by Dr. Ridgely A. Mu’min Muhammad

(This is the full text of the speech delivered by Dr. Ridgely Muhammad on January 20, 2001 at the
"Day of Resistance Shadow Inauguration" event in DC)

Don’t fight the power, be the Power!

America does not know what democracy looks like. America has never seen democracy, so how would
she know?

Some Americans think that they are "free" and will go to war to protect what they think
is the "American way of life". But this election process has shown all of us that
something stinks in this "promised land".

The devil is in the details, but the power is in the pen. We have got to use the power of the
people to make the pens rewrite the rules that the "loan sharks" use to box us in.

There are only three types of people in America: the lawyers, the bankers and the common stock.
The government is run by the liars, I mean lawyers. The country is owned by the loan sharks, I mean
bankers. And the rest of us are treated like cattle, common stock.

I am here to represent the Black Farmers and Agriculturists Association and we came today to
endorse both the Pro-Democracy Campaign and its 10 point program called the "Voters’ Bill of
Rights". These "Bill of Rights" are the first step in bringing democracy to America.

We Black farmers know what it feels like to have your assets stolen by the bankers using the pen
of the lawyers. Now many white Americans finally can feel what it feels like to have your power and
rights stolen with the stroke of a pen.

The Voters’ Bill of Rights is a beginning. It is a means to an end. However, we must not fool
ourselves, America was never a democracy of the common people, black, white, red or yellow.

America was set up by a pack of corporate thieves who broke away from a bigger thief. What we
call the "Constitution" was a compromise to balance power between the land owners and
money interests who had incorporated themselves separately as the 13 states. This was a
"gentlemen’s" agreement among the elite, not intended for the common stock.

Soon everything "public" will be privatized. The power outages in California are a sign
of things to come, if we continue down this road of selling the country out. The infrastructure of
America is being auctioned off to the highest bidder who, many times are foreigners.

Soon America will be an "arbitration nation", no more trial by a jury of your peers. To
get a job in the new corporate world you will have to sign away your right to a trial and accept
arbitration.

We must start today to campaign for the 10 points of the Voters’ Bill of Rights to be
formulated into law, while one-man-one-vote exists and there is at least a chance of those votes
being counted. An explanation of each point of these "Voters’ Bill of Rights" can be
downloaded at . They are:

No more "Taxation without Representation!". We demand statehood for DC

We can not wait another four years to participate in the shaping of our own destiny. Fighting for
Freedom is a full time job; you snooze, you lose.

Your alternative voices will never be heard as long as the two parties have a monopoly on
government. We must crash the two parties, party. Because if we don’t, they will continue to
chant:

Let the fools choose,

‘Cause they always will lose.

New money, old money,

We still got the money.

No matter who wins,

We own them both, honey."

Please consider this analysis:

King was not killed because he had a dream.

He was killed when he started messing with the economic scheme.

Lincoln was not killed because of the "Emancipation
Proclamation".

He was killed when he dared to snatch from the bankers the money supply
of this nation.

The devil is in the details, but the power is in the pen.

Don’t fight the power, be the Power.

Don’t waste this hour, use your power,

And use your pen to rewrite the box that they got us in.

Fighting for Freedom is a full-time job!

Peace, Doc

Copyright (c) 2001 Ridgely Mu’min

Find out more about the Black farm struggles at: http://www.coax.net/people/lwf/bfaa.htm

and http://www.muhammadfarms.com/The%20Farmer%20Newsletter.htm

by Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

In previous articles we have discussed how the economic system can make useful land useless and
how land can be a liability instead of an asset. However, with a change in the economic environment
that same piece of land can be made useful. The question is whether the market is willing to pay a
price that the farmer can make a profit by using the land to grow a crop.

At one time (1910) black farmers owned over 16 million acres of land. That number has been
reduced to less than 3 million acres and yet much of that acreage is not being used to grow crops or
raise livestock. Much of this land is actually owned by people who live in the cities but have
inherited the land from deceased relatives. Many of these city dwellers are interested in moving
back to the land but do not know how they can make that land economically useful.

To help us understand the dynamics of the problem and discover possible solutions, we will use
Muhammad Farms as a typical farm in the Southeast, where most of our black farmers used to farm.
When the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan redeemed 1600 acres of farmland in Terrell County
Georgia in 1995, the previous owner was only farming about 82 acres of the land. About 600 acres
were in timber and wetlands and the other 800 plus crop acres were sitting idle held in a government
set aside program which paid the owner about $35 per acre. In other words the government was paying
the owner $35 to rent his land and let it sit idle.

These 800 acres had grown over in weeds and we had to decide on whether to take the land out of
the program or leave it in. Our mission of course was to use the land to grow food for our people,
but we could not and can not afford to lose money in the process. One of the crops that we wanted to
grow was wheat. In 1995 when we got the land, wheat sold for $3.37 per bushel. Since that time wheat
has gone down as low as $2.17 in 2000 and as high as $4.42 in 1996. To make a decision on growing
wheat or just renting the land out to the government we have to know how much it costs to grow the
wheat. The University of Georgia estimates that it takes about $115 in variable costs to grow an
acre of wheat. This $115 includes items like seed, fertilizer, fuel and labor but does not include
the cost for the tractors, equipment, taxes or the cost of the land.

The average yield per acre in Southwest Georgia is about 40 bushels per acre. In 1995 wheat sold
for $3.37 per bushel. If we multiply this price of wheat times 40 bushels we get a per acre revenue
of $134.80. When you subtract the cost of production ($115) you are left with a net return of $19.80
per acre. On the other hand, the government is offering $35 per acre not to farm the land. If you
subtract this “rent” from the returns ($19.80-$35), you would make $15.20 more by renting
it out than by growing wheat. Therefore, it would make economic sense to rent the land to the
government and not grow wheat in 1995.

Now when we do these same type of calculations and put them on a time chart from 1995 through
2008, we can understand why farmers in some years will grow wheat, while in other years would choose
to rent their land out to the government or someone else (see chart below). This chart shows that in
1995 thru 1998 a farmer could make money on growing wheat, but only in 96 and 97 would he make more
from growing the wheat than renting the land out. From 1998 thru 2002 the farmer could not even
cover his variable costs (Variable Returns were negative), so definitely he would rent the land out
and not grow wheat. From 2003 thru 2007 the farmer could make a little money by growing wheat, but
the money he would receive from the market would be less than what he could get just by renting the
land out. Therefore, it would be wiser to rent the land out, get the $35 per acre and not grow
wheat.

Evidently this is what a lot of farmers did across America because world wheat reserves have
dropped by 14 million metric tons, the lowest in 25 years. However, this fall futures prices for
wheat to be harvested in July of 2008 have jumped up to as high as $9.61 in August of 2007. This has
led farmers to increase wheat acreage from 60.4 million acres for the 2006/2007 season to an
estimated 62.2 million acres for the 2007/2008 season. Thus, this anticipated high price for wheat
has had the expected effect, causing farmers to plant more, but the increased acreage has now
lowered the anticipated price down to $7.88. This price could even go lower depending on yields in
this country and abroad.

So as the market price for wheat fluctuates, so do the economic signals that induce a farmer to
grow wheat or let the land sit idle. These market conditions are out of the hands of the individual
farmers unless they take another strategy which we have done at Muhammad Farms. When prices fell as
low as $2.17 in 2000 we decreased our wheat acreage but decided to get into what is called
value-added processing. We began to mill our wheat into flour and sell it directly to members of our
buying clubs in the cities.

One bushel of wheat weighs 56 pounds. Therefore a bushel of wheat can yield about 11 five pound
bags of whole wheat flour. Now if we can sell this flour for $3.00 per bag, we can get $33 per
bushel of wheat instead of $2.17 in a bad year or even $9.61 in an exceptional year. By going a step
closer to the consumer the farmer can pull himself out of the fluctuations of the market, which he
has no control over and get a much higher value for his product.

This is a better strategy as long as he can find the buyers. However, if people are not baking
bread, cakes, pies or cookies, but would rather pay $3.00 per loaf for bread, then the farmer is
left with no choice but to react to the market which means not grow wheat in most years. Now if the
consumer understood how much money they could save by buying one of these new bread making machines,
whole wheat flour and baking bread for themselves, they just might be able to help black farmers
turn useless land into something useful. They also would be eating healthier.

Dear consumer, a five pound bag of whole wheat flour from Muhammad Farms can supply you with five
loaves of bread weighing one pound each. If this five pound bag of flour costs you $3.00, you could
make five loaves of bread at a little over $3.50 ($0.70 per loaf) including the cost of the other
ingredients. You are now paying about $15 for the five loaves of bread at the grocery store. Please
do the math, make the choice and help make non-useful land useful once again. It is not “rocket
science”, just a matter of choice. Eat to live or die broke.

2006 –

Established a backyard garden in an unused lot of a Believer that
measured 30’x50′, wherein we in ground planted 30 different vegetables and
herbs. For the 9 months we had access to the property, we harvested and sold
fresh vegetables and herbs to the Believers on Sundays.

Carlton Muhammad, my husband, and I constructed two large redwood planter
boxes (4’x10′ x24” and 3’x6’x24”) filled with top soil, which was
donated by Sis Wilma X, our most senior Sister (my Mother), to MUI students
at our Mosque. Approximate value of donation $900.00

2007 –

Established a Buying Club which ran for approximately 10 months and
stopped due to lack of proper organization.

Constructed and assisted with the construction of planter boxes for the
growing of food for the African Advanced Learning Center, an independent
african-centered school.

2008 –

Acquired the opportunity to use City owned Community Garden within a
beautiful park in our neighborhood. Consisting of 12, 8’x4′ planter boxes, 9
of which we manage through our Non-Profit, Oakland Agricultural Group. The
Members growing food in the boxes are Believers from our Mosque (MM26B), and
the interaction with the community is positive in that they enjoy seeing
their own people growing food instead of white folks in our communities. One
of our Brothers from the community looks out for the garden and in return we
give him whatever he wants that is growing there. We will begin preparing
our soil early February for spring planting in March. You may visit out
website www.oaklandurbangardens.org
to view some of our work.

2009 –

Motivated by the blueprint of The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad wherein
he states, Recognize the necessity for unity and group operations
(activities)” “Pool your resources, physically as well as
financially, The Honorable Minister Farrakhan’s Address to us on “Accepting
Responsibility to Build Our Communities, and the work and inspiration of our
National Ministry of Agriculture by Dr. Ridgley and Sis Anne Muhammad. We
reorganized, restructured and reestablished our Produce Buying Club and held
our first event, May 16 with 27 Members participating. We currently operate
every other Saturday and have signed on over 100 members with over half
participating in every Produce Event. The majority of our Members are
outside of the Believing Community. One of the goals of the MOA Oakland is
“To establish a Member-Owned Cooperative Corporation in the Black
Community, as an example of our collective work and a benefit to our health
and economy.” www.yourmarketproduce.com

Supporters have offered use of a 6500 sq ft lot for the purpose of
establishing a Community Garden to increase access to fresh produce in the
black community as well as teaching and training the importance of growing our
own food, preparing for food shortages and working in a collective manner.
This opportunity will also allow some production of vegetables and herbs for
our Buying Club Members. The lot is currently undeveloped.

Held several Solar Cooking Workshops along with Sis Melva X, in San
Francisco at Whitney Young Child Development Center and Oakland at Masjid
Tasbeeh.

Received Non-Profit status for The Oakland Agricultural Group, Inc., for
the purpose of acquiring Private and City land use to grow fresh produce,
increase community access and awareness throughout our communities.

Sis Majeedah Muhammad

Student Farm Marketing Coordinator

MOA – Oakland CA

===================================================================

Obesity is the number one disease that is plaguing us, our families,
communities and our nation. It is also the number robber of our health, welfare,
finances and life. Many adults have had to have limbs amputated, they have lost
their eyesight, and have develop many other debilitating aliments. The best part
of this disease is that it is preventable, and the worst part is that we do not
do what it takes to keep us healthy and fit.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that there are a variety
of factors that play a role in Obesity;

· Behavior

· Environment

· Genetic

If you are” in balance” you are eating roughly the same number of
calories that your body is using. Your weight will remain stable.

If you are “in caloric excess” you are eating more calories than your
body is using. You will store these extra calories as fat and you’ll gain
weight.

Losing weight “In caloric deficit” you are eating fewer calories than you
are using, your body is pulling from its fat storage cells for energy, so your
weight is decreasing.

Genetics and the environment may increase the risk of personal weight gain.
However, the choices a person makes in
eating and physical activity also contributes to overweight and obesity.

People may make decisions based on their environment or community. For
example, a person may choose not to walk to the store because of a lack of
sidewalks. Communities, homes, and workplace

Can all influence people’s health decisions. Because of this influence, it
is important to create environments in these locations that make it easier to
engage in physical activity and to eat a healthy diet.

· In the state of Florida where I live 25-29% of the
population is obese.

· Blacks had 51 percent higher prevalence (meaning
widely existing, practiced, and accepted) of obesity in the US.

· Greater prevalence of obesity for blacks and whites
were found in the South and Midwest.

· Childhood Obesity (2008) report children 2-5 years
of age obesity has increased from 5.0% to 12.4%.

· 6-11 years of age increased from 6.5%-17.0%.

· 12-19 years of age increased from 5.0%-17.6%.

· One in 7 low-income preschool age children are obese’

· American Indians and Alaska Native are the only race
or ethnic group with increasing rate and has increased ½% point each year.
(2003-2008).

· In 2008, obesity prevalence was 11.8% among black
children American Indians or Alaska Native was the highest (21.2%).

· Reduce time spent washing television and in other
sedentary behaviors.

· Build physical activity into regular routines.

· Incorporate How to Eat to Live in your daily
lives.

· Practice and teach the science of How to Eat to
Live.

· Learn and teach the art of growing your own food.

· Learn and teach the science of cooking, baking,
canning your food and making it fun.

· Educate ourselves, our youth, and others the true
meaning and results of fast foods.

· Educate ourselves, our youth, and others what must
be done to protect our freedom for producing our own food.

(Click here for previous Farmer Newsletter
articles)