Omega Psi Phi inducts Minister Farrakhan

By The Final Call | Last updated: Feb 5, 2019 - 11:01:33 AM

Min. Farrakhan thanked the brothers of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. for presenting him with an Honorary Membership. The Minister said, “As long as we live, let’s strive for those fundamental principles that make an Omega man a man after God.” Left to right: Dr. David Marion; Grand Basilieus of Omega Psi Phi, Student Minister Tony Muhammad, Don Enoch Muhammad and Dr. Mark Stevens; Grand Council Member of Omega Psi Phi. Photo: Twitter

Social media lit up in early February as the official Twitter account of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan showed the Nation of Islam leader wearing purple and gold and saying, “Thank you to my brothers of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. for presenting me with an Honorary Membership. As long as we live, let’s strive for those fundamental principles that make an Omega man a man after God.”

The Feb. 2 post included photos with officials of Omega Psi Phi and Muslims Don Enoch Muhammad, an aide to the Minister and Tony Muhammad, the Western Regional student minister for the Nation of Islam. Both are members of Omega Psi Phi.

While attending Winston-Salem Teachers College in 1951, the young man from Boston began pledging the fraternity. But he was blackballed and not inducted after complaining about professors sleeping with coeds. “Because I was then, a smaller version of what I am now,” said Min. Farrakhan. “A lot of people are not comfortable with me. A lot of people will talk to me behind the door, but don’t want to be seen with me in the public because there are forces in this country and in this world that I have to speak truth against, even if it costs me my life and friendship.”

He eventually left college to marry the love of his life, Mother Khadijah Farrakhan, and both joined the Nation of Islam. He was eventually named National Representative of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad and with the departure of his teacher in 1975, the Minister started to rebuild the Nation around 1977.

According to Don Enoch Muhammad, the Minister was inducted as a full lifetime member of the fraternity. Twenty brothers of the Nation of Islam who are members of Omega Psi Phi gladly paid for the lifetime membership dues and fees for Min. Farrakhan.

In 2017, fraternity leaders welcomed the Minister to its national headquarters outside of Atlanta, where he was presented with the prestigious “Lifetime Achievement Award.” He was also given a purple and gold Founders Robe. This represented the first time in the history of the organization such an honor was bestowed. Minister Farrakhan said he would cherish the robe. He referenced David the Psalmist in the Bible, stating, “The law of God is a lamp under my feet. I dwell on that law night and day. This is what Omega men should always strive for, manhood in the face of an enemy who kills men who stand up. It is better to die standing up than bowing down to your enemy. That’s an Omega man.”

“Uprightness is one of the founding principles. Can you stand to walk with a man that strives to walk upright?” he asked.

In 2011, the Minister received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Chicago area metropolitan chapters of Omega Psi Phi. That night the Minister said the men of Omega Psi Phi should not be sending their children off to college only to come out begging for jobs from someone else, when the men of the fraternity could create jobs and industry with the knowledge and connections they have gained during the 100-year history of the organization.

“We’ve got to grow up and stop being consumers and start being producers of what we consume,” said Minister Farrakhan. “We should walk kind of heavy on this earth because nobody paid a price like you and I paid.

“For us to be standing in line looking for handouts when we built the country and made America rich, think about it! They owe us big time, but we’re not in any position to take it, but … they like seeing their face on green. America is for sale. How much of it do we own?” asked Minister Farrakhan holding up U.S. currency.

Omega Psi Phi Fraternity was founded in 1911 at Howard University in Washington, D.C. by three students. Today, Omega Psi Phi has over 700 chapters throughout the United States, Bermuda, Bahamas, Korea, Japan, Liberia, Germany, and Kuwait. There are many notable Omega men recognized as leaders in the arts, athletics, business, civil rights, education, government, and science at the local, national and international level.

Congratulations to Min. Farrakhan and the brothers of Omega Psi Phi!

The Final Call