4 minute read
Religion & Spirituality
By AUTODIDACT 17 Special to the AmNews
Dr. Khalid Abdul Muhammad
“Have you forgotten that once we were brought here, we were robbed of our names, robbed of our language, we lost our religion, our culture, our God; and many of us, by the way we act, we even lost our minds!” assessed Dr. Khalid Muhammad.
Wednesday, Jan. 12 marks the 74th physical day anniversary of the undiluted “Truth Terrorist,” Dr. Khalid Abdul Muhammad. For a couple decades, he called Harlem his home and made a significant impact on area youths by nourishing their minds prior to becoming an ancestor on Feb. 17, 2001, at 58 years old.
Whether as minister of the Nation of Islam’s Temple #7 during the mid-1980s til late 1993, then at 2033 Fifth Ave., or as head of the secular New Black Panther Party (mid-90s to 2001), he motivated local youths to be productive leaders in their communities.
His above quote was sampled on the intro to progressive hip hop supergroup Public Enemy’s 1989 hit single “The Night of the Living Baseheads.” This track’s music video depicted the crippling effects of the torrential crack epidemic gripping Black communities across the country then. It fit most appropriately with “The Prophets of Rage” social messages and introduced Khalid’s insightful words to millions of hip hop aficionados globally, further immortalizing him. “Black people have been robbed of a knowledge-ofself, they start to take on the characteristics and the nature of their oppressor and colonizer and his mind by automatic systematic remote control rule of our people,” Dr. Khalid noted.
During the second half of the 1990s the Black History Hitman conducted many speaking engagements at various college campuses and lecture halls nationwide, disseminating empowering information rarely discussed, and often controversial, such as, “Who is that mystery God?” “Is the white man the devil?” as well as religion vs. spirituality, and “the secret relationship between Blacks and Jews,” just to name a few.
He fearlessly walked the streets of a pre-gentrified Harlem dolo, without bodyguards, companions, nor much fanfare, always greeting those who recognized him. He made many optimistic that situations would soon improve, regardless how bleak they seemed to be, he’d breathe life into them.
“Dr. Khalid was the epitome of Black manhood. An uncompromising Black Nationalist and messiah of our time!” reflected Kem-Neter, NBPP minister of information.
“Brother Khalid Muhammad was dedicated and committed to freeing his people from the garnish they were undergoing because he had an undying love for them,” explained documentary photographer Azim Thomas, who initially met Khalid in 1993 at Temple #7. “He dedicated his whole life to the resurrection of his people.”
In Khalid’s own immortal words: “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter!”
(Azim Thomas photo)
Dr. Helen Chavis Othow Dies at 89
By STACY M. BROWN
NNPA Senior Correspondent
Dr. Helen Chavis Othow, the beloved author, college professor and sister of National Newspaper Publishers Association President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., died at the age of 89 on Jan. 1, 2022 in Oxford, North Carolina.
A lover of reading, writing, and history, Dr. Othow received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and majored in Black studies and African, African American, and Caribbean literature.
She also studied Elizabethan and Medieval literature, and her dissertation, “The New Decorum: Moral Perspectives of Black Literature,” was published in the Library of Congress.
Dr. Othow presented “Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali” by D.T. Niane, that illustrated her appreciation and knowledge of African culture.
She expressed a desire to impart knowledge to all citizens of the world.
“My sister was also a freedom fighter,” Dr. Chavis remarked. “The Chavis family has been fighting for freedom, justice, and equality for 250 years in America and in Africa.”
Born April 21, 1932, in Oxford, North Carolina, Othow was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin Chavis Sr., who was a Prince Hall mason and superintendent of African American child-care institutions, and Elisabeth R. Chavis, a writer and public school teacher for 65 years.
A municipal park in Raleigh, North Carolina, bears the name of her ancestor educator, John Chavis (1763-1838).
The beloved scholar Dr. Othow also received a bachelor’s degree from St. Augustine’s College, and she earned her master’s at North Carolina Central University.
She eventually became head of the English Department at St. Augustine’s College.
She was also widely acclaimed and respected as a conscientious scholar dedicated to enhancing excellence in the literary and other arts. Othow also taught at the following Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs): Howard University, Johnson C. Smith University, North Carolina Central University, Hampton University, and Jackson State University.
Othow pushed for the understanding of African American (Photo courtesy of NNPA) history, including educating her students and others about John Chavis, who fought in the Revolutionary War and became an educator who taught some of North Carolina’s most influential leaders. Dr. Othow is survived by her daughter, Ajulonyodier Elisabeth Othow, her brother, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., and her sisters, Dr. La Rhoda Francine Chavis, MD and Carol Faye Paton, and a host of other relatives. Funeral services for Dr. Othow are scheduled for 1 p.m. EST., Saturday, Jan. 8 at the Chavis Family Cemetery in Oxford, North Carolina.
Condolences can be sent to Wright Funeral Home, Inc. at wfhoxf@embarqmail.com, or by visiting the funeral home’s website at www.wrightfuneralhomeoxford.com.
Dr. Helen Chavis Othow
