That Priceless Look of Poverty
"Who Are the 10%?"

Regardless how well intended and proficient doctors may be, they are in the sick business. If they healed patients we would rarely need doctors so they "treat" them instead -and the pharmaceutical companies aren't mad about it. The same can be said about lawyers; they are in the crime, personal injury and family dysfunction business. If it weren't for drugs, violence, accidents, divorces and etc., we would rarely need them too. I'm sure my barber is glad indestructible haircuts don't exist yet because he would be out of business too. Whether we are mechanics, school teachers, dentists, politicians, pastors or etc., there's a certain degree of job security that comes along with fixing things or even striving to insure that things remain broke, as in "poor."


Here in New York, according to the 2014-2017 Community Health Assessment Niagara County Department of Health released in 2013, "23% of the people in our live below the poverty line and 44% of the population—almost one in two—is either in poverty or struggling financially and at risk." In the city of Niagara Falls, approximately 60% of our residents receive public assistance such as food stamps, welfare, unemployment insurance and Medicaid. According to 2009 data, 67% of the families in poverty are female headed households with no husband present, and 70% who are poor are unemployed. Another important statistic is that foreign-born residents are 94% above the poverty line.


When it comes to statistics, people can manipulate them to serve whatever political agenda they want. For example, in regards to 67% of the families in poverty being female headed households with no husband present, some people may simply say it's because they're not marriage material. Some people believe that the 70% who are poor, unemployed, are just lazy. The 94% foreign-born residents who are above the poverty line? Some may say they all work harder. Whatever statistics say there's always an angle of what can be said, which is oftentimes inaccurate or disingenuous.


One of the misconceptions people in my area tend to have about welfare [public assistance] is that their taxes pay for it. In part, they do. All of us who work allocate a certain portion of our taxes towards supporting our public assistance program. The reality is my county receives financial support from [New York] state and the federal government to fund our public assistance program. Because of the statistics related to poverty, and accompanying socioeconomic factors such as teenage pregnancy, poor education and etc., my city [Niagara Falls] receives a larger portion of that state and federal support. In other words, if the city were a person named Nia G. Falls, they would be living below the poverty line, receiving public assistance and parenting thousands of children.


Another misconception is that the face of welfare is "Lazy La'Shaniqua" who has 7 children by four baby daddies living in public housing. Actually, the largest portion of state and federal support any impoverished county and city receives for public assistance goes towards contracts, personnel, employee benefits and administrative services, not a welfare check. So the real face of welfare or those benefiting most from our city's poverty have more common names than La'Shaniqua. They are most likely home owners with a two income household that don't live in inner city zip codes. Do you get that picture?


Now you're probably wondering who we can blame for this. Well I'm not in the blame game business. We need more hands working, less finger pointing and the sober realization that fixing the things that are broke about our cities requires a multifaceted approach; collective work and responsibility. In the process, we also can't be naive to believe that there aren't people invested in things remaining broke [poor]. There are people like that, and they don't look like the broken.


Like with any family going through a financial hardship, we are not alone. On the other side of Canada lives Nia G. Falls’ poor cousin Dee Troit -who has also fallen on tough financial times. Maybe we, and cities like us, need to consider what strategies Dee is using to change their financial situation. That insight, may be priceless.


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

Of course 'All Lives Matter'

According to US Census data, females outnumber males throughout the United States between 50 percent and 56 percent. Niagara and Erie counties are both 51 percent female. Have you ever wondered how females are defined as a minority even though they’re actually the majority of our population?

Demographically, it doesn’t make sense. Maybe issues concerning females are a minor concern of the dominant society. Maybe it’s because females don’t share the power, opportunities, rights and privileges as their male counterparts. Here’s some facts to consider:
                              
• Even though females are out-graduating males in college they’re still under-earning males in almost every degree.
                                                                                                                                                                         
• Females earn about 75 cents on the dollar compared to males.
                                                                                                                                                                          
• Unlike many countries, the U.S. still doesn’t have a national law to guarantee paid maternal leave for females.
                                                                                                                                                                           
• Females make up only 4 percent of the CEOs of the S and P 500 companies.
                                                                                                                                                                         
• There has never been a female vice president or president of the U.S.
                                                                                                                                                                
Because of this historical and present day reality affecting our female population, there have always been people, organizations and movements dedicated towards establishing human/civil rights and fair economic opportunities for women. The facts I’ve shared, and other statistics, show a historical sexist and misogynistic sentiment that has pervaded American society since its 1776 conception. Females lives matter and we cannot diminish, minimize or trivialize this. That would be equivalent to going to a woman’s rally against domestic violence and arguing that they need to stop talking about this because “All Lives Matter” and men are DV victims too. Some may even advocate that dogs lives matter because x amount die every year protecting their owners from home invasions. 
                                                                                                                                                                  
Whatever a person’s reasoning is for hijacking an important narrative like this, and redirecting attention away from the main concern that females lives matter, it’s one of the main reasons institutional sexism persists. The same lack of consideration and engagement also applies to the infamous “R-word” — Racism.

 On Dec. 13, in conjunction with an International Day of Resistance, there was a rally held at Legend’s Park to bring awareness to the disproportionate instances of police brutality toward African-American citizens. The rallying cry was, and is, “Black Lives Matter.” According to data from 1999-2012 from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice on police brutality:
                                                                                                                                                                     
• A black person is killed extra-judicially (unlawfully) every 28 hours by law enforcement.
                                                                                                                                                                      
• Black men between ages 19 and 25 are the group most at risk to be shot by police.
                                                                                                                                                                         
• Black youth are 4.5 times more likely to be killed by police than any other age or racial group in America.
                                                                                                                                                                           
• Black people comprise 26 percent of police shootings we only makeup 13 percent of the U.S. population.
                                                                                                                                                                         
Like females, and various segments of our population deemed “minorities,” African-Americans are also disproportionately affected by socioeconomic conditions including police brutality. Although some of you would love to believe these issue are because black people are on welfare, criminals by nature and/or uneducated, many times we are discriminated against simply because of the color of our skin — the same way many females are discriminated against because of their gender. This also gives you some insight into the degree of scrutiny, bullying and outright attacks black women, double minorities, have historically received when they play prominent roles or hold executive positions within this society. Of course “All Lives Matter,” including females and black lives.
                                                                                                                                                                           
In this critical day and time it’s important to understand that in the U.S. there are still marginalized segments of our society, deemed minorities, that are outright disrespected and discriminated against simply because they’re female, they’re black or both. These problems specifically affects these groups, not all people, and it must be discussed and resolved because whatever is allowed to happen to the least of us eventually affects us all. We share neighborhoods. We are your co-workers, doctors, public officials and prepare your food at restaurants. We are your children and grandchildren’s peers. We are your family members through marriage or birth.
                                                                                                                                                                            
Learn more about the plight of your fellow citizens and what you can do to be a positive agent of change. Knowledge empowers you to “know” the “ledge” or limitation of certain ideas that no longer reflect our changing societal landscape.

Photograph: Dan Cappellazzo [Niagara Gazette]
 

 Black Lives Matter

 

The following article by Philip Gambini appeared in the Niagara Gazette highlighting a December 13th Rally I organized on the National Day of Resistance against police brutality:

 

"Legends Park gathering in support of national protests focuses on community issues"

By Philip Gambini philip.gambini@niagara-gazette.com

 

Community members and city leaders gathered in Legend’s Park Saturday in solidarity with national protests speaking out against police violence in America.

The gathering, organized by local activist Saladin Allah, was attended by a dozen residents young and old, including Councilwoman Kristen Grandinetti and Council Chairman Charles Walker. In the formidable cold, it became less a rally and more a forum on the issues facing members of the Niagara Falls community and across the nation.

"We are showing publicly that we take responsibility of ourselves," Allah said. "We are not relying on somebody to speak for us and we are not relying on somebody to take care of us."

The group stood in a circle in Legend’s Park, discussing a range of topics from the historical treatment of African-Americans, to the family’s importance in a productive community, to the responsibility of individuals to learn for themselves about this country’s heritage and history.

"It’s important that we are mindful and aware of what we need to do for ourselves," Allah said. Resident Ezra Scott braved the December air to show his support. He spoke about critiques of the national protest, whether they were to identify police brutality or community violence. In the end, he said, it is not localized to a specific issue. Rather, it is a gesture of strength to identify that community members who are not often heard have a voice. "Whether it was because of an unfortunate event," he said, "we need to take charge, take initiative, keep it moving, and people are going to follow."

A focus of the forum was that it was not organized specifically around faith, color or denomination. Those present talked of a common humanity that must be elevated and honored if we are to live in a truly equal, just society. The group took time to congratulate the presence of the council members and thanked them for standing in unity with their cause.

"The power behind it," Grandinetti said, "is once you take the risk and use your voice one time it becomes easier and easier ... It’s not about being angry or violent, it’s about having a voice." She discussed her involvement in women’s and children’s rights. She asked for those present to raise their issues with positive energy in city government. "We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and this city should be thriving," she said. "But it’s because there’s a small group of people who want to be big fish in a dirty little pond. They are keeping it down."

The group also touched on an understanding of historical context. Allah spoke of immigrant community members who had changed their name to conceal themselves from persecution, while Grandinetti recounted her father’s own efforts to do the same. "Out of the 238 years we have been in this country, 189 of those years we were not allowed to participate in American society. Eighty-nine years we were slaves, another 100 years we were segregated," Allah said. "That’s over 75 percent of the time we have been in this country we’ve been looked at as less than, as thugs, as savages." Walker spoke how American civil discourse had devolved, rather than progressed, with election of President Barack H. Obama. He recounted his shock at how this president had been spoken about in media, while other members of the crowd noted that his very citizenship had been questioned from the start.

 

"Our voices are the importance," he said. "We are not going to take this. Collectively speaking out is the only way we’re going to change things." Unfortunate as the circumstances in Ferguson and New York are, he said, they have to happen in order to gather peoples’ attention and focus their efforts on change. Though the numbers in Niagara Falls paled in comparison to the protests in Washington D.C. and New York City, many of those present dismissed the consideration outright. Any turn out, they said is a valued and important show of support. "In the Bible it says faith without work is dead, and obviously we are a people of faith," Allah said. "But we need some work, straight up work, to go along with that faith. That’s what we are, we represent that work."



Niagara Youth Party
Making History!!



I am excited and proud to announce that for this year's 2013 Local Election, we're creating a new party line that I will be running on called the Niagara Youth Party!! That's right, as an alternative to the every day party politics many of us have grown dissatisfied with, we now have an opportunity to create and VOTE for a Party that best reflects the needs of our families and community!!

The Niagara Youth Party emphasizes unity in our family and communities. Our "four pillars", which serve as guiding principles, are as follows:

YOUTH OUTREACH: increasing activities, opportunities, and community alliances that support the growth and development of our youth. We believe our youth are the ambassadors of our future and must be encouraged, educated, and empowered to be the future leaders of our society.

CRIME PREVENTION: promoting initiatives that address juvenile delinquency, neighborhood safety, and community deterioration. We believe in taking responsibility for the community we live in, and protecting our most vulnerable members; children, women, seniors, and the handicapped.

LOCALISM: investing in local businesses, co-ops, trade programs, home ownership, and education that supports our local economy and maximizes the circulation of each dollar before it leaves our community. We believe in "local first" and that our economy begins with us through: increasing our social capital, lowering taxes, and pooling our ideas, skills, and resources to support each other locally.

HEALTH and WELLNESS: supporting projects, programs, and collaborations that increase the health of our families, and promote wellness in our communities. We believe that healthy families are the vital building blocks of strong communities, and to maintain wellness we must invest in activities that support our spiritual, mental, and physical health.

 

CALLING YOUNG ARTISTS!! BE A PART OF MAKING HISTORY!!

 

To get you all involved, I am having an Art Contest for youth ages 17 and under to come up with an emblem to represent the Niagara Youth Party!!

What are the Rules?

1. Youth must be 17 and under. One art submission per youth.
 

2. Art submission must be an original design that does not include any symbols of the present Political Parties (ex. Democratic, Republican, and etc.)

3. Art submission, whether graphic design or scanned drawing, must be a JPEG format with 300 dpi resolution.

4. To submit Art, the image must be posted to our FB Page Saladin Q. Allah for Niagara County Legislature. All submissions must include the youth's NAME, AGE, LOCATION (City, State, and Country if not the U.S.). Submissions also must include the hashtags: #NiagaraYouthParty #Saladin2013

5. The last date of submission is Friday, August 2nd at 12:00am (EST).

How do we VOTE?

• Go to our FB Page Saladin Q. Allah for Niagara County Legislature.
• Go to our photos and click on the album “Facebook Youth Art Contest”
• "LIKE" which photo you think best represents our Niagara Youth Party.

After the closing date for all submissions, ALL OF YOU will decide which emblem will represent our Niagara Youth Party by going to our Facebook Page and "LIKING" which photo you think best represents our youth!! The TOP THREE images that receive the most "LIKES" by Monday, August 5th at 12:00am will then be voted on, and the image with the most “LIKES” will be the winner of our contest!!

Ms. "Jordan" Ladd

Every "Jordan" Doesn't

Play Basketball

 

Since putting out my FULL PRESS RELEASE I've monitored the various local news sources to see how they'd cover the story. Not one of them have printed my press release in its entirety. All of them took only parts of it, put their own spin on it, and gave it back to the public the way they saw fit. While I do appreciate some of the publicity, there are other things I saw that were completely inaccurate. You can read my FULL PRESS RELEASE here: Saladin Q. Allah Official Press Release

Now, The Niagara Falls Reporter printed, and I quote, "Allah is a convert to Islam and changed his name as is customary for Muslims converts."

I am not sure where they got this from. I never spoke to anyone from The Niagara Falls Reporter about the weather let alone religion. I never said that, it's not in my press release, it's not in anything I've published online, and it is completely inaccurate. I am not Muslim nor was my name change for religious reasons. The Niagara Falls Reporter did accurately state, "Allah says his ancestor was Rev. Josiah Henson, who is said to be the inspiration for the fugitive slave in 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'." Yet it's this very part of my ancestry that would have given them more insight about me, my family background, and my name change if they asked me. Since they didn't, I can tell you directly.

 

Article in the Niagara Gazette about my Grandmother Inez Frank (1986)

 When some of my ancestors were brought to America during the trans-atlantic slave trade, they were enslaved and forced to give up their cultural identity, regardless of their religious ideology. They no longer were allowed to speak their own language, use their own names, maintain the same diet, or even establish stable family units. This process continued, by law, for approximately nine generations or three hundred and ten years. So while some people of Italian descent can trace their last name to an actual village in modern day Italy, or others can trace their lineage to a Family Crest or Coat of Arms, tracing my lineage has consisted of looking at cargo logs for ships or doing DNA tracking to find out the geographic location of my ancestors. The trans-atlantic slave trade, and slavery, interrupted the cultural identity and arrested the development of an entire group people. It interrupted the cultural identity and arrested the development of the people enslaved and the slave holders.

In indigenous societies of the past and today, our birth names where a central part of our cultural identity and role we played within our societies. For example, when a child was born a name would be given to them, usually by our elders, to communicate a part of that child's purpose and destiny. This was sacred and ceremonial, not done without consideration. If the child's name meant "sincere counsel", that was an important role our elders knew our society needed to birth and cultivate. It's no different than people giving birth to a child and providing them with all the support and resources they need to become a productive member of society. Many of our ancestors wisely took it a step further by making sure this support was reinforced by a person's actual name. So instead of simply providing a child with the resources to become sincere counsel, we gave them that name to live up to as an attribute. During slavery this cultural tradition was interrupted. Slaves who were bred to produce children for labor no longer had the power to name them. These children were sold off to other plantations and given names to identify them as a master's property. So a slave named "Smith" was identified as Master Smith's slave. "Walking Henson" was known as Henson's slave who walked alot. Not only was this naming method used to track the slave masters property, but it was also used for insurance purposes. There are many wealthy companies and families today, that accumulated their wealth, from Slave Insurance.

Many present day African-Americans can trace the last names we currently have, whether it's English, French, or etc. directly to the slave masters who once owned our ancestors. Again, regardless of our ancestors religious views or how we chose to worship, this slavery system legally interrupted our cultural identity and arrested the development of us all.

 

Article in the Buffalo News and letter from African Ancestry Inc.
about my International Family Tree Project (2005)

The reason I legally changed my name was to reconnect to my ancestors cultural identity, and build upon this rich legacy that was almost entirely destroyed. In 2005 I received a grant for my L.I.F.E. Afterschool Program and partnered with the Washington DC based genetics company African Ancestry Inc. to create an International Family Tree Project. With this Project I was able to provide twenty DNA Kits, free of charge, to families in our Community, Pittsburgh, Missouri, and Canada who were interested in finding out where their maternal ancestry came from. I found out my maternal ancestors came from Cameroon and my tribal affiliation is the Tikar Tribe. Saladin, pronounced Sa-la-dean means "Honor or Righteousness of the faith". A great Muslim King popularized this Arabic name, yet the name is Arabic, not Muslim. Arabic does not equal Muslim and to assume that would be no different than assuming my nephew plays basketball just because he has the name "Jordan." My middle name Quanaah, pronounced Kwa-ni-ah means "fragrant". In honor of my indigenous american (native american) ancestry, I chose this name. It's Quahadi in origin and comes from the Last Comanche Chief Quanah Parker; who successfully made the transition from Chief to Statesman and was responsible for founding The Native American Church. My last name, Allah, is also Arabic which means "The God." Again, Arabic does not equal Muslim. There are many arabic speaking Christians and other Religions who refer to God as Allah, simply because they speak the arabic language. So my name, Saladin Quanaah Allah, means "The honorable faith and fragrance of the God." Since taking this step to change my name in 1999, I have since published a book entitled 'How To Change Your Name Without A Lawyer' and have assisted many others change their name for various reasons (cultural, religious, stage name, immigrants, and etc.)

In closing, I didn't appreciate the Niagara Falls Reporter for even citing what they believe my religion to be, making an assumption about what it is, and then printing misinformation without even asking me about my worldview or my reasoning for changing my name. That was poor reporting and prejudiced. I am a scientist of life and study all religions. I am just as much Muslim as our Commander and Chief, President Barack Hussein Obama. My perspective about any religion is that people should strive to have a personal relationship with who they worship. A relationship that's so personal, that they strive to live in such a way that others can see their creator within them.

Peace,
Saladin