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FinalCall.com News
National News
President-Elect Barack Obama
By Ashahed M. Muhammad
Assistant Editor
Updated Nov 12, 2008 - 4:23:00 PM
CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) - After nine months of silence regarding the historic presidential campaign of Sen. Barack Obama, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan spoke the words that many have been waiting to hear him say.
“Congratulations are absolutely in order for President-elect Barack Obama,” said Min. Farrakhan as the crowd erupted in cheers and applause during his opening remarks on Nov. 9 at Mosque Maryam, the international headquarters of the Nation of Islam.
Addressing a national and international media contingent and thousands viewing live via webcast, Min. Farrakhan ended a great deal of speculation surrounding his views on President-elect Barack Obama’s political ascendancy and the future of America.
“What happened (on Nov. 4) has energized the entire world of man and mankind in a way that has never been seen before in the history of political elections in the United States of America or anywhere else in those nations that are committed to the principles of democracy,” he said.
Min. Farrakhan forbade all of his ministers from commenting on the presidential election after several statements during his February 2008 Saviours’ Day keynote address titled “The Gods at War” were deliberately taken out of context by some media outlets and right wing political operatives to cause mischief in hope of sabotaging Mr. Obama’s presidential aspirations.
Dressed in dazzling bejeweled crimson and gold robes, Min. Farrakhan said he felt and saw a “oneness of spirit” that he has neither seen nor felt since the Million Man March in 1995 as he watched the 250,000 people at Grant Park in Chicago and different places around the world celebrating a momentous occasion on Election Day.
“This desire for change is a desire that has intensified in America and throughout the world because of the failure of governments to adequately address the needs of the people under their rule and this is why the theme of change resonated so strongly in the people of America and the people of the world,” said Min Farrakhan. “So, who is this young man and how should he be handled in light of his historic victory?”
Min. Farrakhan forthrightly addressed the opinions of those who have said that Barack Obama’s presidential victory may signal the ushering in of a post racial America.
“Black people in America: Is the civil rights movement irrelevant now that this historic election has taken place? Is there no more need for Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton, the NAACP, the Urban League, and other civil rights activists (and) organizations that are working on problems that directly affect the quality of life of Black, and Brown, and the poor, and the Native Americans? Does this mean that Farrakhan has run his course and the Nation of Islam is irrelevant now?” asked Min. Farrakhan.
“As long as there is injustice in any shape, form, or fashion that hinders the growth and development of any people that are a part of the fabric of America, there will always be a need for a Rev. Jackson, a Rev. Sharpton, the NAACP, the Urban League and activist organizations that work for change,” said the Minister. He also addressed those who might have argued he and the Nation of Islam could be irrelevant in light of current events.
“I don’t think I am irrelevant because I am from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and he is a Warner. He is like a watchman on the wall, watching for the evils that ill-affect a people in whom God is interested. I have to continue to warn and guide,” he told the appreciative crowd.
Challenges lie ahead
After Mr. Obama takes the Oath of Office on Jan. 20, 2009 becoming the 44th President of the United States, the Obama administration inherits two intense and costly wars, one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan. Additionally, he faces political instability in Pakistan, continued uncertainty in the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and ever-increasing pressure by Israel and its powerful lobby in the United States to move forward with military action against Iran. Other international flashpoints include Sudan, Russia, Syria and the Congo, said Min. Farrakhan adding that Mr. Obama should not be “manipulated or goaded into a war with Iran.”
The Obama administration also inherits domestic and international financial insecurity. Many financial analysts have said the United States economy is in a recession, and as a result, many foreign markets are experiencing trouble that some financial experts have considered close to meltdown. The Bush administration exits Washington, D.C., leaving the United States $10.1 trillion in debt and, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, 10 million Americans are currently unemployed.
“America is really, really poor, but to keep up the image of her former greatness in the world, she has to borrow and borrow and borrow,” said Min. Farrakhan.
He pointed out that even though people of all ages, races, ethnicities united to elect Mr. Obama, the country is still divided and polarized. Nearly 57 million people voted for Mr. McCain, mostly older Americans who reside below the Mason-Dixon Line where “old racial attitudes and traditions die hard.” In fact, since the election, gun sales have surged, said Min. Farrakhan. “We can change laws, but it is difficult to change attitudes,” he said.
Calling the president-elect a “beautiful young man” and a “very special human being” the Minister said he saw a firmness of resolve and purpose in the face of Mr. Obama as he delivered a Nov. 4 victory speech viewed worldwide. Mr. Obama has been briefed on matters of national security and intelligence and the weightiness of the United States presidency has become real, however, the mission is not beyond his scope, said Min. Farrakhan.
“Was God involved in this young man’s victory?” the Minister asked rhetorically. “Because if God was involved—and He is—then it is God Who has laid on this young man this horrible burden at the worst time in the history of America and the world, but it is also God that has given this young man this tremendous capacity to handle what God has put on his shoulders.”
Not everyone is elated that a Black family is the first family of the United States of America and there are some who believe that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW is called “The White House” because only Whites are to govern from there, Min. Farrakhan pointed out.
There have been reported racial incidents and hate-crimes in the days immediately following Mr. Obama’s victory and at some schools, Min. Farrakhan said competing chants of “White power” and “Black power” and physical altercations broke out.
A teenager from Staten Island, N.Y. was reportedly viciously assaulted in what police believe was a hate-crime assault resulting from Mr. Obama’s presidential victory in the early morning of Nov. 5.
Several incidents of racial graffiti were reported in Texas, Maine and four people admitted spray painting racial graffiti targeting President-elect Obama on a wall at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.
Several hanging effigies of President-elect Obama lined highways in Maine on Nov. 5.
In Hardwick Township, N.J., a Black family’s banner in support of Mr. Obama that went missing the previous night was reportedly draped over a burning six-foot cross the family found on their lawn on Nov. 6.
Min. Farrakhan said he heard CNN commentator Lou Dobbs say America is “tanking.” Other financial experts have said the country is in a “freefall,” while some analysts have said the American economy is nearing “collapse.”
“This is not an hour that we should just rejoice; this is an hour that we should be very thoughtful, reflective and prayerful,” said Min. Farrakhan.
For his part, President-elect Obama has pressed forward conducting meetings with his transition team. Using the internet as a communication and organizing tool, Mr. Obama launched the website www.change.gov which promises to act as a consistent source for the latest news, events, and announcements related to the formation of his new administration.
The road ahead
Min. Farrakhan concluded his Nov. 9 message discussing the road ahead and how Blacks and Whites must shoulder the responsibility to assist President-elect Obama by taking advantage of the possibilities offered by his administration. Referring to Mr. Obama’s pledge to create 5 million new jobs, Min. Farrakhan urged Black youth who have been extraordinarily energized by the Obama campaign to learn “essential civilization building skills” to qualify themselves to rebuild the wasted cities of America and “not look for special favors.”
Citing the 7th Surah (Chapter) of the Holy Qur’an and the story of the people of Thamud who were commanded by the prophet Salih “do not hamstring the she camel,” Min. Farrakhan said this Qur’anic narrative was a sign.
“A sign is not the real thing, but it is pointing to something that is the real thing,” said Min. Farrakhan, citing facts about camels regarding their stamina and the characteristics that make them durable and able to withstand severe weather during long journeys in a hostile climate.
“This young man has a journey to make. He is equipped to make the journey. He has the mental capacity to be successful, with God’s help,” said the Minister.
Min. Farrakhan admonished those who claimed that President-elect Obama did not have the experience needed to govern. “There is no one in America that has that kind experience, so it is not experience that he needs,” said Min. Farrakhan. What America needs is vision and President-elect Obama “is a visionary,” he said.
Min. Farrakhan warned America’s political leaders and the Whites of this nation to let Mr. Obama “do what God has raised him to do” and not try to “hamstring” him and thwart his success.
“If Congress tries to hamstring him because of his vision for change, if the Whites in America don’t understand that he (Obama) is a mercy not only for us but for them and their children and their children’s children, then as the hamstringing of the she camel in the days of Salih and the people of Thamud brought about the terrible chastisement of God, if we hurt this young man and keep him from doing what is in his heart to do, we will bring on ourselves a chastisement from God the likes of which has never been seen before in any nation that God has chastised,” said Min. Farrakhan.
Min. Farrakhan then addressed those all over the world who have used Black people to become rich, building their societies and economic empires with slave labor.
“I said all along that Barack Obama needs our help. But what I didn’t say—but I’m going to say it now—was that Black people in America are not just America’s problem. They are the world’s problem, because no problem—the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said—of the world would be solved until the problem of these (Black people) that were destroyed by slavery and injustice has been properly redressed!” Min. Farrakhan declared.
One hundred and fifty years after being freed from chattel slavery, Blacks still suffer and depend on others for what they should be qualified to do for themselves, he noted.
“We have been trained in self-hatred! We are not proud to be who we are, and that self-hatred has caused us to turn in on one another like it never was during the darkest days of slavery! That is a problem. Walk the streets of the Black community and see the problem that slavery and injustice has created!” said the Minister.
“So I today, representing that One that is found in the Torah and the Injil (Gospel) and the Qur’an— I am asking for the help that I deserve from the world to help my people get up out of this condition!”
Click here to order CD/DVD or full Webcast of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan's November 9, 2008 address.
