed. Some of Dr. Ben’s works
such as "The African Origins of the Major Western Religions" verify Elijah’s teachings
if one reads with a scientific eye and open mind.

The two streams of consciousness which flowed from what the Messenger taught from the mouth of
Master Fard Muhammad and what our great Black scholars found in the libraries have been brought
together to potentially form a mighty "river". This great gift from Dr. Ben will unleash
the power of that "river", if we now take the time to "READ".

I have begun such a task of reading. I started going to the libraries such as the Schaumberg
Institute in Harlem in 1969. I have read many of Dr. Ben’s works and in 1988 I completed my first
book entitled, "Amen: The Secret Waters of the Great Pyramid." I sent a draft of this book
to Dr. Ben before its publication. The theories presented in my book are still controversial, but
none have been disproved.

I said in 1988 and still say now that the pyramids of ancient Kemet (Egypt) were not tombs but
parts of a vast water irrigation purification public works system that was the bedrock of
agricultural development in Kemet. These waterworks made Kemet the breadbasket of the world at that
time.

The keys to Kemet’s (Ta-Mera’s) power was not her military but her agricultural system.
Therefore I am honored to be a farmer and love to fight for my other Black farmers.

I thank scholars like Dr. Ben who have provided the scholarship and Minister Farrakhan who is
providing the revelation and example which keeps my fire burning. It is good to "know"
while others guess and the rest just exist without a desire to know.

"Let us deal wisely with them"

by Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

This is not about Bill Bennett’s comments on how to reduce the crime rate by aborting Black
babies. That’s just the refurbishing of an old tactic used by the "Pharaoh" of the Bible
(Exodus 1:10). It seems that finally the devil is "showing his teeth".

This is not about Hurricane Katrina, "Bush’s Monica".  However, the lack of
response by the federal government to the needs of poor Black people in New Orleans could be
compared to her lack of response to the cries of Black farmers for years.  The government did
not respond in a timely manner and now the government is trying to hide what the government did or
did not do.  The behavior of the government can not be understood as long as we are in denial
about her ultimate motives of keeping Black people as second class citizens or more specifically,
landless and powerless human fuel for her economic engine.  Bill Bennett’s "teeth"
seem sharper and more focused, but the government’s denial of land to a whole people is just as
deadly, but more subtle.

Items in these proposed Congressional bills point to the fact that the settlement of the lawsuit
known as Pigford v. Glickman as written by Al Pires was defective in some very crucial issues. In
particular, each Black farmer was required to supply a "similarly situated white farmer"
who had received loans from the FSA (formerly FmHA) office in the same county and the same year the
Black farmer was denied. However, the Black farmer was not afforded the opportunity of discovery by
which he could see the USDA files on the white farmer, thereby leaving him to guess what the white
farmer received in loan dollars.

This little maneuver by the Black farmers’ lawyer, Justice Department lawyers, USDA and the
Federal Judge allowed a major loop hole through which the USDA could pick and choose which Black
farmer would be accepted or denied acceptance into the Pigford Class. This was a crucial issue
because most of the farmers, or would be farmers, who were accepted (13,000) were not presently
farming nor did they owe money to the USDA. The 3,000 farmers that were in jeopardy of foreclosure
by the USDA were among the 8,000 who were denied and are now still in jeopardy of loosing their
land.

This proposed legislation developed by a consortium of lawyers and Black farm organizations comes
after a long battle of the Black farmers spearheaded by the Black Farmers & Agriculturalists
Association (BFAA) led by Gary Grant to get justice for Black farmers and save their land from being
taken by the USDA and its white friends in the Black Belt. The Black farmers first went to the USDA
to receive justice using the "administrative" procedure set up by the USDA to handle
discrimination complaints. Not receiving a remedy there, they decided to unite under a class action
lawsuit.

The "Farmer Newsletter" at www.MuhammadFarms.com
has documented this struggle since 1998 and even compiled this struggle in a video documentary
entitled, "Snake in the Reparations Grass." This documentary shows how the farmers were
lied to by their lawyers from the very beginning. It shows how they organized to fight the Consent
Decree at the so-called "Fairness Hearing" in March 1999, where they specifically
complained about that "similarly situated white farmer" provision. It shows how they went
to jail while protesting the Consent Decree in front of the USDA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Each time the farmers went to jail there was no press coverage even though all of the
major networks were informed ahead of time about the demonstrations and the willingness of the
farmers to go to jail.

The strategy of the government and the media was to wait the farmers out while giving the public
the appearance that the farmers were content with that $50,000. Fortunately, although many of the
farmers fell by the wayside and the unity of the Black farm organizations were broken, for a moment,
a few of the core activists such as Gary Grant, President of BFAA, kept the struggle alive and
focused on the government.

This author, a student of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Honorable Louis Farrakhan, knew
what to expect of this government. Even though I constantly warned the Black farmers against the
schemes of this government, many of them turned a deaf ear and thereby allowed the government to sow
seeds of division in the movement.

Black people and in particular Black leadership refuse to accept that white people conspire
against Black people all the time. In fact white people conspire against other whites all the time.
What would you call the government giving Katrina evacuees $25 on a debit card while telling the
public that they got $2,000? What would you call the government increasing "petty cash"
expenditures for contractors cleaning up behind Katrina from $2,500 to $250,000? What would you call
the American government giving Israel an additional $2.2 billion to pay Jewish settlers $250,000
each to leave illegal settlements in Gaza?

I would advise everyone who considers themselves a part of the movement to take up journalism as
a hobby or at least keep a diary. Writing the "Farmer Newsletter" has allowed me to keep
up with the events as they unfolded. I had to refer to my notes or articles many times to straighten
out those who would try to revise history right in my face.

I am glad that I have in my notes the statement that Attorney Stephon Bowens gave in reference to
the written statement of Alexander Pires, the Pigford v. Glickman lead attorney for the farmers. Mr.
Pires, a "former" Justice Department lawyer, wrote Federal Judge Paul Friedman that
"it would not be in the interest of the government to change the Consent Decree as recommended
by the Black farmers." Now when Judge Paul Friedman is nominated for a higher position in the
Judicial System, maybe I will come forward and show that he did not fulfill his duty as a judge to
ensure that the Black farmers had adequate and ethical legal representation. I thought that the
lawyer for the Black farmers was supposed to be working for them instead of their opponent, the
USDA.

(Drafts of the proposed bills can be viewed at www.MuhammadFarms.com
and www.bfaa-us.org)

by Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

This past week someone sent to me an article entitled "Eating fossil fuels" by Dale
Allen Pfeiffer. The title seemed quite familiar since I had written a similar article two years ago
called "Eating fossil fuels in a sinking ship" (fossil fuels include oil and natural gas).
Both articles point out that the modern method of food production is a net consumer of energy
instead of a net producer. The extra energy is coming from the consumption of fossil fuels which are
non-renewable. The implications of the analysis is that if we continue this trend we will soon be
eating ourselves out of a future for our children.

We have taken ourselves completely out of the cycle of life that our ancestors had invented for
us called "agriculture". We should call our current food culture,
"fossil-culture". There is a principle of the ancient Africans called "Maat"
which relates to harmony, truth, balance and reciprocity. In other words life is a balance between
forces. If you get the forces out of balance then death follows.

The cycle of life goes like this: the sun’s energy is transformed by green plants into protein.
This protein can then be consumed by animals and humans to provide energy and the building blocks
for their bodies. At one time humans spent much of their daily life hunting, fishing and gathering
from the untamed environment. Then according to the "myths" of the ancients, Ausar and
Auset discovered both the domestication of animals and the tilling of the earth which we now call
"agriculture".

Instead of gathering berries and leaves from distant places, they discovered how to save seeds
and plant those seeds close to the house. Instead of hunting wild animals they discovered how
to tame and breed animals to stay close to the house. These animals were used to be beasts of
burden as well as "food storage facilities". Each animal was a store of plant food
transformed into flesh. However, 90% percent of the energy from the plants were lost in the
transformation. But since vegetable and fruit crops could not be grown or stored year round, these
animals served as a buffer between harvests. In many cases these animals could be grazed on lands
not suited for intensive cultivation and therefore made the non-useful land useful.

The animals also provided draft power to pull plows through the soil and their droppings acted as
fertilizer, replenishing the soil with some of the nutrients lost by harvesting crops. But now we
raise feed for animals on our best agricultural land, then allow the waste from these animals to
flow into our streams and rivers. Instead of allowing the animals to work for us, we just eat them
up. At one time these animals were sacrificed in sacred ceremonies to show the Creator our thanks
for the usefulness of their lives to us. Now we just slaughter them wholesale and grind them up into
"mad cow" burgers.

According to Mr. Pfeiffer, "The Green Revolution increased the energy flow to agriculture by
an average of 50 times the energy input of traditional agriculture. In the most extreme cases,
energy consumption by agriculture has increased 100 fold or more.

In the United States, 400 gallons of oil equivalents are expended annually to feed each American
(as of data provided in 1994). Agricultural energy consumption is broken down as follows:

31% for the manufacture of inorganic fertilizer, 19% for the operation of field machinery, 16%
for transportation, 13% for irrigation, 08% for raising livestock (not including livestock feed),
05% for crop drying, 05% for pesticide production, 08% miscellaneous.

Energy costs for packaging, refrigeration, transportation to retail outlets, and household
cooking are not considered in these figures. "

He further writes that, "The US food system consumes ten times more energy than it produces
in food energy. This disparity is made possible by nonrenewable fossil fuel stocks."

When the fossil fuel stocks are gone, so will the energy that feeds modern agriculture and people
will be left to again derive their energy from the sun. However, by then they will be situated in
places and systems that will not allow for the capture of that sun. Humans will be stacked in cities
and land will be stacked in the hands of multinational corporations. The top soil would have washed
away into the rivers and the water table would have dropped below the reach of irrigation wells.

The old movie "Solent Green" showed how the future world might solve this dilemma by
recycling humans into protein wafers. The research and even the movies show the consequences of our
behavior. The question is "who is willing to change their behavior so that the world can
live?"

The science has been there that shows that the western or "white" way of civilization
is not sustainable. Black folks must make a determination as to whether they can trust so-called
white folk to change their behavior. In ancient Kemet (Egypt) we called these so-called white people
"Kheftiu" which meant "backward" or those "left behind". We
represented them by a determinative (picture) of a man on his knees committing suicide. There is a
picture of this hieroglyph in my book "Amen: The Secret Waters of the Great Pyramid."

Black folk should also know that the pyramids of Egypt were not tombs, but a part of a water
irrigation-purification system used by the living and not the dead. We came from a tradition of both
agriculture and balanced development, but have fallen into the hands of a suicidal maniac. We must
now decide which is worst: a slow but guaranteed death, or a struggle that may lead to liberation
and the rerouting of our future.

The Solution? As an individual you can cut back on your meat and fast-food consumption, start a
home garden and go back to cooking your own meals. Collectively, we need to organize and set up
buying clubs or cooperatives in the cities to purchase directly from the farmers to protect the
farmers from the multinational corporations. We need to think about getting large areas of land that
we can manage and protect for the future of our children as a part of our reparations agenda.
"Give us your fast-food money" and support the Agriculture Development Program of the
Nation of Islam. Visit us at www.MuhammadFarms.com or you can reach us at drridge@bellsouth.net.

by Dr. Ridgely A. Mu’min Muhammad

You can not fight and farm. The government of America knows this and uses all
types of tactics to take Black farmers’ land and render Black people in the
cities totally vulnerable to chemical and biological warfare attacks through
their food. Who checks this stuff that we are eating anyway?

It is now over two weeks after the historic October 16, 2000 Million Family
March. To have such an event was in itself historic. The day was beautiful, the
turnout was great and the "mass media" did its "job" of
"hiding the truth".

It has taken me this much time to digest that day and the events leading up
to that day. I have yet to finish paying for the expenses occurred because of
that day, nor have I gotten my cell-phone bill which I suspect will run into the
hundreds of dollars. We are still investigating some of things that happened and
did not happen.

I, like many of the farmers that attended the events, are back home trying to
continue the harvest of our crops. October is the harvest season for a number of
crops such as cotton and peanuts. Harvest in the final determination of whether
a farmer makes a profit or loss and is most critical that he stays on top of
things, because there are "rustlers" out there waiting for you to make
a mistake or turn your back. Many Black farmers involved with the Pigford vs.
Glickman lawsuit had already been to DC seven times already this year marching,
protesting and questioning the government’s continued discrimination and wrong
doing even in the execution of this so-called "Consent Decree".
October 16th was just another time to sacrifice in order to get justice. This
time we had hoped to speak through the BFAA president, Gary Grant, to the
hundreds of thousands of families assembled in the "Belly of the
Beast" which is the Washington Mall. We had hoped to gather 100,000 names
of our city cousins that wanted "safe food" in our cities.

On Sunday, October 15th the Black farmers were invited by Rev. Walter
Fauntroy to bring fresh produce to his congregation at New Bethel Baptist Church
that morning. After distributing produce and disseminating information at New
Bethel, the farmers moved on to Muhammad Mosque #4 under the invitation of
Minister Khadir Muhammad. The Black farmers got TV. coverage by the local FOX
network and continued coverage of the Black farmer struggle by the Final Call
Newspaper. It is a blessing that we got exposure on Sunday because what happened
on Monday was somewhat of a disappointment.

Although Mr. Grant was given a faxed confirmation to speak at 12:27 p.m. for
three minutes on the stage in the Ellipse in front of the White House, he was
called at 1:30 a.m. on Monday morning of the 16th and told that he had been cut.
I made numerous phone calls on my cellular phone in the middle of the night
trying to reach people who could possibly put Mr. Grant back on the program. I
was not able to reach certain key people and some of the messages that I left
took 12 days to be retrieved on their voice mail.

Starting at 8:00 a.m. on Monday I approached as many people as I thought
might have some influence on the program for that day to see if Mr. Grant could
have a few moments to address the audience. In the meantime Mr. Grant was
feeling very ill, so much so that the paramedics had to treat him and move him
to an air-conditioned trailer used as the command center for the ongoing live
broadcast of the event.

I set with him encouraging him to wait in the wings for the possibility of
getting him on until 1:30 p.m.. Mr. Grant bravely waited until we could see that
his long term health was being threatened. We took Mr. Grant back to his hotel
and after returning to North Carolina, Mr. Grant had to be hospitalized for a
week while he recovered.

We had farmers and supporters stationed in the crowd waiting for the
announcement to be given to have the people sign the information cards. Although
the announcement was never given we were still able to collect thousands of
information cards, so that we could send information to these families alerting
them of the problems with their food supply and helping them to organize
themselves into buying co-ops so that the Black farmers can grow safe food for
them. Almost everyone that we were able to approach and explain what the issues
were, were more than happy to give us their contact information. One could only
imagine what the "harvest" would have been like if the announcement
was given.

Please continue to keep abreast of the Black farmers’ lawsuit situation and
the news about the safety of our food supply. Although many of our Native
American, Latino brothers and sisters along with other nationalities, spoke
about the value of land and questioned what was going on with our food supply,
none of the "Black" speakers at the Million Family March outside of
Min. Benjamin Muhammad even mentioned the Black farmers, land or our food
supply.

Before we become critical of the Million Family March organizers, it would be
good to read the articles in the October 31, 2000 Final Call Newspaper relating
to the struggle necessary to put the march on. In particular read "Family
March prevails over media silence, local and national opposition" to
understand the depths that this government will go to keep vital information
from us and stop us from organizing among ourselves. Also read another excellent
article in that issue of the Final Call entitled, "Farmers share food for
thought, need to forge a network at march".

We would like to continue this "harvest" of interested people,
through your help. Send this article to everyone that you know. Below are web
addresses and email addresses so that they can contact us and put themselves on
our email and "snail mail" list. Also take the time to read
information on these websites and spread the word. Let us use the Internet while
it is still free.

Black Farmers and Agriculturists Association     
Muhammad Farms:

http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/bfaa.htm           
http://www.muhammadfarms.com

tillery@aol.com or drridge@bellsouth.net

Peace, Doc

Speaking on behalf of the Black farmers were Stephon J. Bowens, John Boyd,
James E. Tatum, George Hall, Lucius Abrams and Gary R. Grant. Mr. Bowens,
Executive Director, Land Loss Prevention Project, pointed out that from 1994 to
1999 the Office of Inspector General found that of the 17 settlement agreements
and 84 conciliation agreements reached with individual farmers complaining of
discrimination who did not participate in the class action suit, "…only 2
letters of reprimand have been issued." No one has been terminated for
discrimination against Black farmers and according to Ms. Rosalind Gray, she
does not have access to the applications of the Black farmers in the class
action suit which would allow her to determine whether disciplinary actions
should be taken against field representatives of USDA. However, latter in her
testimony she stated that they have already sent to the Justice Department names
of people filing false claims in the lawsuit. So the question is, does she have
access to the applications or not?

Here are some of the facts: 1. 40% of the applications in the lawsuit have
been rejected for such reasons as the "similarly situated white
farmer" that the Black farmer chose did not get a loan from FmHA in the
same year that the Black farmer applied.

2. Black farmers in some areas have been denied access to their own FmHA
records, yet their applications have been rejected based on information from
those same records. 3. Out of over 40,000 requests for applications there may be
no more than 100 Track B cases which could demand more than the $50,000 proposed
settlement. 4. The estimation of a farmer’s economic damages in Track B is being
based on his historical yields, while these same yields were made low because of
prior discrimination by the USDA before 1981. 5. Black farmers are being asked
to prove that they were discriminated against while most did not, and do not,
know what they were entitled to, because to the biased program information
delivery system.

In fact one of the House Committee members stated that he has never seen as
much red tape as in agricultural programs. He stated that "… there are
subheading and subparagraphs and special clauses that makes it almost impossible
to know what is going on." And from this hearing it was quite obvious that
not even this committee knew who was in charge of hiring or firing field staff
at the USDA or who had the authority to give the Black farmers a check if they
won their case of discrimination. Mr. John Boyd, President, National Black
Farmers Association, recommended the county committee system be modernized by
"…converting all county non-Federal FSA positions, including county
executive directors, to Federal status…" At present USDA programs are
administered by local county staff that are appointed or dismissed by a county
committee that is made up of "good old boys", with a token Black
farmer every now and then who does not have a vote. In other words, we have a
clear case of taxation without representation where Black people’s tax money is
given away by white men to each other in the face of a Black man who is supposed
to smile.

Mr. James Tatum, representing the Rural America Association of Community
Based Organizations, pointed out that the USDA have failed miserably in its
delivery of information and program benefits to Black farmers. He stated that
"…problems of Civil Rights and discrimination are not new and are not
unknown at USDA. Studies and reports have documented the problems dating back
from 1965 through 1997. Despite this documentation and open discussions about
the need to eliminate discrimination in program delivery and employment, it
continues to exist to a large degree unabated at USDA."

Mr. Lucius Abrams, one of the lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit, basically
pleaded to the committee that somebody do something because the Black farmers in
this lawsuit are suffering more now from the hands of USDA officials and local
lenders than they were suffering before the lawsuit. He stated that he could not
understand how this country could set back and allow this type of persecution,
misrepresentation, false promises and out right lies to continue.

Mr. George Hall, a farmer from Alabama, read the letter which denied his son
a portion of the settlement. Mr. Hall said that he was confused because the
letter denied him on the basis that he did not prove that he had applied for a
loan even though that same letter admitted earlier that he had applied for a
loan. Everyone in attendance was also confused although there were only two
committee members present to hear the farmers while there were over nine present
to hear the USDA’s side of the story.

Many Black farmers who had just been to Washington in September for the
Congressional Black Caucus, traveled again to Washington, DC at their own
expense to attend this hearing only to be snubbed by the House of
Representatives Agricultural committee. Out of nine committee members who were
present to hear the presentation from the USDA, only two of them elected to stay
and hear what the Black farmers had to say. This is the same, turning a
"deaf ear" to the Black community that has caused so much distrust for
those charged with weighing the balance for justice.

Mr. Gary Grant, President of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalist
Association, seemed to sum up the sentiment of the Black farmers by stating,
"This whole class action settlement is a farce and a sham. The harrowing
stories continue to come in; USDA former officials being trained to complete the
packages of the farmers and in some states telling the farmer, ‘I know your
case. There is no need for you to apply.’ " Many Black farmers were denied
loan applications in the past from these same officials who told Black farmers
that then need not apply because they had given out all the money to their white
friends. He further stated that "…the so called $50,000, which USDA and
its Civil Rights Department have convinced the rest of the nation that Black
farmers have already gotten, is no where near an amount to put any farmer back
into farming nor remove the "bad" debt and bad credit gained from this
racist government agency’s mess." Mr. Grant further questioned whether the
government through its persistent slaps in the face was trying to provoke
violence, because the Black farmers are running out of "cheeks to
turn".

Mr. Gary Grant brought along Dr. Ridgely Muhammad, the Agricultural Economist
for B.F.A.A. with detailed grafts and charts to prove his case, but the
committee felt obligated to cut the farmers’ presentations short and run out.
This was blatant slap in the face considering how much time they gave one USDA
official earlier that morning. These charts were to serve to give hands on
information to further educate, especially committee members, of the history and
current plight of Black farmers and their loss of land at the hands of the USDA
and its employees.

The charts and graphs would have shown them how the USDA changed definitions
of farm ownership to hide the loss of black farm land. The tables would have
shown them how almost $1 million of loan money earmarked for Black farmers in
one south Georgia county wound up in the hands of five white farmers. The tables
would have shown them how all of the Black farmers that dealt with FmHA were put
out of business while white farmers are still farming with hundreds of thousands
of tax payers money in there pockets, a gift from the USDA. He brought graphs
that would have shown them how the southern white farmers weathered the debt
crisis of the early 1980’s better than there Midwestern counterparts, because
they had access to funds earmarked for Black farmers and could steal Black
farmers’ land while the USDA turned its back. The committee did not want the
hidden agenda of the government exposed, which has been to deprive Black people
of their land, herd them in the cities, then poison them slowly with chemically
treated and genetically engineered food.

The "crisis" of the Black farmer is over. "Crisis" means
"… the turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or
fever." Mr. Gary Grant pointed out that Mr. Glickman and Mr. Al Gore were
in the House in the early 1980’s when the crisis of the Black farmer was
presented to them by Representative Towns from New York. They did nothing then
and they are stalling now. Most of the 30,000 are more applicants for this
lawsuit have already been put out of farming and put out to pasture. This
settlement will not bring them out of retirement nor will it be an incentive for
their children or grand children to enter this once noble occupation.

The Black farmers’ lawsuit settlement tendered on November 3, 1998 ("Black
Tuesday") in response to the large black turnout at the polls, although
a step in the right direction, is not a just, equitable and reasonable solution
to repairing an industry that was destroyed by the U.S.D.A. Black farmers
who did nothing wrong, but work hard and trust their government, were
deprived of life, liberty and property while their children who were forced into
the cities were being shot down and cast into prisons as "menaces 2
society". The "Crisis of the Black farmer" is over. The
question now becomes, "And what will his city cousins eat?"

If you have any questions, please e-mail Dr. Ridgely A. Mu’min Muhammad at
drridge@bellsouth.net

By Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

"Black farmer accuses lawyer of shafting Black farmers." "Black farmer accuses
lawyer of shafting Black lawyers." "Black farmer waives ‘Wanted’ poster."
"White lawyer shouts ‘That’s not true.’" "White lawyer sues loudmouth
farmer." Well, these possible headlines have not shown up yet.

It is now a full month after a Black farmer, yours truly, Dr. Ridgely Muhammad got into a heated
debate with Attorney Alexander Pires at the Congressional Black Caucus issues forum, "What has
changed for the Black farmers?" I wrote a story about that forum by the same name, but brushed
over my personal confrontation with Mr. Pires, not tooting my own horn, so to speak. I have been
searching newspapers, the airways and Internet to see if anyone covered the story or if Mr. Pires
has filed a law suit against me for publicly accusing him of shafting both the Black farmers and
Black lawyers.

Well, I have waited long enough and since I was there and taped it, I guess that
www.MuhammadFarms.com will have to scoop the rest of the media again.

The September 11, 2002 forum was chaired by Rep. Eva M. Clayton. The panel included Lawrence C.
Lucas, President and Founding Member United States Department of Agriculture Coalition of Minority
Employees; Randi Ilsye Roth, Court Appointed Monitor Pigford v. Glickman; James Myart, Prior Class
Counsel, Pigford v. Glickman; Gary Grant, President Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association;
John Boyd, President National Black Farmers Association; and Stephen Hill, Attorney Garcia v.
Veneman. An Associate Assistant Secretary from the USDA was supposed to be on the panel, but did not
show up.

After the above mentioned panelists gave their presentations, Rep. Clayton invited Rep. John
Conyers to say a few words. Then Rep. Conyers invited Al Pires, who was not on the panel, to speak
and give his views on the Black farmers’ lawsuit (interesting). Mr. Pires goes on to bemoan how
all that he has done since he left the "Justice Department" was work for farmers.
He first pointed out how hard he had worked on the Black farmers lawsuit, then he goes on to say
that most of the work was done by the Black law firms that he invited to participate. He also
shifted some of the responsibility to Dr. Ogletree who he said was involved with the development of
the Consent Decree.

After his soliloquy, came the time for questions. Let me mention that while he was speaking I
took the opportunity to wave a copy of the "Wanted" poster that I have been distributing
all over the country with his face on it. The poster does not say what to do if one finds Mr. Pires,
but it does detail what he has done to Black farmers.

When Rep. Clayton called for questions, I immediately raised my hand. I was sitting on the first
row two seats from Al Pires, but Rep. Clayton shifted the playing field. She said that Randi Roth
had to leave early, so we should first "limit" our questions to her and her presentation.
I took down my hand. (Check)

Rep. Clayton recognized someone else to speak. That person did not address a question to Ms.
Roth, but was allowed to continue and make a statement about his personal case. So, I raised my hand
again. And when Rep. Clayton asked if it was addressed to Ms. Roth, I said, yes. So I asked,
"Why is it that the only people who got paid in this law suit are the white monitor, the white
lead counsel, the white judge, the white arbitrators; the black lawyers didn’t get paid and the
black farmers didn’t get paid?"

Before Ms. Roth could open her mouth, Mr. Pires jumps up from his seat and begins to shout.
"That’s not true. Black lawyers got most of the money. That’s not true. The Black lawyers
got the majority of the money," he shouted. I retorted by saying, "Oh yeh, you tell J.L.
Chestnut and Rose Sanders that…" Mr. Pires drowns me out by continuing to shout "That’s
not true. The Black lawyers got most of the money. Let’s get the facts out. The majority of the
lawyers were black and the majority of the moneys went to black lawyers."

Rep. Clayton jumps in by saying that we should respect each other. Mr. Pires then says, "let’s
be nice." I then said, "I don’t respect this man. That’s why I got him for ‘Wanted",
as I displayed my "Wanted" poster. I continued by saying,"… and you’ve snuck up
in the reparations thing now. You go mess that up the way you messed it up for the Black
farmers." (Ebonicly speaking, smile.)

Mr. Pires then says, "I was invited to the reparations…" I retorted, "Yeh,
because you supposedly got us $2.5 billion which you did not. That’s how you snuck up in
there."

At this point Rep. Clayton interrupts again saying, "Let’s respect each other." I
repeated, "I don’t respect this man. I was talking to her. He jumped at me. I was asking her
the question."

Pires then says, "It’s disrespectful to the majority of the black lawyers who did an
excellent job." I jumped in by saying, "You blamed…when the court came after you, you
blamed the black lawyers for your faults." Pires said, "They did a great job." I
said, "If you look at the court you told Judge Friedman that it was their fault and not yours.
That’s in the court."

Mr. Pires then goes on to talk about another case that was not in the Pigford v. Glickman Consent
Decree. I realized that I had gotten my point across so I set down and shut up.

This whole thing was staged to give Mr. Pires an opportunity to clear his name and get a set of
new black lawyers to ride with him on his new adventure, a Black reparations lawsuit that he has
already filed. And if his buddy, Judge Friedman has any thing to do with it, I am sure that Mr.
Pires’ lawsuit will be declared a class. Before the other black lawyers in the so-called
"Reparations Dream Team" can get to first base, Mr. Pires would have recruited other black
lawyers around the country to get Black people to sign on "his" dotted line.

When I referred to Judge Friedman as Al Pires’ "buddy", I did so because on that same
day this judge took the opportunity to dismiss Black farmers’ prose motions to remove Al Pires as
lead counsel. The Black farmers also asked for a hearing, but it seems that Friedman’s court
"hears no evil" with respect to Al Pires.

I don’t know how many black lawyers, Mr. Pires recruited that day, but I do know that he, his
partner and four of his staff members left this session before they could sign up a new set of
suckers. (Checkmate)

A portion of this "confrontation" will be available to be heard via the Internet. Stay
tuned to www.MuhammadFarms.com. We also have the full session on two cassette taps entitled
"Doc confronts Al Pires" for $7 per set.

Peace, Doc

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.

By Michael Harris, Coordinator, California Colored Convention Movement

Sacramento, CA – Our committed planning team embraced ancestral responsibility by hosting
remembrance of the historic California Colored Convention Movement. We continue the circle that must
identify, analyze and act upon specific objectives, to improve the standard of living of Black
Californians.

Standing on the steps of our Nation’s Capitol facing west, towards California, a vast sea of
people gathered to embrace a renewed vision of operational unity. A sense of calm historic
observation captured my soul as I stood in solidarity with Mr. Gray R. Grant, President of the Black
Farmers and Agriculturalists Association. The massive crowd responded to a thunderous chant of
"Free the Land, Free the Land, Free the Land" at the Millions More Movement, called for by
the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Central to our ‘ancient future’ movement is an acknowledgment of spiritual blessings
recognizing the long difficult road to gather at this historic moment of universal order. We
celebrate a certain victory, as foretold by our ancestors. The notion of "Free the Land"
is key to understand a historical people yearning to embrace an elusive freedom, in America. In
1830, a National Colored Convention movement began while 80+% of the U.S. black population was
physically enslaved.

America’s ‘manifest destiny’ was facilitated in 1846 California, by conquering and
colonizing U.S. soldiers. Our "stolen legacy" remains buried deep in "mental
slavery" because of spiritual, political and cultural disenfranchisement. Our "California
Born" committed, organized and structured methodology to "Free the Land" provides
primary source documentation to begin to calculate the vast loss facilitated by legal racial
discrimination specific to Black California.

California is named after a Black Women, Queen Califia. ‘Dark skinned people’ fought Spanish
conquistadors long and hard for the land in 1535. Archaeological records document genocide against
‘dark skinned’ indigenous people throughout the vast region of modern day California, Arizona,
Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Mexico by military massacre.

European colonization was geographically strategic and largely limited to lucrative gold and
silver mining regions utilizing ‘dark skinned’ indigenous people and imported enslaved African
free labor. Spanish census records show more people of African ancestry than European ancestry in
Hispanic America.

From 1535 to 1821, California was under Spanish authority from La Paz, Baja California to Sonoma,
Alta California. A string of Missions and Presidios embraced Catholic authority under Jesuit and
Franciscan Orders, under the authority of the Spanish government in Europe.

In 1822, Spanish governmental authority in California ended with Mexican Independence. ‘Free
the Land’ was the cry and "dark skinned" and African Mexican soldiers occupied the front
lines in a North American battlefield for sovereignty. Mexican General Vicente Guerrero, who later
became the second president of Mexico, proudly wore his "Afro." His first act as President
of Mexico was to legally end slavery, "Free the Land" was the call of his ancient
ancestors.

The California Colored Convention Movement, beginning November 20, 1855, facilitated a 10 year
committed, organized and structured methodology to "Free the Land." Our 150Th Anniversary
of the California Colored Convention Movement provides detailed primary source documentation of our
ancestors scientific methodology towards analyzing our unique path to ‘form a more perfect union’
as we demonstrate continuity contributing toward the forward flow of humanity.

by Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

According to Webster’s Dictionary, "culture" means "1 :CULTIVATION, TILLAGE 2:
the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties esp. by education." The dictionary
put the words "cultivate" and "tillage" in capital letters indicating the
significance of those words to understanding the meaning and root of "culture". Without
analyzing the relationship between the people and their land one can not evaluate a
"culture". Therefore Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is right and exact when he says:
"There is no culture without agriculture."

When you talk about "cultivate" or "tillage" you are referring to how a
people utilize their land to provide sustenance. So, how does a "landless" people develop
a "culture" since they have no land? A landless people no longer depend on the land for
their food, clothing and shelter. Instead they cultivate a relationship with the dominant
"culture" and seek to follow the rules of that relationship, not the rules of nature or of
God.

In Africa we had our different dances, songs and rituals to influence the different forces of
nature which affected our food supply. We needed the rain to come in the proper season, but yet not
so much as to wash away our crops and livestock. We needed our seeds to germinate, our crops to grow
and our cattle to be strong. We had our different clans and guilds in which the youth could be
trained into the skills necessary for their society to survive: building homes, making tools,
tilling the soil, developing trade routes and negotiating with our neighbors. We had our particular
ways of preparing our food based on the climate, food supply and cooking fuel.

Now in America we "dress to impress", sing to please and act like docile slaves in
order to obtain sustenance from our foster parents and surrogate "mother nature", white
America. We go to the schools of our oppressor to learn how to fit into his artificial world. We may
learn a few useful things, but do not learn how to apply those skills for self. Instead, we seek
employment from others. We may learn how to operate a crane, but never learn how to operate that
"business". We never learn the relationship of that "business" to the other
businesses in the white man’s society.

Immigrants come to America and bring a lot of their culture with them. The Chinese will set up a
"China town" or the Mexicans will set up a "barrio". If enough Mexicans stay in
a town for any length of time you will see three things pop up around them: 1. An Iglesia (church),
2. a Mexican restaurant, and 3. a Spanish supermarket. They bring their food culture with them and
develop an internal economic system based on that food culture.

But look at Black America. Our oppressors took away our culture: language, religion, way of life
and even our names. We learned to eat slave food, wear hand-me-downs from "massa" and be
pleased to be next to white folk. For a long time white folk made us eat in our own homes or
restaurants on the "other side of the tracks." Then they decided that our money was green
so they started serving us food from their restaurants around back in a little slit in the door.
Well we marched, sat in and sang our way to sit down beside them at the lunch counter. However, now
we don’t have time to cook or even sit down and eat a meal in the white man’s restaurant, we
just go around back to the slit in the door, the drive through.

Culture is a learned process. Culture trains you to be "good", useful and acceptable in
a given society. Being in step with the dominant culture gives one a sense of happiness or
well-being. In other words, most people like to feel accepted and they want to fit in. Well, in
America fitting in requires you to buy certain things to have the trappings of that society.
Therefore, culture determines the direction of your consumptive dollars or disposable income.
Subsequently, it is understandable how a people who spend over three quarters of a trillion dollars
a year will have nothing on their side of the balance sheet, if that people are consumed by the
passions of their dominant and oppressive adopted culture. 

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote, "Now, it is difficult to plan an economic program for a
dependent people who, for all their lives, have tried to live like the white man."  So, if
you want to change the money flow of Black people,
you must change their culture back to an African or Black centered paradigm.

In the late 1960s and 1970s Black people reached back to their "Roots" and started
wearing African styled garments and wearing their hair more "natural". For a while a
subculture developed and an economic system developed around that culture. The Honorable Elijah
Muhammad bought farm land and set up restaurants and grocery stores in some of our major cities. The
money began to circulate a little longer in the Black community. During this Black renaissance there
was also a dissenting group that felt that total integration and denigration of anything relating to
Africa or Blackness was the best way to achieve success in America. White America temporarily
supported the integrationists by giving a few Blacks jobs, making them feel closer to him, while he
told the others to "keep hope alive."

After 40 years of experimenting with integration, most Blacks realized that we lost more than we
gained through integration and cultural-annihilation. But how can we develop a "nation within a
nation" while still wanting to be accepted by that same nation that we say is our enemy? The
white man has done a good job at spoiling us to the point that we may not be able to make the
necessary sacrifices to break away and do for ourselves. Let me explain.

When I look at Black people in America wearing Kente Cloth or Mud Cloth and yet do not have land
and are not striving to get land, I wonder if they have any understanding of what they are wearing
or representing. Of course the word "Mud" in itself is a clear indicator of land, in
particular wet land. And the word "Kente", what does it mean?

In Ancient Egypt, Kemet, "Khenti" meant "Chief" and Osiris (Ausar), who
spread the science of agriculture, was referred to as "Khenti-Amenti" or "Chief of
the West". Kente Cloth is referred to as the "royal cloth" of the kings and queens in
West Africa. The next time that you fly on an airplane, take a piece of Kente Cloth and look out of
your window down on agricultural fields. You will see the same colors and patterns that you see on
that cloth.

However, in the Black community the farmer is laughed at. So Black folk laugh at the farmer, but
they love to eat at McDonalds and other fast-food-to-hell restaurants. The same people who taught
white people agriculture now laugh at that which sustains their physical life.

I hear some claim that they would fight for justice, but will they grow the food to feed their
army? I hear some claim they want freedom, but will they organize food coops to secure safe food for
their babies? I hear some claim they want equality, but when will they stop eating food from beneath
the "golden arches".

At the kick off of the Millions More Movement on October 15, 2005 the Honorable Minister Louis
Farrakhan announced that a Ministry of Agriculture will play a vital role in the move for Black
people to be free and independent. Such a Ministry of Agriculture must reinstate the African culture
of land ownership and food independence, if we are to survive in the post-Katrina reality where we
must either "do for self or die as slaves".

Peace, Doc

Books and lectures by Dr.
Ridgely A. Mu’min