Religion & Spirituality The crowning event of Black History Month: ‘Saviours’ Day 2023’

By DALEEL JABIR MUHAMMAD Special to AmNews

Saviours’ Day is an annual Nation of Islam commemoration of the birth of Master Fard Muhammad, the Great Mahdi of the Muslims, and the messiah of the Christians, who appeared in North America on July 4, 1930, and declared that the 400 years of bondage Blacks served in America had ended.

His coming and declaration fulfill many scriptures; however, perhaps most notable is the fulfillment of the promise God made to Abraham that his descendants would endure bondage in a strange land, among a strange people—before God Himself would deliver Abraham’s seed and judge the nation they served. Master Fard Muhammad was born on February 26, 1877, in the Holy City of Mecca.

He raised and taught the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who dedicated over 40 years of his life to the resurrection of the mentally, morally, spiritually, and economically dead so-called American Negro. Each year he would convene Saviour’s Day and deliver a major address and expound on the Divine Wisdom given to Him by Master Fard Muhammad.

After the 1975 departure of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in September of 1977, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan decided to rebuild the work of his Father, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and reestablish the Nation of Islam. Under Minister Farrakhan’s leadership, Saviour’s Day returned in 1981 in Chicago. In 1983, Minister Farrakhan changed the spelling of the commemoration from Saviour’s Day, as it had been, to the plural Saviours’ Day.

This year’s convention was held in the city of the Nation of Islam’s headquarters from Feb. 24-26 at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago, Illinois, and was livestreamed throughout the United States, Africa, the United Kingdom, and the Caribbean. This was the first full in-person Saviours’ Day gathering since 2020 due to the pandemic. This year’s theme for the conven- tion was from the book of Ephesians in the Bible which states in part: “Put on the Whole Armor of God.”

Thousands filled the McCormick convention center over the weekend for the plenary sessions, talent showcase, social entertainment, chess tournament, children’s activities, martial arts training, and the much anticipated return of the drill competition. On Sunday, Feb. 26, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan delivered the keynote address at the Wintrust Arena, where over 10,000 were filled with guests, believers, families, Muslims, Christians, Hebrews, and other faiths and denominations, from a myriad of races. His message of “The War of Armageddon has begun” was one of warning, love, salvation, and truth.

“Truth is the most necessary ingredient for our salvation,” the minister proclaimed to the packed audience. His sermon included biblical and scriptural messages from the Bible and Holy Quran on following the right path and not the path of Satan. “Use your strength, whatever truth you know.

Tell it! Say it! And put your trust in God.”

The soon-to-be-90-year-old minister encouraged everyone to release the grip of Satan on their lives. Farrakhan addressed claims of antisemitism back in 1983 after he supported Jesse Jackson in his run for president. “God was with my tongue. God was with my mouth, and I stood with the spirit for Reverend Jackson’s run,” he said.

A list was read of prominent religious and political leaders along with Pan-Africanists, scholars, and national organizations who were once labeled antisemitic because of the positions they took on freedom, justice, equality, and fair dealing, including the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), The Nation of Islam, Rev. Billy Graham, Abraham Lincoln, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, William Tatum, Marcus Garvey, John Henrik Clarke, James Baldwin, Rosa Parks, Jimmy Carter, Booker T. Washington, Malcolm X, Jay Z, Kanye West, Kyrie Irving, and many others.

At the head of the antisemitism battle cry are the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center, groups that have conducted activities to diminish Black power and unity. These organizations label people who criticize Jewish behavior as antisemitic without proof, the minister said. They have power over the media and other avenues that shape the human mind and just the charge of antisemitism brings public condemnation and isolation.

Labeled by these groups as the world’s top antisemites, the minister said when somebody has lied so well when the truth comes and a man is born to tell that truth, the deceiver must hide that man.

“I have never been an antisemite. If I had them in front of me, they could not prove their charge,” he said. “They don’t want you to hear what I have to say.” Farrakhan is considered the last man standing for the cause of truth and liberation for all people. Saviours’ Day, the crowning event of Black History Month, was an enlightened event that was open to the public and viewed worldwide.

Continued from page 2

TUNISIAN LEADER IN HOT WATER OVER RACIALIZED CLAIM ABOUT BLACKS (GIN)

- Tunisian President Kais

Saied sparked controversy this week when he complained that sub-Saharan migrants arriving in Tunisia were changing the complexion of the North African country from “Arab” to Black.

Saied said that “the undeclared goal of the successive waves of illegal immigration is to consider Tunisia a purely African country that has no affiliation to the Arab and Islamic nations.”

Saied added there was a need to “put an end to this phenomenon quickly, especially as the uncon-

Nigeria election

Continued from page 2 allocation and not collation.”

“I appeal to my fellow contestants to let us team together,” said ‘Jagaban’ Tinubu during his acceptance speech on Wednesday. “It is the only nation we have. It is one country that we must build together.”

As Obi and Atiku supporters slam the result as a sham, Tinubu, who had long determined he was running for president because “Emi lokan” (“It’s my turn” in Yoruba), expressed to Nigerians that he is ready to accept this “serious mandate…to serve you…to work with you and make Nigeria great.”

INEC stated out of Nigeria’s 36 states, Tinubu won 12, including Rivers, Jigawa, Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, and Zamfara; while Atiku won Adamawa, Kaduna, Bayelsa, Taraba, Akwa Ibom, Gombe, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe, Kebbi, and Bauchi; and Obi won in Edo, Cross River, Delta, Lagos, FCT, Imo, Ebonyi, Plateau, Anambra, Abia, Enugu and Nasarawa.

New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) candidate Rabbiu Musa Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiya (Red Cap Revolution) won Kano State.

Dismissing demands for him to resign, INEC Chairman Mahmood Yakubu announced instead that on March 1, the Certificate of Return for the President and Vice President would be presented to Tinubu and his vice president, Kashim Shettima, at the National Collation Centre in Abuja, the capital. The INEC determined, “There are laid down procedures for aggrieved parties or candidates to follow when they are dissatisfied about the outcome of an election.”

Self-declared “One hundred Peter trolled immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa continue with violence [and] unacceptable crimes.” He said earlier this week that “urgent measures” were needed to address the entry of irregular immigrants from sub-Saharan countries, “with their lot of violence, crimes[,] and unacceptable practices.”

In recent years, Tunisia has been a key transit hub for people from other African countries crossing the Mediterranean to enter Europe. Tunisia is a founding member of the African Union, which has summoned the leading Tunisian diplomat in Addis Ababa over the issue.

The remark prompted the African Union to issue a strongly worded statement criticizing “racialized comments” made by Tunisia’s leader berating African migrants. They called

Obi supporter” Richard Iyasere told the Amsterdam News that any announcement which did not determine Obi to be the actual winner would be an issue for millions of voters and his supporters.

Decrying fraudulent shenanigans at the polls, and INEC’s refusal to ensure the uploading of the election results onto the server as promised, the Bronx-based activist said, “There is enough evidence that this election was not conducted in a free and fair way. The legal machine is already in place to go to court and not to accept the result.”

Iyasere slammed the failure of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), which was supposed to securely upload the nation’s votes.

The community organizer added, “Nigeria is a complicated country. After the election we had some challenges with the electronic system. We thought we would rescue the result, yet INEC has failed to deliver a free and fair election.

“I will mobilize my own team and the protests will start by Thursday.”

He added cautiously, “This shouldn’t be a second End Sars situation. We are talking to the youth. We want them to protest peacefully.

“What was a good thing though was our youth standing up for their vote. They demanded a credible actual result at the polling units to be announced with no manipulation.”

“There is sadness and frustration in the country,” said former Amsterdam News reporter Ikenna Ellis Ezenekwe, an Abuja-based activist and publisher of 247ureports.com.

“Nigeria conducted its largest election in history, and it was criminally hijacked by a political gang that controls the levels of power. The people of Nigeria were robbed on February 25, 2023 of their mandate forcefully in the most brutal and bloody form ever witnessed in his comments “hate speech.” the 24 years of Nigerian democracy [after military rule]. The Independent National Electoral Commission in cahoots with the ruling political party rigged the presidential election in a manner never witnessed in the history of Africa. It was not done in hiding. It was broad daylight.

“The chairperson of the African Union Commission H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat strongly condemns the shocking statement issued by Tunisian authorities targeting fellow Africans, which go against the letter and spirit of our Organization and founding principles,” said his spokesperson in a statement.

Hundreds of protesters in Tunisia’s capital also protested the president’s remark, taking to the streets to denounce racism and express solidarity toward migrants.

Shouting “No to racism,” “Solidarity with migrants,” and “No to police crackdown,” protestors marched through central Tunis as part of a demonstration staged by Tunisia’s journalists, unions, and several nongovernmental organizations.

It was brutal and bloody.

“The few patriotic staff of the electoral empire who refused to go along with the rigging were attacked. They totally falsified the election results. Many of the voters were chased away using thugs and Nigerian security officers. It was a charade.”

Ezenekwe is outraged. “This action by the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress, may result in the return of the military. The youths are angry, and are readying to hit the streets massively across the regions of the country in protest against the nature of the election.”

Lookman Mashood is the owner of Buka, a Nigerian restaurant with locations in Brooklyn and Manhattan, and told the Amsterdam News, “We know many people wanted Obi to win. But Tinubu won. Obi supporters are going to wait another four years. The Obi outing has been amazing. Congratulations Nigeria, in this great man we have an opportunity for a better to morrow. May God give him great health.

Congratula tions to Peter Obi. He put up a great fight, and of course Alhaji Atiku. May peace reign in our wonder ful country.”

Several social media users likened Saied’s comment to the notion of “the great replacement,” a conspiracy theory that white people in Europe are being usurped by foreigners, mainly from Africa and the Middle East.

“Kais Saied is repeating racist replacement-type theories that many Tunisians have been saying for a long time,” said Shreya Parikh, a researcher on Black and Arab identity.

After Saied’s remarks, Romdhane Ben Amor, spokesperson for the Tunisian Forum for Social and Economic Rights, deplored an increasing number of racist assaults against sub-Saharan migrants.

“We noted attempts to drive some migrants out of their homes,” he told the Associated Press. “Others are being prevented from taking public transportation.”

A statement by the African Union reminded countries, especially its member states, “to honor their obligations under international law and relevant instruments to treat all migrants with dignity, wherever they come from; refrain from racialized hate speech that could bring people to harm; and prioritize their safety and human rights.”

(GIN photo)

Black history

Continued from page 12 tically, even when that history is unpleasant. We owe it to the people who got us to this point to portray their lives and their lessons correctly. When we deny any student the truth, we hinder their ability to grow into empathetic adults who will continue driving society forward. We are shooting ourselves in both feet if we think society can progress without an honest view of history as a guiding light. For people who want to ban Black history, denialism and regression are the whole point.

Those who oppose Black history are destined to fail

Labeling a topic as “controversial” won’t make it go away, nor will removing it from school curricula, especially in a day and age when kids can access virtually unlimited information with a swipe of their fingers. We will fight back against the banning of Black history, just as we’ve done every time our lived experiences have been disregarded and called “controversial” or worse. And we will win, because the truth cannot be silenced. Black history is at the heart of America’s origins, how it has endured, and how it will survive future challenges. Instead of trying to ban it, the people who consider it so controversial should try actually reading it. They might learn something.

Svante Myrick is president of People For the American Way. Previously, he served as executive director of People For and led campaigns focused on transforming public safety, racial equity, voting rights, and empowering young elected officials. Myrick garnered national attention as the youngest-ever mayor in New York State history.

Robert Davis Jefferson, formerly of Mount Vernon, NY, passed away on February 13, 2023 in his nursing home in Yonkers, NY. He was the younger son born to the late George Jefferson and Milbert Davis Jefferson of Harlem, NY. He is survived by his daughter Dawn (Marquita); his brother, George, Jr. and nephew, Chad Ayers. A graduate of Brooklyn Tech, University of Wyoming, and Pratt Institute, Bob worked for I.M. Pei & Partners and Lewis, Turner Partnership as an Associate Architect on the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and the NYC School Construction Authority as Director of Design Review.

On Saturday, March 4th, a memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. at Hope UCC in Alexandria, VA.