Anchor Institutions and the Fate of Allah School in Mecca

 

   When the elders in our Nation of the Five Percent spoke and speak about the olden days, when our Parliaments were standing room only, how we had a working relationship with our local government, and when our influence in our communities spanned the boroughs, they are articulating how we were an Anchor Institution. Anchor Institutions are institutions, such as nonprofits, universities, hospitals, and corporations that serve as socioeconomic engines rooted in the communities they serve. According to National Academies, anchor institutions "play an important role in uplifting community conditions through a series of multilevel strategies and economic investment, including the creation of workforce training and living-wage jobs with good benefits, creating and improving affordable housing, increasing local safety and access to parks, and many others." Since its founding in 1967, our Allah School in Mecca Street Academy was established as our brick-and-mortar anchor for youth/community outreach within the Harlem community. Over the last fifty-seven years, we have fought to maintain that identity as an anchor in the public domain where mainstream media has historically mischaracterized us as a gang. With the expanding gentrification of Harlem, its subtle erasure, and redefinition as "North" or "Upper" Manhattan, it is important for us as Five Percenters to consider ways to protect our institution as the historical anchor it has been. 

     Within our Nation, it was always assumed among our members that our Allah School in Mecca is a parcel that was gifted to us by the Lindsay Administration with a 99-year lease. It was only recently discovered that no legal document exists to substantiate that claim of a 99-year lease. While some Five Percenters have argued that Allah School is Defacto ours because of our historical use, we are not the legal property owners. This parcel is classified as a miscellaneous religious facility owned by the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services [NYC DCAS]. From a legal standpoint, we as Five Percenters have been occupying this space based upon a non-verbal, undocumented memorandum of understanding with each City Administration since June of 1967. Because there is no legal documentation to substantiate our Defacto claim, our occupancy can be legally defined as squatting by the current or future City Administration. Luckily in New York, if squatters occupy a property continuously, openly, and exclusively without permission for a specified period, they can take its title. While this may be possible with a private owner, it is questionable if the New York City Department of Citywide Administrative Services would allow this to happen for prime commercial real estate that continues to appreciate in value over time.

     According to public records, the total assessed value of 2122 Adam Clayton Powell Jr Blvd [Allah School] in 2021 was $186,300. In 2022 it increased to $202,950. Its current value is $215,000. The value of the building [Youth Center], which measures 1,200 square feet, was $69,300 in 2021. In 2022 it increased to $85,950. The value of its land, which measures 12,490 square feet, has remained $117,000. Its market value, or the actual price someone was willing to pay for this property in 2021 was $414,000. Its current market value is $478,000 and continues to increase each year. Although there have been and continue to be conversations about the economic development of our Allah School, what has not increased are actual facade improvements or economic development on this property. 

     The value of any property is not based on the parcel itself. The property value is based on the surrounding neighborhood and the community. Sometimes to raise property value, community members are systematically excluded from economic development projects to redesign the neighborhood. This displacement process to change the character of an area for outsiders to move in is called gentrification. Regarding the Five Percent, this displacement of our Nation began during COVID-19. During the shutdown, we were restricted from using P.S. 154 Harriet Tubman Learning Center [250 W 127th Street] for our Universal Parliaments and Annual Show & Prove. Harriet Tubman was an adjacent Anchor Institution and community partner whom we have collaborated with for four decades. According to the School Administration Staff whom I spoke with at that time, the auditorium/cafeteria space was not available to the public due to COVID-19 gathering restrictions and unclear vaccination status protocols. This was understandable, seeing that most public spaces were closed during the shutdown. Yet four years later, our Five Percent Nation still has not set foot back in Harriet Tubman. This single maneuver displaced our most critical mass of Five Percenters who gathered monthly at Harriet Tubman for our Universal Parliaments and yearly for our Annual Show & Prove. Whether intentional or not, this maneuver undermined our ability to remain anchored in our community. As an alternative site, our Nation has been using P.S. 92 Mary McLeod Bethune [222 West 134 Street] for our Universal Parliaments and our upcoming Annual Show & Prove.

Allah School, PS 154 Harriet Tubman, PS 92 Mary McLeod Bethune

     Although this alternative site at P.S. 92 Mary McLeod Bethune is only half a mile away, it still displaces our Nation. Without our critical mass of Five Percenters gathering monthly and yearly within our community and at Harriet Tubman, a huge socioeconomic void was created that now erases our historic public visibility. How can we consistently engage our community members and provide resources where we are not present? How can we demonstrate that we are an asset rooted within our community, when we are not actually in the community? 

Aerial view of Allah School and its surrounding economic development

     When you look at the above aerial view of our Allah School, you can see the economic development and economic development potential around it. What you cannot see are the socioeconomic anchors that are being rooted around Allah School as engines to serve our community in ways in which our Allah School is not. While there are brothers who consistently show up in person/virtually once a week to talk for hours about our culture, there are no professional revenue-generating workshops, classes, or projects being facilitated at Allah School every day. We have no grant-funded youth advocacy/community outreach programs being offered in the neighborhood. We have no collaborative initiatives with area organizations and institutions that are available on-site or virtually. Nothing is being offered by/for women and girls; even though women represent 75% of the professional non-profit workforce in the U.S. and the Allah School is a non-profit. Additionally, according to a recent April 23rd Five Percenter Newspaper Facebook Group Post and my follow-up confirmation with School Officials, we are now in jeopardy of losing P.S. 92 Mary McLeod Bethune as the current location of our Universal Parliaments and the upcoming Show & Prove. A petition is being circulated by the surrounding school community to stop us from utilizing the space due to adult Five Percenters loitering, urinating, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, and being noisy on school property. 

April 23rd, 2024 Five Percenter Newspaper Facebook Post

     While some understandably see all of these things as a huge deficit, I see them as a unique opportunity for those of us who have the knowledge, wisdom, character, and consistency to make some positive productive workshops, classes, projects, programs, and initiatives happen. However, this will require some deep fundamental changes at our Allah School which some may not be willing to make. So where does this leave us? It leaves our Nation in an unprecedented time of growth and development if we are open to exploring solutions that may be beyond our personal scope. To continue our legacy as an Anchor Institution, we must be rooted in the same youth advocacy, community outreach, and capacity to secure resources as our founder, Allah. He was a doer, and his self-styled wisdom was evidenced in the way he actually shaped his community; the complete opposite of the deficits that I shared above. If we clearly do not have the character, experience, expertise, or credentials to lead these workshops, classes, projects, programs, and initiatives, we should proactively support the best knowers who do, regardless of our age or gender. Our survival literally depends upon this support, and our Nation will not thrive without it. 

Peace,

Saladin

Global Representation and the United Nations

United Nations Headquarters

      In 2020, following the release of our award-winning Samuel L. Jackson Enslaved: The Lost History of the Transatlantic Slave Trade docuseries that I had the honor to be a part of, I became connected to the United Nations. From March through August 2021, the Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery, together with the International Decade for People of African Descent, and with the support of Fremantle/and Associated Producers Ltd./Cornelia Street Productions, hosted screenings and in-person/virtual discussions of the docuseries. Participating in these programs became an opportunity for me to add on globally and learn more about the inner workings of the United Nations. 

United Nations Panel Discussion

     What began as participation in programs centered around our Enslaved docuseries, led to more in-person visits to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. It was through my in-person engagement that I eventually received a personal invitation from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to participate in the United Nations Second session of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent. It was here at the United Nations Headquarters that I became a member of the International Civil Society Working Group (ICSWG) for the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD). Two months later on August 31st, the United Nations featured me for International Day for People of African Descent and to honor the contributions of the African diaspora. You can view it HERE. This involvement with the United Nations, especially as a Five Percent pioneer, further expanded the global visibility of my work and its digital footprint. 

What is a digital footprint? 

  A digital footprint is the trail of data that we leave on the internet such as the information/content that we publish online and our online activities. While my YouTube Channel activity is one part of my digital footprint, my footprint primarily consists of hundreds of articles published in print/online, two dozen books, albums/singles, animation programs, online classes, and numerous podcasts, radio shows, interviews, presentations, news stories, national and international youth/community projects, programs, and initiatives. Keep in mind that this is without considering the countless reshares or repurposing of that content which adds to that digital footprint. As I mentioned before, I don’t take this lightly, or for granted, and I strive to make sure that I represent the best of what we are, as a people and as a Five Percenter.

What is the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD)?

     The Permanent Forum on People of African Descent (PFPAD) is a consultant mechanism established by the United Nations General Assembly for people of African descent and other relevant stakeholders as a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent and as an advisory body to the United Nations Human Rights Council. You can read its mandate here: PFPAD Mandate. In short, the PFPAD is a ten-member board that advises the main intergovernmental body within the United Nations [Human Rights Council] on issues specifically related to people of African Descent around the globe. One of the groups that advise this ten-member board is our International Civil Society Working Group (ICSWG). 

What is the International Civil Society Working Group (ICSWG)?

     Our ICSWG is a formation of civil society individuals and organizations from around the world working toward the establishment of a strong and effective Permanent Forum of People of African Descent (PFPAD). Since the United Nations General Assembly resolution to establish the Permanent Forum was established in 2021, our working group has mobilized civil society, hosted events to spread knowledge and awareness of the Permanent Forum, and worked closely with partners, groups, and communities to advocate for the Permanent Forum to be well-resourced, supported, well-attended, and impactful. We utilize several mechanisms to carry out that mission including monthly general meetings, seven subcommittees that carry out our working group’s objectives, and developing mechanisms to promote transparent and democratic processes for the PFPAD to engage civil society and set the agenda for the Permanent Forum sessions and providing feedback both on substance, content, and logistics of the Permanent Forum. In short, we are a global network working in every imaginable space related to people of African Descent. From the food insecurity of our people in Haiti to Reparations here in the United States. From anti-Blackness in Columbia to institutional discrimination against Afro-Brazilians and Afro-Mexicans. 

Speaking at the United Nations 

     It has been an honor to be a part of such an important global body to build upon strategies and direct resources that improve the safety, quality of life, and livelihoods of our people across the diaspora. This has allowed me to connect with an expansive global network of our people and see the different challenges that we are facing in various countries. As a Five Percenter pioneer in this space, this is especially important for our younger generation to see, learn from, and be empowered to take further than me. I literally show up in the name of Saladin Allah and I am proud to be an instrumental part of creating a path for others to think deeper about being universal, teaching civilizations to others, and the possibilities of global citizenry. 

 

Peace,

Saladin

What are the legalities of our Universal Flag?

     Two years ago, on December 21^st, 2021 I successfully registered the elements of our Universal Flag as a class 41 trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). By law, you cannot trademark a flag, so this trademark was not defined or described as a flag in the USPTO application. This trademark defined, described, and included all of the elemental arrangements of our Universal Flag. This ensured that it could be trademarked not as a flag, while simultaneously protecting our flag in the public domain from any similar elemental arrangements that would infringe upon our registered trademark. In other words, this gave us legal protection/recourse to address any individual/company who was using our federally registered trademark without our licensed permission or any individual/company that wanted to create something similar to our trademark, such as a rainbow-colored emblem like ours with a #6 in the center. Some of our Nation members were/are under the false impression that simply claiming that we have been using the Universal Flag since the 1960s is enough to prove ownership in a court of law against an individual/company that actually owns its elemental arrangements as a federally registered trademark. This is sadly untrue, especially in the face of an individual/company with a financial war chest to legally protect their IP [Intellectual Property]. There is a difference between a common law trademark and a federally registered trademark. Old Xerox copies, Power Papers, and other materials with Universal Flags on them from back in the day are only considered common law. These materials are not federally registered trademarks that secure nationwide legal protection, nor can you use them to file a claim in federal court to sue for damages if someone infringes upon your common use. It is important to understand that common use is almost equivalent to no use at all in a litigious society, especially in federal court. Some Nation members shared with me that I was wrong for not presenting this initiative to them personally, or to the Five Percent Nation collectively, for their input before acquiring this IP. Yes, I considered that yet decided against it in the interest of time and to prompt an immediate plan of action and National response from our members. So, I made the proactive decision to financially secure it for us, and bring it back to our Nation to say, "Here, this is an invaluable asset that I acquired for us to advance our Nation." Some members appreciated the socioeconomic foresight of securing this IP, while others did not. 

Email dated January, 2022 seeking to establish a Universal Flag Board

     Following the successful registration of this trademark I sent the above January 7th, 2022 Universal Flag Board email to various Five Percenters [men and women] in different regions. As stated in this email, “My reasoning for initiating that IP initiative was to put in place ‘legal safeguards’ for us to control our national narrative and maintain our cultural identity. Prior to this, anyone could use our Universal Flag and there was nothing we could legally do about it. Now that our Universal Flag is our registered trademark, no entity [entertainers, businesses, institutions, organizations or media sources, etc.] has the legal right to use it and can/will face legal consequences for misuse and abuse of it.” I emphasize the words “us”, “our”, and “we” in this email because this trademark was never for me. Because I initiated the trademark process, my name originally appeared on the application. As shown in the email, I sought out a diverse group of Five Percenters [men and women] to form a committee that the trademark ownership would be transferred to, and the committee would manage for our Nation. This never happened, and some of those who were contacted publicly/privately shared this correspondence, including the registered trademark that I attached to that email, on social media. What followed was a great deal of misinformation disseminated about me and the process. It should also be noted here that I still have not shared this federally registered trademark document on social media, understanding the intrinsic value of this IP. 

     When I finally had an opportunity to publicly address this initiative via Zoom with all of those who were interested, some Nation members were for it, and some were against it. Ultimately, no one could agree on what to do with this IP or what Nation members were trustworthy enough to manage it. Understandably, this never happened before in the history of our Nation and many people simply did not know what to do about it. The only consensus that I recognized was that there was no consensus among us. Therefore, I shared that I would cancel the trademark, and if Nation members wanted to revisit this at another time, they now know that I could do it for us. That trademark was canceled on July 26th, 2022. 

     With the life experience that I gained, I began to write/speak extensively on this litigious society being in an IP Era and the importance of preserving Allah School, protecting our cultural identity, and controlling our historical narrative in the public domain. Post-COVID, I have also written/spoken about the proliferation of USPTO trademark registrations and the exponential growth of streaming platforms harvesting content [IP] like organ harvesting. In fact, I have a couple of unsigned PBS contracts that were presented to me that I use to educate folks on how to protect their IP. So in addition to having knowledge of self and teaching for twenty-eight years, my professional experience has also given me a unique perspective on the topic of legally protecting our cultural identity in the public domain. I have been a formal educator with a focus on early childhood for twenty years. This led me to found my own early childhood learning center, the Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters, which recently celebrated its 1-year-anniversary. I have authored twenty-three books, five of which are part of a curatorial activism archive in the British Library, and I assisted in the establishment of the first black institution in my city in thirty years where I presently serve as its Director of Community Engagement. I have co-produced and starred in several historical documentaries as a subject matter expert, including three award-winning international documentaries [Enslaved, Secret Agents of the Underground Railroad, and Two Wars: The Road to Integration], and I work in historic preservation; successfully assisting in the renovation of historic sites such as the Prophet Isaiah Second Coming House, and the establishment of historic markers both in my city and in Ontario, Canada. Lastly, I am a member of the United Nations International Civil Society Working Group for the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent, and I was featured in the United Nations International Day for People of African Descent on August 31st, 2o23. As a Five Percenter working in these diverse spaces of education, literacy, historic preservation, placemaking, and film & television, I am always intentional about representing who we are, literally in the name of Saladin “Allah.”

     I am not sharing some of my experiences to seek acknowledgment or validation. My work as a public figure continues to be globally acknowledged and validated as the single largest digital footprint of any active Five Percenter in our Nation. This is not arrogance, EGO, or self-importance. This is a fact that I don’t take lightly, or for granted. I am sharing some of my experiences to provide some context for those to better understand the lens through which I view the world. This perspective has also come with its challenges. One of those challenges is confronting the narrow-mindedness, apathy, or unwillingness of some Nation members to actually do more than talk or robo-post thoughts on social media.

Email dated January, 2024

     Following the cancellation of our registered trademark, it has been disheartening to see Nation members still struggling to solicit donations over the last two years to support Allah School initiatives while Showtime released the award-winning Supreme Team docuseries with our Universal Flag in it, and months later a San Francisco pop-culture design house produced a custom Rakim figure wearing a Universal Flag jacket. We were in the perfect position to secure licensing agreements for the use of our registered trademark which would have secured revenue for our Nation in perpetuity. These are just two examples, in addition to numerous examples that I shared of other corporations, who were and are still profiting from the IP we owned. 

     This also does not include the examples of media outlets, like the image above, that published images of our Universal Flag alongside disinformation that linked us to crimes. I strived to communicate to our Nation members that in the same way Nike, Burger King, Allstate, etc., could sue media outlets for defamation because those damaging statements harm one's reputation and financial well-being, we had the power to take the same legal course of action to sue media outlets for defamation; instead of reposting articles like this on social media with a complaining caption and comments that only monetizes that media content. 

     At one point during a Zoom presentation, I shared the above image of our Universal Flag being sold for $399.99 at Walmart. While one Nation member said that it didn’t matter because that company was not making much money from selling it, another Nation member suggested that the company owner be located and educated about who we are. The more I began to hear ideas like this, the more I began to realize, and accept, that what I strived to do for us was out of touch with where many of us were/are. It was clear that we had very different ideas about cultural continuity, historic preservation, the legal vulnerabilities of a litigious society in an IP Era, and our capacity to control our narrative in the public domain. 

Building while hiking Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

     Despite some speculation shared about me and how I feel about that experience two years ago, I am doing excellent. I continue to digitally document the global work that I do via the internet so that anyone with a smart device can see it, and I keep my social media profiles public for that purpose. I still build with my brothers and sisters in our Nation whom I have a relationship with, and I continue to teach those who are seeking knowledge of self. What has changed of course is my time, based on the demands of my busy schedule as a public figure and the various things that I am doing. Looking towards 2024, there are already numerous global projects, programs, and initiatives that I am involved in, and I am excited to continue positively representing our Nation in those capacities. As always, for those who would like to contact me, I can be reached via email at: atlantisbuild@gmail.com. #AtlantisBuild

Peace,

Saladin