‘Making Our Community A Decent Place To Live’ Day

By Kenetta Muhammad | Last updated: Mar 30, 2016 - 9:52:26 AM

Over 160 volunteers from 30 organizations worked in beautifying an area of Atlanta known as “The Bluff” on March 18 with paint and other supplies and equipment donated by Home Depot of Southwest Atlanta. Photos: Rashad Muhammad

ATLANTA—The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan of the Nation of Islam, said, “We have to make our own community a decent place to live and make it safe and habitable for our people.” He was referring to the work that needs to be done in the Black community to “get rid of the bloodsuckers and stop the fratricidal conflict” and ultimately unite to do for ourselves.

Minister Farrakhan also asked, “What are we doing, other than reading and talking, to make our community a decent place to live?”

Student Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque No. 15 and Reverend Timothy McDonald are striving to get 10,000 Fearless Men & Women to help in that mission and with the establishment of the 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South, that question was answered in Atlanta.

These two religious leaders have been able to go into the English Avenue Community, commonly known as “The Bluff,” to help change the condition of the people and the community. “The Bluff” is considered the area with the highest crime rate in the state of Georgia.

In 2005, Student Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad established People United For Change Inc., which now partners with 10,000 Fearless Men & Women to bring free resources to the community at the facility housed at 801 Joseph E. Boone Blvd., in Atlanta.

People United For Change Inc., Home Depot, 10,000 Fearless Men & Women of the South, Muhammad Mosque No. 15, the Atlanta LOC for Justice or Else! and Sankofa United Church of Christ, under the leadership of Reverend Derrick Rice, united to create “Making Our Community a Decent Place to Live” March 18 in “The Bluff”. This movement started by simply following the instructions of Minister Farrakhan: People United for Change and the 10,000 Fearless Men & Women of the South moved into the community together and started to help fix up houses on the block. They started beautification of the neighborhood by painting the houses, improving landscaping and even fixing sides of houses.

Under instructions from Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad, Karriemah Muhammad started to go from hardware stores to paint stores asking for donations to help do work in the community and fix up houses.

Karriemah Muhammad visited Home Depot in Southwest Atlanta and started telling store manager Jeff Stallings about the work being done in the community. The initial request was just for paint to be donated, but Mr. Stallings had something else in mind. He told Karriemah Muhammad he would like to do more than just donate paint. After doing a site visit, Home Depot agreed to donate all supplies to be used March 18 to help repair and improve homes near the 10,000 Fearless Men & Women Headquarters of the South.

Student Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad, Southern Regional Representative of the Nation of Islam and Minister Louis Farrakhan, has worked diligently with Muslims, Christians and others, to make “The Bluff” a safe and beautiful area to live for the community.

The effort consisted of painting houses, fixing roofs, putting up new fences, picking up trash in a 2-mile radius, landscaping and creating a peace garden for local residents, especially veterans, to have a peaceful place to come and relax. One of the residents, whose home was repaired, “Mother Odessa,” said, “The work that you all are doing is marvelous and is what our community needs. I prayed to God and asked for help with my house and then you all came. This is a great work that you all are doing.” On that day the activities started at 8 a.m. Over 160 volunteers came from 30 organizations and helped throughout the day. It was really a great day, as the supplies came in the volunteers went to work, as young as four years old and up, everyone helped out.

Young brothers painting.

The Atlanta LOC sponsored food and Wellcare donated water so volunteers could eat for free throughout the day. At one point, Vaughn Muhammad (aka DJ Rockwell) took out his equipment and started playing music as everyone enjoyed themselves. The Vanguard drill team of Muhammad Mosque No. 15 performed for the community. The day ended with a live broadcast from the porch of a home as WAOK 1380 radio show host Derrick Boazman interviewed Student Minister Sharrieff, Reverend McDonald and those involved in making the event possible. The day was very peaceful and a great example of love and unity.

This project is just the beginning as Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad and Reverend McDonald plan to start a program that will go block to block finding out what residents need to restore their homes and then repairing homes for free with the help of volunteers. This is just a great example of when we follow the divine instructions of Min. Farrakhan, there are blessings stored up waiting for us, but doing the work of serving our people comes first. The key to the work that the 10,000 Fearless Men & Women of the South are doing is Love & Unity, we must want for our brother and sister, what we want for ourselves. In the Holy Bible, it reads in Matthew 25:40 (KJV), “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

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