February 21. 2007
Page A4
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
The Power of Louis Farrakhan
at the N atio n 's annual co n
vention in Detroit.
S e v e ra l m o n th s ag o ,
faced w ith major health con
cerns. M inister Farrakhan
relinquished most o f h i s day-
to-day duties as head o f the
N at ion ' s Hiiard of I Jirectors.
IO J l IH.K G k H , M \ I HIS
Oil Sunday. Feb. 25.
M in is te r
L o u is
Farrakhan. head o f the
Nation o f Islam, will d e
liver what is likely to be
his last m ajor speech,
"O ne Nation u n d ert iod".
Out o f respect for the m inister's
com m itm ent to social justice and
em pow ering A frican-A m ericans,
every one o f us w ho is able should
travel to Detroit to be a part of
Saviors' I )ay 2( >07 and hear witness
to w hat is sure to be a historic, life-
altering address.
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E v e ry b o d y 's ta lk in g a b o u t it ....
Town Hall
February 2 4 , 2 0 0 7
10 a.m . - 12 Noon
ECC Cascade Campus, Terrell Hall Room 122
(705 M. Killingsworth St. Portland, OR 97217)
For more information
contact Rence Word at
503-906-1443
or or E-mail
renee.ward'« State, or.tis
Kep. T in a K o tc k
D is tric t 4 4
H ep. C h ip S h ie ld s
D is tr ic t 4 3
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Minister prepares for last major address
S av io rs’ Day is usually held in
C hicago, w here the N atio n 's head
quarters is located, but it is fitting
that the event beh eld in Detroit this
year. T he Nation o f Islam was
founded in D etroit in 1930 by
W allace Fard M uham m ad with the
goal o f uplifting the spiritual, so
cial, and econom ic lives o f black
men and women.
A fter M uham m ad disappeared
m ysteriously in 1934, the H onor
able Elijah M uham m ad took over
the reins o f the organization. Linder
his leadership and that o f M alcolm
X, the organization reached inter
national prom inence. A fter Elijah
M uham m ad'sdeathin I9 7 5 ,h isso n
W arith Deen M uham m ad moved
aw ay from the N atio n 's original
purpose, opening the organization
up to w hites and renam ing it the
Am erican M uslim M ission.
In 1979, Minister Farrakhan broke
aw ay from the M ission, re-estab
lishing the Nation o f Islam which
restricts m em bership to blacks and
calls for a separate econom ic and
social structure for blacks.
O ver the years, the Nation has
had its fair share o f controversy,
but the group has long been a trans
form ational force in the blackcom -
m unity. T he Nation has w orked to
clean up drug addicts, kept young
black men out o f the gang life and
help new ly released prisoners make
a fresh start.
D uring the 1980s, when crack
cocaine first hit the scene and vio
lence in black com m unities esca
lated, the United States D epartment
F arrakhan's request, for the M il
lion Man M arch, a day o f unity,
protest and atonem ent. A fter the
event, the num ber o f black male
voters increased dram atically and
black men all o ver the country be
gan to becom e more active partici
pants in their fam ilies and the larger
society.
Over the years, The Nation
has had its fair share o f
controversy, but the group has
long been a transformational
force in the black community.
o f H ousing and Urban D evelop
m ent co n tracted several private
firm s run by m em bers o f the Nation
to p ro v id e secu rity in hou sin g
projects. T he N ation stepped up
and did w hat the co u n try 's law
enforcem ent w ould and could not
do. A nd, as part o f w hat is sure to
go dow n as one o f the N ation’s
defining m om ents, m ore than one
million black men gathered in W ash
ington, D.C. in O ctober 1995, at
B lack A m ericans ow e it to them
selves to experience, in person, the
pow er o f M i n i ster Loui s Farrak han.
And we ow e it to the m inister’s
com m itm ent and his legacy, to make
this the m ost successful, im pactful
S aviors' Day in history.
Judge Greg Mathis is national
vice president o f Rainbow PUSH
and a national board member o f
the Southern Christian Leadership
Conference.
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Supporting Black-Owned Businesses
by E k \ is
M ii . ton
Am erica is filled with com m uni
ties o f ethnically and racially d i
verse people groups. The people in
these co m m unities, u n d erstan d
ably, love and support one another
spiritually, physically and finan
cially. That support is apparent to
me when I visit m ost o f these co m
munities. I expect to see places o f
w orship that reflect the ethnic
m akeup o f these cultures. I even
expect to hear rem nants o f the Ian-
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guage o f the dom inant ethnic group.
M ost im portantly, how ever, I ex
pect to see independent businesses
that are heavily supported by the
com m unities they serve.
E conom ic developm ent is vital
for the wel I -being o f every co m m u
nity. Ifa e o m m u n ity 'sre sid e n tsd o
not support its businesses, then
w ho can be expected to support
them ? W ho will supply the food,
clothing and m aterials needed for
the cultural experiences that are
unique to a particular ethnic group
or culture?
If a co m m u n ity 's businesses are
not supported, then how can the
com m unity survive and thrive and
make a positive impact on the greater
society? It should be expected that
the com m unity will supply its own
needs and purchase from its own
people w henever possible. That is
the only w ay a com m unity can re
main viable.
Yet, when I visit black com m uni
ties, I see very few black ow ned
businesses. M any o f the black
businesses I do see are obviously
not fully supported by their own
people. Before the beginning of
integration, black businesses did
very well in theirow n com m unities.
Black businesses served the needs
o f people w ho w ere unable, for the
most part, to assim ilate, and were
not w elcom ed into the greater soci
ety. Purchasing options for blacks
were lim ited, so black businesses
provided alm ost everything black
citizens needed for their upkeep.
Black people supported one an
other, not only in businesses, but
in the w hole o f com m unity life.
W hen one rose, the w hole co m m u
nity felt the positive movem ent.
Likewise, w hen one fell, the co m
m unity supported that person and
helped him or her becom e more
stable.
Now, after m ore than 30 years o f
integrated life, the buying pow er o f
b lack s has risen trem en d o u sly .
A ccording to the new est edition o f
a T he B uying P ow er o f Black
A m erica, black households spend
more collectively than Hispanics or
other m inorities in virtually every
consum er product and service cat
egory. Economic wealth flows from
oureom m unities, yet there are fewer
black ow ned businesses in black
com m unities than ever before.
How can that he? Internal racism
has taught blacks that supporting
their own is against the Am erican
way. Blacks have been taught to
tear dow n one other rather than
build each other up. Jealously,
envy and strife flourish within the
black com m unity. H ow ever, if we
look around at other racial and eth
nic groups that prosper, we can see
that they support their own w hen
ever possible. Blacks offer more
support to the businesses o f other
racial and ethnic groups in the black
com m unity than to their own. la m
not saying that other m inorities or
anyone that chooses to put busi
nesses in the black com m unity
should not have the right to do so.
I am saying that black people should
he creating jobs, putting econom ic
developm ent and w ealth back into
their own com m unities with the
money that they cam , control and
spend.
As we move inloa ti me o f remem
bering the history o f blacks in
America, let us recom m it ourselves
to changing the course o f history
for the future by pursuing greater
econom ic w ealth and developm ent
fo rth c black com m unity. By doing
so. we will m ake life better for all.
Ervin Milton is the team leader
and director o f Franklinton Cen
ter at Bricks in eastern North
Carolina.