Five Percent Pioneering and Flashes In The Pan

Flash in the Pan: Something which disappoints by failing to deliver anything of value, despite a showy beginning.

     People who often remark how positive and productive I am usually have no clue WHAT I am working through. Despite the various projects that I have recently shared such as unveiling my Atlantis School Renovation Project on cable news, the Story Time Animation series I produced for distance learners or the premiere of Samuel L Jackson's Enslaved docuseries that I appear in, behind all of this it has been challenging. Over the last year we have lost some giants within our Five Percent Nation due to COVID-19 and other health related issues. This has been tough for many of us. Although some do, I typically don't share public memorials explaining the relationships that I've had with people who have passed, the last time we spoke to each other or etc. I honor them by walking with the best part that they shared with me and I preserve it for myself. 

     With the departure of some of our universal family members, they left a huge cultural void for others to fill. Not for us to take up space but filling that void by doing as much or more than what those universal family members were willing and able to do for us. It is a daunting task, for many. Some of these universal family members were pioneers and to fill a pioneer's shoes you will likewise need to be a pioneer; not someone who is simply walking on the road that they paved. In my experience within this Nation there are many who simply repeat what others have said before them. They do not actually add-on to their legacy and they do not understand the level of vision, effort, discipline, consistency and resilience that comes along with being a pioneer. Especially in this Social Media Era, people often seek attention yet do not grasp the potential ridicule, sabotage, open/closed enemies and change that comes along with the uncharted journey of being a pioneer. In regards to WF Muhammad's journey as a pioneer to find/teach his relatives, we learn to quote "I came to North America by myself" yet often don't realize the vulnerability that comes along with that self-reliant decision. We often don't realize the vulnerability that came along with The Honorable Elijah Muhammad co-founding the Nation of Islam as a pioneer or the vulnerability that came along with Allah leaving that religion and mosque politics to stand on his own and pioneer a youthcentric culture. Again, this is a daunting task for many and I am not confident that many will step up to fill the voids of our universal family members who have passed. We remember those in perfection by striving to be a perfect conduit of their consciousness through our actual contributions. In other words, we must do as much or more than what those universal family members were willing and able to do. Without contributing anything significant to our Nation, why are we even here? Some of us have identified as Five Percenerst for ten, twenty, thirty or more years and all we can tell others is what someone else said or did in the 1960s, 70s or 80s. While knowing past chronology is important, it is also important to understand that we are standing in the midst of current chronology and our actions, or lack thereof, dictates the future chronology. 

     Human activity, movement and the physical environment affects how cultures develop. One of our pioneers of cultural development, UM-Allah, was one of the first Five Percenters to attend and graduate from college with a Masters degree. Through his journey into this uncharted collegiate territory, UM-Allah helped develop our culture in societal spaces where it did not previously exist. Earning his Masters degree from California Polytechnic State University, he expanded the possibilities and progress of our nation. This enabled other Five Percenters to see a growth and development opportunity that did not previously exist. UM-Allah's contributions added a unique cultural mark on the map of human geography and within our nation's chronology. Breaking that social barrier, he paved the way for people like myself to learn this culture from a God in a collegiate academic setting, who also learned from a God who was taught in a collegiate academic setting. UM-Allah is just one example of our universal family members who have recently returned to the essence and left a cultural void for us to fill. 

     Building requires more than Facebook posts and "doing it for the 'Gram [Instagram]." I sense that many of us, including some Five Percenters, have gotten lost in a longing for clout chasing and social media visibility. The problem with this is they unknowingly dive into a content driven stream of 'staying relevant'. In other words, if we are THAT important than we must prove that importance by constantly engaging our network with content demonstrating that value. For example, imagine folks who have been branded conspiracy theorists who are online 3-4 times a week putting out information exposing some government plot, cabal network and etc. In order to maintain that online persona THEY NEED TO CONSISTENTLY come up with content EVERY WEEK without fail. For many, it becomes ambulance chasing; constantly looking for something to post, share and say to keep up the online persona they created. The same applies to those among the Five Percent who try to brand themselves online as youth advocates and community builders. Up until that point in their life most have been on a totally different trajectory. This is not to say that it is impossible for people to change that trajectory, it is to say that it is difficult if you are not really about youth advocacy and community building. That is one of the reasons Allah left the adults at the mosque and focused on teaching youth. This is also one of the reasons Fredrick Douglass said, "It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men." In my two decades of experience as a youth advocate and community builder I have learned that people who are not really about this life fizzle out after a couple of barbecues, a school supply drive or other events they dress up for and take pictures at. A few short years later it will be hard to find any consistent evidence that they were ever serious about youth advocacy and community building. In most instances people don't even last a year and within weeks to months you will see them still doing things like promoting strip clubs, selling/using drugs, swinging, neglecting their own children, trolling people online, running around with open cases and other dysfunctional behavior. None of which represents righteousness or the duty of a civilized person.

   In conclusion, our elder Dumar Wade was adamant about teaching us to be positive/productive members of society; from the Rotor Rooter Man to the Architect. He was also adamant about us not being a gang, promoting gang activity or cosigning a gang lifestyle. He often remarked that, "We [Five Percenters] are here to STOP crime!" This mindset is the hallmark of youth advocacy and community building because it combats juvenile delinquency, social decay, lawlessness and community deterioration. Dumar, like other elders, simply echo[ed] the same sentiments of our founder Allah, The Father who also taught youth to be positive/productive members of society. This is our national trajectory. If this is not the direction we are leading our family and community members in then we are clearly leading them in the wrong direction.

Peace,

Saladin