The 49th Annual Show & Prove: What Did You Miss?

G.O.D. [Gold, Oil, Diamonds] Album by AZ

   Every second weekend in June we [the Five Percent Nation] hold our Annual Science and Educational Show & Prove at the Harriet Tubman School in Harlem, NY [Public School 154]. June 9th, 2019 marked our 49th Annual Event. 

   The first Show & Prove took place on June 13th, 1971 at Harlem Prep following a December 4th, 1970 dance that was organized six months earlier in Queens, NY [AKA: The Oasis in the Desert]. I mention this dance because it was the first collective gathering of Five Percenters since the assassination of The Father [Allah] one year earlier on June 13th, 1969 and the spark to ignite the Science and Educational Show & Prove. This annual youth-centric event was established to celebrate The Father's legacy through showcasing the contributions and accomplishments of our family members who are building upon this legacy. Founded by several young Five Percenters such as Allah B, Prince Allah, God Supreme, Dumar, Gykee, Takesha, LuAsia and others, the Show & Prove highlighted a youth science and educational fair and has expanded over the years to include a marketplace, food vendors, speeches, performances, and a Meet & Greet/Cook Out the day before. The largest single gathering of Five Percenters each year, the first Show & Prove on June 13th, 1971 was said to have over 2,000 people, most of them youth, in attendance. The first Show & Prove I attended was 22 years ago in 1997. In addition to our annual science fair and market place, this year's event added a 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament, and Youth Olympics!

   As I've mentioned above, our Annual Science and Educational Show & Prove is the largest single gathering of Five Percenters each year. It's an opportunity for us to congregate, network, support our businesses and build. By "build" I don't mean talking. Five Percenter concepts such as "building" has become common to many people. It, among other concepts, were adopted by Hip Hop culture and have since taken on the generic meaning of "talking." This concept is now as empty as the glossed over eyes of a Millennial rocking a box with no knowledge of who Big Daddy Kane is. Talking is not its original interpretation. Five Percenters are scientists of life and building is the oral presentation of one's work/research to other members of our scientific community for peer review. And just like any scientist, upon review of that work/research, if something needs to be added on or taken away, we go back to the lab and make the appropriate adjustments. 

   One of the thoughts I shared with someone upon my return from our event is that I appreciate getting an opportunity to hear others feedback or peer review of what I've been doing over the last year. I am so engrossed in what I do I rarely come up for air to check or even celebrate what many others would deem as accomplishments. Upon my arrival to the Show & Prove that Sunday morning the first person I randomly ran into while walking down 125th street was a brother who recognized me, introduced himself and reminded me of the articles I used to write for a United Kingdom publication over twenty years ago. It is experiences such as this that remind me of the work I've done and continue to do to positively impact the lives of others.

   In addition to our youth activities, one of the other highlights of this year's Show & Prove was the official book release of the revised edition of The True History of ALLAH and His 5%. Highlighting the authentic narratives of more than forty-five Five Percenters, this book is a primary source on some of our nation's chronology as told through the life experiences of Gods and Earths who were there in its formative years. This is very different than other books that have tried to tell, and sell, what is allegedly our story. Other books are typically written by one person with an agenda in mind about what they want you to think, or believe. The True History of ALLAH and His 5% does not take that politicized approach. It contains the direct words from those who were around during the early years of our nation and within those words are various perspectives and experiences, as it should be. Showing that sense of diversity, a shared voice, and no hierarchy, is important. You can purchase a paperback, hard cover or e-book HERE.

Peace,
Saladin

1-36: What is English Lesson No. C1?

     As a follow-up to my popular Five Percenter Table Talks Interview with Paul L. Guthrie I recently had a build with him regarding language and other topics. You can listen to it HERE. During that build we discussed 120 Lessons, the Supreme Wisdom book and I wanted to take a moment to expound upon that, particularly a part of 120 Lessons known as the 1-36.

   Along with the chronology highlighting the English involvement in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, the segment of 120 Lessons known as the 1-36 [English Lesson No. C1/English C Lesson] exposes us to what is known as an Advanced English or a C1 Competency Level. According to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) that defines and explains the different competency levels of oral and written expression and comprehension, a person with a C1 Competency Level is able to:

*Understand a wide range of more demanding, longer texts, and recognize implicit meaning in them.

*Express themselves fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for the right expression.

*Use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes.

   In considering the information contained within the 1-36, this was the first time many black people learned about this part of our chronology in North America, its implications and how to effectively express it in different social, academic and professional arenas. Developing this cultural competency and insight into the power dynamics in North America, this is one of the reasons COPYING/RECITING THE LESSONS, READING, SPELLING and SPEAKING THE LANGUAGE was emphasized in The Instructions Given To The Laborers within the Supreme Wisdom Book compiled by W.D. Fard and Elijah Muhammad. Problem No. 13 in this book also states, "There are twenty-six letters in the Language and if a Student learns one letter per day, then how long will it take him to learn the twenty-six letters? There are ten numbers in the Mathematical Language. Then how long will it take a Student to learn the whole ten numbers (at the above rate)? The average man speaks four hundred words - considered well." We also learn in one of our lessons in the 1-14 that the devil teaches and keeps our people illiterate [ignorant]. Why? To keep us blind to ourselves, mastered and used as a tool and also as a slave. There is a relationship between this conversation called the 1-36 and cultural competency.

     When it comes to a competent vocabulary and literacy, did you know that children 6 years old and under from impoverished communities may hear up to 30 million fewer words than their privileged counterparts? Did you also know that this vocabulary gap sets a cognitive, social emotional and economic trajectory that widens between impoverished and privileged children as they grow? Scientists in the area of Neurocognition, Psychology, Neonatology, Biostatistics and others have only recently concluded in their research that there is a direct link between potential mental and physical health outcomes and a child's language development, including disparities between communities and their access to resources. Research such as this informs us that a preschoolers vocabulary predicts 3rd grade language and reading skills. Thus these reading scores at the ages 9-10 are strong predictors of high school graduation rates, soft skills, employability, future earning potential, susceptibility to crime and other indicators. So by speaking to our children and introducing them to words that expand their vocabulary we also change the above trajectory. Through a data driven study that determines the size of Rap artists vocabulary the Wu-Tang Clan and Wu-Affiliate Killah Priest were at the top of the class. Ironically, some people thought Ol Dirty Bastard of the Wu-Tang Clan was crazy for interrupting the 1998 Grammys and announcing, "I don't know how ya'll see it but when it comes to the children, Wu-Tang is for the children. We teach the children, know what I mean? Puffy is good, but Wu-Tang is the best. O.K.? I want ya'll to know that this is O.D.B. and I love you all. Peace!" after losing in the Best Rap album category to Puff Daddy & The Family. As we recently celebrated the 25th Anniversary of the Wu-Tang Clan's classic album Enter The Wu-Tang: 36 Chambers, we also celebrated Ol Dirty Bastard who released Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version and returned [died] at 36 years of age, as Clan member Ghostface Killah reminded us in their new documentary For The Children: 25 Years of Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). In our language of Allah's Five Percent, the segment of 120 Lessons known as the 1-36 or English Lesson No. C1 means, "our knowledge (1) to understanding (3) equality (6)" according to our Supreme Mathematics. Thirty six (36) is understanding equality and that equals the #9 which means born or completion. The 9th letter in our Supreme Alphabet corresponds to the letter "I" which means "I Self Lord And Master" and "In Self Lay All Mathematics." Is all of this coincidental and was O.D.B. just crazy or did he and other perceptive people intimately understand what these Scientists and Rap Reporters had to verify about lyricism, access to vocabulary and trajectories related to Advanced English or a C1 Competency Level? Are the Five Percenter's Supreme Mathematics, Supreme Alphabet and 120 Lessons of the Five Percent a true manifestation of the Mathematical Language that is mentioned in Problem No. 13?

     The 1-36 reads like a conversation between W.D. Fard and his student Elijah Muhammad. Conversations are a part of serve and return social transactions that support cognitive and social emotional development, especially for children. As a C1 Competency Level it means a person is a proficient user of "the language" and is able to take part in lengthy conversations. Although the 1-36 and our other Lessons are written in English, "the language" being communicated consists of words and expressions used and understood by a specific group of people with a similar experience in North America as Elijah Muhammad; descendants of people who were enslaved. This does not mean that others cannot learn or relate. It means that the 1-36 is a unique narrative that references us, black people in North America, as W.D. Fard's uncle; his father's brother. It is from that vantage point of view that we learn more about W.D. Fard's purpose, the backstory of how some of our people arrived here in North America and how this impacted our growth and development. Anyone who does not share this unique experience must ask themselves, "What would be my 1-36? and "Is it also an English lesson or is it Spanish, Portuguese, Belgium or etc.?" As I have mentioned, the 1-36 is the knowledge to understanding equality and a partial means to change our cognitive, social emotional and economic trajectory as a people. 

Interview with Paul L. Guthrie discussing Language

     There has often been a debate on the order of 120 Lessons. Some Five Percenters received their 1-36 first and then their 1-14 while others received their 1-14 first and then their 1-36. The order I received 120 Lessons is as follows: 1-10, 1-14, 1-36, 1-40, Actual Facts, Solar Facts and I was also given the Twelve Jewels. Because the 1-40 was given to Elijah Muhammad on February 20th, 1934, this along with the text within our Lessons are chronological markers that inform us about what year each segment of our Lessons were written and in what order. Here are some of those markers and their corresponding Asiatic and Gregorian Calendar Years that explains their order:

Lessons 1-10

Asiatic 15,019 --- Gregorian 1933 

"Christianity 551 years old" (10/1-10)

1933 - 551 = 1382: John Wycliffe "Earthquake of Synod"

Lessons 1-14

Asiatic 15,019 --- Gregorian 1933 

"It was 6,019 years ago" (4/1-14)

"In the year 1, 15,019 years ago" (4/1-14) 

15,019 - 6,019 = 9,000 (Yacub was said to born in the year 8,400 and it took 600 years to make a devil)

"We took this city from the devil about 750 years ago"

1933 - 750 = 1,183. Jerusalem was taken by Saladin on 1187, 754 years from 1933

Lessons 1-36

Asiatic 15,020 --- Gregorian 1934

"My uncle was brought over here by the Trader 379 years ago" (3/1-36)

25,000 - 379 = 14,641 (1555 is said to be the year the Transatlantic Slave Trade began, not 1619)

Lessons 1-40

Asiatic 15,020 --- Gregorian 1934

"Koran will expire in the year 25,000, 9,980 years from the date of this writing" (1/1-40)

25,000 - 9,980 = 15,020 (1934)

     I don't debate the order that Five Percenters received 120 Lessons. My interest is our cultural competence; how well we know and understand the principles and values that defines our way of life. Are we proficient users of the language that supports these principles and values or are we using? Regardless of the order, are we utilizing these Lessons and language to order righteous steps? Are the 1-36 like conversations we have, especially with our youth, an investment in becoming more culturally competent?

Peace,

Saladin

Nicki Minaj and Cardi B: Here We Go Again...

While a global movement for women's rights to bring about an equitable society gains momentum, the bitter rap feud between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B is still a trending social media topic. That in and of itself should do more than raise an eyebrow in regards to its social engineering implications for Hip Hop culture, marginalized women within that industry and the plight of black women across America.

There’s nothing new about rap beefs. They go all the way back to Hip Hop’s cultural inception when the first Emcee picked up a microphone and proclaimed themselves the best. Regardless what career field of industry that we’re in, as soon as we claim to be the champion we’ve just created the number one, two and three contenders. Hell, that’s the driving force behind Capitalism; competition. We must not forget, Hip Hop came directly out of New York City gang culture and as an alternative to violence youth began to slowly advocate peace, unity and having fun superimposed over a new musical genre called Rap. Movements of social consciousness, youth advocacy and community outreach such as the Five Percent Nation and Zulu Nation are primarily credited with making this paradigm shift happen.

Roxanne Shante' and Marly Marl

The first female rap beef goes all the way back to 1984 to a young 15 year old girl named Lolita Shante’ Gooden AKA: Roxanne Shante’. One of the first females to be recognized for rocking the mic, Shante’s song inspired over 50 responses from both male and female artists. The brainchild behind Shante’s song was legendary producer Marley Marl who wanted to create a record for his Rap Attack radio show. Marl took the instrumental of the popular song Roxanne, Roxanne by UTFO about a stuck up girl named Roxanne who rejected all of the members of the group. Marl’s idea was to tell Roxanne’s side of the story and this song became the birth of Roxanne’s Revenge. Roxanne Shante’ recorded it off of the top of her head and this birthed one of the most notable battles in the chronology of rap music. Marl released it and instantly sold 5,000 copies throughout the city of New York. When UTFP heard it they issued a cease-and-desist based upon Marl’s use of their instrumental so Marl re-recorded it over a different track and sold over a quarter of a million copies. While there were various responses to Roxanne Shante’, with UTFO’s Real Roxanne being the most notable, the lowest response to this 15 year old girl was an artist named Ralph Rolle who recorded Roxanne’s a Man in 1985.

Just like the rap beefs we see today, artists got involved in the 80’s to get a piece of the action. However, things were much different prior to Rap’s Golden Era. Hip Hop culture, as a localized community of DJ’s, Emcees, Dancers and Graffiti Artists in NYC, functioned as such; a community. Everybody pretty much knew or knew of everybody. They went to the same parties, frequented the same record stores, danced in the same neighborhoods, patronized the same stores for supplies, gear and accessories and developed names and reputations for themselves as DJ’s, Emcees, Dancers and Graffiti Artists. Rap music wasn’t a nationally recognized and respected genre at this time and people had limited places where they could go to even hear it. In fact, rap was often referred to as "jungle music" and mainstream radio would not play it. From Hip Hop culture's inception, its elements were considered dissonant, vandalism, criminal and counter culture by the mainstream society. As the DJ and Emcee eventually took center stage as growing park jams spread throughout NYC, record labels began to see the marketability of a new music genre called “Rap.” While some record labels were genuinely interested in giving artists a platform, many simply saw it as a trending money grab. This symbiotic and often parasitic relationship between artist and record label began in 1979 when Curtis Blow recorded the first solo album on the Mercury label. For some, this environment bred competition for stardom and coveted record contracts. The rap beefs that did come out of this era such as Busy Bee vs Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte vs Antionette and Roxanne Shante’ vs Everybody were not vulgar nor did they result in funerals. Another difference then, in comparison to now, is that we didn’t have an international audience. Just like when children fight in school yards, the bigger the audience the more people tend to put on a show, today that audience is the worldwide web and social media. Instead of a few friends instigating a fight in a school yard, there are millions of people using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snaptchat and other platforms to instigate feuds such as this one between Nicki Minaj and Cardi B. People instigating fights used to be frowned upon in our communities but nowadays people make a living monetizing drama as talk show and radio hosts, bloggers and vloggers. So to see two young women who are within the top 5 female artists within Hip Hop today, tear each other apart in a male dominated industry that already marginalizes them is not inspirational or empowering for other women; especially young black women who are striving to self-actualize their potential. As artists, and black women who share a common plight in America, there is much more they could accomplish with unity. Willfully this negativity exposes them to the downside of public feuds like this and inspires them to humbly learn from elder sisters; Queens such as MC Lyte, Salt-N-Pepa, YoYo, Heather B, Monie Love, Boss and of course Roxanne Shante’. Not only can their wisdom help Nicki Minaj and Cardi B navigate these treacherous waters, but it equips them to teach and train the next generations of women how to effortlessly walk on those waters. Both of these women do some amazing philanthropic work in various communities and it would be beautiful to see more coverage of that, perhaps even on a unified front. This beef, past beefs and any future beefs are ultimately lucrative for corporate controlled Hip Hop and the thousands of businesses and gossip columns that make a living off of the narrative of our drama. Culturally speaking, in a community where the highest value lies in our relationships, this is not good for the brotherhood and sisterhood of Hip Hop.

Peace,

Saladin

How To Invent Mini Sex Offenders

   Technology is moving at such a fast rate that state and federal laws are often years behind addressing some of the new problems that come up based upon new technological advances. One such problem are laws surrounding sex offender status, sext messaging and child pornography.

   According to statistics gathered by Impact Justice a national innovation and research center, in 75% of the states, there are laws that still exist that “require children as young as 8 years old to be placed on sex offender registries, often for life, when adjudicated of what the courts deem sexual crimes.” This pre-adolescent to sex registry pipeline began in the mid 90’s, corresponding to budding growth and development of the World Wide Wide, smart phone technology, text messaging and social media. Keep in mind that many of these children are not registrants because of a sexual crime they actually committed, many of them are registered sex offenders based upon doing something as silly as pulling student’s pants down at school, public urination, sending a nude photo or sext messaging someone who happened to be underage. Even more problematic is the fact that many of these children are disproportionately people of color from impoverished urban environments without the finances to fight legal cases like this.

   Consider the case of Bobby Garza who was registered as a sex offender when he was 11 years old for indecent exposure to a child. His crime? He and his brother were urinating outside, a girl saw them and reported that they exposed themselves to her. Bobby was placed in foster care and escaped until he was placed in a youth detention facility for the next 6 years. Upon his release when he was 17 he had to register as a sex offender until he was 27 years old. Feeling that this was unfair he refused to register and was sentenced to prison for 5 years. Another example is Cormega Copening who was charged with sexual exploitation of a minor and making child porn in 2014 for sharing nude photos with his girlfriend Brianna Benson when they were both 16 years old. They were arrested in 2015. A standout quarterback for his high school football team, Copening was benched by his team pending further investigation missing a critical time of his athletic career, facing nationwide public humiliation and the frightening possibility of becoming a registered sex offender. While awaiting trial, Copening was put on probation for a year when five felony charges of making and possessing child pornography were reduced to two misdemeanors in a plea bargain. It wasn’t until he competed his probation did County District Court Judge dismiss the two remaining charges, yet the damage was already done. According to North Carolina law, Copening and Benson were considered adults and children at the same time; when people 16 and older commit crimes they are prosecuted as adults, but if they are under age 18, and crime victims, they are considered minors. When Benson made and possessed nude photos of herself, North Carolina law treated her as if she were an adult pornographer who was victimizing her minor self. Thus charging her with two counts of felony sexual exploitation of a minor. Copening faced 4 charges for making and possessing nude photos of himself and 1 charge for possessing a nude photo that Benson sent to him. It’s outdated laws such as this in many states, which consider a teen both a victim and perpetrator, that are one of problematic reasons we see miscarriages of justice like this. These are just two cases involving young people of color who have found themselves punished for unreasonably defined so-called crimes. Another issue is the fact that while the identity of juveniles involved in a crime are kept private, a juvenile convicted as a sex offender is publicly registered.

   One of the other growing concerns are recent cases involving hundreds of students posting and sharing nude photos in Facebook groups, on other social media networks such as Twitter and Snapchat and on the file sharing site Dropbox. One such case is a child porn scandal involving an unnamed 17 year old student at Davidson Senior High School in Davidson, Michigan. Police learned that this student gathered over 100 nude photos of students posted to Snapchat, saved them to Dropbox and shared them around the school. Pending a full investigation, this student could be charged as an adult and according to Michigan law, nude photos of a person under the age of 18 is considered child sexual abusive material. The Prosecutor in this case can not only charge this student with the dissemination of child pornography but any student that posted these images to Snapchat in the first place. This is not even considering those youth who do not attend Davidson High School that may have downloaded those images from Dropbox and disseminated them.

   From the above examples I am sure you can see the magnitude of this issue surrounding sex offender registry status, sext messaging and child pornography and how there is usually no legal precedence of how cases like this should be handled. Historically speaking, as with most legal precedence's in this country, people of color from impoverished urban environments without the finances to fight these legal cases become the face of these often unfair judgments. Every quarter of the year technology advances to create and update tools we use that many state and federal laws are far behind. Advocacy groups such as Impact Justice and the Center on Youth Registration Reform are leading the charge to not only end youth sex offender registration but educate the public about its link to suicide, juvenile delinquency, homelessness, mental health issues, alcoholism and drug abuse. I encourage you to talk to the youth and look into workshops and information about internet and social media safety. Check out Impact Justice and the Center on Youth Registration Reform online to find our more about the legal cases and statistics involving youth sex registry. If we’re not on top of this and playing an active role to insure that we inform and protect our children, this system of creating mini sex offenders could be the next preschool to prison pipeline.

Peace,

Saladin

The Anusha Anti-Aging, Hair Growth and Extreme Skincare Serums

   

In the Spring I had the pleasure of conducting a two-part interview with Scientist/Inventor Terry Lee Hamilton on Atlantis Build Talk Radio. In Part 1 of these interviews we discussed his journey as a Scientist, his inventions and different sciences of life such as the Fibonacci Sequence, Extraterrestrial Life, Physics, Einstein and etc. A self-taught Scientist/Inventor from Western New York, Hamilton designed the antennae and coupler interface system for Stico Industries that resolved Homeland Security's communications issues on 9/11 and was used during Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy and other disasters in the U.S. While employed at a company named Nanodynamics he was also responsible for helping improve the process to sustain  the power and voltage output of the fuel cell. In Part 2 of these interviews Hamilton discusses various serums he created from a molecular level for removing wrinkles, reversing the aging process, hair growth, balding, skin rashes, herpes 1 and 2, shingles and other ailments. We also discuss how these serums work with our cells in relationship to the immune system, alkaline vs acidic body environments, Herbalism and other insightful topics. You can listen to both of these interviews here:

Scientist of Life Part 1

The Science of Invention Part 2

   Following these interviews and in partnership with Hamilton, we developed a line of three primary serums called Anusha that are now exclusively available through my company Quanaah Herbal Accents. The serums come in three versions of various sizes [2 oz to 8 oz] of the Extreme Skincare Serum, Anti-Aging Skincare Serum and Hair Growth Serum. While all of these specialized formulas focus on different areas of the body, all of them penetrate all three layers of the skin and consist of Antioxidants, Anti-Inflammation ingredients, Hydrators and Enzymes that are non-GMO, non-artificial and nut, shellfish and gluten free. Some of the other specs of the Anusha Serums are as follows:

• The serum molecules are smaller than lotions and creams. This allows the serum to easily penetrate all three layers of the skin.
• Lotions and creams are ineffective in penetrating the three layers of the skin because their molecules are larger than the serums.
• The serums are high concentrated formulas so only a small amount needs to applied to affected areas of the skin, hair and scalp.
• No or mild inflammatory, irritation or immunogenic responses were reported from the serums clinical trials and clients.
• The serums are not animal tested, non-GMO and don't consist of any artificial ingredients or allergens such as nuts, shellfish or gluten. 

   If you're interested in purchasing the Anusha Serums you can do so at our website here: Anusha Serums. To read more technical information about the Anusha Serums you can go here: Anusha Serum Technical Information. 

   If you are interested in purchasing the Extreme Skincare Serum, Anti-Aging Skincare Serum and Hair Growth Serum, please email Quanaah Herbal Accents at: atlantisbuild@gmail.com for further information.

Peace,

Saladin

13 Ways To Survive Living In Chicago

   
   In my STYA After School Program recently some of my students were putting me on to some of their favorite Rappers, most who came from Chicago. I began to recognize a pattern beyond the Drill style rap music and gritty lyrics; many of these young rappers were no longer here. Song after song my students would share with me the gruesome tale behind these young men getting murdered. Since 2014 there's been dozens of young Chicago rappers, many of them teenagers, whose blood was spilled in the streets. 

   In 2016 there were 762 murders in the city of Chicago; the total leading number of murders in the United States with the majority being black men under forty years of age. According to the number of murders reported to the FBI based upon cities with a population of 25,000 residents and above, Chicago Heights, IL was ranked #30 on the list of murder capitals of the world in 2016. Places like Birmingham Alabama, Myrtle Beach South Carolina, Riviera Beach Florida and twenty-five other cities outranked Chicago Heights as murder capitals. For the second year in a row East St. Louis was ranked #1 with a crime index of 3%, meaning it's only safer than 3% of the cities in the United States. Chicago Heights was safer than 15% of the cities in the United States. 

   Whenever we're looking at statistics like this, coupled with sensationalized news stories, some of us could easily get the impression that Chicago is 1980's Beirut or the present day West Bank. While there is definitely a disproportionate amount of violence going on in some Chicago communities in comparison to other communities that are the same size, it's also important to keep in mind that a white person is about six times more likely to be killed by another white person than somebody black. The media's lack of coverage on this white on white violence is virtually nonexistent in comparison to its obsessive compulsion of black on black violence. Considering that propaganda we still cannot dismiss the narrative of those who live and have grown up in Chicago who see this carnage. I've lived there myself for a few months on the South Side, South Lowe to be exact, back in the early 2000's. Since that time, and with it's growing poverty and community deterioration, it's gotten much worst. Depending upon Politicians to fix it is equivalent to expecting Physicians to help regulate Big Pharma. There's no silver bullet and it requires a concerted effort of grassroots initiatives of dedicated community members to change the culture of violence in Chicago and transform its socioeconomic landscape. In the meantime, these Changemakers must survive in order to have an opportunity to strive. Here is something one of my sister's named Tanya shared that highlights some basic rules for how to survive in Chicago. Tanya is a professional hairstylist that was born, raised and currently resides in Chicago:

1. Don't sit in cars kicking it.
2. Get EVERYTHING you need and get to your destination.
3. Keep your eyes and ears open! Watch your surrounding instead of running your mouth.
4. Know who you're hanging with and what they're up to.
5. Google numbers, order your food ahead of time don't sit in local spots.
6. Track the bus if you have to ride it. That bus stop stuff is dead. Also if it does not look safe always walk a block up.
7. Don't be listening to your headphones, you gotta hear stuff.
8. Don't sit and watch when people getting rowdy KEEP IT MOVING!!
9. If you get into a confrontation assess your situation first before you snap. You never know what a person got on them. Forget being tough. Make it back home.
10. If something don't look right trust your instinct. If you hear gun shots get down quickly until it stops.
11. Don't loiter in front of the house like an easy target!! Don't run unless someone is shooting at you.
12. When in public, keep your face out of your phone, and your phone out of your face. Keep that $500 object hidden. Period.
13. Don't mix BEING CAUTIOUS with BEING SCARY. Forget what somebody thinks, make it back home to your FAMILY!!!!

   Although these survival tips relate to communities in Chicago, they are also applicable to other communities around the country and internationally. I've been to hoods in Canada these tips apply to as well. It's also worth mentioning that from 1980 to 2008, 53.3% of gang-homicides were committed by white offenders and 56.3% of gang-homicide victims were white according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. This means that there are communities that are predominately white and poor where these survival tips also apply. In fact, black people, especially males, need to follow these survival tips in any predominately white communities that are poor and especially when they're affluent. Historically there's been countless examples of blacks being racially profiled, harassed, criminalized, incarcerated, assaulted and murdered simply because they were in a white person's neighborhood. 

Peace,
Saladin

Who are the 85%?

In the 1950s a Psychologist by the name of Solomon Asch did a series of social experiments on human conformity called The Ash Conformity Experiments. These experiments began with a perceptual exercise. A group of 6 people were asked to participate in a study where they would all sit at a table and be shown a series of cards with one target line on one side and three comparison lines on the other side.

The participants would then be asked one by one which comparison line matches the target line. One by one they all choose the correct answer when the first and second card is shown. Of the 6 people participating, 5 of them were previously instructed to unanimously give the wrong answer when the third card is shown. This is unknown to 1 participant, the subject, who is now positioned to either say what they know to be correct or go along with the group just to fit in, knowing that the answer is wrong. There were 18 different cards shown and the 5 participants unanimously gave the wrong answer on 12 of those cards.

While most people said they would say what they knew to be correct and not go along with the group, researchers found that 75% of the subjects conformed and gave the wrong answer at least once. When the experiment concluded it was then revealed to the subject that the 5 other participants were instructed to unanimously give the wrong answer. When the subject was asked why they went along with the group just to fit in the answers Asch received ranged from self doubt, fear of being ridiculed by the others and the honest belief that the majority’s answers were correct. There were others who did not conform and of course they were in the minority. Keep in mind that this study was conducted on white male undergraduates of the same age range; a conformed racial, gender, cultural group. Given different racial, cultural, gender, age and socioeconomic backdrops researchers may see different results. Although this was the case, there is much to learned about conformity and one's sense of justice, especially when there are no visible signs of a reward or penalty for not conforming. 

Asch’s primary reason for conducting these experiments was to study how group behavior can influence an individual. What researchers recognized in these experiments are two forms of social conformity: Normative and Informational. Normative Conformity happens when people want to be accepted or liked, such as peer pressure and following music/fashion trends. Informational Conformity happens when people go along based on the belief that others are right or have more accurate information. Whether it was normative or informational social influence, the 75% of the subjects Asch identified as conformists are similar to the 85% within the Five Percent lexicon.

Within our lessons, some of the characteristics used to describe the 85% and their susceptibility to normative and informational social influence are, “poisonous animal eaters” [poor diet choices/not health conscious], “slaves from a mental death and power”, “do not know their origin in this world” [disoriented/lacking a cultural identity], “worship what they know not” [blind followers/non-critical thinkers], “easily led in the wrong direction but hard to be led in the right direction” [naive/easily manipulated], “worshipping that which they cannot see, invisible”, "do not let the 5% teach them" [stubborn/incorrigible], “they believe -in the 10%- on face value” [naive/easily manipulated] and others. In our language of Mathematics 8 is Build [and Destroy] and 5 is Power so the 85% are often referred to as a “Build Power” because this is exactly what they need to do in order to be a master of their destiny, not be mastered. Note that 8 + 5 = 13 and the 13th letter in our Alphabet is “M” for Master; the apex response to “What is his [or her] own self?” as our 13^th degree in our section of lessons known as the 1-36 asks us. Not all normative and informational social influence is bad. Some social pressure is important to maintain the integrity of a community against social decay and some of us do have more accurate information we should trust in after further investigation. As the 5%, or free thinking minority in Asch’s experiments who did not conform to the group, we teach, train and learn from others what’s necessary to rise above the gravitational pull of negative normative and informational social influences. This requires more than personal integrity or the audacity to stand out or stand alone. Among other things, it requires a sound premise [Knowledge = Foundation] of facts to stand upon, self confidence, the skills to defend our position and being inoculated against the potential ridicule, sabotage and loss that can come along with being a non-conformist. 

 Sheeple and Social Economic Engineering

Allah, affectionately known as “The Father”, who started the Five Percent Nation in 1964 began as a non-conformist. He stood alone and didn’t claim affiliation with any religious, political or Black Nationalist groups during one of the most turbulent times in American history. He taught youth that many in society perceived as incorrigible without a college education, a program grant, a paycheck or for community service hours. He just cared enough about his community, especially the youth, to do everything within his power to help transform its condition and help inspire, empower and educate them to be its future leaders. It's a tough path that demands resilience and the knowing that we may very well lose our life standing out or standing alone for what we know to be true. As evidenced by the problems we see in this world, most aren't willing to do this. Most people, we refer to as the 85%, means "the majority" or those who go along to get along even if it's wrong; like the silent majority who voted America into the mess #45 is making. Being of the majority doesn't make a person inherently evil, inferior, untalented nor are the names 85%, Build Power or Eighty Fiver a coded racial epithet Five Percenter's use to discriminate against or ridicule people. This, among other words/phrases we use in our language, is a sociological term used to coherently define how most people function within society; a society where a crony capitalistic minority, often deemed The 1% [we call the 10%], use social influence to monopolize its resources, institutions and economy. A question I always get from people who are striving to learn more about the Five Percent is, "Can the 85% ever become the Five Percent?" and my answer has been consistently the same: HERE. 

While many within the Five Percent commonly consider "Who" are the 85% as a means to define those who fit the description within our lessons, as evidenced by what some of us choose to do and how we choose to do it, it's clear that we may overlook the "When", "Where" and "How" are the 85%. There are moments or ways of thinking about ourselves and the world that are of the 85%. There are places that are Build Power domains. There are also procedures and social norms that dictate the function of an Eighty Fiver. In many cases, and without recognizing there's a difference between Who, When, Where and How, it's hard to even tell the difference between the 85% and those who call themselves the Five Percent. Either because of a person's social media persona, their close affiliations or the sheer lack of youth advocacy and community outreach in their neighborhood and city as a whole. So this question, "Who are the 85%?" is our 14th degree for a reason: it's synonymous with knowing our culture as 1 is Knowledge and 4 is Culture. It's about self evaluation, growth and development, not sitting on a high horse pointing our fingers to ostracize a segment of our human family. Besides, an Eighty Fiver may be the very one to save you or one of your family member's life while your Five Percent bestie is only in a position to say "Peace!"

Peace,

Saladin