Family Dynamics and our CQ [Cultural Quotient]?

Prom Night, 1993

 

     Anyone who has read my writings, listened to my interviews or personally interacted with me knows that I often talk about my upbringing. More specifically, I talk about my Ole Earth [Mother] being a Social Psychologist and how that experience helped shape part of my identity. The older I became the more I realized how uncommon it was to hear, "study their family dynamics" as a teenager when I shared with her my interest in a girl. I was a teenager and had no idea what studying family dynamics meant or how it was done. There wasn't a road map. It took years of experience, and the development of my executive brain function, to begin understanding this. Prior to this, I looked at a girl as an individual without studying how her ideas, interactions, behaviors, influences and relationships with her family helped shape her identity. Yes, I would casually recognize when she didn't have a relationship with her father, the kind of diet she had, what her family's social economic status was, what her interests were, and her comfort level with intimacy. I didn't try to unpack all of that and took it on face value. I remember my parents prompting me to 'think deeper' about the girls that I was interested in by sharing commentary about their family, asking questions that revealed their family dynamics, and directly engaging them when they visited our home. I wasn't really interested in that. Like with my own upbringing, I simply took her upbringing for granted and didn't look too far beyond her as an individual. As I grew beyond my teenage years and entered college, I really began to recognize the impact of our family dynamics. 

    I am a middle child of seven children. My home environment was a hodge podge of social commentary, musical instruments, board games, family meals, outings, sports, community engagement, and a Pan-African flag. I grew up around African artifacts, books like a DSM-III-R [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders], Baldwin's The Fire Next Time, and Khalil Gibran's Spirits Rebellious. We watched films like Dolemite, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, Shaka Zulu, The Spook Who Sat by The Door and had family discussions afterwards. My family used The Book of Questions like a party game, which enabled my parents to see and respond to ideas that my siblings and I were entertaining and bringing into our household. My Ole Earth would literally take those of us who were closest in age "people watching", where we go to a public space such as a mall or a park just to observe, analyze, and comment on people. She was sharping our critical observation and deductive reason skills. Looking back, it feels like I grew up in a kind of laboratory. However, it wasn't some sterile, cold, all-white LED lit environment. It was a culturally rich courageous space where ideas about our identity and the world were constantly examined, tested and studied. It was not perfect, it was productive. These were just some of the influences within my immediate home environment that I am still learning to process and unpack. As I began to study my genealogy, other layers of my family dynamics began to reveal themselves, giving me an even deeper understanding of who I am. In this process, I've also come to realize that many people are not intentional about studying family dynamics. I wasn't intentional like that, even though I had all kinds of resources available to me. 

"Without knowing how some of our life experiences anchor our identity, it is difficult to understand their psychological, social, physical, and financial impact     in, on, and around our lives."   

   Our family dynamics help shape who we are, for better or for worst. It's the forces that define our family. These forces are the role that we play in our family, the rules that we learn to live by, our boundaries, how we communicate, and the way that power is defined and distributed. I've met dark-skinned Black men who truly believe that they don't see color, yet they only date Caucasian women with blond hair and blue eyes. What in their family dynamics and their experiences helped inform that decision? I've also known women who held their happiness hostage because they struggled with the Intimacy vs Isolation idea of "Will I be loved, or will I be alone?" What in their family dynamics and their experiences helped inform that decision?

     One of my biggest challenges has been in the area of EQ or Emotional Intelligence. Many years into adulthood I realized that I never learned how to use words to identify and communicate my emotions. Sounds wild huh? Well, many males don't. Why else do you think women share the same story that, "He shuts me out and doesn't talk to me." Many of us never learned how. Literally! We never learned to recognize and express what we are feeling is called disappointment and not anger, anxious and not fear, frustration and not rage. All we really learn is happy and mad, and as males we are not allowed to be sad... or too happy. Even in the household where I grew up in with an emotionally intelligent Ole Dad who never apologized or hide his face when he cried, I still never learned how to identify and communicate with words how I feel. Whenever he and my Ole Earth had a conflict, he would simply turn around and walk out. Not out of our family's life, out of the house. Once he calmed down, he would return later on. He would not stand there and communicate how he felt, especially to a woman who had the wisdom of The Oracle from The Matrix and a Richard Pryor sense of humor. When my Ole Dad would return after cooling off, and if my Ole Earth was in the wrong, she would never apologize or acknowledge that in front of the family. She would simply show him she was apologetic by offering him a casual hug, a light-hearted kiss, and joking conversation. My Ole Dad never immediately engaged or embraced this and it always took him time to recalibrate his system and get back to a sense of peace. That's what I learned. Because I've never been married, when I walked off, a woman may never have a conversation with me again if I felt that strongly about the conflict. Sometimes this was appropriate and saved me a life of misery. Most of the time my reaction was bullsh*t. It was my inability to communicate how I felt and not having a deeper commitment to working things out. My inability to communicate was expressed as indifference and an unwillingness to further engage. Some males express this inability to communicate in different ways, and it's usually expressed through sex and/or violence; with their d*cks and/or fists. Me saying, "f*ck it" by walking off is a variation of males saying "I'mma f*ck you/f*ck somebody else" and/or "I'mma f*ck you/f*ck somebody else up." All of these expressions are rooted in not identifying what we are feeling, learning the words to communicate this, and being positively received when we actually do. 

   When I realized this and began doing the work to learn how to effectively communicate, I also began to see that some women have never been with men like this. I've been in relationships with women who I did not know how to effectively communicate with. I've also been in relationships with women who simply did not know how to effectively communicate with me. One time it took me three days to write and send a text message to a woman expressing how I felt about a conflict that we had. In the past, I would have been a ghost; leaving her with our memories as context clues to figure out what happened between us. This was different and I was in a different space. I was intentional about communicating and vulnerable enough to trust her with my feelings. I proudly sent that text message only to receive an almost auto-reply text that felt like I was Frankie Williams in Piper's Pit. For some dudes, they would have used that experience as an excuse to never be vulnerable again. Not me. I looked at it for what it was, that love is an inner and outer journey that can be painful, also promising, and always insightful. While that experience hurt, it did not discourage me to give up on love. In fact, I got engaged sometime after that to the love of my life. 

   Most of us are familiar with IQ which represents our Intelligence Quotient. It is a standardized test that measures our cognitive abilities or how smart we are. EQ is our Emotional Quotient, which measures how we understand and manage our emotions. CQ is our Cultural Quotient. CQ is our ability to understand and navigate diverse cultural environments and interact with people from various cultural backgrounds. It is an intelligence that is cognitive and emotional. While our CQ can be measured using standard questionnaires, the real test of our cultural intelligence is evident in our life. When we look at the results of how we live, that is how we are graded. Every day you can see social media content of someone doing something that shows that they don't have a clue how to navigate diverse cultural environments and interact with people from various cultural backgrounds. Whether that is a Facebook post from someone denigrating people that they want financial support from or a video of a racist being chased off for showing up at a Black Awards Show with a sign saying, "Black Parents Are Failures." Studying our family dynamics and the family dynamics of others helps improve our CQ. It enables us to better understand ourselves, the culture we were raised in, how to navigate diverse cultural environments and interact with people from various cultural backgrounds. 

    Without question, there existed a culture in our household. Regardless of what we choose to call ourselves, be it Christian, Muslim, Moor, Five Percenters, Black, etc., there were cultural influences that defined our family and how we view family today. Those influences were/are the role that we play in our family, the rules that we learned to live by, our boundaries, how we communicate, and the way that power was/is defined and distributed in those relationships. When we lack CQ, this cultural tone-deafness or lack of awareness is evident in our people activities, especially in our relationships. That includes those of us who live the culture of the Five Percent and how we relate to one another. As men within the Five Percent, it's important to ask ourselves how do we 'cee' the Moon in our Universal Flag that the number 7 is superimposed over. In what ways can superimposition obstruct one's view? What wisdom does this Moon symbolize, as it relates to the life of a woman without children? What role does our EQ play in processing and unpacking questions like this? Simply looking at our 'universal flag' has implications for our how we view our 'universal family'. There is a psychological, social, and financial impact of not realizing that we are looking at these celestial bodies, the Sun, Moon and the Stars, from the vantage point of our terrestrial home; the Earth. Because we are clearly witnessing these objects and their relationships from our planet, how does this inform and define the family dynamics in our home? What role does our IQ play in all of this? When we learn that "the Earth belongs to the Original Man?" in the first lesson in our 1-14, does 'belong' mean ownership (The Earth is the possession of the Original Man), membership (The Earth is a part of the Original Man), or both? How are these perspectives demonstrated within our language, our lessons, and our customs? In what ways can these perspectives positively or negatively influence the gender roles that we play, the rules that we live by, our boundaries, how we communicate, and the way that power [control] is defined and distributed in our relationships? How do these and other questions ultimately affect our Five Percenter CQ? 

     It's important to understand that the family we were born into is a training ground for our relationships and the family that we choose or don't choose to create. This foundational experience that we were born into informs and influences the experiences that we choose or don't choose to have today. We may be aware of some of those experiences and how they affect(ed) us. There are other experiences that we've had, and we don't know how they affect(ed) us. Sometimes we may need a therapist to help recall, process, and unpack these experiences. All of the time it's up to us to do something about it to improve our personal quality of life, and the quality of our relationships. This also requires a level of courage, to be vulnerable enough, to grow.

Peace,

Saladin, #AtlantisBuild

"Crack-Kim Great God Allah" and the Value of Community Partnerships

A.I. generated image of Fat Joe as "Crack-Kim Great God Allah"

     On a recent episode of the Joe and Jada Podcast, Rapper Fat Joe made this bombshell claim, "I come from a projects called Godsville. Right? So also, it was like the Mecca of the Five Percenters. I was the God Crack-Kim Great God Allah. I’m telling you what it is, right. You gotta think…" The reactions from members of the Five Percent ran the spectrum from doubled-over laughter to outright anger. While no one has confirmed the validity of that story, I can see the possibility for a variety of reasons. It's possible that some Five Percenters said it as a joke to play upon the cultural identity politics in that neighborhood. There is some unfortunate history of Boriquas and other Spanish-speaking people being "othered" within the Hip Hop community and among Five Percenters, even to this day. Fat Joe has often talked about being "the fat little Puerto Rican kid" growing up around mostly Black people. It is hard for me to imagine Five Percenters seriously calling Fat Joe by the "righteous name" of Crack-Kim Great God Allah. Because the names that we choose are supposed to be righteous. From my experience, even the most street Five Percenters still hold this culture with some level of sacredness. Also, righteous names don't exist in a vacuum. With a name comes a cultural identity, familial relationships, and active Five Percenter community engagement. Within our culture we are expected to expound upon our chosen righteous name when among other Five Percenters. If our name is Power, we are expected to show and prove the reasoning for choosing that name and what it means, sometimes in an open public forum among a body of Five Percenters. None of these Five Percenter cultural elements or social norms were mentioned by Fat Joe. This leads me to think that it's not as real or serious as he suggests. Now if he goes back on the Pod naming his enlightener, talking about parliaments/rallies that he attended, what degrees that he knows, who he taught, etc., then I think we could take his conversation more seriously. What I do think is serious, and deserves discussion, is the fact that people even associate Five Percenters with criminal behavior. 

     Since our 1960's inception within the streets of New York, Five Percenters have been labeled as a gang and classified as a STG (Security Threat Group) due to incidents of violence and gang-related activity within some correctional facilities across the United States. While there did exist and does exist those who commit crimes and simultaneously claim to be Five Percenters, that is not our cultural way. The labels of being a gang or STG has always been a point of contention by those of us who are upstanding citizens within our communities, the same way that upstanding Muslims, Christians and Jews do not condone terrorism by those who profess to be members of their group. As a globally recognized face of the Five Percenters, I have worked extremely hard to challenge those mischaracterizations by being a positive productive example. Yet in too many cases to mention, there are alleged Five Percenters who continually add credence to these negative claims by not living up to our cultural values of being civilized and teaching civilization. One such example is our recent expulsion from the second primary school within our community that allowed us to utilize their space to hold our monthly Universal Parliaments and events.           

     In an April 24th, 2024 article Anchor Institutions and the Fate of Allah School in Mecca I wrote, "While there are brothers who consistently show up in person/virtually once a week to talk for hours about our culture, there are no professional revenue-generating workshops, classes, or projects being facilitated at Allah School every day. We have no grant-funded youth advocacy/community outreach programs being offered in the neighborhood. We have no collaborative initiatives with area organizations and institutions that are available on-site or virtually. Nothing is being offered by/for women and girls; even though women represent 75% of the professional non-profit workforce in the U.S. and the Allah School is a non-profit. Additionally, according to a recent April 23rd Five Percenter Newspaper Facebook Group Post and my follow-up confirmation with School Officials, we are now in jeopardy of losing P.S. 92 Mary McLeod Bethune as the current location of our Universal Parliaments and the upcoming Show & Prove. A petition is being circulated by the surrounding school community to stop us from utilizing the space due to adult Five Percenters loitering, urinating, drinking alcohol, smoking marijuana, and being noisy on school property." As of June 2025, and confirmed by school officials, we are now banned from utilizing P.S. 92 Mary McLeod Bethune due to alleged Five Percenters loitering and the use of illegal substances near school grounds. The first school in our community that we were banned from prior to this incident is P.S. 154 Harriet Tubman. During the summer months our monthly Universal Parliaments and events are generally held outdoors in Medina (Brooklyn). As we move into the colder months, we will need to find new indoor accommodations to gather. Equally important is putting an effective policy and procedure in place that can stop us from continually losing access to community spaces and sabotaging our relationships with important community partners. That only gives credence to the negative lawless claims that people have about us. While this is definitely unfortunate, it is also an opportunity for us to do better and live up to our cultural values of being civilized and teaching civilization. 

"We don't talk about nobody.  Because religious people fight against one another.  You can’t tell 

me they don’t because they do." -Allah, The Father (November 15, 1967 Interview)

     

     When I began this website twenty years ago, my mission has been to inspire, empower, and educate my readership through my documented work about various sciences of life from "a" Five Percenter perspective, not a perspective of "THE" Five Percenter. Because of my growing digital footprint, global visibility and international work, I was thrust into a domain where I am now viewed as one of the most recognizable figures and foremost authorities on the Five Percent Nation. This has never been something that I have aspired to, yet I have learned to accept being this public figure. It took me a long time to even fully embrace social media because I was averse to the concept of 'having followers'. This so-called "celebrity" as folks call it, has also taken time getting used to. When random people recognize and stop me in airports or different cities to share how my work has positively impacted their lives, I am still caught off guard and reminded of what this really means. To me, I am simply doing my part to add more beauty to this world to help repair what I see is broken. Nothing more and nothing less. What I have struggled with getting used to are the trolls that any celebrity deals with. It's hard to understand the constant fixation people can have on someone else. It's hard to even imagine how disruptive that would be to the work that I do. When I assess my time, I don't see the value in using it to sit around and talk about people. Yes, just like anyone else I could see trolls attacking celebrities, I just never saw myself in a celebrity category so I would rationalize that it is not the same thing when it happens to me. I was clearly in denial. Once I began to honestly acknowledge it, I also began to consult with other celebrities on how they deal with it. What one particular celebrity shared with me was a game changer. They said, "People project their own insecurities on you. Sometimes people try to bait you into responding to some sh*t because your attention validates their importance. In a weird way they're looking for a cosign. They might be jealous or feel like they're less than you! You are an important person who is doing important work. I just keep it moving and don't even respond. They not on your level and don't even exist in your world for a reason, so keep it that way by not inviting them in." 

     Those within our community know that Fat Joe AKA Crack-Kim Great God Allah is not a farfetched concept. There is a reason we have the phrases Jive Percenters & Five Pretenders. I've had knowledge of self for thirty years now and have seen many versions of folks with one foot in the street and the other foot allegedly in Five Percenter culture. I have also seen those who are positive productive examples of what this culture can offer any human being. Like with any community, you have those who are striving to do better and others who are not. I also understand that we can want people to do better, yet nothing will change until they honestly want to do better for themselves. We make knowledge born and they must save themselves. Sometimes the ones who could benefit from our assistance the most are the least likely to openly receive it, for various reasons. All we can do is be there if/when people are ready and put up guardrails to prevent them from injuring us and others when they are not ready. I do not know what new indoor accommodations will be secured for our Universal Parliaments and other Nation events going forward. I also do not know what kind of effective policy and procedure can be put in place that will stop us from continually losing access to community spaces and sabotaging our relationships with important community partners. What I do know is this is an opportunity to do better. And sometimes what we see as a setback is a settlement or agreement to do something much greater! It is up to us to make that happen.

Peace,

Saladin

In Celebration Of Us!

   A God Brother of mine recently got married and he is one of a number of people around the world who have utilized a non-religious Divine Union Rite I created to celebrate this bond. Most recently with the incarnation of my new Queen Anusha I held a private Naming Ceremony to announce her arrival. The Divine Union Rite was created over a decade ago when considering how I could help develop customs to ‘demarcate’ Five Percenter life cycle celebrations that express important transitions in our life. Thus was born a very intricate document that articulated everything from the seasonal symbolism, colors, regalia, structure, officiate dialogue and vows of a Divine Union. Although it was created to express and celebrate core principles and values of the Five Percent I crafted it as a universal template for any couple to use who desired a culturally based non-religious ceremony. The Naming Ceremony was done with the same intention and emphasized our notion that "the babies are the greatest."

   When I came into Knowledge Of Self [KOS] one of the main things I became aware of is what Life Justice calls "the clash of culture." All of us who come into KOS experience this. It is challenging because we have been indoctrinated into Western society and its traditions. This requires us to invest every waking hour of our lives striving to differentiate between what is culturally acceptable or in line with what we call Allah World Manifest [AWM] from what is unacceptable or a part of Yacub's Society [the devil's civilization]. This does not mean that everything about Western Society is wrong; indoctrinated people have a hard time even knowing the difference. When an indoctrinated person descends from an enslaved or colonized people, they are born immersed in the enslavers or colonizers point of view. This is all that they know, and learn to believe, until they learn something different from an outside perspective. An outside perspective is not primarily taught in school or throughout the media because it does not represent the cultural norm or status quo. Even if it appears  to be taught, you often discover that even that perspective is the enslavers and colonizers narrative. This creates a dilemma because KOS exposes you to many irreconcilable differences. Some things, such as dietary habits may be fairly easy to discontinue. Other things, such as practicing certain Western traditions or breaking certain habits may be difficult to break. 

   A custom is a tradition, procedure or form that is specific to a society or group or people. Its goal is the reinforce and perpetuate principles and values for the present and future generations. While some people might believe that certain traditional foods are simply passed on from one generation to the next because of its flavor, a close examination of that dish, its ingredients, its preparation, the time it was shared and under what conditions will reveal something much deeper than tantalizing taste buds. This is custom, and a custom demarcates or distinguishes important events along the life cycle of a people. All people possess them and this is the purpose of celebrations like Passover, National Days for Countries, St. Patrick's Day and others. Even so-called primitive tribes had customs to demarcate or distinguish important events along the life cycle of a people, especially in relation to changes in the natural environment and in sync with celestial events. These events of significance, sometimes shrouded in legends or myths, serve as psychological and social landmarks along a people's cultural landscape. Why? To insure that a people do not lose their way in order to stay the course of reinforcing and perpetuating principles and values for the present and future generations. In one of our lessons about 85% of the population, we learn that they "do not know their origin in this world and worship what they know not" and are "easily led in the wrong direction but hard to be led in the right direction." When a person does not know their origin or place where their people began, it creates a sense of cultural disorientation; having no sense of direction. When a person or people have no sense of direction they become easily led.

   Customs is also the place at a port, boarder or airport where a person and their luggage is checked for taxable goods coming in and out of different territories. As an official department, Customs governs and levies traffic. Consider for a moment how cultural customs serve the purpose of supporting the institutions, resources and economy where people live. Consider when people practice cultural customs that are not theirs, yet still support the institutions, resources and economy where they live but do not control. Also consider when a people do have their customs; they operate like Customs and effectively tax anyone coming into their territory. When you look at many black communities around the United States you are looking at territories without cultural customs or Customs, saturated with foreign and religious trading posts.

   Gaining KOS is not the same as being WOKE. WOKE folks are just walking up, are usually still immersed in Western tradition and typically trade customary insults for injury. In other words, they may not practice Christmas anymore but they will buy everything they need for Kwanzaa from Family Dollar and practice that. While the thought of giving credit to a fat white man coming down a chimney they don't have is insulting, the real injury is the black dollar is still not circulating once in their community. 

   When a person comes into KOS and starts to differentiate between what is culturally acceptable and what is not, we learn that there are certain Western customs that we must no longer participate in. Some of us struggle with this because these customs may be more than just a habit; they may be intimately tied to our family tradition, work culture or our relationships. Our non participation is a break from practicing certain social norms that we no longer agree with. And as a person who no longer participates in certain dietary choices, holidays or other people activities it leaves a void. A void that some of us have tried to replace by "not really" participating in dietary choices, holidays or other people activities or trying to substitute them with a watered down version of the same Westernization. Seeing this void, where people gaining KOS went from having their life structured and defined by Western landmarks, we now are faced with the challenge of restructuring systems with psychological and social landmarks along a newly defined cultural landscape. Customs, as a traditions, are a part of this. This is the reason I saw the importance of crafting a Divine Union Rite and Naming Ceremony. Celebrating the unity of our family, the arrival of our children, and etc. are important. In Western society people typically acknowledge points along one's life cycle based upon driving age, the age of consent, drinking age, the age one can join the military and other arbitrary things. 

   I had private Naming Ceremony for my youngest Queen Anusha on the Winter Solstice which I briefly explain the significance of in the video above. She was born at home with a Midwife, my God Brother Divine's Earth was her Doula and she is not vaccinated. Her full name is Anusha Adjua Quanaah meaning "a bright and morning star of peace and great vision." I did not want to bring her into this world in foreign hands, in a foreign environment or sharing pictures to memorialize that foreign moment like I see so many of my people do, including those of us with KOS. If we don't have customs to define significant events along our life cycle, what are we using, whose interest will that serve and where does that leave our cultural legacy?

Peace,
Saladin

Preparing Ambassadors Of The Future!

Want to know more?! Click HERE

   As I mentioned in one of my previous "articles", my "Boys as Allies" Rights of Passage Program was the first official initiative through my Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters. Boys as Allies is a FREE 10-Week Rights of Passage Program for boys ages 12 to 14 that explores ideas and myths about manhood, masculinity and is a proactive deterrent against sexual violence. Some of the topics we cover are: Self Knowledge, The Male "Box", Misogyny and Sexual Violence, Respecting Intimate Partners, Being Allies with Girls and Woman and etc. 

   Maybe a few years ago I did a free online self-development course via the Periscope App and since then people have contacted me about doing another one. It was through that demand and my desire to create something more comprehensive that this Youth Outreach Development Course was ultimately born! This unique online Youth Outreach Development Course instructs students in the area of youth advocacy and equips you with the knowledge and ability to successfully inspire, empower and educate the youth. As a child educator for over two decades I considered what were some of the most important points that every person should know when engaging our youth. This course is not only a great introduction for anyone who has never worked with youth, but it also a great source of professional development for those who already work with youth in some capacity. The proceeds from this course go directly to the Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters and the completion of this course is required for all future residency instructors.

   As I've learned a very long time ago; the path to becoming a successful youth advocate takes dedication and time, but if you put your mind to it, you'll become one of the best! So what are you waiting for? Our youth need you! You can check out and share this course at the link below:

Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters

Youth Outreach Development Course

Peace,

Saladin

Labors of 'localism' can lead Falls back

I think all of our children need to learn the word “localism” and by the time they reach middle school it shouldn’t be an unfamiliar word in their vocabulary. Localism is the idea of prioritizing the local.

For us, it’s a “Niagara Fallsian” philosophy of investing in our local businesses, advocating a local control of government and promoting our local history, culture and identity. It’s the posture and attitude that we need to support each other. Whether it’s supporting our staple businesses like Richardson’s Fast Food Deli on Highland Avenue or Steve’s Automotive on Main Street, there is a pride of ownership and personal service local businesses offer that is rarely seen from BIG business. Why? Because local businesses like Richardson’s and Steve’s are people we see every day and there is a different sense of community and accountability in providing products and services to the people you see every day.

When it comes to problem solving, BIG businesses are more likely to route you through a labyrinth of representatives who tell you, “There’s nothing we can do about it” as opposed to local businesses who ask you, “What can we do to resolve this?” I don’t mind trying to contact a corporate headquarters in a different state or country, but I’d rather just talk to the owner face to face.

I recently had an opportunity to visit two new local businesses in the Pine Avenue City Market — Maple’s Restaurant that offers a southern-style menu and a Sunday’s Best buffet and The 755 Restaurant and Lounge that specializes in authentic Lebanese and Italian-American cuisine. I actually discovered one, sitting inside of the other. While out to lunch at Maple’s Restaurant with local author/business owner D. Scott, we met Hanna; the daughter of The 755 owner who was also there purchasing lunch. This was localism at its best; maximizing the circulation of each dollar before it leaves our community. Since then I’ve patronized both establishments and in addition to the excellent food, I’m glad I no longer need to drive out of our city to get it.

Over the last five years with well over a dozen businesses closing in the city of Niagara Falls, many wonder how we can increase sustainable business development here. While local support is vital, one component of localism is the creation of ‘cooperatives’ [coop] or ‘co-operatives’ [co-op]. Co-ops are businesses that are owned and managed by the people who use its services [a consumer cooperative], the people who work there [a worker cooperative] or by the people who live there [a housing cooperative]. It’s the idea of shared ownership, work and financial responsibility of that business and co-ops are one of the fast growing successful business models reshaping local living economies today.

Barbershops and hair salons have been running informal co-ops for years. Family owned Italian restaurants, Chinese variety shops and Arab corner stores have been operating like co-ops too. Gui’s Lumber & Home Center, which has remained in business all of these years, is a co-op. Living in a state with some of the highest taxes in the country and a city/county with a tax-exempt casino and BIG businesses that local business owners must compete with, this has created a unique set of socioeconomic challenges. 

Our city of Niagara Falls can be one of the premier local living economies in the state with the right community support and people in leadership positions that have the shared vision, plan and work ethic to meet those challenges. This is not just a noble idea. It’s a commitment to empowering each other with the cooperative economics to thrive. 

If not us, who? If us, when?

Peace,
Saladin

Plumb Line: used for finding the depth of water or determining the vertical on an upright surface.

Unity

I recently had a conversation with a brother about naysayers, haters or people who are simply jealous of what you seemingly have and/or who you are. I say "seemingly" because in the grand scheme of things, in a universe that's one where every force and object is interdependent, it's impossible for someone to actually have something you don't. In other words, whatever a person has, whether it's materialistic such as clothes, or immaterial such as patience, it is not a personal possession. Those clothes didn't come out of thin air; they were created from the materials of the planet, with the hands of many people, including those who contributed to its marketing and promotion. Patience isn't an immaterial quality that one person on the planet personally owns. Every one, in some capacity, demonstrates it; some more than others and even a child with ADHD has some degree of patience. Even on a subatomic level we're all composed of the same stuff; undifferentiated matter energy. Psychologically and Socially? The source of all thought processes is one Collective Consciousness or Universal Mind. Our brain is a conductor, our bodies are physical vehicles and as sentient beings we interact with one another and our planet. So at the root of any naysayer, hater or person that's jealous of what they believe someone has, is a cosmological glitch. Somewhere along their journey they never evolved to the degree of grasping the oneness of the universe, understanding how interdependence works or recognizing the role of dynamic opposites.

When a child is incarnated [born] and they're discovering themselves and how to attend the world, one of the first lessons they must learn is how to share and cooperate. Developmentally, psychologically and socioeconomically the world revolves around a child for a number of years because its very existence [ex. food, clothing and shelter] depends upon what its parent/guardian must do for them. Every person began from this state of only receiving and giving nothing in return, yet not all people evolve beyond this parochial mindset to understand the importance of equality, reciprocity and the interdependence of our universe. The jealous banter adults make about what someone has or is doing is no different than the teasing five year old children do in a kindergarten classroom. The pouting response a middle schooler gives you when they're asked to clean their room is no different than the antagonism a neighbor shows you when they're encouraged to clean up their community. The petty competitiveness, constant comparisons and insecure commentary 16 year olds make amongst each other in high school hallways across America is no different than the petty competitiveness, constant comparisons and insecure commentary adults make across social media. Some of us have not grown up. Some of us are striving to grow up and some of us could care less about ever becoming a mature adult. As my Enlightener's Enlightener Life Justice once told me, "The child doesn't go willingly, it must be driven out of a person in order for them to evolve."

Toys R Us Kids

So what does, "The child doesn't go willingly, it must be driven out of a person in order for them to evolve" actually mean in quantifiable terms? For one, it means that life needs to show a person how to share and that lesson may come in the form of giving away one of your most prized possessions. If we never learned how to work in a group and cooperate, life may teach us the need for cooperation and teamwork with the policies and procedures of our place of employment, or risk being fired. Sometimes people have a toy hording mentality; they're like a child that only plays with other children if they have control of the toys and make up the rules. A person with this mentality often only learns when life puts them in a position where they have no control over all of their toys [material possessions] being taken away from them and they're forced to follow the rules of someone else. This is what I alluded to earlier in this article about recognizing the role of dynamic opposites. Because every child comes into this world polarized, leaning in a way where they depend upon everything for their very existence, part of its evolutionary process is to learn independence and ultimately interdependence. From the beginning, a child is on one side of the scale of interdependence. That side is dependence. The other extreme, or polar opposite is independence. Both perspectives, dependence and independence, are 'horizontally' the same on a vertical scale of interdependence. In mathematical terms, interdependence is the right angle of this horizontal plane. In some circles it's also known as the living perpendicular, being upright or symbolized by a plumb line in the building trades. A person who is heavily dependent and a person who is grossly independent both fail to realize the importance of equality and reciprocity. While the dependent relies on what you give, the independent relies on what they can get. Both of them are primarily concerned about their singular needs and wants, and neither of them have evolved to the point of considering the needs and wants of the collective. Throughout the chronology of humanity, from our most classical endogenous societies to our most contemporary, the greatest examples of peace and harmony have always existed amongst people who demonstrate(d) the highest expression of interdependence amongst each other and our environment. The opposite is also true, the greatest examples of war and disharmony have always existed amongst people who demonstrate(d) the lowest expression of interdependence amongst each other and our environment. This also implies civilization and the degree to which a people are civilized. You can measure the level of knowledge, wisdom, understanding, culture and refinement of a society by how well it provides for and protects its most vulnerable members; its women, children, elders and the disabled. If those provisions and protections are in place, that society will function with a high level of civilization. Whenever you see those provisions and protections not in place, that society falls into a pit of savagery and despair. The story that Yacub was a six year child playing alone when he came up with his epiphany of making a Devil when he got older is not a game. This, amongst other things about his upbringing, suggest many things about his maturation process and his personality later in his life. We also learn that central to his life story are the themes of dependence, independence and how this ultimately exposed the importance of freedom, justice, equality, reciprocity and interdependence of the human family.

In closing, I want to remind you that everyone does not mature at the same rate. Some people may chose to never grow up and that's their choice. Sometimes I witness my seventeen year old daughter behaving more maturely than women approaching their forties. Personally speaking, I am far more mature than I was five years ago. With that in mind, it's important to respect where people are and not try to force them to be something they clearly aren't right now. "The child doesn't go willingly, it must be driven out of a person in order for them to evolve" doesn't mean that we go on a crusade to change adults who behave like children. That advice is for our own children and/or children we may work with professionally as educators, counselors and mentors, within the legal guidelines, rules and regulations of our organization and business. When it comes to adults, life itself and the experiences that come along with their behavior is what will change them -if they live to tell about it. Of course we must make knowledge born or share advice with people to save their life, yet when we realize they're not in a place to receive it, we must move out of their way and all of the obstacles they're creating. If naysayers have something negative to say about you, remove yourself from the situation and let your positive works be the consistent response to their criticisms. They project upon you the idea that you think you're more because they actually believe they're less and have less than you. They criticize what you're doing to assist others to try and keep others from critically examining what they're really not doing to assist. They never learned that in a universe that's one, where every force and object is interdependent, it's impossible for someone to have something you don't. In fact, there truly is no "you" and "me" essentially, it's only "we" and "ours" that represents the collective "All." How we reconcile that reality, with our dependent or independent ideas, will define the degree of peace and happiness in our lives. It also sets the cooperative stage to advocate any society of men [women and children] or group for one common cause. The only way we can truly want for our brothers and sisters what we want for ourselves, and genuinely support each other in what we do, we must know and understand that we are one. That degree of unity and sense of cooperation cannot be taught to some of us. Through the growing pains of experience, it must be driven out of us.

Peace,

Saladin

My Top 9 Political Lessons

First and foremost, I would like to THANK all of you for your love/support during my run for political office here in the City of Niagara Falls, NY. Now that a couple weeks have gone by since our General Election, and I’ve had alittle time to process some of my thoughts about my experiences, I wanted to share with you my Top 9 Political Lessons I've learned. Before I do this, I want to give you a summarized idea of what I was able to successfully accomplish as a political candidate, and what this means on our local geopolitical landscape. Willfully this encourages some of you to also take this step to serve your City in this capacity.

Let me begin with my July 4th, 2013 Press Release announcing that I’m running for public office to represent our 4th legislative district; the highest minority population, and poorest areas in the county, according to U.S. Census data. I had already begun my research and assessed my potential support months in advance, and was convinced that I stood an excellent chance of being chosen to represent our district; given my educational background, and experience serving this community, and other communities, on a grassroots level. From working within various local youth programs to creating my own mentorship programs, publishing several books, lecturing nationally, writing over 200 articles for various national/international publications, being a program consultant for Gangland, working as a media consultant for an Artist/Actor from the series OZ, and operating a national prison correspondence and book donation program, my goal was to inform my community members about what I’ve actually done, and what I do. Because I saw how Politicians usually sold people on the idea of what they wish to do, will try to do, and plan to do once they get into office, my approach was to simply bring people up to date on what I’ve actually done, what I currently do, and encourage them to research it for themselves. Thus, they can decide for themselves if I’m qualified enough to represent the needs of our community in a legislative capacity. I did this because I am 100% confident that the more knowledge a person acquires, the wiser choices they will make.

When I stepped into the political arena, I was a wild card from the start; neither an elephant, or a donkey, I was a strait up earthflower. Registered Green Party, I was one of about 7 other party members in a district of well over 6,000 registered voters. My core campaign team consisted of three people, no campaign manager, great advice, and a war chest of about $1,000. Because of my background as a youth mentor, and community activist, I then sought out to make the political process more accessible to everyday people who wanted nothing to do with the petty politricks, politicians, and political rhetoric ruining out city. Thus the Niagara Youth Party was created to emphasize unity in our family and communities, with our four pillars being Youth Outreach, Crime Prevention, Localism, and Health and Wellness.

The fact that I unofficially got about 25% of the voters in our Primary Election to write-in my name on the Democratic ballot was unheard of! I won the Working Families Primary via people writing my name in too. This successfully happened even though I have an uncommon/ethnic name, and I had no political mailers, no media coverage, no endorsements of a major political party, associations, or unions. In the General Election I doubled the number of votes I received during the Primary Election, and again received over 20% of the votes; almost the same amount of votes received by a major political party. This kind of voter turn-out has never happened before in the history of our City, which for years, and even during this past election, usually votes according to a party affiliation, not for people. This was one of the most significant examples to date, that demonstrates a paradigm shift of a party liner era. This marked a sign of things to come... for our next generation;  a growing segment of our population who actually vote across party lines for people who they know are the most qualified to represent them, regardless of their party affiliation, their name, or ethnicity.

That being said, now let me share My Top 9 Political Lessons:

1. Politics are a Team Game. Even though I had such a phenomenal turn-out, and received a lot of public/private support from people affiliated with the Republican and Democratic party, I was still looked at as an uncommitted, unsigned, free agent because I wasn't signed with the Democrats or Republicans on paper. I've had people literally tell me, "I wish you were a Democrat!" and others say they voted for me because I'm really a Republican. Now the most frequent questions people ask me are; "Are you going to run again?", and "Are you going to affiliate yourself with, and help build, one of our major parties?"
2. Certain things don't change, and won't change, because some people are in paid positions to uphold a status quo, and keep things the same. These gate keepers are people, black and white, who have rationalized that the scraps they're personally given, are alot better than the crumbs everybody else is getting -and the people giving them these scraps are eating a five course meal.
3. Fundraising. Although I did alot with the little money I raised, I know the importance of a real budget now. Something as simple as a political mailer with my unique Dos Equis lawn sign on it, would have definately gotten more votes.
4. When you run for political office, whether you're elected or not, you've still brought issues to the table that people will continue to consider, after that election year. In other words, whether you're elected or not, you're still front stage and center. If one of your main platform points was 'Health and Wellness', you better believe people are going to watch what you eat, the health initiatives you're now supporting, and if you're packing on pounds. In my case, the message I consistently shared with our voters is my Bio; I'm a successful youth mentor, published author, community activist, and public speaker. This is what I actually do for a living, not something I wished, hoped, and would try to do once I got elected to a local political office. Because people are starting to become more aware of this, various opportunities have opened up to me to continue doing just that. This only becomes more of an asset, if I'm considering running for a political office in the future.
5. Things people say about you become old news quick when you ignore it. Feeding into "some" things only allows it to live, and sting somebody else. Sometimes, the only statement you need to make is how inappropriate, inconsiderate, or even racist something is, and how you refuse to even dignify that question/accusation with a response.
6. Politicians buy votes, and people bet on political elections like the OTB.
7. Your enemy's enemy is your friend.
8. When people say, "I support you", it doesn't mean, "I'll vote for you." When people say "I'll vote for you", that doesn't mean, "I voted for you", or "I vote" at all. As a political candidate, aside from all the doors you knock on, hands you shake, donations you get, and etc., it all comes down to basic political science; how many votes were cast for you within a 15 hour period in one day. This is what thousands of hours of campaigning, and money, ultimately comes down to.
9. As I've stated, the consistent message throughout my campaign was, "This is what I've done, this is what I do, here is where you can verify it, and then you decide for yourself what my qualifications/potential is to represent our legislative district." In otherwords, I came to the local political table like a rapper meeting with a record label, who was already selling half a million albums out of the trunk of my car;  a business acumen Rapper E-40 coined 'independent hustle'). Therefore, I was looking for a distribution deal to help expand what the label (legislative district) was currently offering. I wasn't a starving artist begging for record deal. So instead of agreeing to these mutually beneficial terms, the artist that's currently on the label got their 360 Deal renewed for another two years.

In conclusion, my overall experience was excellent, and there are still many things I'm learning each day. I appreciate having this opportunity to learn, grow, and I can't thank those of you enough who helped support our local Movement. Because of this experience, I'm becoming more equipped to continue positively impacting the lives of people globally, and locally. As for what's next for me politically, we will see.

Peace,

Saladin

"If we're not driving, we're being driven." -Saladin 

One thing I encourage anyone to do, whose seeking advice about personal empowerment, and maintaining a consistent path, is to master their physical/sexual appetite. It's because of some of our diets, the frequency of our meals, food combination choices, sexual patterns, and lack of activity that most of our energy (life force) is allocated towards our digestive/reproductive systems; the central part of our physical body, and our center of gravity. Our center of gravity is the point of greatest importance, interest, or activity. This is the focal point of our stability, balance, sense of equilibrium, and causation (creation). When we don't possess control of this central part of our being, somebody else will -through appealing to our physical/sexual appetite. When most of our energy is allocated towards our digestive/reproductive systems, other systems in our life get neglected: spiritual systems, economic systems, social systems, educational systems, and etc.. They get neglected because we simply don't have the energy to invest in them.

 

Fasting and How It Benefits The Human Body

One of the best ways to start gaining control over our physical/sexual appetite is learning how to "fast" (abstain). Fasting helps us master our center of gravity, and gives us an opportunity to redistribute our digestive/reproductive energy to other areas (systems) in our life. Some of the meals we eat, especially 3 in a day, is equivalent to making our digestive system work a 24hr shift. Some of our lives revolve around sex. In conclusion, keep in mind that it's nearly impossible to be personally empowered, and maintain a consistent path in life, when our appetite is driving us. Especially in a society where our appetite is being constantly bombarded with billions of dollars of advertisements of people, places, and things that are designed to appeal to, and control, our life (force). This is not an appeal to become a monk/nun. This is about the benefits of fasting. If we're not driving, we're being driven.

Peace,

Saladin



Local Politics and Lobby Groups

 

This video is about Local Politics, Lobbying Groups, and the importance of getting involved in our local political scene because it offers a greater degree of Accountability, Accessibility, and Transparency you don't see on a regional or national level.

 

To stay informed/connected to our campaign for Niagara County Legislature, "LIKE/SHARE" our Facebook Page
Saladin Q. Allah for Niagara County Legislature!

#NiagaraYouthParty #Saladin2013

We Are On The Ballot!!

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: We are Officially in the Primary Election (September 10th) to win the Democratic and Working Families Party endorsement, and we are on the ballot for the General Election (November 5th) in our run for Niagara County Legislature!! I want to THANK our Campaign Team for their hard work, sacrifice, and commitment to making sure I got on the ballot, and their confidence in me to represent the VISION, and PLAN for our community!! ‪#‎NiagaraYouthParty‬ ‪#‎Saladin2013

If you would like to help us purchase lawn signs, you can donate at this link: Lawn Sign Fund

The Challenger Newspaper (Buffalo, NY) July 24th, 2013

 

Thank You in advance for all of your support in helping make this a successful campaign!

Peace,

Saladin‬

Saladin Q. Allah for Niagara County Legislature

Twitter: @Saladin_2013

 

 Saladin Q. Allah
for
Niagara County Legislature

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

July  8th, 2013

 
Youth Mentor, Published Author, and Community Activist Saladin Q. Allah has announced his candidacy for the Fourth District Niagara County Legislature seat in the City of Niagara Falls, New York

Niagara Falls, New York -- Saladin Q. Allah said that he is seeking the seat of Fourth District County Legislator because he believes that his vision to expand youth outreach, increase community alliances and initiatives, promote neighborhood safety and crime prevention, and to develop a local living economy is what his district both wants and needs.

 
“I was born in the City of Niagara Falls into a family of seven,” he said. “My parents, Lois and Philip Frank, were pillars within the same Community that I was raised in, and that I am seeking to represent as our next Niagara County Legislator.”

 
Allah said that he knows what it is to both struggle and serve; and he believes that his parents set a great example for him in that his mother, Lois Frank, received her Bachelor’s of Arts Degree from Niagara University at the age of forty-two, majoring in psychology and a minoring in sociology. She had seven children at that time and she went on to become a case manager for both Community Missions and for Family and Children's Services. She later served as a Director of the Niagara Community Center.

 
Allah’s father, Philip Frank, served as a member of the National Guard and completed a machinist apprenticeship program during his twelve-years working at Carborundum. Philip later became a member of the Painters Union Local for another twelve years.

Just as Allah is proud of the example that his parents set, he is just as proud as the one Josiah Henson, his great-great-great grandfather, set was a forerunner of the Underground Railroad. Harriet Beecher Stowe merged elements of Henson’s life into her popular anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, which inspired the abolitionist of President Lincoln’s day to rail against slavery, setting into motion the end of that kind of America. Henson later established a community for fugitive slaves called the Dawn Settlement, and he founded the British-American Institute in Dresden, ON.

 
Allah said that it is through those members of his family that he learned the value of education, a strong work ethic, sacrifice, and teamwork. He believes those to be the same vital building blocks of any successful community.

 
“I attended Central State University in Wilberforce OH,” Allah said, “as a therapeutic recreation major, and since returning to WNY, I've been invested in our community from the grassroots level, working particularly with our youth.

 
Allah said that he has been doing youth outreach by creating successful mentorship programs and assisting with other community youth projects for over fifteen years.

 
“I've shown my commitment to our youth and my confidences are in their ability to one day lead our communities when given the continual support and guidance they need.” That’s why he said that he is a strong advocated for the reopening of the Niagara Community Center in the city’s north end and instituting anti-bullying campaigns.

 
Allah, a published author, added, “Professionally, I've self-published ten books that explores various social issues, and have worked as a program consultant for an episode on the History Channel’s show, Gangland.

 
But it was not enough that he is published, he sponsors young writers programs to help others to do so, too. Some people, he said, may know him from his National Prison Correspondence and Book Donation Program, or have heard him as a guest speaker at several national colleges.

 

As his forbearers have instilled values in him, he has likewise instilled similar values in his two daughters. One is a recent high school graduate who has earned a lacrosse scholarship to Howard University; and the other is an eleventh grade honor student, whose goal is to become a local business owner.

 
Allah believes that as the next Fourth District County Legislator that he will have a larger platform to better serve our community. “We need leadership that understands that a seat and a voice is still not enough at the table. We need leadership with an activist spirit, someone with an actual agenda and work ethic to help transform our collective quality of life. Together, the community and I, are that kind of leadership.”

 
Allah further said that crime prevention starts with us. He said that, “The crimes in our neighborhoods are primarily committed by relatives or people we know, not people who are unknown. We need members who are willing to protect our most vulnerable members: children, women, seniors, and the handicapped.”

Allah concluded, “As our next county legislator I will remain transparent, accessible, and responsive to our district, because I am for the people. You will still see me utilizing our resources at our local public library, playing basketball with our youth at Legends Park, and proactively involved in community functions. I will also hold local community circles; forums designed to keep people informed about community and legislative issues, and I will seek input on issues related to our city and county. For the future of our youth, community, and the City of Niagara Falls, I look forward to speaking with you in the coming months, and I will fully earn your vote of conscience, and confidence.

Saladin Q. Allah
Email: Saladin2013@yahoo.com

Twitter: @Saladin_2013
Facebook: Saladin for Niagara County Legislature

Campaign Fund: Saladin 2013 Campaign Fund