We Must Become Producers for Our People

By The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan | Last updated: Apr 14, 2015 - 8:26:03 AM

[Editor’s note: The following article contains excerpts from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s keynote address on November 9, 2011 at Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas as part of S.P.I.T. (Students Participating in Transcendent) Knowledge’s Lecture Series program. Click here to order this message in its entirety on MP3, DVD or CD @ store.finalcall.com.]

In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.

For the last 12 or 15 years, those powerful forces that wish to control the way young Black college students think have not wanted me on college campuses. The sad thing about that is “education” should prepare you to listen to anyone, and judge them for yourself as to whether they are worthy to be listened to. But no college campus should be afraid to bring someone in that is controversial: “contra” means “against,” and “verse” means “your version of the truth.”

And when a Liar has had you all your life, and made you think less of yourself than you should, and kept us divided against self; and whenever a great leader stood up among us, they inspired us to turn on that leader only later to find out what a good man the brother or sister was. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught me that if a man won’t treat you right, what would make you think he will teach you right?

As Jesus said, “You shall know the Truth…” Well, evidently at that time the people did not know the Truth. But he spoke using “Future Tense”: “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” Then the scripture teaches, “How can they know except they have a teacher? And how can they have a teacher except he be sent?” And the same people that enslaved us will never send you the teacher that will free you from their grip! So we’ve come to Prairie View A&M University to set the record straight. We’ve come to offer something that in your own soul you will know that your Brother Farrakhan is speaking Truth.

The purpose of your education is not to beg for a job

What is the purpose of “Education”? The word “education” comes from two Latin words: “e”, which is the prefix that means “out,” or “out from”; and “duco” which means “to lead.” When we are truly educated, we are led out from Darkness into Light, from Ignorance into Wisdom, from Weakness into Strength and Power. And that which God has put within us is cultivated through education; so that each human being who manifests what God has put within becomes The Glory of God.

Are we just in school to get an education so that we can go out and “get a job” and “make some money” and “drive in a nice car” and “live in a nice home”—and abandon the ghetto and leave our brothers and sisters behind and think that we’ve made “progress” in the world? Is this what God intended when He asked us to “go after knowledge from the cradle to the grave”? And in this book Qur’an, God introduces Himself to the world in these words: Alif Lam Mim—and the scholars say it means “I, Allah, Am The Best Knower.” The person that has Knowledge has Potential Power to remove any impediment in the Pathway of Our Progress.

What is the purpose of “Knowledge”? The scriptures of the Bible teach, “My people are destroyed,” not because they’re “Black,” but, “for the lack of knowledge.” What kind of knowledge? The Knowledge of Self and The Knowledge of God—these are the two most important of all Knowledges because when you know Self, you know God; and when you know God, you know Self, because the scripture teaches that He made man and woman, “in His own image and after His own likeness.” The Qur’an says it a little differently: He made man to be His Khalifah, meaning “one who stands in the Place of God to rule the creation of God according to the Will of God.”

So how could you be “made in the image of God” and not have the same Qualities in you that God has in Him? Think about it. Jesus said, “How can you love God Whom you have never seen, and hate your brother, or sister, that you see every day?” Well, what is it in your brother and sister that Jesus is saying how can you love God, Whom you’ve never seen, and hate your brother? If you “hate your brother” you’re showing “hatred for God,” because God is The Creator of your brother as well as The Creator of yourself.

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Now think about this: The Qur’an and the Bible teaches everything that God creates glorifies Him, but “man” and “woman” are referred to as “the Glory of God.” That’s who you are! But you have not recognized how great you are. And I’m not speaking of some “foolish” talk such as “We’re great”—no! God has not created one thing mediocre. There’s no such thing as a mediocre ant, a mediocre bee, a mediocre flea, a mediocre star, a mediocre tree! Everything that God has created is marked with excellence!

Then how could we be “the Glory of God,” and not have within us Gifts from Him that will Manifest His Presence? When we walk, God Walks! When we talk, God Talks! When we fight, God Fights! if you are connected to God … And the aim of The Enemy is to disconnect the people from The Source of their Power, their Strength, their Wisdom, their Knowledge, and their Life. So we need a Teacher, we need somebody to give us Guidance. And that’s why The Enemy has not wanted Farrakhan to be on the college campus.

So to be here at Prairie View, a college that sits on 1,500 acres of land: You don’t realize what you have! Because if you understood the value of Prairie View, you wouldn’t be begging somebody else to do something for you; you would take what you’ve got and become a producer of the things that you need.

The Time is Now to Do For Self

I would like us to look at the value of our president, Barack Obama, and the cry of Black, White and Hispanic people of “We need jobs.”

Brothers and sisters, since the 1940s A. Phillip Randolph was involved in organizing a “March on Washington.” And do you know what A. Phillip Randolph was going to march on Washington for? “Jobs.” Then, Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement in 1963 had the great March on Washington. And what was it that they were asking for? “Jobs” and “Justice.” And 20 years later, in 1983, they had the 20th Anniversary of the March on Washington where I just happened to be present, and guess what they were asking for? “Jobs” and “Justice.” Just this past October 15th on The National Mall, the Reverend Al Sharpton led a march to encourage the people to get behind President Barack Obama and his “Jobs Bill.”

Now we’re in 2011, and what is your cry? “Jobs” and “Justice.” Shouldn’t it dawn on you that something is wrong with that picture?

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Our president is trying to get some jobs when there are nearly 20 million Americans that don’t have jobs. Nearly 20 million! And you’re about to graduate: What do you want to find after school? Jobs! Now, if you’re a student of history, consider if millions of White folk don’t have jobs, and they create jobs, who do you think is going to get the jobs first? I’m sure it’s going to be you, right? Come on, brothers and sisters! White folk are going to look out for themselves first! And if there’s anything left, maybe you might find something.

But what creature do you know that looks to another creature to provide for it? Just name me one! There’s no “worm welfare lines”: Worms looking for a handout to get something to eat. God already provided it for them, isn’t that something? The Bible teaches, “Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of man has no place to lay his head.” Something wrong with that Son of Man, because if a bird can build a nest and a fox can dig a hole, but we as Sons of Men have no place to lay our head, then something has happened to us! And what has happened to us does not allow us to earn the respect of others, or even self-respect; so as young people you’re angry as hell!

Why are you angry? Because your parents did not prepare a future for you! While we’ve been integrating and “laying-in” and “crawling-in” and “crying-in” and “begging-in” and “sleeping-in,” enjoying the fruit of the Civil Rights Movement, our children have been growing up where all we have to give them at the time of our death is a car or a house with some “notes”! We have nothing to give you!

So you’re upset and you’re angry, but look: What are you going to do now, because you are here in college; you’re about to get a degree. I don’t know what that degree is going to be in, but if it’s in Sociology, you need to change your major. If it’s in Psychology, you need to change your major! “Oh, Farrakhan! Now don’t talk like that, I got an “A” last term in Psychology!” Yes, I know. But you have nieces and nephews that you can’t “control”; with all your “psychology” you have no control not only of those younger than yourselves, but we’ve lost control of ourselves. A “psychiatrist,” the poor thing: You know, he’s on pills, too; he’s going down with stress. And the poor doctors: They don’t live longer than the patient. So there’s something wrong with the way we’ve been taught and trained, because we have not been made a productive people.

We have a great opportunity to make a future for ourselves and our people. But it would be tragic for us to look to our Brother President and put it all on him to make jobs for us and we sit down and do nothing to create a job for ourselves.

Multiply and Replenish The Earth

Prairie View A&M is an “agricultural” college, but how many of you students are studying agriculture? Not too many. There is a problem when you have an aversion to agriculture. So I want you to see how God began civilization.

In the Book of Genesis, God starts creating all these wonders: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the waters. And God said, “Let there be light.” It’s great stuff. Then God starts creating animals and whatnot; and then He came and said, “And there was no man to till the ground.” Think about that! That’s the first thing that a man was supposed to do, “to till the ground.” God said there was no man to do that work, so when He made Adam, Adam came into a “Garden” just like you: You were born, you come out your mother’s womb, and you look around to see everything that you need is right here! The Sun is here, the Moon is here, the Stars are here, the Trees are here, the Land is here, the Water is here. And you are here. But how come you and I are here non-productive?

What was the Command that God gave Adam? He said, “Multiply, replenish the earth, and subdue it.” Do you think He was telling Adam to just have babies as in “multiply”? He was telling him that, yes. And I think that’s the part of The Message that we got! However, we didn’t get the real meaning of “multiply.”

When you go to third grade, you learn your Times Tables, right? In your Times Tables you have a multiplier, a multiplicand, and you get a product. So when God tells Adam “multiply,” He’s telling you: “Look man, you’re here! Look at what you’re born into: It’s all here for you. But you are the multiplier, the Universe is the multiplicand, and you are to become a producer of a product!” And when man is not a producer, then somebody else is producing for you, and that’s what makes you a “slave” by making you a consumer, and not a producer.

“Multiply,” “replenish the earth”… Here’s where that kind of multiplication is advised: “Re-people the earth”—that’s what you’re supposed to do! Re-people the earth. But not re-people the earth and not be productive! How are you going to have a lot of children and no productivity to feed them? See how backward that is? “I’m re-peopling, but I’m not productive.”

Cain was a “tiller of the ground.” And his brother Abel was dealing with sheep; he was in “animal husbandry.” So let’s come back to Prairie View: See, when God gave them a Genesis, a beginning, the beginning starts with land and the cultivation of the land; and animal husbandry on the land. From those two things you have business and productivity which allows you to earn money or create product that you can barter!

But you’re sitting on land and you’re not doing anything with it? I want to get us to see the value of the land that you’re sitting on called “Prairie View.”

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The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, “As long as we are consumers and employees, our future is in the hand of somebody else.” But if we are going to be producers, you cannot become a producer of what you need to extend your life without land.

Land is the basis of all wars! They don’t fight “just to fight”—they fight for access to land and the raw materials that are under or in that land! And the more access they have to land where there’s oil, gold and uranium, where there are raw materials and they know how to bring those raw materials out of the Earth and make a product; and put that product on the market to bring back revenue, that’s how nations grow!

You’re too big now to be looking for somebody else to do these things for you! We’ve got to now do it for ourselves. But land is the basis. We have to own land. Elijah Muhammad said we need at least 100 million acres to make a start. Now, we built this country: The sweat and the blood of our fathers made most of these people rich while we stayed in poverty.

The government of the United States has about 700 million acres in federal land. For what we’ve done for America, we could say to the government: “We worked for you. We built your country. We fought in all your wars; we died for your freedom while we were yet deprived. As a form of payment, reparations, give us a start: 100 million acres; and give us the equipment to be on that land, and we’ll show you in a short while we’ll produce enough jobs to put all of our people to work. And once we produce what we need, we’ll sell the surplus, and that will give us trade and commerce with the nations of the Earth.”

The whole world is out there waiting for us! It’s we that have to get busy and start becoming a productive people!

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