NABJ Congratulates TJ Holmes on Move from CNN to BET

NABJ Congratulates TJ Holmes on his Move to BET College Park, MD (December 7, 2011)-Today the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) congratulates member T.J. Holmes on his decision to move to BET. BET has announced a multi-platform deal with Holmes which includes a newly developed show hosted by the veteran journalist on BET, as well as content on BET.com in which Holmes will report on important and interesting stories for BET's growing audience. Holmes currently anchors CNN Saturday & Sunday Morning, the weekend edition of CNN Newsroom. He joined the network in October of 2006. "NABJ extends our sincere congratulations to T.J. on his move to BET and applaud the network for reemphasizing the importance of news as part of its programming," said NABJ President, Gregory Lee Jr. "At the same time this is a loss for CNN for whom T.J. has been at the forefront on a number of important stories. We hope that CNN is considering replacing him with a journalist who reflects the network's continued commitment to diversity." Since joining CNN, Holmes has anchored numerous major breaking news stories, including the network's coverage of the tornadoes that destroyed Joplin, MO, the Gulf oil spill in 2010, terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India and the conflict between Russia and the former Soviet Republic of Georgia in 2008; the Virginia Tech shooting from location in Blacksburg, Virginia and the terrorist attacks at the Glasgow Airport in Scotland in 2007; and Saddam Hussein's execution in 2006.  "T.J. is a dear friend and valued member of NABJ and he always answers when called upon to assist the association, said NABJ Vice President of Broadcast, Bob Butler. "We're proud that T.J. will now have a unique opportunity to engage BET's audience .This couldn't happen to a better person and we wish him much success."

A Note To The Readers & Reflections on 2011

As-Salaam Alaikum!

(Peace Be Unto You)

In my unique position at The Final Call, I have the opportunity to witness the activities of God’s servant, and the world’s number one news maker, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. Minister Farrakhan is magnetic. He is bold and uncompromising as he represents truth and speaks for the voiceless challenging the corrupt powers of this world.

I have had the blessing and honor of traveling to many different cities covering him. I have watched the fulfillment of prophecies, history being made, and the future being brought into existence. When on location, I see myself as a servant with the duty of bringing you (the reader) into the atmosphere and to the location where events are transpiring.  After you finish reading, it is my hope is that you feel like you were right there with all of us.

It is a blessing to be able to write and report for an independent media entity that is not muzzled because of corporate control and I thank our publisher and founder, Minister Farrakhan, for his visionary leadership in emphasizing the importance of an independent Black press.

As I looked over the many things that happened over the past year, I realized that while traveling, fulfilling  deadlines, researching, reading and typing, things are happen very fast. Undoubtedly, you as readers of  The Final Call experience the very same thing, so I thought it would be a good idea for a review.

Over the few weeks as we head into 2012, I will be re-posting some of the articles I’ve written in 2011. Many of you have emailed me or told me what you think about the articles and I am grateful. Some of you who have not now have another opportunity to provide me with some feedback as together, we recap some of the year’s most notable news making events.

I am grateful to all of you who continue to support The Final Call newspaper and The Final Call Inc., and I am thankful for the experienced guidance of the Final Call’s General Manager Fontaine Muhammad and Editor-in-Chief Richard B. Muhammad, for opportunities to manifest my skills and talents for the benefit of Our Nation.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Production Staff of The Final Call responsible for designing the great covers and graphics, the great Photographers who lend their skills and talents to ensure that moments in time are captured, as well as the men of the FOI who tirelessly deliver the paper to the people. I thank the online staff, at Final Call.com and the emerging new media division that keeps our Twitter feed updated and Facebook presence fresh and the transcribers who diligently work to bring digital recordings into a text based reality, as well as the proofreaders who read thousands of words daily. 


Let's see what 2012 brings.

Sincerely, your brother and servant,

Ashahed M. Muhammad

Farrakhan 'Connects the Dots' in Nov. 23 national radio interview w/ host Robert Muhammad

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was interviewed for "Connect the Dots" Radio Show on Nov. 23rd, 2011.

Robert Muhammad, host of  "Connect the Dots" radio show on 90.1 KPFT FM in Houston interviewed The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan for one hour on Wednesday, November 23.

Minister Farrakhan delivered analysis of national and international affairs in light of history, scripture, and prophecy for the radio listeners and those tuning in nationwide via internet.

He also had some words for Mr. Abraham Foxman of the ADL.

No technical disruptions. No commercial interruptions.  

Click here to listen  to the replay now!   

Jews and Slavery in the Caribbean & South America

A new book released by Tony Martin which provides a comprehensive treatment of Caribbean history. Currently available only through Amazon.com.

Jews and Slavery in the Caribbean and South America

Nine out of ten captured Africans were shipped to Brazil. Jewish scholar Dr. Arnold Wiznitzer described the early Jewish presence: “[Jews] dominated the slave trade ... The buyers … at the auctions were almost always Jews, and because of this lack of competitors they could buy slaves at low prices.”

According to Jewish scholar Dr. Harold Brackman, during the 1600s “slave trading in Brazil became a ‘Jewish' mercantile specialty in much the same way it had been in early medieval Europe.” In fact, wrote Jewish scholar Jonathan Schorsch, “Jewish merchants routinely possessed enormous numbers of slaves temporarily before selling them off.” If a slave auction fell on a Jewish holiday it was postponed due to lack of buyers and sellers!

The Jewish Encyclopedia adds that “Jewish commercial activity” in this time included a “monopoly of the slave trade.” Jewish traders bought Africans in lots from the Trans-Atlantic shippers and retailed them to inland plantation owners.

The Jews of Surinam gave their slave plantations Hebrew names such as Machanayim, Nachamu, and Goshen. According to Dr. Marcus Arkin, they used “many thousands” of Black slaves. Rabbi Herbert I. Bloom added that the “slave trade was one of the most important Jewish activities ...” In 1694, Jews owned 9,000 Africans, and by 1791 there were 100 “Jewish mulattoes” in Surinam—the result of the rape of African women by their Jewish enslavers.

The prominent Jewish historian Dr. Cecil Roth wrote that the slave revolts in parts of South America “were largely directed against [Jews], as being the greatest slave-holders of the region.” Jews set up militias with the sole purpose of fighting the Black Maroons, the escaped Africans who were fighting to free their enslaved brethren.

The first Hebrew poem written in the New World was an attack on the Black Maroon leader. The Jewish militias murdered the Maroons and cut off their hands to award as trophies.

The Jews of Barbados, wrote one Jewish scholar, “made a good deal of their money by purchasing and hiring out negroes ...”

All Barbadian Jews—including the rabbi—owned Black slaves. Jews warehoused so many African slaves in Barbados that authorities moved to limit the number of captives they could possess. Jews became the major traders in “refuse slaves”—Africans who were weak and sick from the Middle Passage voyage. Jewish traders “fattened them up” and sold them at a profit.

A major Jewish shipper from France had a monopoly on trade to the notorious slave dungeon at Gorée Island—the Auschwitz of the Black Holocaust. Sugar fueled and expanded the slave trade, and according to Jewish scholars, Jews “acquired large sugarcane plantations and became the leading entrepreneurs in the sugar trade.”

Jewish scholars Isaac and Susan Emmanuel reported that in Curacao, which was a major slave-trading depot, “the shipping business was mainly a Jewish enterprise.”

(Source: Historical Research Department, Nation of Islam)

Muammar Qaddafi: A Revolutionary, A Hero, A Freedom Fighter

Defending Farrakhan: The Campaign to Free the Real Children of Israel [Book Review]

For nearly three hate-filled decades, Jewish organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, the American Jewish Committee, and the Simon Wiesenthal Center have written and spoken ill of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, seeking to tarnish his good name and works.

Many admirers and supporters of the work of Minister Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam have been angered by the arrogant and paternalistic attitude of the aforementioned organizations, as well as their constant attempts to hinder Black unity and progress. 

Minister Farrakhan is far different from the mean-spirited, vituperative anti-Semitic specter created in the controlled media.

There are those who sincerely misunderstand and have allowed the warped caricature presented in the media to form a distorted view of who Minister Farrakhan is and what he has worked to accomplish in some 56 years at the forefront of the struggle to free the oppressed. Others in positions of influence intentionally misrepresent the Minister's words for malicious purposes. Why?

Despite their calculated words, deliberate deceptions, and conniving opposition to his mission and work, not one of them has ever accused Minister Farrakhan of being a liar. Despite their efforts, the spiritual, mental and economic growth of the Nation of Islam has continued and Minister Farrakhan remains as the last uncompromising voice of truth. Why?

Answers to the questions presented are all found within the pages of the recently released book Defending Farrakhan: The Campaign to Free the Real Children of Israel.

Page after page reveals an assortment of thematically related articles, written in various styles, which effectively repel and demolish the defamatory attacks against the Minister. Some articles offer straight news coverage, others take on the tone and tenor of detailed research documents, others are written in a more conversational style and still others are commentary. All are absorbing, thought-provoking and compelling.

To understand how a book like this came into being, you must consider the historical context.

On June 26, 2010, Minister Farrakhan announced the release of the second volume of The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews: How Jews Gained Control of the Black American Economy. The predictable howls of anti-Semitism were heard from some critics; however, this time, there was a very unpredictable result. This time, their lies and cries were ignored by the masses, who continued to turn out by the thousands to hear Minister Farrakhan represent the truth!

Around that same time, individuals began writing articles, published consistently in The Final Call, defending the scholarship presented by the Minister and refuting the slanderous charge of anti-Semitism. The articles cover a wide variety of topics: Jim Crow, Zionism, sharecropping, genetics, the Talmud and ancient history, among other subjects. Out of those writings has come the book Defending Farrakhan.

When Morton Klein of the Zionist Organization of America attacked the Minister, Cedric Muhammad responded with an open letter picking apart Klein and the “oldest pro-Israel group in the U.S.”

When Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Center attacked, Jackie Muhammad and Tingba Muhammad responded with missiles of truth aimed directly at the Center's body of lies.

Minister Farrakhan's critics were no longer safe to make unfounded assertions and not be met with swift retaliation. The premises upon which they built their arguments were being smashed. When Stanley Crouch and Abraham Foxman joined in a wicked union of convenience to slander and defame the Minister on Michael Eric Dyson's radio show, they were thoroughly discredited.

The Minister triumphantly took the truth to Pittsburgh, appearing at a town hall meeting hosted by legendary radio talk show host Bev Smith. The threats were so heavy that one person scheduled to appear dropped out for fear of a loss of Jewish financial sponsorship. Despite the enemy's attempts, Minister Farrakhan and the people won that battle!

The details of the skirmishes involved in this “word war” are all chronicled in Defending Farrakhan.

Minister Farrakhan took the truth to Jackson State University in Mississippi—the Deep South—then to prestigious Howard University, working to form the next generation of conscious and aware future rulers.

It was clear that the Black/Jewish “relationship” would no longer be defined by those who have benefitted from exploitation, and most importantly, the articles and the book send a signal that a discussion of this so-called relationship will no longer be framed by that which they write.

In the foreword, which eloquently sets the tone for the entire 368 pages of very valuable data, Minister Farrakhan writes:

“(T)he studious writings of these brothers and sisters should be read, analyzed and ultimately must be acted upon so that throughout America and the world wherever this false charge is raised we may have the scholarship to refute these charges.”

It makes perfect sense that after defending the downtrodden and voiceless for all these decades, those who have been impacted and inspired by Minister Farrakhan should be found on the front lines wielding the sword of truth, writing to defend him against the venomous words of the enemies of our rise.

As it is written in the front pages of the book, “The ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr.” This is a very important and appropriate quote from Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) because we in the Black community have allowed others to tell our story and have not placed an emphasis on the importance of writing and reading. The importance of the Minister, the power of economics, the complicity of government and media in spreading falsehood are topics approached in this book, and compiled in one place. The articles can be used as a research and learning tool by students and truth-seekers alike.

This book presents another volume of important material and consider this—it only chronicles one year of The Final Call, which has now entered into its 31st year of publishing. Really, Defending Farrakhan in its own unique way demonstrates the vital role of independent Black media that are unafraid to tell and print the truth. It is also demonstrative of the power of those who write and document. This is critical to the furtherance of society, because it is from that material teachers will extract information that will be used to form new minds for the world to come.

Get this book! Do your part! Read this book and inform others of its existence.

[Defending Farrakhan: The Campaign to Free the Real Children of Israel, ISBN-13: 9780963687746, Publisher: The Nation of Islam Research Group, 368 Pages, Perfect bound.]

This entire review can be re-posted or republished in its entirety it is available @ FinalCall.com

ANC Youth League slams ICC hypocrisy, says NATO killing Libyan civilians

African National Congress Youth League says the continent is facing a real threat of re-colonisation

ANC YOUTH LEAGUE FULLY AGREES WITH DEPUTY PRESIDENT KGALEMA MOTLANTHE  THAT THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINALS’ COURT SHOULD PROBE LOSS OF CIVILIAN LIVES IN LIBYA DUE TO NATO ACTION:

The African National Congress Youth League fully agrees with ANC Deputy President’s view that the International Criminals’ Court should probe the loss of civilian lives due to the actions of NATO and all the countries that sent their military forces to Libya. What is happening is Libya today is very sad, repugnant and represents a very dark moment in efforts to totally liberate the African continent. This is due to some of African countries’ decisions and the insensitivity, greed and viciousness of imperialist forces, who used multi-lateral institutions to justify their invasion of Libya.

If the rebels ultimately take over Libya, everyone will know that these are rebels who were propelled to power and imposed on the people of Libya by imperialism through military violence, which led to loss of many civilian lives. Africa is now facing a real threat of re-colonisation, which comes with the brutality and violence that defined earlier forms of the battering of Africa as if in Africa resides people who are unable to take their own decisions and determine their destiny.

The ANC Youth League humbly requests all African leaders to do the humble of not recognising imposed regimes in the African continent. If the African Union recognises imposed regimes and government, then imperialist forces will be encouraged to fund and assist more rebel groups to illegally remove governments without the will of the people.

If the ICC is not a hypocritical institution established for the prosecution of people from Africa only, it should indeed take up the issue of civilian losses of lives caused by NATO bombings in Libya. Imperialist invasions and re-colonisation of Africa will never be allowed and it is high time, the youth of Africa stand firm to oppose everything that treat Africans as sub-human.

(Statement issued by the ANC Youth League, August 25, 2011)