Religion & Spirituality

Malcolm X and his plight for human rights

By MAL’AKIY 17 ALLAH Special to the AmNews

This Thursday, May 19, is the 97th physical day anniversary of human rights activist, Malcolm X, a.k.a. el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz. Often misunderstood as a hate preacher and an advocate for violence, simply because he encouraged Black people to love themselves, what has been overlooked is his human rights plight for his people.

After enduring centuries of emotional, psychological, and physical slavery in the wilderness of North America, many Black people thought that assimilating with their oppressors was what determined their freedom and success. However, Malcolm X utilized the theology of his Garveyite upbringing, as well as that from the Nation of Islam, in advocating Americanized-Africans to be a self-determining people. Homelessness, inadequate education, police terrorism, and rampant unemployment were just some of the issues plaguing Black communities.

“As long as these injustices are labeled by us as civil rights this remains a domestic issue and none of our people from abroad, because of protocol, can be involved in Uncle Sam’s domestic problems,” Malcolm X noted during a June 25, 1964 interview on Boston radio. “So all the civil rights groups have to do is expand the struggle from civil rights to human rights. And once it’s expanded to the level of human rights then this puts us in the position to charge the U.S. with violating the U.N. charter on human rights.”

His Organization of Afro-American Unity was established months earlier specifically to address these issues, and he utilized that platform perfectly. Having recently conducted his hajj to Mecca, and also visiting several North African countries, helped expand his global views.

“As long as we keep it on the level of civil rights, then we alienate the support of our brothers and sisters in Africa and Asia,” he explains. “But on the level of human rights we have the support of billions of Black, Brown, Red and Yellow people from all over this Earth behind us.”

While implementing the Pan African paradigm of his upbringing, he was presenting vastly new ideas to the general public.

“It is only in the United Nations where everybody has a ballot, where everyone has equal vote, that the plight of the Black man can be given a just hearing and the rest of the dark world can weigh on our side and balance the scales. Whenever you take it into the white man’s court you will never get justice because he’s the guilty one who committed the crime in the first place. It’s like taking your case from the wolf to the fox, in taking it to Washington, D.C. You can never have civil rights until you have human rights. Human rights represent the right to be a human being. Whenever you are recognized and respected as a human being, our civil rights are automatic.”

By the time of his February 21, 1965, assassination, Malcolm X had become a threat to the global colonial powers, and is regarded as one of the most influential people in United States’ history.

“He had gotten the pledge of eight African nations to take the case of Black America before the United Nations as a human rights case, against a civil rights case,” explains master teacher Dr. John Henrik Clarke in the documentary “Brother Minister: The Assassination of Malcolm X,” “and I don’t think this nation wanted to suffer the embarrassment of having that done. He was exposing colonialism.”

He concludes: “I do not believe that jealous idiots within the Nation of Islam had the intellectual capacity to understand the depth of a Malcolm X, the direction of a Malcolm X. So therefore, their hands may have killed him, but the direction of their hands—the intent—came from outside.”

On May 19, 2022 activists visit the gravesite of Malcolm X at Ferncliff Cemetery in Ardsley, N.Y. Others shut down stores on 125th Street Harlem to honor the man, as they consider his achievements. (Nayaba Arinde photos)

include giving judges discretion in bail reform, precision policing model, mental health treatments for homeless individuals, rigorous gun buyback programs, using shotspotters to triangulate shootings, and community policing. Suozzi said he’s passionate about prevention and intervention of crime and its underlying factors.

“Reducing crime and guns are enforcement but it is also long-term prevention. You have to do both,” said Suozzi.

“Public safety is the number one priority. The number one issue on people’s minds,” said his running mate, former Councilmember Diana Reyna. “We cannot continue delaying loopholes in bail reform. We have an affordability crisis, when you have young people graduating their careers, making good money and they can’t afford a place to live. Something’s wrong with our state.”

Reyna was the first woman of Dominican heritage elected in New York State in 2001. She was on the city council for 12 years. Reyna also describes herself as a lifelong common sense Democrat that will reach across the aisle to have conversations on difficult policies. She criticizes the Democratic party, in particular the progressive left, for not “owning” issues like the gun violence crisis or a crackdown on the opioid crisis.

“Interestingly enough there is a common theme as you travel the state, rather than differences,” said Reyna.

Reyna is a first-generation Dominican American, born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She said her mom immigrated to the U.S. in 1965, became a seamstress and then a home attendant while raising three daughters.

Reyna said one of her motivations for running for lieutenant governor was to see more Hispanic/Latino representation in higher offices of government in the state. She would be the first ever Latina to win lieutenant governor. “This is an opportunity for Latinos to have a voice,” said Reyna, “to have their values represented, to have an opportunity to make history.”

Reyna said that Hochul could have just waited for the primary and had a ‘fairly’ elected running mate instead of shoehorning in U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado to replace Benjamin ahead of the primaries.

“The interim governor had an excellent opportunity to wait until the primary for her democratic nominee for lieutenant governor. She chose not to do that,” said Reyna. “She had an opportunity to wait until the primaries were over to have a lieutenant governor that would have been elected by the people.” Both Suozzi and Reyna were supportive of protecting abortion rights in New York State. “I am pro choice, I believe in women’s reproductive rights. I believe that we should protect. I think Kathy Hochul has spent much more time talking about reproductive rights than addressing the issues of fixing bail reform and that is a travesty. Our neighborhoods are dying. We need to restore trust between community and law enforcement,” said Reyna. Suozzi said he stands with Hochul on the issue and that abortion must remain safe, legal, and accessible.

Candidate for governor Tom Suozzi and his running mate for lieutenant governor Diana Reyna. (Contributed photos)

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for The Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w

CHICKEN SOUP ISN’T ENOUGH

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significant commerce and affordable housing for years to come,” said Carrion. “Welcome home to the new residents of Caton Flats and the entrepreneurs and small businesses who bring this market to life. And thank you to Urbane and BRP Companies for a job well done.”

Amenities also include space for food vendors, a shared commercial test kitchen, a bar, a lounge, long-time community entrepreneurs.

The development project was a collaborative vision of former Councilmember Dr. Una Clarke, the late Dr. Roy Hastick, HPD, New York City Economic Development Corporation, and dedicated community members looking to preserve Caribbean commerce in the neighborhood back in 2015.

“This is such a significant moment, this market and the spirit of Dr. Hastick who was a mentor and a friend. I can recall when he planted the seed of the concept of how we use this space, not to displace but to build up,” said Adams.

Vendor Rodrick Brown, who sells fresh fruits and vegetables, praised the temporary relocation space on Clarendon Road while the building was completed, and the business training and incubator programs that the marketplace provided for the entrepreneurs. The Mangrove accelerator is an economic mobility platform and small business program to promote the growth of new and existing small local businesses, specifically targeting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) entrepreneurs.

One shopper commented that she could remember when the lot the building is currently built on, located at 2123 Caton Avenue, was an abandoned parking lot with mistreated vendors selling their wares to the community.

Councilmember Rita Joseph also remembered

Blacklight

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According to the Jacobson court, “the liberty secured by the Constitution of the United States to every person within its jurisdiction does not import an absolute right in each person to be, at all times and in all circumstances, wholly freed from restraint.”

In fact, government mandates around public health are deeply rooted in American history. Phillips v. City of New York, 775 F. 3d 538 (2015) upheld a law requiring that all children going to school in the City of New York are required to be vaccinated in order to attend public school unless they meet a religious exemption. The plaintiffs in the case argued that New York’s requirement that all children be vaccinated in order to attend public school was unconstitutional. Under the New York Public Health Law section 2164(7)(a) “[n]o principal, teacher, owner or person in charge of a school shall permit any child to be admitted to such school, or to attend such school, in excess of fourteen days” without evidence that the child has been immunized. The court in the case concluded that the New York Public Health Law was constitutional, the statute permissible, and the about 14 years ago when the merchants were in the parking lot. “I used to see how they were treated,” she said. “And I remember talking to Dr. Clarke about how we needed to make sure that the vendors had a place to build generational wealth.”

James Johnson-Piett, CEO of Urbane Development, said he was striving to create a place where development did not equal displacement when he took on the project. “I think for me it was learning how to become a steward for other people’s visions and integrating my own into it as well,” said Johnson-Piett. “The marketplace is one piece of it. The housing is something else, but really this is a complex for all things Caribbean.”

“We are so proud that you can be here today because this is a labor of love,” said Meredith Marshall, co-founder and managing partner of BRP Companies. “It took seven years for us to come full circle.”

Former Councilmember Mathieu Eugene said that he was blessed to have been a part of the project when he was on the city council. He was a strong supporter of the market and investing in capital to maintain the market as it was in the parking lot and the current mixed-use building, he said.

“I think this is a wonderful thing because so many people worked on this. And today we can be here together to celebrate and to cut the ribbon because this is a good asset for the community,” said Eugene.

Festivities raged throughout the weekend with live music, chef demos, food samplings, doublebarrel rum tastings, and cooking classes held at the marketplace.

Ariama C. Long is a Report for America corps member and writes about culture and politics in New York City for The Amsterdam News. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting: https://tinyurl.com/fcszwj8w

safeguards of protecting the public an important state interest.

Ultimately, while mandates can be a tool in ensuring compliance with necessary public health measures, according to researcher and author Anudeep Pant in an interview with the AmNews, “[t]here are several ways to combat vaccine hesitancy. Since we know some of the measures of vaccine hesitancy, these data points should be utilized to develop pointed interventions. For example, public health officials can get ahead of false narratives by monitoring misinformation that is circulating in their communities and developing education campaigns tailored to fill knowledge gaps and clarify misconceptions. Since different communities will have different reasons for refusing vaccination, specialized public health campaigns are key, this is no one-size-fits-all solution.”

“Lastly, partnerships between local trusted leaders, faith-based leaders, local politicians, healthcare workers, social workers, culture bearers, scientists…can be a powerful tool when everyone is working toward the same goal. The background and expertise of each stakeholder will be diverse so complementary knowledge, skills, and experience can create grassroots movements that can be critical in tipping the scale,” he added.

jority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. “This targeted attack against Black Americans is not a new phenomenon in this country, and now is the time that we as a nation come together to confront this hatred.”

“This week the CDC announced that 45,000 people were killed by gun violence in 2020, a tragic record and an indictment of our failures on all levels of government to combat this crisis and save lives,” stated New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. “45,000 lives lost and families devastated—a number so massive in scope that it can almost seem abstract, but the pain these families and communities feel is intense, acute, urgent.

“The threat of gun violence in our subways, our supermarkets, on our streets, will continue until we can finally, meaningfully address both the systems that enable individuals to perpetrate senseless violence and the weapons that enable such suffering,” continued Williams.

On Tuesday U.S. President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden visited Buffalo to mourn the victims of the shooting. The president acted as consoler-in-chief to grieving families, which has been a dominant strain in Biden’s tenure when took office in the throes of the COVID-19 epidemic.

The shooting also comes as pundits believe the conservative-leaning U.S. Supreme Court could potentially allow concealed carry in all states. New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. vs. Bruen challenges the state’s ability to deny petitioners applications for concealed-carry licenses for self-defense, claiming it violates the 2nd Amendment. New York State currently operates under the NY SAFE Act, which stops the mentally ill from buying guns and fights against the distribution of illegal weapons. While the language of the SAFE Act specifies that the state will not deny a person’s ability to bear arms and/or sell and buy weapons, the Bruen case challenges the state having any laws at all.

While the country struggles to deal with gun control, authorities are struggling to curtail the radicalization of white kids online.

“As these events continue to become normalized, it is up to us to ensure that we educate our community to work towards ending racism and gun violence,” stated New York City Council Member Farah Louis (D-Brooklyn). “By dismantling oppressive culture variables, our communities will be stronger than ever. At this time, I ask you all to join me in prayer for those affected by these tragic events.”

Grendon wrote an online manifesto before traveling to East Buffalo to commit acts of murders. In the 180-page screed, he thanked the website 4chan, and its community, for radicalizing him and cited the Great Replacement Theory that’s at the core of white supremacists’ beliefs.

The theory originates with books written by French nationalist Maurice Barres in the early 20th century and was reintroduced to this generation through the writings of Renaud Camus. In a 2011 essay titled “Le Grand Remplacement,” Camus expresses his belief that native white Europeans are being replaced in their countries by African, Middle Easterners and immigrants.

According to the March of Dimes Foundation, between 2018 and 2020, 52.1% of live births were white. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020, 1.8 millions of 3.6 million live births were white.

Camus believes that white people are lagging behind the non-white population in birth rates globally, and this will eventually lead to the extinction of the white race. In the United States, anti-semitic white supremacists blame Jews for non-whites immigrating to this country further emphasizing the “great replacement” theory in their eyes. This explains the chants of “Jews will not replace us” and “You will not replace us” on University of Virginia’s campus the Friday night before August 2017’s Unite the Right rally. Another white supremacist mantra is known as “the 14 words,” which read, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”

A writer who groups like the Anti-Defamation League blame for the current crop of white supremacists is Jean Raspail, author of the 1973 novel “The Camp of the Saints.” In the book, Raspail writes about an invasion of non-whites from Africa, the Middle East and India into France and “the world” overwhelming the white population while being welcomed with open arms by naïve liberals who don’t realize they’re being preyed upon. The book helped create the fear of the end of “Western exceptionalism” among supremacists while mainstream conservatives have also uttered that phrase.

You can buy the paperback of “The Camp of the Saints” on Amazon.

In the “customers who viewed this item also viewed” section of the page you can find “The Bell Curve,” the infamous book released in 1996 that discusses intelligence and its possible ties to class and race.

Some social justice groups are pushing Biden to take extreme right wingers headon and convene a national summit addressing extremism.

“All of us deserve to feel safe, especially as we move about in our communities and interact with our neighbors in places we all congregate, such as a supermarket,” stated Nikitra Bailey, senior vice president of public policy of the National Fair Housing Alliance. “We must come together as a nation and find ways to stamp out the hatred that led a gunman to target and terrorize a community—apparently because that’s where African Americans live.”

Bailey also relayed the fact that the area the market is located is 97% Black and has had difficulty obtaining fresh, healthy food. Tops was one of the few places in the neighborhood that provided such. For the time being, the shooting and its investigation have made the neighborhood a food desert. However, Gov. Hochul said that rideshare companies Uber and Lyft will provide residents free rides to and from other grocery stores. Those who reside in the zip codes 14208 and 14209 can receive a free ride to a Tops Friendly Markets located on 425 Niagara St. and a Price Rite located on 250 Elmwood Ave. BuffaloLyftUp is the code for residents to get $25 off on the app and SHOPBUF is the code to get at least $20 off per ride on Uber. Users can take advantage of the deal for a maximum of eight rides.

Another issue that conservatives like Fox News pundit Laura Ingraham have pointed to is mental health. Mental health is always mentioned after a shooting, but Schroeder Stribling, president and CEO of Mental Health America, wanted to remind the public that mental health has nothing to do with racial hatred.

“We live in a time where these acts of violence occur far too often and with enormous hate as the motivator,” Stribling said in an emailed statement. “Our nation’s BIPOC communities continue to disproportionately face such violence, and it must stop. Let me be clear: Hate is not a mental health condition.

“In the shadow of such a heinous act, the cracks in our system become ever more apparent: Our communities need more clinicians of color,” Stribling continued. “Getting help for mental health struggles must happen sooner, and it should not be stigmatized.”

The shooting, while standing at the intersection of race, gun control, food deserts and radicalization, race is the name of the game…and one person is tired of it.

Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, took to social media to let his frustrations with the current state of race relations in America known.

“Only in America can a white supremacist buy a gun, kill 10 people in a racially motivated massacre, get arrested peacefully… all with absolutely no action from Congress to prevent the next act of domestic terrorism,” said Johnson. “Black people are tired. Tired doesn’t mean defeated. We’re gonna fight like hell because our sons, daughters, brothers, sister, parents and loved ones are being shot and killed by white supremacists every day #BuffaloShooting.”

(Courtesy of NNPA)

Education

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In July 2020, 1,161 teachers filed papers. In 2021, 1,602 teachers filed. That number is the most since 2019, pre-pandemic when 1,583 teachers filed their retirement papers.

As with so many aspects of life, Black adults serve multiple roles in schools— and not all of them are visible. Children of color are, widely, more academically successful when they have a Black principal, and that success continues down the ladder. Black students who learned from a Black teacher in elementary school are more likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college—13% more likely if they had one Black teacher, and more than double that at 32% if they had at least two.

So a decline in Black teachers would really have far reaching effects on students.

“The Black kids won’t have any representation except for the few of us who grin and bear it and take whatever comes their way,” Seward says. “By being silent, we’re not doing anything for the kids who are coming after us if we continue to work in these conditions, and we continue to essentially beg people to see us as human beings, to see us as professionals.”

(Courtesy of Word in Black)

in general, but also for the community that uses bike lanes to do their work, delivering this will be safer for them,” Tisch said.

When she sat with the media for a discussion, she highlighted several key concerns for reporters.

“So what do I want to do? Two big areas. The first is cleanliness,” said Tisch. “I think that all New Yorkers have seen and experienced…less clean [streets], post-pandemic than it was prepandemic. And I believe that one of the most important things that the city needs to do now is to clean up our streets to give all the workers in every neighborhood in every community, the dignity of a clean-living environment, for the residents and certainly for also for tourism.

“People come to the city, and they won’t come back if the city isn’t clean,” Tisch said. “And I am going to place a very heavy emphasis on restoring the cleanliness of our neighborhoods and communities that I think that New Yorkers deserve.”

The other goal?

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“What we have to do is make our compost collection is both effective and cost effective,” said Tisch. “We have to push harder on extended producer responsibility. So while I know we’re talking about cleanliness today, I want it to be very clear that the work around sustainability…is also very important to me and central to the mission of the sanitation department.”

Some of the cleanliness initiatives for Tisch include bringing back alternate side parking.

“On my first day on the job, we announced that we were restoring alternate side parking to pre-pandemic levels,” said Tisch. “…at the beginning of the pandemic, alternate side parking was cut back in most places to once a week. And what that did was it sidelined the most effective clean streets tool that we have, which is the mechanical broom.”

This return-to-normal wasn’t met with open arms by New Yorkers as much as reopening restaurants were, but Tisch said it’s necessary.

“Many New Yorkers once in a while would get an alternate side parking ticket. That’s the cost of doing business,” said Tisch. “[Cutting alternate side parking] took a real toll on the cleanliness of neighborhoods and communities across the city. And that was why on my first day, I was actually very proud to announce that we were restoring alternate side parking to endemic levels of effective July.” She said that the department was waiting until July so New Yorkers aren’t surprised by the return to normal. One former elected official once had an issue with alternate side parking and tried to pass bills in the City Council to address. Back in 2014 New York City Councilman and current New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez introduced a bill that would end alternate side parking restriction as soon as a street has been swept cutting the wait time that drivers had to deal with. When the AmNews contacted Rodriguez’s people, they sent a recent release where Adams and Tisch announced a new $11 million commitment to new street cleaning alternatives. Those alternatives include a full restoration of alternate side parking and funding to clean bike lanes year-round. “Today’s announcement is a great way to kick off Earth Week by delivering cleaner and more efficient streets to New Yorkers,” Rodriguez stated in April. “I thank Mayor Eric Adams for his leadership on climate and sustainability matters and look forward to New Yorkers enjoying clear bike lanes and cleaner streets. And I welcome new Sanitation Commissioner Jessica Tisch as DOT continues our partnership with DSNY.”

When it came to the question of snow season Tisch said the department hires a new class every summer in preparation for the year. She also mentioned another initiative designed to counter the trash New Yorkers see on the streets in the summer as well as the winter called the Clean Curbs Program.

“Some places will fall into a five o’clock shadow, you know when garbage bags [are] on the street and [you] almost have to play again hopscotch and navigate around the big mountains, mountains of trash that we have on the street that does not look good. It also attracts rats and New Yorkers keep talking about it.

“Things like weatherization, making sure that the containers work. [Making sure] the containers working in all seasons,” continued Tisch. “Other

May 19, 2022 - May 25, 2022 • 31 issues are sizing. How big do containers need to be, what if some neighborhoods need to be smaller than many other neighborhoods? So it’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all approach. It has to be very much customized and tailored to the needs of each neighborhood and frankly each street. Last week, we announced our first container was on the street. We did it in Times Square and joked that if we can make it here we can make it anywhere.”

When the AmNews asked Tisch about hiring a new class in the summer to get ready for the winter, if they were hiring for summer as well to stave off any smells in the heat.

“What we do is we hire once a year. We do it in the summer,” said Tisch. “We always make sure that our numbers don’t, at any point in the year, go below a certain level that is required for the department to do its work. We hire based on what we think the number will be the following summer. So it’s not that we have the highest staffing in the winter, we just always make sure to do our hiring in the summer so by the winter they’re all trained up.”

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