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.