Two Wars: The Road to Integration Airs November 2022!!

Two Wars: The Road to Integration is a new film I am featured in and co-producing with Steven Tedesco of the Buffalo and Erie County Naval Park & Military Park. In 1948, President Truman signed Executive Order 9981, integrating the U.S. Armed Forces. Through the lens of service members, historians, and family members, Two Wars explores the untold journeys of Black service members before and after integration. According to Niagara Frontier Publications, "Two Wars: The Road to Integration will highlight key moments during the mid-20th century that led to the integration of the armed forces." This film was inspired by a new exhibit by the same name that is located on the second floor of the Naval Park’s museum building. The opening day for this Naval Park exhibit was March 26 which included a ribbon-cutting ceremony with 99-year-old World War II Army veteran Paul Woods. Woods earned three Bronze Stars and a Philippine Liberation Medal for his military service in the Pacific Theater. For the remainder of the 2022 season, the Naval Park will be open from 10am to 5pm daily with the last ticket sold at 4pm.

The film Two Wars: The Road to Integration comes out in November 2022

     

Misapplying 120 and Five Suspenders...

     

     Some years back I remember building with a brother who was beating himself up about his challenges teaching a woman about our culture. He was a good brother yet he didn't always make the best choices when it came to relationships. In 120 we have this phrase that is derived from our 22nd degree which talks about magnetism; attracting power. In part, that degree says, "one piece had magnetic in it and one piece did not. The piece with the magnetic in it attracted the piece without." I mention this part of the degree because this brother mentioned it, a lot. A whole lot. He spoke about it in the context of him being that piece with the magnetic and the woman who obviously wasn't feeling him being the piece without. According to him, because she was supposedly the piece without magnetic she should have been attracted to him because he was the true and living God. In all of his mathematical ramblings, it did not change the reality of the situation that this woman simply didn't like him. Never did it occur to him that this situation had nothing to do with him being the piece with the magnetic and everything to do with her free will to choose. Striving to force his square peg perspective into a circle hole was his EGO talking and he just couldn't accept the fact that this woman just wasn't interested in him. It would take a while before he actually understood what I tried [yes "tried"] to communicate to him; this not about magnetic. It even took him longer to understand that a woman not being interested in him did not diminish who he was as a true and living God. This kind of perspective is not uncommon to hear from newborns or even those who have been living this culture for years. It is a learning process and sometimes we misapply these principles or values along the way. 

   My first Earth was my Queens' mother. When I introduced her to the 17th letter in the Supreme Alphabet, "Q" for Queen, my emphasis was on Knowledge God [17]. In my mind she needed to be aware of who I was and her identity as the Queen was an afterthought. I was young, insecure, developing my self confidence and striving to gain a solid footing in this culture. So naturally it was all about me. As I matured in this culture I no longer took that approach. My emphasis became a woman learning about her identity and responsibility as a Queen. In the process she obviously learned about me, thus gaining a greater Knowledge [1] of the true and living God [7] and the meaning of civilization.

   You know, one of the reasons I think folks misapply 120 is because their foundation wasn't solid to begin with. When I say a solid foundation I am not just talking about knowledge or what a person knows. I am talking about a sense of surety concerning a person's ethics, integrity and constitution. In other words, how this person is built! I am not a Five Percenter who thinks that I am convincing 85ers and the 10% to come on over to the so-called light side. In my experience, if a person takes on this culture it is because certain principles and values were already present within them. Education comes from the Latin root 'educare' which means to "lead/draw out." I have also learned that there are some people who are uneducable or incorrigible. Why? Because there was not anything there to draw out of them from the beginning. One of the most disappointing experiences I've had was learning that some of these uneducable or incorrigible people claimed to be Five Percenters, and it was always obvious in their misapplication of 120.

   Now, some of you may be asking yourselves, "Why is he only talking about the misapplication of 120 and not Supreme Mathematics and the Supreme Alphabet?" Well, the Supreme Mathematics and the Supreme Alphabet is much more flexible and gives people more wiggle room to potentially razzle and dazzle folks. The Supreme Mathematics and the Supreme Alphabet don't have fixed answers such as 120. This creates an opportunity for math and alphabet to be broadly expounded upon when a person expresses their understanding of them. For example, if I were to ask a Five Percenter about Knowledge, that person could strictly talk about Knowledge as information while someone else talks about it as Consciousness/Awareness. Another person could talk about it as Man being the foundation of the family and someone else could talk about it as knowing the ledge. All of these responses are correct. In regards to 120, if I were to ask a Five Percenter "Who is the Original Man?", there is only one correct answer to this question that a person can then expound upon. If I were ask a Five Percenter "What is the name of the place where the Devil was manufactured?", there is only one correct location that they can then expound upon. These are just a couple of examples throughout 120. 

     If a person does not know 120 then they cannot apply it to their life. It reminds me of a woman I knew that claimed to be a Five Percenter; she had a relationship with a ex-Freemason whom she discovered was living a double life. How ironic. What was even more ironic was the fact that this woman never finished learning 120 and was stuck on the actual degree that teaches us about Freemasonry. It stands to reason that if she were more diligent in her studies and committed to learning our degrees she would have seen this impostor coming from a mile away. She didn't and ended up "losing time searching for that, that does not exist" as explained in another degree she didn't know; "Who is that Mystery God?"  

     If a person does know 120, meaning, they are able to recite these degrees, yet they are not studious, they are still going to probably misapply them. In one of our lessons we learn that "the Earth belongs to the Original Man." As the Earth is the Original Woman's twin, I've met some chauvinistic dudes quote this degree to justify the knuckle-dragging notion that a woman literally belongs to him. It never occurred to them that "belongs to" also means to be "a part of." As in, I am a part of [belong to] a family, we are a part of [belong to] a community and the Earth is "a part of" the Original Man. In these and other instances it was clear to me that some people are out here freestyling, and with the development of the internet, they have the platform to do it. When the above scenarios happens in an actual community or another public space, a Five Percenter would simply add-on to offer perspective and correction. Customarily, the person receiving the perspective and correction would stand there and humbly accept it, even if they didn't like it. If this same scenario happened on social media these same folks can just block and delete you for sharing your perspective and striving to correct them.

     ~Atlantis Build Talk Radio Show~

       Allah & Justice, Five Percenters Square 

   While there has always been misapplications of 120 since the early years of the Five Percent Nation, in some instances social media has been used to amplify those misconceptions. Nowadays there are people online, particularly religious folks, who have been spreading false narratives like Five Percenters are a religion, we are Muslims, Muslim Gods and other untruths. According our founder, Allah, in a 1967 Interview at Otisville Reformatory School For Boys, Muslims from the NOI were against him because of his non-religious stance and advocacy for black and white unity. In that interview Allah also shared that he didn't believe in religion because "religious peoples do not have no understanding” and that he teaches his Five Percenters that "they can't go on under religion because religion has never did anything for them.” 
     This is one of the reasons I have committed myself to being a consistent voice of the Five Percent in the midst of such digital chaos; to help counter these false narratives about my community. This is not to say that I am THE voice or that I personally have all of the answers and every perspective of how 120 should be applied. What it does say is that I have a commitment to my community and the capacity to help push our culture forward. As I mentioned at the onset of this article, this journey is a learning process and sometimes we misapply these principles or values along the way. However, the consistent question that we ask and answer for ourselves, in deed.., is, "What are we doing about it?"

Peace,

Saladin

How Do Supreme Mathematics Function?

Unpack: To undo or remove the contents from (a box, trunk, etc.). To remove (something) from a container, suitcase, etc.. To unburden, as the mind; reveal. To decipher or discern.

   Sometimes it is not about the baggage we carry. We all carry some kind of baggage. In some instances, we have not unpacked that baggage, that is the issue. What further complicates this is that many of us have never learned how or where to start unpacking that baggage. I am eternally thankful to have had the kind of parents who at least exposed me to this sense of self-analysis and some of the psychological skills to unpack some of the baggage that I've accumulated over the years. I am also grateful for the cultural perspective of the Five Percent and those who have assisted and still assist me along my journey. My family dynamics coupled with knowledge of self has given me an excellent foundation to accurately look at myself, the world around me and my responses to that world.

   I've shared on many occasions that my Ole Earth [Mother] was like the Oracle from The Matrix with a Richard Pryor sense of humor. She went to college in her mid forties and became a Social Psychologist in three years as a wife and mother of seven children. One evening while I sat at the kitchen counter doing my homework and she sat at the table doing her homework she called my name. As I lifted my head to look at her she slowly removed her glasses and lifted up her thick textbook from the table and said, "This is the white man's bible. You better learn everything you can about it." I was a teen at the time and clearly heard what she said yet I was not at a place in my growth and development to understand or appreciate the depth of that statement. In fact, it often took me years to grasp some of the things she shared. Not because I was blind, deaf or dumb, sometimes I just did not have the life experiences as reference points to assess what she was saying. For example, as a preadolescent she would often say, "You have to study their family dynamics" in regards to girls. "You're going to be getting with her whole family so you better know what you're getting into" she would add. THAT went right through one ear and right out the other. Again, not because I was ignant. I just didn't know what to do with that and yeah, I didn't ask. It took me decades to understand the importance of those statements.

   As the Five Percent, unbeknownst to even some of us, we have many self-analysis tools in our cultural chest to start unpacking or discerning who we are. Religions provide some self-analysis tools as well but how many people actually identify and use them? Not many, for various reasons. With all of the problems in this world, and potential solutions, our human family can greatly benefit from such tools. 
   So when I say "tools", what do I mean in regards to the Five Percent? Well one of the most obvious are Supreme Mathematics. As principles of life, Supreme Mathematics are like instruments or psychological and sociological tools that are used to carry out a particular function. What function? Civilization and Righteousness. I say civilization and righteousness because none of the Supreme Mathematics represent or even imply something that is dishonorable, immoral or malevolent. For example, devil is not a principle in Supreme Mathematics. In fact, devil is neither in our Supreme Alphabet. This is to say that as Five Percenters our cultural worldview or what we fundamentally teach is not emphasizing the obvious shortcomings, failings and deficiencies of someone outside of us. We don't overlook that, we explicitly cover shortcomings, failings and deficiencies within the context of our lessons [120]. And these lessons highlight periods of time where learning occurred for our people, sometimes in relationship to shortcomings, failings and deficiencies. In terms of psychological and social orientation, Five Percenters advocate a strength-based approach towards living and assessing who we are. This means that we concentrate on our self-determination and inherent strengths, not what would be considered deficits. This orientation is reflected in our language, with the specific words and phrases we use such as knowledge, wisdom, understanding, "Peace God" and "True I Master Equality [Time]", and even in the righteous names we choose for ourselves such as Divine, Queen, Wisdom, Supreme and etc. Our emphasis is on who we are, and what we need to do as standards of civilization and righteousness, regardless what others choose to do. We don't ignore what others do. For us, it's about what we choose and how we choose to respond to situations, all while maintaining our civilization and righteousness. In fact, here is a series on Supreme Mathematics I've started to 

   The above paragraph doesn't describe a cake walk. It describes a daily effort to be consistent and concise about how we positively see ourselves and how we responsibly attend a society that doesn't have the healthiest view of humanity. Those who seek to address this issue have their approaches, whether its religious, secular, spiritual or metaphysical. As the Five Percent, we have ours. Some approaches or even tools are similar among the human family, some are not. Supreme Mathematics are not witch hunt materials, nor are they inquisition devices. They are life principles that serve as self-analysis tools to start unpacking or discerning who we are. As we grow and understand these principles deeper, we also become a greater resource to those in our family, community and city who need to be rightly guided. The process of unpacking is removing the contents that are within, not putting something inside. Some people incorrectly think that gaining KOS [Knowledge Of Self] is the process of depositing something inside of them. That is part of it, yet one must first assess their available space. Meaning, we must take time to unpack what needs to be unlearned before having a capacity to learn anything. Part of an Educator's responsibility is to assist that person in identifying available space and how to make room to receive something. Sometimes that may mean a referral to a professional. This unpacking process is not something that's done on a weekend retreat, a 3 hour lecture, a few meetings, a rally, an event or a relationship. This is a continual process of assessing ourselves, sometimes with counseling. The custom of building with one another by asking, "How do you see today's mathematics?" and "How do your see today's degree?" is a part of this self assessment process. It's not only done to test or challenge what another Five Percenter knows and understands; because nowadays there are many who claim to be us but they are not. It's done because Five Percenters are scientists of life and building is the oral presentation of one's work/research to other members of our scientific community for peer review. Answering questions such as "How do you see today's mathematics?" and "How do your see today's degree?" give members an opportunity to mutually share their work/research. And just like any scientist, upon review of that work/research, if something needs to be added on or taken away, we go back to the lab and make the appropriate adjustments. In fact, here is a series I started on Supreme Mathematics to demonstrate how these self-analysis tools can be used: Supreme Mathematics Series

   Unpacking our identity or unburdening the mind to decipher or discern who we are requires more than Supreme Mathematics. If we haven't first committed ourselves to honestly assessing and removing the unnecessary contents within, we will be without -even while holding Supreme Mathematics. The same goes for people who hold fast to the bible, koran, other books or philosophies about life. The daily inner work is what manifests the outer reality. All of these tools are only as valuable as our ability to use them. And we cannot successfully use them if we have no room where to put them.

Peace,
Saladin

The G.A.O.T.U. The Grand Architects Of The Universe



The G.A.O.T.U.

The Grand Architects Of The Universe

*This appears in Chapter 11 "A.E.A.O.N.M.S vs. A.A.O.N.M.S" of my book Eyes Wide Shut: The Science of Secret Societies:

Since the late 1700's, 1784 to be exact, to this day, the legitimacy of Black Freemasonry and Shriners has been legally challenged by White Freemasons and Shriners on a State and Federal level here in America. In many cases these legal challenges were upheld in a court of law and these white Freemasons or Shriners were able to successfully get injunctions against blacks from using their constitution, names/titles, rituals, emblems, constitution and regalia publicaly or privately in what became commonly known among Freemasonry as black "clandestine" [fraudulent] masons, lodges and Shriner temples. For example, on June 3rd, 1929 the Texas Supreme Court decided that the Negro [Black] "Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine of North and South America and its Jurisdictions" [A.E.A.O.N.M.S] were biting the White "Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America." Even though this suit began in 1918 in Texas, it had grown to restrain and prevent blacks from imitating white temples throughout the entire United States. It was eventually decreed by the court that the A.E.A.O.N.M.S were restrained from using their name, any other name or distinctive words which can be considered a colorable imitation of the [white] Shiners.  It was also decreed that blacks couldn't use the words "temple" or "shrine", wear or display as an insignia or emblems of membership of any society or organization, corporate or otherwise, any of the emblems, insignia, paraphernalia, badges, jewels or head-covering, etc., which can be considered a colorable imitation of the [white] Shiners.   Since [white] American Freemasons colonial beginning and their [white] Shriner 1872 inception, there are literally hundreds of legal cases against blacks who have strived to 'freely' set up their own lodges and temples or be 'accepted' into white lodges and temples; the irony of being Free and Accepted, huh? There are also various legal cases of black Freemasons and Shriners taking other black Freemasons and Shriners for the same damn reasons: check out the case of Prince Hall Grand Lodge vs. the John A. Bell Grand Lodge.

Yes many blacks argue that Prince Hall, a black Freemason did it first when he got permission to set up African Lodge No. 459 in North America via a charter from Fredrick, Duke of Cumberland, Grand Master of the Most Ancient and Honorable Society of Free and Accepted Ancient Masons on September 29, 1784. This was prior to George Washington and his working class cronies getting a charter from England. Yeah I've even heard the argument that black Shriners technically did it first because white Shriners were only a voluntary 'unincorporated' association since the 1870's while blacks got legally incorporated in Illinois in 1893, then incorporated again after it was abandoned in 1901 as a fraternal and charitable association under the Act of Congress of May 5, 1870. I can see the legitimacy of these claims and the idea that whites don't possess the exclusive or superior right to use the constitution, names/titles, rituals, emblems, constitution and regalia of Freemasonry or Shriners. All of it is originally derived or falsified from first world people; the original fathers and mothers of civilization, and white Freemasons and Shriners cannot chronologically, genetically, geographically or archeologically stake claim to that. Yet it's also important to keep in mind that the legal courts these legitimacy cases are tried in, the color of law and their assessment that some of us seek validation from is the legal arm of a system and status quo that's dominantly controlled by whites. This control, in the form of nepotism and white privilege, has allowed America to historically and legally establish superior rights for some of its citizenry and an inferior status of Slavery, Indian Boarding Schools, Segregation, Japanese Internment Camps, Racial Profiling, Women's Suffrage and etc. for others. In other words, the same way you historically had people of color fighting, assimilating, imitating and trying to integrate to be acknowledged, validated and accepted by those sitting in a public judgment seat, you had people of color 'privately' fighting, assimilating and imitating and trying to integrate to be acknowledged, validated and accepted by those sitting in a private judgment seat. People seem to only talk about black people openly trying to integrate white movie theaters, hotels, restaurants, schools and etc. Naw, you also had a simultaneous secretive movement of black people trying to integrate white masonic lodges and various other exclusively white auxiliary organizations including the shrine. Here's the kicker: you oftentimes had various black leaders outwardly promoting segregation, black self reliance and presenting themselves as black nationalists who were already secret initiates or trying to be initiated into some masonic lodge or other auxiliary organization that's legally considered a colorable imitation of its white superior counterpart or beholden to a white superior governing body.

Learn more about this HERE!!

In this high time of #BlackLivesMatter activism and people of color positioning themselves to be socially conscious talking heads to bang on the system, all of this is very important to consider. Why? Because everybody is not who they say they are. This living contradiction amongst some people of color has been a consistent historical narrative here in America, or wherever you see colonialism around the globe. As a minority group in this capitalistic society, some of us measure success as individual accomplishment, how much money we can make and how high we can climb a social ladder and get close to those who print the capital and made the ladder. In the process, some of us, often secretly, join certain organizations, have certain associations, establish certain relationships and even change certain ideals in order to "so-called" be a part of the club. Don't get me wrong, ambition, having aspirations and setting goals is not negative in and of itself. There are many people I know who are doing very positive things personally and collectively. It's when people have no integrity or compromise their integrity to get money and ascend a social ladder when it becomes negative. At one point in time the black church, social clubs and Freemasonry were the only game in town. As much as was humanly possible, some of us used these platforms to do for self while striving to maintain our cultural integrity. Today, with the illusion of integration, many of these houses of worship, clubs and organizations are only a shell of their former self and holding people of color back more than healing and helping them. With the creation of the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI), changes in the law of how nonprofit organizations can legally operate and the modification of bylaws and unspoken membership rules/regulations of certain organizations, people of color who are not striving to do for self are even more beholden to the legal arm of a system and status quo that's still dominantly controlled by whites. What do I propose? Definitely not the attitude some of us have that, "If we can't beat them, lets join them -and use what hookups they got to succeed or bring knowledge to the lodge or temple and make it better." I know brothers who joined the lodge or temple with those idealistic intentions only to realize after the fact that 1.) So-called hookups are limited to when, how and if they choose to hook.., you.. up and 2.) You're not going to walk in and change an institution and ideology that's beholden to a white Masonic and Shriner tradition that's formally been in tact for a combination of over 400 years.  If our goal is genuinely cultural freedom then we must make choices to remove the vices and entanglements to anything that's restricts our ability to live our culture free. This means we must not join any organizations, have associations, forge relationships and even change certain ideals that will get us more entangled. That's like saying we're striving to save money to buy a house and then turning around buying a new car with a lease that's crippling our pockets. That's backwards. Some entanglements are more difficult to remove than others. Some people are striving to be more entrepreneurial and work for themselves, those are the employment entanglements they're dealing with. Others are investing in solar paneling or live off of the grid. Still others may be fighting addiction while others are figuring out ways to create a homeschooling consortium for their community. Whatever those entanglements may be, the struggle to free ourselves from them is worth it, don't you think?

Peace,

Saladin

Relief Valveology (RV)

Relief Valveology (RV)

I recently had a dream about how systems work, or don't work, based upon a role of a relief valve. Over the years I've watched the ebb and flow of important issues within the mainstream media and various talking heads weigh in on everything from #BlackLivesMatter, police brutality, foreign policy, the 2016 Election and Monsanto to the show Empire, Caitlyn Jenner, LHHATL, Raven Symone and McDonalds offering breakfast All Day. While some of these critical perspectives and the dissatisfaction is genuine, I think many of them serve as valves to simply release pressure on "the system", not to fundamentally change anything.

So what is a relief valve (RV)? A relief valve (RV) is a gate-like device used to control or limit the pressure on a system or vessel that can cause that system's equipment to fail and become damaged. The valve is designed to safeguard a system by limiting the maximum amount of pressure on that system. To relieve that pressure the valve opens. When pressure conditions return to normal, the valve close. Without a relief valve pressure will continue to grow until other components in the system fail, thus ultimately relieving that pressure.

Sound familiar? Have you ever listened to the perspectives of some people and see that their underlying intent is safeguarding the system/status quo? What about those who function like a valve; they open [their mouth] to speak out on issues the people are dissatisfied about, yet close [their mouth] when the pressure to change those conditions returns back to normal? In Freemasonry this is the same role and responsibility of the Tiler/Tyler; a gate-keeper and symbolic valve used to [safe]guard the outer door to the lodge from potentially malicious, unqualified and nosey people. Tiler comes from the Latin word "tegere" which means 'to cover' or roof. In other words, this is a person who got the system covered... Although some of these people you see organizing rallies in cities, doing lectures, sharing videos and etc. may not be due paying members of a masonic lodge, they act as Tilers none the less. I elaborate on Tilers and other things in my latest book Eyes Wide Shut: The Science of Secret Societies. While some may even be on the government's payroll to quell the emotions of the public who are putting pressure on changing public policy, some are not but they both serve the purpose of maintaining the status quo. Keep in mind that I am not talking about Don Lemon or those who come from the David Clarke tribe. We know their posture and it's not to release the pressure building up within black/brown communities. It's obvious that they, and others, are here to safeguard the system that's already failing in many areas. I'm referring to those some of us assume are for a new system of things. I'm talking about some of these black militant, black conscious, nationalistic, religious, Pan-African, metaphysician, sovereign folks who appear to be banging on the system. I'm also talking about some of these white liberal, free-range, off the grid, anarchist, racism conference attending, political candidate Eminemians who appear to be banging on the system too. Some of them, are only here, to provide vent forums. And once you've gotten your concerns off of your chest while they nod their heads and articulate they understand, things remain the same. And if you ask too many questions, get deemed unqualified or accused of entertaining malicious intents against them or their leaders, you'll see the Tiler come out.

At the end of the day we must be mindful that some people are simply not invested in being change agents to help transform the conditions of this world. They're nothing more than relief valves that helps release the pressure being put on this system. It doesn't matter what gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation they are; they're all gate keepers. Age also doesn't matter because the older ones strive to socialize and incentivize the younger generation to do the same thing. There are some things right about what goes on here in America in comparison to other places in the world. There are also things that aren't right that needed to be changed yesterday, perhaps many years ago. In order to do this, knowledge must be our foundation, not sentimentality, being in our feelings or getting riled up to rally around talking heads who aren't invested in change. The more we know, the more we can personally and collectively do n order to see the changes in our families, communities and society as a whole. It's not about valve-like position aspirations or being proud that we're the only person of color on our job. The only pride in being a gate-keeper is safeguarding the lives of the most vulnerable members of our society; our youth, elders, women, disabled, disenfranchised and poor. And it shouldn't take pressure from these segments of our population to make changes in the way this system operates. When we don't, that pressure will continue to grow until other components in the system, including the system itself, will fail. It's not rocket science, I'm simply talking about relief valves. 

Peace,

Saladin

Filibusters: #SCOTUS Obstructionists of Justice

Filibusters
#SCOTUS Obstructionists of Justice

Filibuster: an action such as a prolonged speech that obstructs progress in a legislative assembly while not technically violating the required procedures. To act in an obstructive manner in a legislature, especially by speaking at inordinate length.

On Wednesday a couple colleagues {Akeem Rashad Allah/DJ Wise and Salim Adofo} and I had the privilege to be on a conference call directly from the White House with other key African American and Civil Rights Leaders around the country about the Supreme Court nomination process that was moderated by Stephanie Young and Valerie Jarrett. Stephanie Young is the Director of African American Outreach for The White House and Valerie Jarrett is the Senior Adviser to President Barack Obama and Assistant for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs in his Administration. If you're unfamiliar with these women I encourage you to Google them.

Read President Obama's "A Responsibility I Take Seriously"

Following the death of Supreme Court Justice and ultra-conservative Antonin Scalia, this left a vacancy in the highest court of our country. According to our Constitution, in order to fill that vacancy the current President, in our case President Barack Obama, chooses a nominee who is then confirmed by the Senate and then appointed to that position. This is a process that requires several steps, which on average has taken 67 days since 1975, roughly two months, and every U.S. Supreme Court nominee in history has received a vote within four months. President Obama has over 300 days left to serve his second term as our commander and chief so there shouldn't be a problem nominating another Supreme Court Justice, unless of course the Senate doesn't cooperate. After our President makes his nomination it's then sent to the Senate Judiciary Committee who conducts hearings to question his nomination to determine if they'll make a suitable Supreme Court Justice. When these hearings conclude, the Judiciary Committee votes on whether the President's nomination should go to the full Senate with a good, bad or neutral report. Republicans in the Judiciary Committee, led by their chairman Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, have already made it publicly known that they are not going to vote for whoever our President nominates. The last time a Supreme Court nominee was denied a hearing was in 1875. To give you some context, this was 141 years ago during the Reconstruction Era when the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was passed to guarantee African Americans access to equal housing, transportation and jury duty inclusion. By delaying this nomination process and dragging their feet, these Republicans and their special-interest group supporters, could very well get their way and there are no formal repercussions by doing this. The only repercussions they face are from their constituents. So instead of upholding the Constitution and doing the job they were elected to do, they have chosen to be filibusters. The bottom line is "they" want "their people" in that position and will do whatever they can to block, obstruct and go against the Constitution and what President Obama was elected to do in serving his final term as our commander and chief. These tactics aren't new and reflect the continuous uphill battle our President and First Lady have dealt with the entire two terms they've been in office. A battle with elected officials being uncooperative, unhelpful, unsupportive and outright disrespectful. 

Members of the Republican controlled Senate and Judiciary Committee have tried to argue that the 2016 President-Elect, not our current President, should nominate a Supreme Court Justice because it's an election year. Mind you, the Senate has confirmed 6 Justices in presidential election years since 1900 including the Republican President Ronald Reagan who appointed Justice Kennedy. If the Senate fails to act, the Supreme Court could have a vacancy for the better part of two Terms. This means that without a 9th Justice, the Supreme Court's 4-4 decisions can't legally establish uniform, nationwide rules. Many have been outraged at the sense of defiance, recklessness and disrespect on the part of the Senate Judiciary Committee and according to the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights & The Leadership Conference Education Fund, "a broad coalition of 82 civil rights, voting rights, public interest, environmental, labor, religious, and education groups sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and the 10 other Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, condemning their recent announcement that they will refuse to hold a hearing on—or even meet with—any potential Supreme Court nominee." You can read and share this letter here. 

Because there are no formal repercussions the Senate Judiciary Committee will face, except from their constituents, what can we do? First I would encourage you to share this article via your social networks including the hash tags #SCOTUS and #DoYourJob.

1. Post/Share media interviews, memes, articles and statements via your social networks that talk about the importance of the President’s constitutional duty to ensure we have a full supreme court. 
2. Post/Share media interviews, memes, articles and statements via your social networks that talk about the role of the court, the role of the President and/or the role of Congress when a seat on the Court needs filling.  
3. Share media interviews, memes, articles and statements in the comment section of media interviews, memes, articles and statements via your social networks.
4. Here are a series of graphics you can Post/Share via your social networks. 
5. Be sure to include the hash tags #SCOTUS and #DoYourJob in all of your postings and commentary. 
6. Find out the position of your regional and local public officials on this Supreme Court nomination where you live. Require them to state this position publicly and hold them to it as a matter of their policy record -regardless if they're running for reelection this year or in the future. 

Keep in mind that this filibuster scenario that's playing out on the national stage is also happening on a regional and local level throughout America. The reason you may not see certain things getting done in your municipality, your neighborhood or in your workplace is because of the same kind of people striving to block, obstruct and go against progress. Letting our voice be heard about the Supreme Court nomination informs the Senate Judiciary Committee that we will individually/collectively use our position, finances and vote to ensure that people like them, who are not doing their job, will not be in these positions to obstruct justice. We are also informing their constituents that we will not support them, especially in business. How can you trust a business person to do the right thing for their patrons [citizens] when they're deliberately supporting public servants who are not willing to do the right thing for their tax paying citizenry? All of us as citizens are expected to do our job and the citizens we've elected as public servants need to do their jobs too. It's just that simple. 

Peace,

Saladin

The Flint Water Crisis: #FlintLivesMatter

    

The Flint Water Crisis

#FlintLivesMatter

     On January 16th President Obama declared a federal state of emergency in Flint Michigan because of its polluted water. Residents there cannot bathe in or drink the water, all children under the age of six have been exposed to lead poisoning and the national guard has been called in to help facilitate the process of getting clean/donated water to the people.

     According to USA Today Network Journalist Jessica Durrando, "Flint's drinking water became contaminated with lead in April 2014 while the city was under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager. As a cost-cutting move, the city began temporarily drawing its drinking water from the Flint River and treating it at the city water treatment plant while it waited for a new water pipeline to Lake Huron to be completed. Previously, the city used Lake Huron water treated by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. The state Department of Environmental Quality has conceded it failed to require needed chemicals to be added to the corrosive Flint River water. As a result, lead leached from pipes and fixtures into the drinking water."

     Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder who has been singled out as dropping the ball of this has stated for the record, "I'm sorry and I will fix it," and "Government failed you at the federal, state and local level." Aside from apologies, what are the short and long term solutions to solving this problem that has effected so many lives, especially our children? Like with many stories we see circulating in the news, some people view a crisis like this as having nothing to do with them. I beg to differ and refer you to the words of Dr. Martin Luther King who said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

     In Niagara Falls, NY we had one of the worst environmental tragedies in American history happen in community called the Love Canal. From the early 1940's to the mid-1950's Hooker Chemical Company, with government sanction, began using a partially dug canal as a chemical waste dump which equated to almost 22,000 tons of toxic waste being buried there. After covering the site with dirt and selling the land to the Niagara Falls Board of Education for $1 with a disclaimer, construction of a school and homes eventually began on this site. By the 1970's this landfill was in proximity to approximately 800 single family homes, 240 low-income apartments and a public elementary school. It was also during the late 1970's that complaints of odors and substances seeping through the ground were taken seriously and it was discovered that toxic vapors and the contents from this chemical landfill began to were indeed seeping into the drinking water, soil and basements of the residents, for years. This exposure was linked to everything from asthma, seizures, cancer, miscarriages, birth defects and various other issues. As with present day Flint Michigan, President Jimmy Carter declared a federal state of emergency in 1978 and some of the families were evacuated. A second federal state of emergency  was declared by President Carter in 1981 to relocate the other families after being pressured by activists.

     Like Flint Michigan, all municipalities, including the one where you live, cut costs and/or corners when it comes to its citizens. Publically it's called "balancing the budget", privately it's oftentimes a very different conversation. In Flint Michigan, that cost/corner cutting, or should I say neglect, was in the area of waste water treatment/management. In your city it may be the school district. Somewhere else it may be infrastructure. Other places it's a combination of cut costs/corners, especially when a large segment of its population is poor, disenfranchised, unemployed or uneducated. In many cases these communities are primarily people of color.

     While some of your local and regional public officials are striving to do their best to serve you, many are not for various reasons. Sometimes they're self serving and aren't concerned about the citizens. Sometimes they lack a consensus among their peers to get something done. Sometimes they lack civic engagement or valuable input from their citizens. Most times there are  layers of cost/corner cutting among city employees, department heads, city administrators, contractors and etc. that public officials have to strive to deal with, if they're not a part of the problem. As the crisis in Flint unfolds, the blame game has also commenced. Although Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder must be held responsible for this water crisis, he did not act alone and public officials on the regional and local level must be held accountable too.

     This should be more than a wake-up call for us to become more civically engaged where we live. As citizens, we are not immune to neglect. If you or anyone you know wants to help the families in Flint with a monetary donation, you can do so at this website: The Community Foundation of Greater Flint [CFGF]. The city is striving to streamline financial efforts through the Community Foundation of Greater Flint; a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and your gift is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Peace,

Saladin

The Nation is All Wise

and

Does Everything Right & Exact

Part 2

During the creation process, we borrow tissue from our mother’s body. This means that our matter, or material, is maternal.  This is why in Latin [when they learned it from our civilization] “mother” means “matter” and “father” means “pattern” [or blueprint]: He sparked the pattern. So every time you touch your skin, you’re not only touching your mother, and your grandmother, you are touching the first mother!  This is the reason why we are literally our ancestors; life recycles. This is also the understanding in our science of why we look at God; not because he represents ALL of God, or Allah -but because the potential [infinite potential] of Allah is manifested through the Blackman within the gender of the human kingdom, and the potentiality of our society is realized through that pattern of male leadership to initiate changes within our society. This is the same way the sperm determines the sex of the baby,  or the Subjective Realm coming into the Objective Realm; in reference to the undifferentiated energy/matter being initiated by the will to form the objective or physical realm by a cognizant willing, wanting or desiring.  When it comes down to the undifferentiated energy/matter aspect of the Subjective Realm of Allah forming the physical realm or Objective Realm, when it comes into gender we consider it [having feminine qualities analogous to the] Earth, Substance or Wisdom. That’s why you hear those terms.  Like we say, “God is a group reality seen through individual eyes.” The eyes of the individual that can spark the pattern for more divine aspects will be the “father of civilization” manifested from the potential state into a real live civilization; germinating into children and creation (and those who are woken from the strange sleep) from the Blackman. The Blackwoman represents the vessel to receive the seed and bring it into existence.

This is the creation story told from a Kabbalistic or Eastern perspective. All Asian, Central Asian [African] societies fall under this category. The Five Percent fall under this category in via Triple Stage Darkness. Alright, let’s put this into more practical Eastern scientific terms: The undifferentiated energy/matter that subsists in the subjective realm forms the material realm, the objective realm or the physical realm. From a portion of itself, it takes on a quality that we know in gender as feminine; because the essential qualities of what is done in creation to born or bring things into existence is what is channels down, when we become man and woman, as feminine.

Everything in life within the objective realm (or realm of objects) is either feminine/feminine [XX] or masculine/feminine [YX] because sex cell reproduction or mitosis takes place in the ovaries not the sperm. This is because the material realm itself is feminine.  The pattern part [father] is the “word,” the “want,” the “will,”  the “spark” the “desire to.” This is the infinite potential to make patterns in the subjective real. When it comes down to the material or physical realm—where gender is created, that “pattern” displays more like masculine or potential; the “spark” plug like a seed, the thing that has the blueprint, ingredient list or table of contents for the germination process. Yet, the whole germination process and the finished product takes place or goes on in the feminine part of reality. In other words, knowledge is the foundation and the spark that spurs all creation. The rest, from wisdom to cipher, are derivatives of wisdom.  The man may be the “spark plug” but the engine, the cockpit, the chairs, the wheels, the chassis and the road itself is feminine. Everything created came through the “womb of space.” What we have between knowledge and wisdom is harmony.  That relationship is as simple as the Sun and the Moon; Yang and Ying. The small dots within the Yang and Ying indicates that they understand each other; they love one another—they care, respect and act responsible for one another. The Blackman may represent the knowledge, the will to become true and living and the infinite potential to do so, but wisdom is the way. The Blackwoman is the way that the will and seed or sperm is made manifest. Cee-I-Power Her because Her-Power-I-Cee.

Now interestingly enough, when you talk to a hard core feminist about anything that has to do with the act of making babies, they will relegate these powers to minor significance. When you talk about lesbianism from a biological perspective some will tell you that, “God made them that way.” Some even show much disdain for men, yet dress and posture like men. Is that biological too? Most of that rap revolves around neutering the gender roles in society; indicating certain things can be done by both parties and wedging differences known to split up families. Because spit don’t make babies, the above magnanimous conversation concerning Triple Stage Darkness, the magnanimous power of the Earth, the equality that God Allah gives to the feminine factor of life, is relegated to minor significance by the feminist!  Her conversation is more about money, power and the respect that’s gained by BS independence! Non-cooperation will get us loneliness, isolation and lying on the couch trying to be consoled by another woman, and who knows were that goes. . .

Yes, “All” came from one; as the word “Allah” indicates. In Genesis, man is called into a deep rest so that man could be separated from woman in spiroth (breath/soul) and flesh; as the “rib removed from Adam” indicates. Our science has different terms, God and Earth, because although Allah is All, Allah’s infinite potential and undifferentiated energy/matter has two distinct functions: One function wills and the other function produces. They both understand what needs to be done to make “E Pluribus Enum”: many out of One/One out of many, harmony and peace through love for each other.  Please, misguided Blackwoman, tell me what powers does a Goddess have that an Earth doesn’t? And tell me how that word “Goddess” distinguishes itself from God or incorporates the terms, Wisdom, Culture, Equality, Unknown and Cipher into her mathematics? Or are we rivaling for the use of the seven now? It sounds like a female pimp “snow job” that will bring you nothing but female companionship and loneliness from lack of male company.    

Today, unlike any other time in our chronology, Black reality mimics more of Western society. I thought that having Knowledge of Self is about recapturing our culture but I even hear Black women nowadays saying that they are Black Feminists -even though the Black woman’s benefits were only the byproduct of the White feminists getting their way in American society.  This is the same as the residuals that Black men get from what White men orchestrate in American society. We are not the originators of the chauvinism that America has, we do not make the rules here.  We are subjected to them, just as the Blackwoman is. One of the things we must knowledge, as in Ferguson and other cities throughout these United States, is that our people have been subjected to police brutality and random travesty of justice, every time the economy goes awry. America’s business is business and in a capitalist society its interests are who and what it chooses to capitalizes off of.  Those who need charity are on the bottom rung in a capitalistic system. Our politics of looking for someone to supply jobs and rights must change. What this means for our women is to stop looking at us as the authors of the evils experienced in America. In many ways, we are subjected to the same evils in this White male dominated society called America.

This society is currently under turmoil from a state of ambiguity that started back in 60's from the Sexual Revolution that White America started. As said previously, this is par for the course of America because Europe had alternative lifestyles in their culture for thousands of years, we didn't as a norm. We also didn’t embrace rugged individualism. We teach that “civilized means to teach knowledge and wisdom of the human family of the planet earth” (2/1-14). We are very different from the Whites and their form of civilization and we must always knowledge that. As the Father said, “We are not pro-Black or anti-White”, we are about pro-right-eousness. Standing separate as individuals does not create families nor hold families together. This stuff America is currently going through is not right for us. The principles of our culture does not produce such an outcome. Our issue is that we have to knowledge their culture because we live in America and use that knowledge for survival. Yet we must embrace our culture and leave this trick knowledge that the West possesses, alone. It is leading us astray because it is nothing but devilishment.

What the world needs is love. What that means is everyone is looking for someone to care for them, the way THEY WANT THEM to care. Some want that care as a co-sign, whether they are right or wrong; whether they are doing something wack or experimenting with something they will live to regret.  As parents, guardians and youth advocates, we can’t show love like that. If we see that our child is falling for sexual ambiguity, it is not our position to support something in which our years of experience and observations tell us is a bad choice and levying our precious ones open to abuse.

Peace,

Allah Universal Lord Life Justice Shabazz