by Sister Anne Mu’min Muhammad

Are you aware that the foods you eat can cause feelings such as pleasure, discomfort, poverty,
sadness, sophistication and power? Therefore the saying, you are what you eat is more than
just a saying.

The science of nutrition is new to western culture. It was not until around 1940 that the
National Research Council organized a Food and Nutrition Board to develop dietary standards for the
US. Is it a coincidence that this is after our Saviour arrived and taught the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad what foods we should eat? I have just taken part in a series of nutrition seminars held by
experts in western medicine. It is interesting to see how may western scientists are finally
catching up with the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

Before this western society disregarded the medicinal and therapeutic properties of food. Every
other culture used food such as beans, honey, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, seeds and a limited
amount of dairy foods to promote good health and prevent illness and disease. Western culture
adopted the policy of eating whatever you want and then developed drugs to deal with the symptoms of
illness resulting from such a careless practice. Other cultures did not suffer from many of the
diseases that plague the west such as, obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure,
gallstones, high blood pressure and constipation. Now since we eat what we want and not what is good
for us, Black people in America have gone from being the healthiest group since the early 1900s to
now being the least healthy of all races and to make matters worse, the west is now giving you
genetically altered foods that have been stripped of all nutrients. They try to add these nutrients
back to the stripped foods by using waste products such as grinding iron particles into what they
call "food-grade" and putting these particles in some foods such as breakfast cereals.
Sure it goes into the blood stream and raises the iron count but it is not assimilated as a
nutrient. The same applies to the chemical waste fluoride in the water which over time leaches
calcium from the body.

What can we do to combat these mad scientists? Take your copy of How To Eat To Live by the
Honorable Elijah Muhammad off the shelf and study it and put the techniques of eating to live into
practice without haste.

I recently heard someone say that it is not good to take our children off of meat because they
need the protein in meat. Not true. The navy bean that we have been given to eat becomes a
"complete protein" when digested if they are eaten with vegetables such as we do with the
bean soup, or whole grains such as the whole wheat bread. In addition, this digested protein becomes
amino acids of which the body needs eight (8) from foods we eat. All eight can be gotten from eating
the bean and whole wheat this way. Additionally, by adding "yeast" to our whole wheat
bread that we bake ourselves, we are getting the amount of vitamin B-12 that the body needs daily.

Recent statistics say that more than one-fifth or nearly nine million people have iron
deficiency. Again, if we are eating our navy beans and whole wheat bread we should be getting plenty
of iron.

We must practice good nutrition as well as pray in order to have the energy and frame of mind to
do the work that is before us.

Note: We should not eat the soy bean and its by-products. This bean is not digestible. This is
stated by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in How To Eat To Live. We should also not use canola
oil as the canola plant is a genetically modified plant. Also, use real butter instead of margarine,
many of which are made from a variety of cheap oils.

To my sisters, knowing what foods we should and should not eat is a part of our post. Lets’
take charge and safeguard our families’ health and well-being. If we are practicing eating to live
and putting our MGT/GCC curriculum into practice, we should be able to afford the best of foods. It
does the body no good to be clothed in beautiful garments if we are feeding it junk. It is so
important that we get on the right track because someone has to teach the rest of our sisters. This
brings to mind a newspaper article I clipped and saved that talked about teenagers shaping the
eating habits for the future. In this article a young sister was interviewed that considered herself
old fashioned. She said that unlike most of her friends she liked a home cooked meal. Her friends
she said will just eat fast food whereas she will make a home cooked meal like frozen pizza or
prepackaged breaded chicken. Then again, maybe this is what most women today are calling home
cooking.

It has been discovered that our ancestors in ancient Egypt had vast stone ovens which were used
for bread-baking so the art of cooking is inherent to us. What we must do is become true believers
in the teachings we have been given and put them into practice.

In servitude slavery, our food culture was taken from us and we were given a diet that surely
leads to poor health and death. Master Fard Muhammad left with his student, the Honorable Elijah
Muhammad a food culture for this lost-found nation that will restore us spiritually, physically and
mentally if practiced. I recently heard the author of a book on the history of food say that the one
thing all cultures hold on to in order to safeguard their identity is their way of eating. Also,
promoting their food is the number one way these cultures acquire economic stability.

(Sister Anne Mu’min Muhammad is the wife of Dr. Ridgely Muhammad at Muhammad Farms in Georgia)

by Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

In 1996 a series of articles ("Dark Alliance") written by Gary Webb, San Jose Mercury
News reported that in the 1980s, "a San Francisco Bay Area drug ring sold tons of cocaine to…
street gangs of Los Angeles and funneled millions in drug profits to an arm of the contra guerrillas
of Nicaragua run by the Central Intelligence Agency" and the "cocaine that flooded in
helped spark a crack explosion in urban America… "  Gary Webb died at the age of 49 from
a reported "self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head" in December of 2004.

Now cut to December 16, 1996, the day Por Esto! published the first in a long series of articles
denouncing banker Roberto Hernandez as a "narco-trafficker." After Menendez got a
complaint from a fishing collective whose members felt they were victims of a land grab by
Hernandez, Por Esto! reporters found packages of cocaine washed up on the banker’s beaches. Mario
Menendez is the editor and publisher of Por Esto!, a newspaper chain that might be called the
Village Voice of the Yucatan Peninsula. Mexico is the drop off point for cocaine coming from
Columbia destined for the US.

According to a StopTheDrugWar.org September 5, 2003 article titled, "In Colombia, Social
Distortion as Narcos Grab Land", drug traffickers now control almost half of all of Colombia’s
most productive agricultural lands, according to a study released by the Colombian government and
reported in the newsweekly Semana. Traffickers hold some 10 million acres, or 48% of prime
agricultural land, with a value of $2.4 billion dollars, according to the government analysis. Those
numbers could be low, the report said, because of the use of cut-outs to disguise the true owners of
properties.

The Houston Chronicle published an article by John Otis on June 22, 2005 entitled, "DRUG WAR
IN COLOMBIA: IS THERE ANY PROGRESS?" The article says that the White House claims that cocaine
levels are down, but some analysts disagree. Estimates on the 2004 South America cocaine trade vary
from the White House drug office estimates of 640 metric tons to the United Nations estimate of 670
metric tons to the US task force estimates of 1,390 metric tons. Although the White House estimates
would indicate a decrease in drug trafficking, the other estimates would indicate that the supply of
cocaine has greatly increased. Why would the White House want to low-ball the estimates of drug
trafficking? Could it be that somebody within the US government wants drug trafficking to continue
to flood the Black neighborhoods with cocaine, while at the same time using US taxpayer money to
destroy the agricultural base of South American indigenous peoples, opening these lands up to US
land speculators and agribusiness firms?

According to a CommonDreams.org article reprinted from the Philadelphia Inquirer on March 26,
2001 called "U.S. War on Drugs in Columbia is Ravaging Farmers and Land", the writer
Constance Garcia-Barrio reports that "The U.S. has a hidden agenda in the war on drugs,"
says Linda Panetta, director of the School of the Americas Watch/Northeast. She further stated that
"It is getting and keeping control of Colombia’s resources: gold, silver, copper. Colombia may
have the largest oil reserve in the Americas. The U.S. wants to control it."

Now if we shift to the US government’s dismay at indigenous presidents being elected in
Venezuela and Bolivia, we might get a clearer picture of plans that will soon affect everybody in
these United States. President Bush is trying to open up all of South America to "free
trade". What this means is that North American manufacturers and farmers could then move their
operations to South America and ship their products back to the US without paying duty taxes.
Venezuela President Hugo Chavez is trying to rally the other South American presidents to not sign
on with the Bush scheme.

In the meantime, large US farmers and agribusiness firms have already moved to countries like
Columbia, Brazil and Venezuela in preparations for the flooding of US markets with cheaper
agricultural products than the US farmer can produce. According to a National Public Radio broadcast
a Nebraska farmer who started off with a 250 acre farm has moved to Brazil where he now farms 8,000
acres. In South America the land, labor and fuel is cheaper giving the farmers there an advantage,
if they can ship their products duty free into the US.

Let’s look at a series of events and policies to see just how this is working. First the US
imposes trade restrictions and duty taxes to protect the American white farmers against competition.
America then buys the higher priced commodities from the white farmers (PL480) and dumps them at
below market prices on the cities of South America which forces her local farmers to grow more cocoa
plants for the drug market instead of food crops. The US turns around and buys cocaine from these
drug lords, allowing them to buy more of the peasants’ land.

The US then turns around and starts a "drug war" against cocaine producers with
taxpayer money. Through this process they seize the drug lords’ lands and sell them at bargain
prices to US agribusiness interests. Once the US companies are up and running, the US drops her
trade restrictions and removes the duty taxes so that her companies can now ship back agricultural
products and manufactured products to compete with the small farmers and manufacturers who could not
get out in time.

Of course these agricultural products are being produced without the vast number of regulations
on the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), pesticides and fertilizers which the US farmers are subject to. How will this effect the health
of the US citizens? Add to this the reduction in health care benefits, we then have a formula for
the sinking of America. Hello, America, welcome to the "Third World".

Peace, Doc

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

by Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

As we look at the Year 2002 in review, it is time to assess the damages to the opposition and
gains of the people as a result of us "Speaking Truth on Power" (STOP). One of the major
"head" games of the enemy is to make the people think that they are helpless to effect
change. The "enemy" fears the thought that the masses may one day wake up and realize that
they can make the "enemy" cry "uncle".

The duty of a civilized man is to teach those that do not know. We have been taught that people
will do better once they know better. So we have taught in 2002. Now let’s see what happened.

In Too Little, Too Late in Jan. 8, 2002 "The Farmer Newsletter" introduced the
people to Attorney James Myart who was instrumental in the beginning of Black farmers suing the USDA
back in 1992. Enemies to Black farmers had Mr. Myart’s license revoked in 1997 and Al Pires popped
up to betray the Black farmers with the now infamous Pickford v. Glickman Lawsuit.

However, by July of 2002 Black farmers had helped Mr. Myart get his license back and had him on
the front line with them as they took over a USDA building in Tennessee. Mr. Myart also testified on
Sep. 11, 2002 at the Congressional Black Caucus issues forum, "What Has Changed for Black
Farmers".

2002 could seem as a year of "Pires baiting" considering the number of articles that we
did exposing him and his messed up consent decree. We produced such articles as: The Reparations
"Dream Team" or I had a dream too, Can Scam cast out Scam?, Deja Vue
All Over Again, A Farmer’s fight is never over, "Snake" run over by truth,
What has changed for Black Farmers?, "Doc" confronts Al Pires and Who got paid
in the Black farmers lawsuit?, As a result Mr. Pires is no longer looked upon as the "great
white hero" in the eyes of many Black people including members of the "Reparations Dream
Team".

The Black lawyers working under Al Pires finally got a chance to publicly expose how Mr. Pires
not only shorted the Black farmers but the Black lawyers as well. So now there is a divide between
Pires and the Black lawyers. Now it seems that things are not so cozy between he and them, so Mr.
Pires is working alone on his own "reparations scam". We don’t think that many Black
lawyers or Black people will be so easily suckered again.

A former director of the Office of Civil Rights, Attorney Rosalind Gray, has also gone public in
exposing the discriminatory heart of the USDA. As we continue to "speak truth on power",
we give encouragement to others to do likewise.

All through 2002 and starting back in 2001 we developed a series of articles exposing the dangers
of genetically modified foods. We wrote such articles as 9/11 Hype Vs 9/9 Genetic Bomb, From
maize to poison mess, To kill a sperm, and Who is Poisoning the "Homeland"? As a
result of public opinion being shifted a firm called Epicyte removed the term "sperm" from
its website in describing its plans to develop a "plant-based topical contraceptive microbicide"
to attack sperm. Of course there is no indication that they have been fully stopped, but at least
they flinched (smile).

Also as a result of such articles food industry representatives are now calling for more controls
on biotech farming and experimentation. The idea of labeling of genetically modified foods is
catching steam.

President Bush had plans to inoculate tens of millions of Americans with a new small-pox vaccine
while at the same time introducing a law to protect the pharmaceutical companies from being sued for
damages relating to ill side-effects of such vaccines. However, by December 14, 2002 he had to back
down.

It has been fun bashing the fast food industry too. We produced such articles as Fast Food to
Hell, and Give me your fast-food money. Well we may not be getting that "money"
yet, but according to news reports McDonalds and some of the other fast food chains are closing down
some of their stores. So what once was an expanding industry has begun to shrink, another "S.T.O.P"
for The Farmers Newsletter.

As a result of such articles as Law of No Land and On "Life And Debt" our
readers have been introduced to how Black farm land has been seized not only in America but in
Africa and the Caribbean. Our brother President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has and is being
continually projected as a villain in the white press. But newsletters like ours and other Black
newspapers, like the Final Call, have brought the truth to the people, so now there is a
national movement among Black people to help the people of Zimbabwe and change America’s foreign
policies toward our sister country.

Great inroads have been developed with our Caribbean brothers and sisters to the south of us.
Cuba has opened her market doors to Black farmers. She has heard our cry through the pages of Black
newspapers, newsletters, the Internet and Black talk radio as we "spoke the truth on
power" in 2002.

Black farmers have seen a great increase in demand for their products from Black Churches and
organizations in 2002 due in large part to our continued presentation of the saga of the Black farm
struggle. We also wrote more specific appeals to this huge Black market potential in articles such
as Cooperation verses Individualism, Fighting the Hidden Agenda, "Boot Straps"
Mathematics and Georgia’s Sweet Watermelons. We appreciate this outpouring of love and
support. Keep on "buying Black" and we shall keep on "S.T.O.P"-ping, i.e.
"Speaking Truth On Power".

Oh, of course there were some other great events that took place that The Farmer Newsletter can
take no credit for, but we just have to report it. Min. Farrakhan warned President Bush in December
of 2001 – months before his plans were made public about war with Iraq – that if he continued to
execute the plans in his heart towards Iraq that he would run up against something that he did not
expect. We think that at least one of those things surfaced exactly one year later this December,
North Korea.

We also must point out a major highlight of 2002 which was the donation by Dr. Yoseph
ben-Jochannan of his library to the Nation of Islam. I guess being a lover of Ancient Kemit and
having an understanding of the power of true history, my elation over such a gift may seem a little
too "over the edge". But I must take my editorial privilege and say that this gift by Dr.
Ben could prove to be the greatest event in 2002. Now, "get up on that" (smile).

Let us continue to "Speak Truth on Power" and see how many "stops" we can
make or evil plans we can break in 2003. Come speak and plan with us at the "5^th
Annual Black Land Loss Summit" on February 7-9, 2003 at Dudley Conference Center in
Kernersville, NC, right outside Greensboro. Also plan to hear "Farrakhan
Speaks" live on February 23, 2003 via satellite in your city.

At the rally Gary Grant, President of the Black Farmers and
Agriculturists Association, spoke for the marching farmers representing 13
states when he said that, "It is time to take a stand. A LANDLESS PEOPLE
ARE BUT REFUGES IN A STRANGE LAND."

He further added that, "Black farmers are in an unholy war
with the USDA, and we are going to win and all the roadblocks and stumbling
blocks will be overcome. Just as the US government broke all its treaties with
the Native Americans, the Consent Decree in the Pigford vs Glickman settlement
is well on its way to being a bogus document just as the treaties with the
indigenous people and the ‘Emancipation Proclamation…

Black farmers have come here today to say that the ‘Check"
Dr King spoke of 34 years ago has been returned marked ‘Insufficient Funds’ once
again."

In a farmers’ meeting before the rally at First Iconium
Baptist Church the Black farmers protested that class council, Al Pires, had not
acted in the best interest of his clients when signing on to this Consent
Decree. Stephan Bowens, a lawyer for the Land Loss Fund and now giving legal
advise to B.F.A.A., explained to the farmers that the media has done a good job
at convincing America that the Consent Decree is working when the facts beg to
differ. He pointed out that "..1). the Consent Decree is not being
implemented properly, 2) over 40% of track A claims have been denied, 3) farmers
whose claims have been approved are not receiving the debt relief that was
promised by class council , 4) without consulting the farmers, class council
approved a doubling of the time limit which had been imposed on the USDA by the
court, 5) farmers claims have been denied without the government submitting any
evidence to contradict their claims, 6) systemic change has not taken place in
the USDA, 7) The USDA is using offsets to further bankrupt Black farmers , i.e.,
by taking disaster payments, CRP payments, tax returns, and possibly the $50,000
legal awards, 8)USDA is not returning land to Black farmers from
inventory."

Mr. Bowens will represent the Black farmers in Washington D.C.
February 28th at the Court of Appeals to appeal the Consent Decree and its
injustice. He and Mr. Grant are urging all Black farmers who have received
letters of denial or have not been responded to in a timely manner to join them
in D.C.

Lawyer Savi Horne asked the Black farmers to look at the larger
view of the struggle. Protesters against the World Trade Organization (WTO) are
protesting the same type of wrongs being done to the Black farmers but on a
global basis. She said that she found out on a visit to the orient that if China
entered the WTO "she would be required to reduce her farm population by 10
million per year. We must connect our struggle to the struggle of people
throughout the world for land."

Gary Grant reemphasized the need to develop coalitions and make
Al Gore understand that "…if the Black farmers can’t have their land,
then you can not be our president. Write, call or e-mail President Bill Clinton
and tell him that this injustice must stop. We want action and not
promises."

Dr. Ridgely Muhammad responding to a question about the possible
negative effects of abandoning the Democratic party by retorting, "What’s
the difference between dying from a gun shot or an arrow stuck through the
heart? Dead is dead and if Clinton, Gore and Glickman can’t get this mess
straight, then Gore needs to go home to Tennessee and raise horses."

As with the demonstration in Washington, DC on December 13th,
the Black farmers brought their "gun posters". And as in D.C. the
police and crowd could not resist asking questions about the "gun’s"
significance. Bro. Barry, an activist from New York, carrying one of the
"guns" responded, "A white USDA employee was found guilty of
carrying a loaded gun to his office, which he used to intimidate a Black farmer
asking about his USDA loan application in 1998. His punishment was one days
suspension with pay. So since they can bring guns to work, we thought that we
would bring posters of guns to a peace rally."

For information about the trip to the Court of Appeals in
Washington, DC on February 28, 2000 call Mr. Gary Grant, (252) 826-2800 or email
TILLERY@aol.com.

Thank you.

On January 20, 2001 the Black Farmers and Agriculturists Association (BFAA) will send
representatives to participate in the Day of Resistance Shadow Inauguration event in DC, which is
going to the Supreme Court: The gathering time will be 10:00 A.M. at, Stanton Park, and there will
be a rally and ceremony beginning at 11:00 A.M.

The assembly location will be on the 6th St. side of the park, near Imani Temple Church. This is
in the NE section, a few blocks from the Supreme Court and from Union Station.

The conveners for the march and rally include Reverend Al Sharpton and Ron Daniels. A press
release by The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) headed by Ron Daniels states:

Gary Grant, President of BFAA, states, "For all who have come to these shores, America is
the land of freedom, of hope, of opportunity for all, except the African people."

BFAA has led the fight for justice for Black farmers in their struggle against the discriminatory
and destructive behavior of the USDA. Mr. Grant released this statement to the press to explain BFAA’s
endorsement and support of pro-democracy efforts:

The issue of voters’ rights are spelled out in a ten point platform coming out of the second
annual Progressive Dialogue conference held in DC in December of 2000. The Voters’ Bill of Rights
is an integral part of a Pro-Democracy Campaign that has now been endorsed by over 75 progressive
organizations.

The Voters’ Bill of Rights calls for: 1. Strict Enforcement and Extension of the Voting Rights
Act, 2. Abolition of the Electoral College, 3. Clean Money Elections, 4. Instant Runoff Voting, 5.
Proportional Representation, 6. Voting Rights for Former Prisoners, 7. Make Voting Easier and More
Reliable, 8. Easier Access to the Ballot, the Media and Debates for Candidates, 9. Create
Independent and Non-Partisan Election Administration Bodies, 10. Statehood for District of Columbia.
(Full details can be viewed at: http://ippn.org/BofR.htm )

It seems quite appropriate that Washington, DC should be the scene for these demonstrations and
the launching of a renewed spirit of "Pro-Democracy", since its hundreds of thousands of
citizens still live under the cloud of "Taxation Without Representation" in the new
millennium. White people in this country watched her as she stole a whole people from their native
land, ran the indigenous people off their land, fought to deny freedom to her slaves that worked the
land, stole back the land after her former slaves bought the land, denied the right to vote to her
dark people of the land and just now stole the vote of her citizens across the land. Now it seems
that white people may finally be experiencing how it feels to be robbed.

Mr. Grant closed by saying, "Look for the BFAA flags at the Day of Resistance Shadow
Inauguration event in DC on January 20th."

by Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

Yesterday it was "Moses and Pharaoh", today it is Farrakhan and the modern
"Pharaoh". However, prophesies may have no meaning to a people who are ignorant of the
laws of cause and effect.

On January 10, 2005 the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan reminded us that the 10% who rule this
world understand the laws of "cause and effect", but they keep the 85% in a state of
ignorance and superstition by teaching them that "…rain, snow, hail and Earthquakes comes
from that mystery God". According to the Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, there is
the remaining 5% who are the "…poor, righteous teachers, who do not believe in the teaching
of the 10%."

We, over the last four years from 2001 through 2004 under the section called "The
Farmer Newsletter" at www.MuhamamdFarms.com have taught our
audience about the Black farmers’ struggle and the deteriorating safety of our food supply. In
that same period we downloaded from the Internet and catalogued articles pertaining to these same
issues in the "News" section of our website.

We put the list of articles in a format that one could see the progression of events and issues
through time. This was done in an attempt to help the reader grow into understanding the
relationship between "cause and effect" throughout this time period. We understood that
with such a vast deluge of information that has been made available by the Internet, people might
get lost in the "flood" without understanding the value of the information provided.

Patterns move through time like a "snake". The 10% would have you to believe that every
thing is a coincidence and that anyone that sees these "patterns" is a paranoid
"conspiracy theorist". On the other hand the courts set up by this same ruling 10% will
put you in jail based on "coincidences" which they call circumstantial evidence. If they
have enough "coincidences" and a "motive" then they put you in jail.

How many incidents of "co incidents" does a people need to understand that a people who
put them in slavery over 400 years ago, declared them 3/5ths of a man in 1776 and still pay them
wages 200 years later based on 3/5ths of white folks income, have a "motive" for continued
oppression and genocide? We suggest that you now take the time to go to and just look at the titles
of the articles published under "The Farmer Newsletter" starting at the most recent one
listed at the top and go down the page back to January of 2001. We also suggest that you go to the
"News" section and look at the titles from the recent one,
"U.S. District Court Denies Motion to Modify Black Farmer Law Suit" back to "Cocaine
tied to heart attacks" in January of 2001.

In January of 2001 our "Farmer Newsletter" article was called "Black farmers
lawsuit: A bunch of crap". In November of 2004 we reported "Constitutional Committee Hears
Complaints on the Black Farmers’ Lawsuit". In other words it has taken the Congress four
years to finally look into the allegations that we brought forward not only in the 2001 article but
as far back as March of 1999 when the Black farmers went to the "fairness hearing" in
Federal Court in D.C. to protest provisions of the lawsuit. We even went so far as to video tape the
progress of the lawsuit from 1998 through 2001 and presented to members of the House Committee on
Agriculture a documentary called "Snake in the Reparations Grass". An article by the same
title is also found in the list of the "Farmer Newsletter"
which tracks the events from the lies that were told to the Black farmers by their lawyers, to Black
farmers going to jail to protest the lawsuit, to the final admittance by the monitor of the Black
farmers’ lawsuit that the lawyers lied to Black farmers and the court.

The result of the lies by the lawyers and the refusal of Congress and the media to listen to the
farmers’ complaints is the continued loss of land by Black people and the loss of the Black farm
population as these old warriors die while waiting on justice. How long will these incidents of
willful theft of land by the United States Department of Agriculture, denial of justice to Black
farmers and the continued deterioration of the health of Black people, be ignored as mere
coincidence?

We at Muhammad Farms have attempted through these articles to let the rest of the Black community
know why we work so hard to prepare for what we see as a time of famine for Black people. Some of
our readers understand and have increased their support for the "Three Year Economic Savings
Program". Some may still need to be convinced.

Now the country is hearing the call for "Reparations" for Black people in America. We
presented the documentary "Snake in the Reparations Grass" to warn the
movement about the "game" that was played on Black farmers so that the larger body of 40
million Black people would not be seduced by shallow offers of cash such as $50,000 per family. The
history of the Black farmers’ struggle indicates that America would much rather give out money to
non-land owners than give land back which was stolen. This indicates a more defined agenda of piling
Black people up on concrete where they can be more easily exterminated through violence or
poisoning. This last statement may seem like a great "leap of faith" or alarmism. However,
we present the past articles and news clipping over the last four years as evidence for our case.

The Black farmers have suffered because their leadership had ignored the laws of "cause and
effect" and did not want to accept that a "snake" was in their mist after being
promptly warned. We remember that the lawyers for the Black farmers recruited respected Civil Rights
leaders such as Rev. Joseph Lowery to tell the Black farmers to trust the well meaning white Jewish
lead attorney that eventually sold them down the river.

Now as we move towards a call for Reparations and a return to Washington, DC to celebrate the 10^th
Anniversary of the Million Man March, we must pay better attention to the relationships between
"cause and effect". One may ask how Minister Louis Farrakhan, who does not allow the
members of his organization to carry weapons and even admonishes the larger Black community to turn
their weapons in, expect the government of the United States to listen to his demands for
Reparations? What "carrot or stick" can he present to the most powerful military and
richest nation on earth that would make them respond favorably?

The title of this present article relates to understanding the relationship between "cause
and effect". The continued loss of land and health by Black people is "the price of
ignoring the laws of cause and effect" and faking ignorance of the motives of their open enemy.
We worked diligently to teach the Black farmers the tricks of the US government and showed them how
and when they were being used each step of the way, but they refused to listen and therefore
suffered the consequences.

However, today the ruling class is very upset over the recent severe weather patterns affecting
America and the tsunami in the Indian Ocean as being some type of divine intervention. This line of
thinking is very interesting in light of the question "Is God Dead?" being asked in the
1960’s and 70’s.

We highlighted possible results of a new series of "cause and effects" in a front page
article called "The Hand of
God: Hurricanes and Mighty Snow".  We suggest that you read this article
and analyze the series of events after Minister Farrakhan gave his press conference on May 3, 2004
when he warned America to "watch the weather". According to the Bible and Holy Qur’an,
"Pharaoh" ignored the power of the rods of Moses and Aaron to inflict plagues. Will the
modern "Pharaoh" of today ignore the plea for justice from a modern "Moses" or
"Aaron" who may understand the "laws of cause and effect" and may even have
contact with the "Primal Cause"?

by Dr. Ridgely A. Mu’min Muhammad

In 1978 according to the Census of Agriculture there were 31 Black farms in Terrell County, GA
averaging 148 acres each. However of the 10 Black farmers that were still alive in 1998 only six (6)
still owned land and none were actively farming. The average size of land holdings was now 13.84, an
average loss of 134.16 acres. This represented an average loss of $224,450 in terms of land,
buildings and equipment at today’s prices ($1,673 per acre). In other words the Black farmers in
Terrell county lost about everything from 1978 to 1998. What happened?

We compared these 10 Black farmers who at least got one FmHA loan to 10 white farmers who got
loans from FmHA. First of all when I asked Black farmers to identify white farmers that got FmHA
loans they were right about one half the time. I had to start out with a list of over 20 white
farmers to find 10 that had loans from FmHA. Many times the white farmers would get guaranteed loans
or loans from banks, production credit associations and land banks. The Black farmers told me that
sometimes when they would go to the FmHA office and there were white farmers in the office before
them, they would let the white farmers out the back door making it impossible for the Black farmers
to find out what was being offered to white farmers.

In 1998 according to the tax records the 10 Black farmers owned a total of 138.41 acres of land
with a tax value (40% of market value) of $349,969, while the 10 white farmers owned 2725.83 acres
valued at $2,503,939. The Black farms averaged 13.8 acres, while the white farmers averaged 272
acres. Now if we compare the number of loans received by each farmer according to the UCC-1 records
at the courthouse, we see that Black farmers received an average of 4.3 loans from 1978 to 1994,
while white farmers received twice that amount, 8.2. But what is more shocking is that none of these
Black farmers got any of the 3% loans that were supposedly set aside for them in 1978 and 1979.
Instead, 5 white farmers received a total of $943,480 of 3% loans in 1978 and 1979. In fact one
white farmer alone received $532,850.

Now Al Pires the lead attorney for the Black farmers lawsuit knows that a national study was done
comparing USDA loans and service delivery between white farmers and Black farmers. That report would
show on a national level just what I found in Terrell County. The USDA who had the report done is
now denying that it exists and has put a gag order on the firm that did the study until after the
lawsuit. Al Pires did not force the government’s hand on this issue which would have
"proved" discrimination by the USDA, and thereby each member in the "class"
could have gotten paid instead of each member having to prove discrimination all over again every
time.

Now according to a November, 2000 Harper’s magazine article, "Making the case for racial
reparations", Al Pires has gotten himself involved with the reparations movement.. Alexander
(Al) Pires, Jr. is recognized to have "won a $1 billion settlement for black farmers in their
discrimination case against the US Department of Agriculture and is currently working on a
multibillion-dollar class-action suit on behalf of Native Americans." (p.38). Watch your back,
Native Americans and the Black reparations movement.

Here are the facts: as of December 21, 2000 according to the USDA website a total of $491,950,000
has been paid out and $8,304,148 in USDA debts have been canceled. This is half of the $1 billion
mentioned in the article and one sixth of the $3 billion touted in the newspapers by the lawyers
when the case was "settled" back in 1998.

But here is where the crap hits the fan. According to a USA Today article on January 8, 2001
entitled "Study: Lawsuit awards dropped off in 2000", there were at least 10 individual
lawsuits settled in the US last year of over $100 million dollars each. The largest award was $474.7
to an 1993 Playboy Playmate for being cut out of her late husband’s will. The second largest
$341.7 million was won by Terry Anderson against Iran for holding him hostage for seven years.
Remember now that this is money paid out to individuals whereas, the Black farmers as a class
received less than $500 million, total. The white individuals that were awarded millions were just
that, individuals, while the Black farmers represent and industry that was taken from a people.

We will never know how the Black farmers may have done if they had the lawyers representing those
individuals instead of Al Pires. Because of the weak provisions in the lawsuit 39.6% of the
applicants have been denied. Stories of FBI agents harassing those that did get the $50,000 are
surfacing. And the USDA is in the process of foreclosing on thousands of Black farmers’ land even
though there is supposedly a moratorium on such actions.

The Black Farmers and Agriculturists Association (BFAA) wants the Black farmers who have been
denied to contact them and give the nature of their denials, so that the national organization can
take further steps to bring about a just settlement of their claims. The new administration in
Washington must be given the facts and the public needs to know.

To register your complaints go to the BFAA website at:

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

To get up to date facts and statistics about the lawsuit go to:

http://www.muhammadfarms.com/Perfect%20Crime.htm

by Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

On September 9, 2001 the Detroit News posted an editorial on its web site Detnews.com stating
"Washington Should Turn Down Wasteful Farm Subsidies Deal". It states that "If there
was any doubt that farmers are Washington’s sacred cow, it was put to rest by the DC-based
Environmental Working Group two months ago. The research group found that almost no excuse is too
flimsy for Congress to hand gobs of money to farmers."

First of all, as a farmer, I do not begrudge other farmers for getting farm subsidies, because
any sane government will insure the security of its food and fiber system. A country that can not
feed its citizens will find itself no country at all in just a few days. However, the article goes
on to state, "The study found that 60 percent of Congress’ largess goes to the richest 10
percent of the nation’s farmers. This is bad enough. What’s even worse is that this aid does not
even go to farmers: Chicago Bulls player Scottie Pippen received $131,575 over the last five years
simply because he owns some farm land in Arkansas. Similarly, the Nation of Islam received $83,000
over the same period."

These two are the only specific cases highlighted, even though according to the same data that
this article references, $5,634,456,694 in subsidies were distributed between 168,640 individuals
and corporations in the state of Illinois for this same five year period. Why did they pick out the
Nation of Islam which is 19,432 on this list? (Well not really, the "Nation of Islam" is
not listed, more on that later.)

Why did they say nothing of the 24 individuals or corporations who received over $1,000,000 in
subsidies over this same time period? Why did they overlook another 255 that received between
$500,000 and $1 million in subsidies? Why did they skip the next 10,985 on the list to get to
Scottie Pippen and then the next 8,192 to get down to the Nation of Islam?

Why did they not mention something called "Walker Place" which received $5,682,950 or
the University of Illinois which received $1,685,238 or Illinois Wesleyan University which received
$527,232 or Millikin University ($323,932) or John Hancock Mutual Insurance, Inc. ($211,367) or the
Women’s Div. of Methodist Church ($165,087)? But instead it jumped to number 11,240 (Scottie
Pippen) on the list and number 19,432 (Nation of Islam) to make some kind of point.

What is the similarity between the Nation of Islam and Scottie Pippen? Hint: Race. Why didn’t
the writers even bother to check that Scottie Pippen has not played for the Chicago Bulls since
1998? And what’s wrong with Scottie owning a farm in the state (Arkansas) in which he was born and
played college basketball? Could it be that he bought a farm for his parents from some of his
basketball earnings? And what’s wrong with that? Hint: 1. Nothing is wrong unless Black folks
benefit. 2. There is no wrong unless Black folks do it, 3. No benefits of tax dollars collected from
Black folk should ever go back to Black folk, 4. Give away programs are for whites only, whether
they be American or foreign.

Oh, now you say that these statements are too "broad brushed". Okay, let’s go back to
the data base which the Detroit News used for their editorial, http://ewg.org. While tracking down
the list of recipients trying to get down to the $83,226 received by the Nation of Islam, I ran
across some anomalies that would have bitten the nose of any respectable journalist.

In the list of recipients who received between $200,000 and $299,999 there were 22 sets of
recipients with the same last name, in the same town, with the same zip code and receiving exactly
the same amount of subsidy over this period. For instance, Donald Book received $291,908 and Ruth
Book received $291,908. They both had the same zip codes. However, according to government
regulations one household should not receive over $50,000 per year from subsidies. In this case each
received an average of $58,381 per year.

Remember now, that this happened at least 22 times in the $200,000 to $299,000 range. It also
happened 5 times in the $300,000 to $399,000 range. Interestingly, this same "Book" family
pops up in this range with another set of doubles, Karla Book and James Book who received $399,278
each and lived at the same zip code as the other Book’s. Now, if the Detroit News was really doing
investigative reporting for irregularities, then how did they miss these little details (smile)?

Now here is the "rest of the story". When the Nation of Islam acquired the 1556 acre
farm in Bronwood, Ga in December of 1994, the previous owner was receiving $39,000 per year from the
government to keep 821 acres out of production. When we acquired the land we immediately took this
land out of this "set aside program" for it was our intent to farm the land and not the
government. If we had kept the land in the government program for the five year period between 1996
and 2000, we would have received at least $156,000 in government subsidies instead of the $83,000
which we received as an entitlement under the new 1996 Freedom to Farm Bill.

If you go to the http://www.ewg.org data base and use the
search string "Nation Of Islam" you will not even find it listed. This is because the farm
is not incorporated under the "Nation Of Islam". Therefore the Detroit News went to the
trouble of finding the specific name under which the 1556 acre farm in Georgia was listed in the
state of Illinois data file. In other words the Detroit News was tracking down some Black folk that
got some government money to use to make some kind of "point". And if you think that we
are not farming then go to the pictures at: http://www.muhammadfarms.com/Pictures%20Muhammad%20Farms.htm

Furthermore, from 1998 through 2000, Southwest Georgia was under an extreme drought. Farms around
us got hundreds of thousands of dollars in disaster relief funds while we were denied because the
farm was owned by the Nation of Islam. Yet even though we were denied money that we should have
received, this "news" agency saw fit to editorialize us on receiving a lesser amount. I
think the proper phrase to summarize our and other Black farmers’ situation is "dammed if you
do, and damned if you don’t". Their intent is clear; cut off any funds from the government
while at the same time muddy the waters of our people’s heart so that they will stop supporting
us.

And this type of duplicity in government subsidies, handouts and the reporting of such has been
going on for over a century. Mr. David J. Miller, whose firm did an analysis of discrimination in
the allocation of government subsidies, spoke at our recent Georgia BFAA "Awards Banquet"
held at Fort Valley State University on January 26, 2002. In his five minutes he told us about the
millions of acres given to white immigrants from 1862 to 1900 under the 1862 Homestead Act. White
immigrants were given 160 acres each as long as they would stay on the land for at least 5 years.
All one has to do is consult the World Book Encyclopedia under the "Homestead Act" to
verify his statements. In this same time period Blacks born in America were never given the
"Forty Acres and a Mule" that they were promised "after" slavery.

However, as Tom Burrell, President of Southern Growers, Inc., stated at the banquet, "Black
people, who could hardly read nor write, were able to purchase 16 million acres of land on their own
with no help from the government." However, through various give away, subsidy and loan
programs this government gave white farmers the money to buy out or sometimes just run off Black
families who were denied these same benefits from USDA programs over the last 70 years.

Georgia BFAA President, Eddie Slaughter, recently appeared on the Patricia Crayton Show promoting
the "4th National Black Land Loss Summit" to be held in Atlanta,
Ga, February 8-10, 2002. In his conversation, he pointed out to the viewing audience that
"Black people continue to put that racist, Tommy Irvin who was appointed by Governor Maddox in
1969, back in office, year after year as the Commissioner of Agriculture just because he is a
Democrat. At the same time this racist denies Black farmers their fair share of any government
programs that comes through". Mr. Slaughter used the recent Tobacco Settlement as an example,
where Black farmers lost their tobacco allotment and were not compensated for that loss, while the
white farmers received all of the settlement awards.

In previous articles archived in the "The Farmer
Newsletter" we have shown how this recent trick, the Pigford v Glickman class action
lawsuit out of court settlement, has gone further to deprive Black farmers’ justice and their
land. Maybe during the panel discussion, "The Media and the Black farmers’ struggle" at
the Land Loss Summit, we can get the media’s perspective on how America has kept her "best
kept secret" away from America’s press and t.v. media. And that "secret" is
"America is for whites, only", period.

by Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min Muhammad

After posting "A Letter to Black Farmers" on the "Blacklist" list service, I
got two very interesting rebuttals (given below). I posted a response to both of those comments and
felt that the readers of "The Farmer Newsletter" would be interested in the debate.

Subject: Re: [TheBlackList] A Letter to Black Farmers

Re:Re:…

Although John’s analysis that larger more mechanized farms make more money is true in most
cases, this begs the question of whether this "industrialization" of agriculture will
continue to make our Black communities in the cities the recipients of the "least fresh, and
least nutritious, of life-giving foods"? The issue here is that Mumia does not trust the white
system to provide healthy food for Black people. I believe that if Black farmers were given $331
billion dollars in subsidies over a 10 year period from 1982 to 1992, as was given to white farmers,
they could compete. The USDA using your tax money put them out of business, not economies of scale
or size. And since these Black farmers are not "soldiers" for the "merchants of
death" they would produce healthier food for our people.

I agree that a fund should be developed to save Black owned land and develop the capital base for
a more efficient production, processing and distribution system controlled by Black people. We
invite you to the "5th National Black Land Loss Summit" February, 7-9, 2003 outside
Greensboro, NC where one such "fund" will be unveiled. For we know that the same
government that took our tax money and gave it to white farmers have no intention of allowing Black
farmers to get back into business. The goal of the USDA is to destroy the family farm on the planet
Earth, PERIOD. We also know that this government which developed HIV/AIDS and "terminator
gene" technology is continuing their efforts to destroy Black life with new and more effective
biological and chemical weapons. We will have to finance our own survival.

If the Black farmer is "obsolete" then so are we, the Black eaters of white folks’
poisons. The fact that some white people will also die as "acceptable causalities" in this
war of genocide, does not numb my instincts and resolve for survival and self-preservation. We thank
our brother Mumia, who even from prison, can see this.

Subject: Re: [TheBlackList] A Letter to Black Farmers

Martin V Burrows Jr."

Re:Re:…

Bro. Martin said, "I think Black Farmers should set up farms in countries on the African
continent. Rent out their land in the USA." Unfortunately, most Black farmers are already
renting out their land. As a part of the Black Land Loss Summit we will have representatives from
African countries to present opportunities for farming in Africa. However, I have a friend that has
lived in Zimbabwe for 2 years on 4500 acres of land. He has been able to farm only 5 acres of this
land, because he does not have any capital or equipment. The government does not have any money to
give him and non-profits like Ford and Kellogg Foundations will not give him any money.

I find it amusing how easy it is for people who do not own land to tell those that due own land
to pack up and move to Africa. We say that we want to be more "African", while at the same
time disregarding the deep roots that Africans have for tribal and family land. Black farmers feel
more like "Africans" about their land than do most of us. Why don’t more of our
"professional" class that have been complaining about discrimination in America’s work
force since slavery pack up and move to Africa? They certainly need your expertise and the money
that you have amassed in the "Bellie of the Beast".

Again, who will fund our survival here? When will we start "taxing" ourselves and then
trusting ourselves with our own capital to invest in ourselves? We are the financial backbone for
America. When will we get a "backbone" and use our wealth for self? Time is running out in
the play pen. Break your chains of mental "house arrest".

If you want more information about what is going on with Black farmers, your food supply and what
we do everyday to solve these problems please visit us at: http://www.muhammadfarms.com.

Peace, Dr. Ridgely Abdul Mu’min