The Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters is a global institution founded in Niagara Falls, NY that promotes educational programs, creative arts, cultural initiatives, audiovisual projects and commerce that supports Knowledge of Self and the positive growth and development of youth and families. This space features bi-monthly articles that highlight the social commentary, current events, and creative insights of its Founder, Saladin Allah [S. Quanaah]. #AtlantisBuild #FivePercenter
Founder/CEO
Showing posts with label Five Percenter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Five Percenter. Show all posts
November 30th to December 2nd, 2021 I had an opportunity to film a video feature with the United Nations Department of Global Communications as a contributor of their #FightRacism Campaign. This Campaign is in conjunction with the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade on March 25th, 2022. The #FightRacism Campaign marks the 20th-anniversary celebration of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA). The Durban Declaration was a document adopted by consensus at the 2001 World Conference against Racism (WCAR) in Durban, South Africa. This document proposes concrete measures to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance globally.
On August 9th, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution establishing a Permanent Forum of People of African Descent to provide expert advice on addressing the challenges of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and intolerance. The resolution adopted by consensus by the 193-member world body also called for the forum to serve as “a platform for improving the safety and quality of life and livelihoods of people of African descent” and their full inclusion in the societies where they live.
In regards to this video feature the United Nations states:
"Our lead character is educator, author and human rights advocate Saladin Allah, a descendent of Underground Railroad forerunner Josiah Henson, whose life was the inspiration for Harriet Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. As a visitor experience specialist at the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, Saladin is an expert storyteller who takes us on an unforgettable journey through African American history and reminds us that we all play a role in shaping the next generation. Only through education and historical truth-telling can we achieve recognition of past wrongdoing, and work toward a more just world."
According
to Universal Shaamgaud Allah, the architect of the Five Percent Nation's
Universal Flag, it was the best of three that he completed in May of 1966. Upon
completion, he along with two colleagues [Black Seed and Gykee], went to visit
Allah in Matteawan State Hospital to
present it to him. Allah was in Matteawan because in May
of 1965 he was arrested along with several other men for unlawful assembly and
disorderly conduct at a rally in front of the Hotel Theresa in Harlem, NY.
Allah was arraigned in criminal court before Judge Francis X. O'Brien and held
on a $9,500 bond. Four months later he was shipped off to the Psychiatric Unit
at Bellevue Hospital and would remain there until a final psychiatric report
submitted to Judge O'Brien stated that "he did not understand the charges
against him." Thus Allah was remanded to the NYS Department of Mental
Hygiene for indefinite confinement and remained in these institutions, Bellevue
and Matteawan State Hospital, for two years.
When Shammgaud, Black Seed and Gykee
arrived at Matteawan State Hospital to present the Universal Flag to Allah, the hospital
administration would not allow them to bring it inside. Thus Allah did not receive it
until he was released from Matteawan in April of 1967. Our Five Percent Nation’s
flag, Shaamgaud gave us this explanation of its symbols:
The Universal Flag and its architect Universal Shaamgaud Allah
"The five-pointed star symbolizes Knowledge, the Seed, the Child with the power, the Supreme Knowledge that was manifested by W.F. Muhammad and revealed to us by Almighty God ALLAH, it is solid Black! The Crescent Moon symbolizes Wisdom, the Women (without child); it shows reflected light (Truth or Knowledge) and is not yet at its fullest equality. It also symbolizes the Divine Wisdom that was manifested by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and revealed to us by Almighty God ALLAH, it is solid yellow! Together the Star and Crescent stand for Knowledge and Wisdom, which is the unity of knowing it and speaking it! (Teaching) It also symbolizes the Earth (woman with child); a planet that has life, and the dominance the Woman has over the Seed (the child or the Knowledge) while it is young, and it has been the symbol of Freedom Justice and Equality since the awaking of Islam in the West of North America.
The 7 has seven sides. It symbolizes the Original Man, the True and Living God, the Supreme Being, Almighty God ALLAH. Since the very creation of mathematics 7 has been the mathematical terminology for the Creator of the Universe. It is solid Black. Together this stands for the Supreme Understanding that was revealed to us by Almighty God ALLAH himself, it shows a unification of Knowledge Wisdom and Understanding, Man, Woman, Child and shows the authority of ALLAH over the Planets and Stars and the proper order of the Universe. The seven symbolizes the male seed in full bloom, it shows that God must be the Most High, the Master of Wisdom, Culture and Equality at all times, because they are six, and can never dominate ALLAH, so they must remain in six or distill back to whence it came! This no part of the crescent moon should ever show over the top of the seven!
The white background symbolizes the white clouds of deception that have drowned our people in a sea of ignorance, and the feeble attempts of the wicked to conceal the true and living God which is the Son of Man! The Cipher (circle) around the Allah Crescent Star is Black, the Original Color of the Sun (anything that burns that hot and that long can't be yellow!) This symbolizes the Sun, the Universal symbol of Truth and Light, and whose power can evaporate all clouds of deception (lies).
The Eight Points are the symbol of the ever-expanding Universe, and symbolizes the rays of the Sun, and the speed and distance that the Truth is capable of traveling. There are two shades to each point, the Left is Black. The left represents the Original Black man, the Right side is Gold. The Gold represents Brown and Yellow seeds (from the first of the Brown to the last of the Yellow). Just as Jacob separated the seeds, 200 years from Black to Brown, 200 years from Brown to Yellow and 200 years from Yellow to Caucasian, ALLAH taught us that each brother should have a seed thus he reunited the seeds, united they are one! The eight points are a sign of He who is the Master builder of Rain, Snow, Hail and Earthquakes! The sixteen sections of the points, one for each year and degree that our seeds (child) must master before he is at the age of self-responsibility and required to teach civilization." -Universal Shaamgaud Allah
(L to R) Mayor John Lindsay, Barry Gottehrer, Sid Davidoff
When our Five Percent Nation began to grow amongst the youth throughout the boroughs of New York, Mayor John Lindsay, a Liberal Republican, formed a relationship with Allah through his Aide Barry Gottehrer and Executive Assistant Sid Davidoff. Mayor Lindsay was a clean-cut lawyer by profession who graduated from Yale University. A
former U.S. Congressman and a gunnery officer in the United States Navy,
Lindsay was also affiliated with the Bush family; he ushered at the wedding for
Nancy Bush where he met his bridesmaid wife Mary Anne. Nancy Bush is the sister
of former CIA Director and POTUS George HW Bush Sr.
Barry Gottehrer was an investigative journalist prior to becoming an Aide in the Lindsay Administration. His insightful award-winning newspaper series "New York City in Crisis" laid bare the racial and socioeconomic problems in NYC. Considered a political hatchet job, this New York Herald-Tribune series attacked the policies of current Democratic Mayor Robert Wagner II and painted an untainted picture of the Herald-Tribune's endorsed candidate Congressman John Lindsay. This compelled Lindsay to add Gottehrer, and his narrative shaping expertise, to his Administrative Staff once he was elected Mayor.
Sid Davidoff was Mayor Lindsay's troubleshooting consigliere. Another lawyer by profession and visiting lecturer at Lindsay's alma mater Yale University, Davidoff was considered one of President Nixon's worst enemies; named among other political opponents as part of Nixon's covert "Political Enemies Project" list that was revealed during the Senate Watergate Committee investigating the Watergate scandal.
With Allah's street knowledge and cultural worldview, he along with Lindsay, Gottehrer, and Davidoff were able to successfully produce projects and initiatives that Five Percenters used to positively transform the landscape of Harlem and NYC as a whole.
Upon Allah's approval of our Universal Flag design by Universal Shaamgaud, the image was given to Mayor Lindsay to create flag lapel pins. Allah was not anti-government so in collaboration with Mayor Lindsay's office, Lindsay had our lapel pins created by Eagle Regalia; a manufacturing company that was founded in New York City in 1910, specializing in the production of banners, flags, emblematic jewelry, buttons, badges, plaques, and trophies. In addition to our lapel pins, Eagle Regalia also created the licensed badges of the NYPD and other government agencies in New York. According to our nation elders, young Five Percenters would be given a Universal Flag lapel pin with their righteous name inscribed on it.When a Five Percenter chose a righteous name and earned or was given a lapel pin, it was distributed at the Street Academy [Allah School]; a property given to the Five Percenters with a ninety-nine-year lease by the Lindsay Administration in 1967. To receive a lapel pin Five Percenters were required to write down their honorable name [birth name] in a book and their righteous name beside it. Some lapel pins had names already inscribed on them. Other lapel pins were blank and were sent out to have their name inscribed on them. These lapel pins were more than just decorative symbols of our cultural identity, accomplishment, and pride. They enabled Allah, in partnership with the city government, to better organize, document, monitor, and deputize a growing youth movement into an unrivaled dynamic of power. A powerful segment of New York's citizenry that the NY Daily News partly described as "the neighborhoods most respected."
On the night of April 4th, 1968 when Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated, Mayor Lindsay contacted Sid Davidoff and Barry Gottehrer about coming to Harlem to pay his respects and offer his condolences to the people. Against their advice to not come because they could not guarantee his safety, Mayor Lindsay came to Harlem anyway and met with Gottehrer and Davidoff along with Allah and a group of his Five Percenters. As they began to walk the streets of Harlem, people began to join them and together they successfully stopped the Harlem community from rioting.
During those early years of the Five Percent Nation our Universal Flag was protected and functioned like closed-source software or informal intellectual property that was not made available to the general public. Anybody could not just get it or wear it. Times have since changed with the growth of the internet and social media. Up until the mid-2000s, it was rare for people to casually wear or use our Universal Flag. If vendors in New York City were selling items bearing the Universal Flag it was common for those products to be destroyed, taken and/or the vendor accosted by Five Percenters.
Nowadays, with the expansion of the internet, social media,
and e-commerce, our Universal Flag has taken on more
of an open-sourceexpression. Thus it is freely available, redistributed, and modified in the public domain and across digital space by people who are not a part of the Five Percent Nation. This has
become problematic because these outsiders are using our Universal Flag to sell merchandise, provide services, edit Wikipedia content, publish articles, create/monetize content, make social media profiles/pages, create/manage websites
and share disinformation about our Five Percent Nation. One of the solutions that I have suggested over the years is for us [Five Percenters] to invest in creating such a large digital footprint of positive, accurate, authentic content that it drowns out the disinformation and cultural appropriation. This is no easy task and requires the same or even greater level of commitment to content creation than me -and I have been helping consistently expand our Five Percent digital footprint for more than two decades. We are not quite there yet and as we continue to push our culture forward into this Blockchain Age, it is important that we give all that we have and do all within our power to protect and control our narrative online and offline, or outsiders will continue to...
Our Universal Flag has done more than exemplify our righteous names, reputation, and overall culture of the Five Percent. During the night of MLK's assassination, other instances throughout the Lindsay Administration, and the years that followed, our Universal Flag lapel pins became symbols of empowerment. They became emblems connected to our ability to teach, resolve conflicts, and address issues of truancy and juvenile delinquency in the place of law enforcement and other government agencies. In addition to Shaamgaud's important meaning of our Universal Flag, it was and will always be, a badge of honor.
**This original article appears in the Culture Is Free publicationHERE**
It is an actual fact that the United States is the most "litigious
society" in the world. Litigious means 'prone to engage in legal maneuvers
or lawsuits.' Our disagreement with that statement does not change that actual
fact nor does it prepare us to do something about it. This actual fact is
especially important to understand in this digital age of content harvesting,
online marketplace expansion, blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, and
a 552.17%
increase in NFT trademark submissions between August 2021 and January 2022. In
my article The Content
Era: 2022 is the Year of Creatives and Entrepreneurs I
explained, "we are now in a Content Era. Streaming services are in global
competition over it, Podcasters and Bloggers need it to survive every week and
it's like that Frank Lucas [American Gangster] blue magic to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok and
YouTube users. For THAT Economy to sustain itself Content must be
consistently harvested from Creatives and Entrepreneurs who are sometimes
trafficked through digital internet rings..." Content is another name
for intellectual property [IP] or legal assets; the
basis of this article.
During the COVID-19 shutdown, many people
took advantage of that time to learn new things and develop new skills. I've
known folks who completed Herbology courses, Music Engineering programs, and
apprenticeships in different industries. While I had already studied the
subject, I invested my time in learning how to file provisional patents,
utility patents, and trademarks. One of the things that I immediately learned is
the small number of patent and trademark lawyers, especially black lawyers, in
this specialized area and the increasing demand for their services. By learning
this skill I became more proficient in this specialized field of law. Even more
proficient than lawyers who worked in other areas of law. My reasoning for
learning this skill was to ultimately provide this service to folks who had no
knowledge and/or capital to file a trademark or patent; which costs about $400
to trademark something and about $18,000 to patent an idea. In addition to the
various projects that I was already involved in, and my
peripheral research, this investment began my direct experience with securing legal assets or
intellectual property. None of this article is based upon a casual Google
search, a Wikipedia scan, or hearsay from folks on YouTube talking about what
they have never done and do not own.
Before we go any
further let me first define what a legal asset or intellectual property is. A
legal asset is defined as “real or personal property that has value.” Intellectual
property [IP] refers to “valuable assets that we legally own such as
inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; symbols, names, and images.”
The value or worth of a legal asset or intellectual property is inherent.
Meaning, that it is essential or built in its creation. It is not an asset because
someone acknowledges or likes it or not. It is an asset because its nature is
valuable. It is sort of like when we say the Black folks are divine. Our value
is not because someone acknowledges or likes it or not. We are divine, or an
asset, because our nature is valuable. When we create inventions; literary
and artistic works; designs; symbols, names, and images they are also valuable.
If you have been following the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, in response to the
United States sanctions on Russia, Russia has stripped away legal asset/intellectual
property rights from U.S. companies doing business in Russia, along with
foreign companies from 23 other “unfriendly” territories. According to the high-profile
trademark attorney Josh Gerben, “companies like McDonald's and Starbucks that
have left Russia to protest its invasion of Ukraine can do little when Russian
businesses steal their trademarks. In fact, trademark applications were filed
in Russia this week that bore a striking resemblance to marks belonging to Ikea, Instagram (FB), McDonald's, and Starbucks. These companies can't
immediately fight back because challenges for unauthorized use are largely
limited to Russian courts.” For those of us who have carelessly looked at legal
assets/intellectual property as insignificant and unimportant, this political
power move by Russia to shift the global economic landscape should make us
reconsider our stance on the value of legal assets/intellectual property. When
we do recognize this value, the questions we need to ask ourselves are what can
we do to legally protect ourselves and our assets in a litigious society? Do
we have health and dental insurance? Do we own property? Do we have a Last Will
and Testament? Do we own any patents or trademarks? Do we have any life insurance
policies? Do we have a marriage license? These and various other legal
protections are just some things to seriously think about, especially for our
families and future generations.
CONFIDENTIALITY
With this knowledge
of legal assets/intellectual property, I was able to successfully file a
provisional and utility patent for a unique fuel cell technology. Before my
business partner and I even discuss this patent with companies we
ensure that a three-year NDA [Non-Disclosure Agreement] is signed and
notarized first. Because of our invention's inherent value, an NDA is a
standard legal document that is used to protect the value and confidentiality
of legal assets/intellectual property before you discuss them. This is the
reason why we should not openly discuss specific matters related to a trademark
filing, a patent, or any legal assets/intellectual property in the public
domain. It compromises the security of those legal assets/intellectual
property.
When the Washington [now
"Commanders"] football organization sought to rename their team they
never had public discussions about the potential name of the team. In fact,
they went as far as filing the original trademark in a foreign country
whose trademark databases are difficult to search online. Months later the
organization then filed an application with the United States Patent and
Trademark Office [USPTO]. Knowing that this trademark information would be
publicly available and published with the USPTO, their filing was protected because
the trademark application was based upon the earlier filing date in the foreign
country. See, once a trademark is filed, there is a 30-day window to
oppose/challenge its registration after the USPTO publishes the application for
opposition. Following the above method of filing in a foreign jurisdiction is a
workaround to limit the public's capacity to oppose a registration. If Lebron James has
received legal guidance from a patent and trademark law firm then I am
sure that he used this method before it was recently announced that he filed 4
new USPTO trademarks in the names of LEBRON JAMES, LEBRON, KING JAMES and
CHOSEN1 related to the metaverse. Understanding this, when people
openly discuss the specifics of a legal asset/intellectual property in a public
forum it only informs the public of two more facts related to our litigious
society:
1.)Those people do not actually
understand or own any digital assets/intellectual property.
2.) Those people are legally
vulnerable, and a liability to others, because of their ignorance of law and
tech illiteracy.
3.)Those people are actively promoting "IP Squatting" where someone other than the original owner(s) can acquire that legal asset/intellectual property and sell it back for a profit.
I
was once involved in confidential discussions regarding a unique legal
asset/intellectual property that I personally secured in order to transfer
ownership to a collective body of people. While I did not have those who
participated in these confidential discussions sign an NDA, I did
emphasize the importance of privacy and requested that they not share the
specific details of those confidential discussions in the public domain. A
short time after, I was disappointed to learn that some of the participants
were sharing those specifics, and misinformation regarding this
unique legal asset/intellectual property, in the public domain. While
I did cover a great deal of legal territory using a power-point
presentation that included an extensive FAQ segment, it was unfortunate to
learn that some of those who participated in those discussions did not understand
the importance of confidentiality or simply did not care. Either way, lacking that carelessness is a liability in an expanding litigious
society. So I ask again, what can we do to legally protect ourselves and our assets in
a litigious society? Do we have health and dental insurance? Do we
own property? Do we have a Last Will and Testament? Do we own any patents or
trademarks? Do we have any life insurance policies? Do we have a marriage
license? These and various other legal protections are just some things to
seriously think about, especially for our families and future
generations.
This society is drastically changing with the exponential growth of technology. Those
changes are not favorable for those of us who have little to no control over
any legal
assets/intellectual property. As black people, we cannot
allow those changes to happen around us. As a Five Percenter, with our Allah
Youth Center's 99-year lease quickly approaching, the gentrification of Harlem,
the constant threat of our property being taken through eminent domain, no
permanent location to hold our monthly gatherings, no legal control of our
Universal Flag in the public domain, and no economic blueprint in an expanding
litigious society, there are serious confidential discussions we need to have
regarding protecting and preserving our cultural legacy. If we don't get it
together we will be talking about these days, like our nation elders reminisce
about the old days, with no visible evidence that these days ever even existed.
Except for a street sign, of course, to mark what once was.
For over four decades P.S. 154 Harriet Tubman Elementary school has been the home of the Universal Parliament of our Nation of the Five Percent. Now it seems to be the end of an era, yet the beginning of a new opportunity. As I expressed in my article The Political Science of Five Percenter Parliaments:
"Parliament comes from the Old French "parlement" which means to speak. By definition, a Parliament is the legislative body of a government. The role of that body is to make and amend laws and hold the government accountable for its policies, actions and spending. In the context of the Five Percent, our Universal Parliament in Mecca [Harlem] was established for our nation's citizens to function as an informal legislative body and government. The Old French etymology for Parliament meaning to "speak" means "to build" [communicate/add-on] in the language of the Five Percent. Thus as Five Percenters we come together monthly at our Universal Parliament to build, introduce and amend policies, actions and spending related to our national headquarters in Mecca [Harlem, NY]."
I go on to further explain that:
"Our Parliamentary Procedure, whether nationally in Mecca or among our international, regional and/or local legislative bodies of Five Percenters, is based upon our nation's principles and customs, namely the concept of social equality. Coming together for one common cause and being equal in everything insures that any present member of our nation, regardless of their age, gender or physical ability, has the right to build upon policies, actions and spending at our Parliament. If a decision needs to be made regarding a certain policy, action or spending, all input is gathered by the present members and a decision is made based upon majority rule [vote]. If a decision cannot be made, the issue is tabled until the next scheduled Parliament."
The global pandemic surrounding COVID, the 2020 shutdown, social gathering/distancing restrictions and now vaccinations mandates has been a huge adjustment for all of us. Educational institutions had to pivot to online learning models that most were not prepared for. In the mid 2010s I taught a free online self-development course via the Periscope App and since then people contacted me about teaching another one. This was prior to the LIVE function being incorporated into the Facebook and Instagram Apps that people use today. It was through that demand for an online course and my desire to create something more comprehensive that I created seven Youth Outreach Development Courses in 2018. Pre-pandemic and during the initial shutdown from February to May 2020 I also co-taught an Online Class For Women via the Zoom App. Heck, prior to this podcast wave we currently see everyone with a voice riding, I had a Gabcast talk radio show in the early 2000s before Blogtalk Radio existed. Even with all of this forward-thinking making these digital learning opportunities available, I was still not fully prepared for the huge adjustment this pandemic has caused. Even though I received some criticism from Five Percenter colleagues in regards to teaching online, the majority of them had to reassess their stance. When the shutdown happened and people were not allowed to gather in public spaces, some of these colleagues adapted and started looking for online platforms to build/connect with one another through. Along with classes, some even began to hold online Parliaments, which I've had the opportunity to attend.
As the country began to open back up with some restrictions, and people have been allowed to gather, we [Five Percenters] recently learned that P.S. 154 Harriet Tubman is no longer available to us to hold our Universal Parliaments or any group. According to School Administration Staff whom I spoke to, the auditorium space is not available to the public due to COVID gathering restrictions and unclear vaccination status protocols. While we have been able to adjust during the Summer months by holding Parliaments outdoors, as we approach the Autumn and Winter months this will become problematic without an indoor gathering space. As I shared above, we have utilized Harriet Tubman for over four decades. How we handle this critical point in our nation's trajectory will shape the future of our nation. In my perspective, whenever there is an absence of something, that is my evidence of opportunity.
So what can we do about this?
One of the obvious solutions is to simply find another location, which will not be around the corner from our Allah Youth Center. While challenging, this may also be a great opportunity to establish a collective presence in another community! Once we find another location we should be expected to rent that space which means we will need the money to secure and sustain it. This will require more than a few people pitching in to keep things going like we sometimes see with Five Percenter projects, programs and initiatives. Another solution is to continue our online Parliaments until the Spring or Harriet Tubman becomes available to the public again. Lastly there is a current initiative being promoted by Born Black and Divine Prince for 100 Gods to contribute $100.00 to purchase a $10,000 heat sustaining enclosed tent that is 30ft wide x 40ft long and 12ft high. That tent will be assembled and erected inside of the courtyard next to the Allah Youth Center and used for Universal Parliaments and other projects, programs and initiatives going forward.
Whatever decision will be made, if any at all, we will still be here as the Five Percent. However, whatever decision we make, if any at all, will affect our social norms and how we congregate moving forward. That can be a positive or it can be negative. We can build upon these challenges to grow or allow these challenges to destroy our tradition of Universal Parliaments. It is on us, as it has always been.
I just minted my first yet to be released NFT [Non-Fungible Token] via the Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters and I am super excited about venturing into this technological territory.
What the heck is an NFT?
An NFT is a digital asset or unit of data that represents real-world objects like art, music, videos and photos. It is stored on a digital ledger known as a blockchain. That blockchain records every transaction associated with that NFT and certifies proof of ownership, that it is unique and not interchangeable.
For example...
Imagine if you took a rare photo of Michael Jordan in a Chicago Bulls game during his rookie year and he autographed it. After that you made a digital copy and stored the original photo in a secure location that would preserve/protect it from damage, theft and copies. The digital copy you convert into an NFT. That NFT is stored on a digital ledger [blockchain] that certifies its authenticity, proof of ownership and allows you to securely transfer ownership, license or sell it using cryptocurrency [Bitcoin, Ethereum, etc.] or electronic money [U.S. Dollar]. You can either include the original copy with the sell of the NFT or keep the original copy and only sell its NFT. You can also assign a 10% royalty fee every time that NFT is transferred to someone else.
Even though NFTs go back to 2012, what really got the world's attention was the above NFT that was created and sold by digital artist Beeple [Mike Winkelmann] in March of 2021. This piece titled The First 5,000 Days sold for an unbelievable $69 million dollars. Yeah, that wasn't a typo. I said $69 million dollars and now Beeple is considered one of the top three living artists. The First 5,000 Days is a digital collage of online images Beeple has posted over the last 14 years. Vignesh Sundaresan, [AKA MetaKovan], the person who purchased the NFT, received a JPG, a hyperlink and some limited rights to publicly display it; giving him multiple opportunities to further monetize it. Imagine if Trump harvested all of his tweets and turned it into a digital lookbook NFT. People would pay millions for that sh*t. Even the most liberal serial entrepreneurs would buy it just to resell it for more to some wealthy racist. Crazy huh? Well that is just a peak into this digital landscape. Keep reading.
NFTs are like digital heirlooms and they don't need to be some rare Michael Jordan photo or digital collages either. They can be voice clips, music, graphic art, even tweets! Some Influencers are even creating NFTs that can be redeemed for personal messages and live video chats that can undoubtedly boost the purchaser's brand recognition. Folks are out here buying/selling digital rocks for $200,000 and an all-NFT wine brand is now out on the market. Just this week an article came out about a company called the VCR Group who will be launching the first NFT restaurant in NYC the autumn of 2022; offering an exclusive membership-only dining experience for people. According to their website:
"VCR Group will be launching the 1st NFT Restaurant concept in the world. To experience the restaurant, guests will require a membership. Memberships can be purchased through an NFT (Non-Fungible Token). The NFT will represent ownership of your membership which will provide access to the restaurant throughout the month, in addition to unlimited enjoyment of the cocktail lounge and access to private culinary experiences. There will be 3 different NFT Tokens representing a multitude of experiences in the restaurant. Each NFT is an asset and can be sold or transferred in the secondary market."
The possibilities are endless the more that we learn about this technology. Your grandmother's wedding ring. The family home. Other inheritances. Imagine 100 years from now your family also owning rare, valuable digital assets that you created. This is not a wave, it is a technological paradigm shift in how we can redefine, reevaluate and preserve our legacies. My first NFT is just one of a series of rare collectibles that I will eventually make available to the public and I look forward to seeing many of you also investing in this digital space. There is more than enough room for all of us.
On July 29th I participated in an online panel discussion hosted by the United Nations Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery. This panel highlighted the Samuel L. Jackson award-winning Enslaved docuseries that I appear in; Episode 5 "Resistance."
Every year on 25 March, the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade offers the opportunity to honor and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the brutal slavery system. The International Day also aims to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice today. As a part of this year's National Day of Remembrance, the United Nations Remember Slavery Programmeconsisted of a series of panel discussions and episode screenings of Enslaved.
I am thankful for this opportunity and you can view our Enslaved Episode 5 "Resistance" panel discussion at the link below.
Please SUPPORT and SHARE my Atlantis School Renovation Project. I am renovating a property to establish a cultural enrichment early childhood learning and after school program:
Artist: Poor Righteous TeachersAlbum: Pure Poverty [1991]
In all of my years of being a Five Percenter, one of the most misinterpreted phrases I have seen is "Poor Righteous Teacher." I say seen, and not heard, because it is not a topic that you hear highly debated like 'power vs. power refinement' or 'the correct universal flag.' You literally see a person's perspective of a Poor Righteous Teacher based upon their quality of life.
When most people consider the word "poor" they think about not having any money, being broke and the inability to afford designer clothes. Those who think a little deeper considers poor as "poverty" and the various psychological, socioeconomic and political elements that contribute to that state. In our modern dictionary, poor is defined as "lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society." Historically the word poor carried another meaning and over time it began to take on the meaning we see reflected in our modern dictionary. Let me explain.
Back in 16th Century Europe a price revolution occurred. These series of adjustments caused inflation and shifted the landscape of Europe and its citizens perspectives concerning monetary standards. Some Economists theorize that this price revolution was caused by a large influx of gold, silver, spices and other commodities into Europe. That is partly true. What they usually fail to mention is the pre-influx of 'black gold' into the European economy -- i.e., black people via the transatlantic slave trade. This black gold set the premise for the triangular trade and the foundation for a future American economy. This time period is following the Black Plague; a pandemic that depopulated a large part of Europe. That pandemic, like today's coronavirus, caused food prices and other commodities to inflate due to their scarcity and demand. Why is this important to understand? Because this gives you a sense of the socioeconomic backdrop in 16th Century Europe. Poor meant something different to people during that time. Just like black folks during the Great Depression in America looked at poor differently than young black folks do today.
During the socioeconomic changes within 16th Century Europe, folks didn't simply define poor as not having sufficient money. Poor, to them, was defined within the context of frugality; a word derived from the Latin "frugalis" (e.g., thrifty, economical, moderate, sensible). That perspective of poverty, as being frugal, was a quality of life theme consistent within Old World social life. In modern society we may view their circumstances as simply poor, yet their station in life was viewed in class terms of modesty vs. extravagance. As the Old World became the citizenry source of a developing New World, this concept of frugality was carried over into an American socioeconomic landscape. In time, the concept of frugality began to fade following the Traditionalist Generation and the word "frugal" fell out of common use.
The above history is important to lay out because it provides context for the phrase Poor Righteous Teacher for the Five Percent here in the wilderness of North America. The reason that I mentioned black folks perspective of poverty during the Great Depression, how the concept of frugality faded and the word frugal fell out of common use is because it was at this time that the Supreme Wisdom book was created among black folks here in America. More specifically in the black-bottom neighborhood section of Detroit Michigan. It is within this book of lessons where we get our introduction to the phrase "Poor Righteous Teacher."
Who are the Five Percent on this poor part of the planet Earth?
"They are the poor righteous teachers who don't believe in the teachings of the 10%. Who are all wise and know who the true and living God is..."
When learning this 16th lesson there are many Five Percenters who interpret "poor righteous teachers" to mean that we must make a vow of poverty in order to be righteous and teach others. Thus the accumulation of wealth, entrepreneurship or business ownership is often equated with being a rich slave maker. These economic endeavors are often viewed as believing in the teachings of the 10% or blood suckers of the poor. In the early days of the Five Percent Nation even the pursuit of higher education was considered believing in the teachings of the 10%, AKA "the white man's education", by some Five Percenters. It took one of our pioneers, UM-Allah, to attend and graduate from college with a Masters degree to show the real value of higher education. These attitudes about poverty and wealth building is one of the main reasons our nation of the Five Percent has lacked a clear cohesive economic development plan. The irony is, the accumulation of wealth, property and business ownership by "poor" black people in America from the time of Reconstruction up until the 1950s is still unrivaled by the rich black folks we see today. Their concept of "poor" was not about lacking, it was about being frugal and coming together for one common cause. How else did our formerly enslaved ancestors and their children acquire acres of land, build communities and establish thriving towns in the South? Frugality. This same perspective of frugality applies to being righteous teachers.
Business Partners: (L/R) Wise Intelligent, Dr. Sam Williams, Master P, James Lindsay
Poor Righteous Teacher means that our target demographic are the disenfranchised. Why? Because as Matthew 19: 24 states, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." It is not often that a rich person willingly gives up extravagance in order to live a modest Godly life. Thus we focus on those who need it most, without excluding others. Poor Righteous Teacher also means a righteous teacher to the frugal or righteous teachers of frugality. This does not mean that in order to be righteous and teach we need to make a vow of poverty or walk around like a model for Ye's post-apocalyptic looking clothing line. Being a Poor Righteous Teacher also does not mean to be a chronically unemployed block hugger. As civilized people we need to work, in order to effectively do our duty. We cannot claim knowledge as our foundation when we are literally unstable... We cannot be swift and changeable with our wisdom and a couch surfing transient at the same time.Some Five Percenters behave like there is an inherent righteous humility in brokeness. In their mind "money is the root of all evil" so they shun wealth because getting money is evil. Plus anybody with money must be doing something evil. This long suffering mindset that some Five Percenters have is the same thing that they may ridicule church folk about when they claim that heaven is after they die. The reality is, we are collectively disenfranchised, regardless what we call ourselves. And as a collective, black consumerism produces over a trillion dollars annually and is an unleveraged 'black gold' buying power on par with some countries. We are not poor-poor. We lack frugality.
For many of our people, and some of us as Five Percenters, our relationship to money and definition of poverty must change. As we move into an expanding age of blockchain technology and cryptocurrency, cooperative economics is a vital part of our survival and our ability to thrive in this growing global market. As teachers of righteousness, we play a key role in providing the sustainable perspectives and ethical outlook to push our people forward socioeconomically. We help set the trajectory of civilization and we cannot do this if we are naked and out of doors without bread, clothing or a home. We, and our future generations, demand better than that.
In this Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters Animation episode we discuss what is universal about family and the importance of our children having a positive support system to guide them.
Please SUPPORT and SHARE my Atlantis School Renovation Project. I am renovating a property to establish a cultural enrichment early childhood learning center and after school program in my city:
One of my football teammates at Central State University was a Muslim from Detroit named Brother Jackie. Brother Jackie was a stand-up dude and never dabbled in any un-Islamic activities while many of our teammates were doing everything from running trains on girls, selling weed and getting popped. He was clean, yet he had some spooky ideas about the Nation of Islam, Master Fard Muhammad and their teachings that I couldn't rock with. I remember one autumn afternoon we got into a debate about the divinity of Master Fard Muhammad and I asked Brother Jackie, "Would Fard beat Michael Jordan in a one-on-one game of basketball?" arguing that Jordan was Lord of 'that' World. Brother Jackie looked me square in eye with one of the most sincerest expressions and said, "Yes Brother, I believe that he can." I was done. I was done discussing things like that with Brother Jackie or any adult who shared these kinds of delusional sentiments. I realized that no matter how good some of our people can be about aspects of life, religion was a helluva drug and made some of us blind junkies and even hypocrites. That is dangerous. The seemingly harmless belief that Fard would beat Jordan in a one-on-one game of basketball today can easily become the dangerous belief in a People's Temple leader tomorrow.
With the 2020 release of Busta Rhymes E.L.E. 2: The Wrath of God, the twenty-two year old follow up of E.L.E [Extinction Level Event], I felt like it brought me right back to that college conversation about Fard with Brother Jackie. Never to disappoint, this highly anticipated Busta Rhymesproject came with its share of high accolades and criticism. One such criticism is the record Master Fard Muhammad, named after the Savior of the Nation of Islam, which features Rick Ross. In Master Fard Muhammad Ross raps:
"Road to riches, fuckin' bitches in my favorite shoes She thought I had a seizurе, told her April Fools Fuck a lawsuit, bitch I'm tryna make the nеws Master Muhammed sold silks goin' door to door Givin' knowledge to the brothers fed who wanted more" -Rick Ross [Ricky Rozay]
Hearing this song and watching the video I thought for sure I would hear a strong rebuke of Rick Ross from Nation of Islam believers for using their Savior's name in vulgar laced lyrics debasing black women. I was sure because just weeks earlier the same believers mounted an exhausting social media campaign against DJ Vlad for simply misquoting Minister Farrakhan, correcting it and not publicly apologizing. The rebuke of this record didn't happen. In fact, the total opposite happened.
In a LIVE Streamed Final Call Conversation with Starla Muhammad, Managing Editor of The Final Call Newspaper and Dr. Wesley Muhammad, they invited Busta Rhymes to discuss his E.L.E. 2 project. In that discussion Busta Rhymes acknowledged that he received a blessing from Minister Farrakhan to use a snippet of his lecture for his song The Wrath of God and at about 1 hour 15 minutes into the discussion they delve into to the song Master Fard Muhammad. Disappointingly, Rick Ross' controversial lyrics are never discussed. "Shout out to Ricky Rozay, ya'll repped The God [Fard] in boss way" is all that was said about Fard's representation by Wesley Muhammad. I feel that this interview was a failed opportunity for the hosts to have a substantive discussion with Busta Rhymes about his perspective on lyrical accountability, social influence and representation of our cultural icons. I don't think that a song called Minister Louis Farrakhan featuring a vulgar artist debasing black women would be acceptable for Muslims. So why would a song like that, named after Minister Louis Farrakhan's God [Fard], be acceptable? Instead of asking those difficult yet important questions the Final Call hosts sat there; fawning over the chance to be in the same virtual room with a forty-eight-year-old dungeon dragon. I did not expect them to attack the brother, yet I did anticipate something more in-depth. Given the opportunity, that is exactly what my audience would get from me or any of my Five Percenter colleagues; including questions for Busta Rhymes concerning our Five Percent degrees, Supreme Mathematics and our Nation history to clarify some confusing Five Percenterish Muslim rhetoric scattered throughout E.L.E. 2.
Some may wonder, "What does any of this have to do with you? You are not Muslim so why do you even care?" Welp, it
is personal. First and foremost I respect Fard and his contribution to black people here in North America. It was he and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad who authored the Supreme Wisdom book which contains a slight variation of the 120 lessons we use within our Five Percent culture. To trivialize, minimize or disrespect that contribution dishonors that legacy. Ironically, when I released the above Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters animation episode teaching the history of Fard and the Nation of Islam [NOI] I was criticized and even publicly/privately threatened by some registered members of the NOI. It was said that I was disrespectful and misrepresenting "The Savior." Being the first person to ever animate the history of Fard and the NOI, I worked very hard to create this family friendly animation for people to learn this important part of our history. While that negative response from some people was hurtful, it did not discourage me from continuing to create animations that inspire, empower and educate families. In fact, my animation series is now globally available on Roku via the first Five Percenter based streaming platform Seven On Demand.
To see the same NOI Muslims praising a song called Master Fard Muhammad featuring an artist name dropping Fard among vulgar lyrics debasing black women infuriated me. I simply did not think the song content and video reflected the actual title. This eclectic process of uniquely naming song titles is part of the Buffalo-bred GXFR [Griselda] brand. Since their ascendancy within Hip Hop there have been numerous artists using elements of their style. From song title selection, music production, rap flow, album artwork, marketing and promotion, merchandising and etc., I can see their influence in this E.L.E. 2 project. This is not a secret, as Busta Rhymes has been featured on a Griselda project and publicly shared his respect for their creative influence in Hip-Hop when he pulled up on their Almighty Tour.
Over the years many of our people have become very casual about people, places and things that we have traditionally held sacred. The exponential growth of technology and secularization of sacred traditions has contributed to this cavalier attitude. In my article Is Social Media The Digital Turn on, Tune in, Drop out? I discuss how social media and the internet isreshaping our brain architecture, our ability to form meaningful connections and how we explore and attend the real world. Yet even in the midst of this, there are those artists who have remained consistent in treating people, places and things with honor and respect. It brings to mind the record I'm Back by AZ where he also cites Fard among other notables in his opening verse:
"Spirit of Marcus Garvey, Farad Muhammad, Medgar Evars and Bob Marley, I'm God-Body The scripture says Allah's inside me, show love I was hugged by the arms of Gandhi, gave me my strength You could tell somebody raised me with sense
We all need somethin' to help us through our daily events" -AZ
While I think the concept, record and video for Master Fard Muhammad could have been more respectfully presented to mainstream audiences, there are records on the E.L.E. 2 project that I definitely enjoyed such as the E.L.E. 2 Intro feat. Rakim, Don't Go feat. Q-Tip and Slow Flow feat. O.D.B.. Sonically, it is not a heavy rotation project.
Some have argued, including Busta Rhymes, that simply mentioning Master Fard Muhammad's name is an opportunity to bring many to Islam. My question is, "What 'many' are people talking about, what does that demographic look like?" Rick Ross was added to this song for pop appeal and primarily targets Generation X, my generation. Millennials and Generation Z are not Rick Ross' primary listening audience and they often have no clue who Busta Rhymes is or his discography. The shares, likes and commentary we see about E.L.E. 2 and the features on this project are primarily from Generation X. My generation was heavily exposed to Islam for over a decade during the Golden Era of Hip-Hop and most of us are age 40 and over today. If folks from my generation didn't get this consistent message over twenty years ago, I highly doubt that our folks, en masse, and on the cusp of middle age, are now going to change our trajectory of consciousness because of E.L.E. 2. It is unrealistic at best and delusional at worst. As for Millennials and Generation Z, en masse, combing the internet, buying books about Master Fard Muhammad and joining the NOI in droves? That is also unrealistic at best and delusional at worst. With any trending topic on social media, there will be curiosity on the part of some folks from my generation, Millennials and Generation Z to know what is going on.
There were many Hip-Hop projects released in 2020 that are far more impactful than E.L.E. 2. Regardless of that impact, most of these projects are not even trending right now. Even with the inclusion of a Farrakhan soundbite, a Rick Ross featured record named Master Fard Muhammad and free NOI social media hype from attention-seeking Muslims, E.L.E. 2 still falls short of that impact. By December MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO WERE TYPING IN ALL CAPS ABOUT HOW CLASSIC THIS E.L.E. 2 PROJECT IS will not even be mentioning it... For Generation X, E.L.E. 2 is nostalgia. It is a project of records that DJ's used to be spin in clubs that existed twenty something years ago. Clubs that folks on the cusp of middle age with families rarely go to anymore, with their twenty something year old children.
