From humble beginnings in the basement of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s south Chicago home, The Final Call newspaper has emerged as America’s most widely circulated Black-owned-and-operated newspaper that also enjoys a healthy international distribution.

Founded and personally financed by the Min. Farrakhan, the paper was launched on the faith and power of the message of his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

The entire first edition of the paper, except for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s editorial and presentation of "The Muslim Program" was written by Min. Farrakhan. Members of his family and others designed the layout, did the typesetting and copy editing and assisted in the research.

The emergence of The Final Call, just two years into Min. Farrakhan’s rebuilding effort of the Nation of Islam, sent a message to the community and the world about his serious dedication to see the message of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad rebirthed.

The paper, dedicated to the resurrection of the Black man and woman, emerged with its first headline, "The Ultimate Challenge: The Survival of the Black Nation."

"In 1972, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad spoke with Minister Louis Farrakhan and said, ‘Brother, I don’t like to talk about this because it gives me great pain, but the Nation is going to take a dive for the second time,’ " The Final Call stated in a page 3 editorial.

"When the Messenger saw the pain in Minister Farrakhan’s face, He comforted him by saying, ‘But don’t worry, Brother. It will be rebuilt, and it will never fall again.’ It was from time to time that He kept saying to Minister Farrakhan, ‘Go exactly as you see me go and do exactly as you see me do. Now, Brother, you can preach this word as strongly as you see me preach it. But, you must go according to the way I go … meaning that you must practice righteousness or they (the enemy) will piece you in two.’

"In rebuilding the Nation of Islam, it is incumbent upon us to retrace the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s steps," the paper noted. "The first newspaper that the Messenger produced was in 1934 after His Teacher Master Fard Muhammad had left Him with the Mission. The name of that paper was The Final Call To Islam.

"One day, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said to the Minister, ‘Brother, if there were any sign or symbol that I would choose to represent my work it would be the trumpet ... for the trumpet is the sign of the resurrection of the dead,’ " the paper continued.

"So, as He began, we begin! THE FINAL CALL is a monthly message published by people dedicated to the resurrection of the Black man and woman of America and the world. …"

In addition to publishing the Muslim Program on the back page of the paper, at the very bottom of the page, in large bold type, Minister Farrakhan prophetically wrote, "HE LIVES."

Meanwhile, the Hon. Elijah Muhammad’s editorial in this historic first edition was "A United Black Front in America," which originally was released in 1965. The editorial was reprinted, it was explained, for its timeliness to the contemporary period.

A special feature, the "Ten Black Commandments: Principles for Survival," was added by Minister Godfrey X Patterson, the editor and a graduate student of theology at Howard University, which was based upon his perception of Min. Farrakhan’s remarks in his first national address, November 19, 1978, in Chicago.

The paper had a total of 16 pages. This same speech was also reprinted in an edited version as it was the bulk of the print copy of the first edition.

This important speech was a virtual road map describing Minister Farrakhan’s motivations, intentions and plans for rebuilding the Nation of Islam. "If we are going to talk about the Ultimate Challenge of the Black Community," Minister Farrakhan explained, "we must recognize that we are not going to survive until and unless we, as Black people, accept righteous principles which will bring us together as real brothers and sisters."

Meanwhile, The Final Call’s next edition carried 20 pages. Its price increased to $1.00 and subscriptions were advertised, 12 issues for $10.00.

Graphic illustrations and editorial cartoons began to enhance the cover and inside pages of the paper in ways it had not experienced previously. In the second edition, the headline read, "Why?" and displayed an editorial cartoon of a Black man crucified on a cross which was superimposed on the top of a map of the United States filled with a sea of Black faces.

The Hon. Elijah Muhammad’s article, "The Resurrection, The Rise," was coupled with Minister Farrakhan’s message, "The Crucifixion of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam."

On page 15, The Final Call published six pages of declassified material by the FBI describing its counterintelligence program on "Black Nationalists—Hate Groups Racial Intelligence (Nation of Islam)." The Muslim Program appeared again on the back page with the following headline printed on the bottom of the page, "HE IS RISEN."

"Remember ... I will be the Winner Living or Dead" was the headline on the third edition which again carried 20 pages for the price of $1.00.

Minister Farrakhan’s edited remarks again were the bulk of print copy featured in the paper and was excerpted from his "Second National Address to an Oppressed People," which was delivered on October 7, 1979, at the Medinah Temple." His speech was subtitled, "A Tribute to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad—The Ultimate Challenge: The Survival of the Black Nation, Part 2," and approximately 3,000 attended, The Final Call reported.

The fourth edition carried a warning, "Black Man: Do For Self Or Suffer The Consequences," and featured Minister Farrakhan’s editorial of the same name. Also, the Hon. Elijah Muhammad’s editorial, "The Black Man: His Duty," first published in May 1970, was carried as the paper’s centerfold. Most importantly, the editorial was described as being "still relevant today and tomorrow. We feel that the impact of His words support the vital need for the unification and survival of the Black Nation." With the publication of this timely editorial, The Final Call, declared its hope that such a message would take root because it is absolutely necessary to "Resurrect the Nation."

With the publication of the fourth edition, the paper began to include writers other than members of the Nation of Islam. Haki Madhubuti, the distinguished writer, educator and freedom fighter, introduced his column "Culture and Consciousness." Lu Palmer, the legendary Black journalist, wrote, "The Dawn of a New Day," and attorney Legrand Clegg II offered "Muslim Scholar Challenges Racist On Theory of Genetics."

Black women, a central component of the Minister Farrakhan’s rebuilding effort, were represented by Roberta Muhammad’s contribution, "The Resurrection."

By 1981, a special Saviour’s Day edition was published carrying the headline, "The Rebirth of a Nation," and subtitled, "A Saviour is Born for the Black Man and Woman of America." This historic paper featured minister Farrakhan’s edited remarks from the Nation of Islam’s first Saviour’s Day address during the so_called "Second Resurrection."

"How, then, can the Nation of Islam," Minister Farrakhan explained, "in its rebirth, be an exclusive group which is only concerned with itself, when we are able to stand today because we were embraced by the totality of the Black community? The Nation of Islam is not an exclusive order. It is inclusive of every Black man, woman, and child in America and throughout the world."

As Volume two emerged, the editorial mantle of leadership passed from Minister Godfrey X Patterson to Askia Muhammad, who was the Hon. Elijah Muhammad’s first Muslim editor of the legendary Muhammad Speaks newspaper.

By 1982, The Final Call emerged from its basement office in the home of Minister Farrakhan to its new home on West 79th Street. Christened "The Final Call Administration Building," Minister Farrakhan opened headquarters on Sept. 12, 1982.

"Our home," Bro. Askia wrote at the time, "is a beautiful place, worthy of being declared as a witness of our faith in Messenger Muhammad’s word alone (without His money, without His direct intercession in our behalf, without His physical presence among us). After 60 long/short months we have our first home in His Name …".

The A. Wali Muhammad Years

Islam, in the early 1980s, began to spread like "wild fire." Numerous laborers of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad began to join on to Min. Farrakhan’s rebuilding effort. One of the major ministers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, John Shabazz, now known as Min. Abdul Allah Muhammad, returned to the Nation of Islam in Atlanta and quickly rose in the ranks to become southern regional representative and later by 1983, he assumed the reigns of editor-in-chief of The Final Call.

Given Min. Abdul Allah’s formal education in journalism from the historic Howard University, he brought a new level of professionalism to The Final Call and kept the publication steady for several years under his leadership. Assisting Min. Abdul Allah was Min. Abdul Wali Muhammad (1954-1991), who had just arrived at the Nation of Islam’s Chicago headquarters in 1982.

Minister Abdul Wali Muhammad assumed the post of editor-in-chief in 1984 and introduced a higher level of technology to The Final Call, particularly utilizing personal computers to automate every department, and utilizing state-of-the-art equipment in the production department.

Because Min. Farrakhan’s media outreach extended chiefly through the newspaper, Bro. Wali made The Final Call the tie that bound Black America together. Indeed, circulation greatly increased during his years at the helm. The Final Call’s coverage of Min. Farrakhan—who was then a major media topic and would become even moreso—was crucial in bringing clarity and truth to the distortions in the mainstream media about his message for years to come.

In an historic meeting at the home of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in Chicago, in the late summer of 1983, an accord was reached between Imam W. Deen Mohammed (president and leader of the American Muslim Mission) and Minister Louis Farrakhan (National Representative of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam), which is intended to promote a peaceful respect between the two men and the following each represents," The Final Call reported. In contrast, white owned and operated media ignored the story.

Moreover, the two esteemed leaders issued a joint statement, published simultaneously in each community’s newspaper: "Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, president and leader of the American Muslim Mission, and Minister Louis Farrakhan, National Representative of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, have met and have come to an agreement. They are concerned that between the followers on both sides, there should be no hostilities.

"Both of us," the statement continued, "have a real interest in protecting the image of Muslims and keeping that image in a favorable light. "Because of their mutual love for Islam and for the maintenance of peace between their communities, both have agreed to future meetings," the statement said.

That same year, The Final Call covered Minister Farrakhan’s address at the 20th anniversary of the ’63 March on Washington. The inclusion of Minister Farrakhan—along with activists from the women’s rights arena and others—made this march of 250,000 not only different but also historic. Even The Washington Post and Boston Globe, a week later, had to admit that Min. Farrakhan’s brief remarks were the highlight of the event.

On the occasion of the 86th birthday of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, a "Tribute to Muhammad" was convened at the Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Operation PUSH headquarters in Chicago, The Final Call reported.

Rev. Jackson, the civil rights leader, in November 1983, announced his candidacy for the president of the United States as a Democrat and also announced that Min. Farrakhan was a member of the campaign steering committee, The Final Call reported.

In another history-making first, Min. Farrakhan became a lifetime member of the N.A.A.C.P. and delivered the keynote address during the civil rights organization’s annual gala in the same month that Rev. Jackson announced his candidacy for president of the United States.

World events, The Final Call reported in December 1983, would see the "dynamic duo"—the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Min. Farrakhan—in addition to other clergy travel to Damascus, Syria, to negotiate and ultimately win the release of downed Black American pilot Robert Goodman.

After a successful foreign policy victory, Rev. Jackson, Min. Farrakhan and clergy attended a White House briefing with President Ronald Reagan, Vice President George Bush and other officials to announce the return home of Lieut. Robert Goodman, The Final Call reported.

Min. Farrakhan in February 1984, according to the paper, registered to vote as his family, Rev. Jackson, and the press recorded the moment. Political coverage in The Final Call increased under Bro. Wali, as the Nation of Islam held a rally in support Rev. Jackson’s campaign at Chicago’s Richard L. Jones Armory. More than 10,000 people attended. In the recent aftermath of the firebombing of Rev. Jackson’s California political office, Min. Farrakhan, at the same rally, warned potential assassins of the presidential candidate to beware of the wrath of God.

Saviours’ Day 1984, the Nation of Islam’s annual February convention, also received expanded coverage in The Final Call. At the February convention, a dramatic interfaith conference was convened. More than 10,000 people attended Min. Louis Farrakhan’s keynote speech, "Unity A Weapon More Powerful Than Nuclear Bombs."

Chicago’s first elected Black mayor, Harold Washington, issued a letter and proclamation in support of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam that was published in The Final Call.

During the Jackson presidential campaign’s media scandal involving the candidate’s alleged usage of the word "Hymietown," The Final Call was one of the few newspapers to explain what this episode meant to Black America and the rest of the country.

As Minister Farrakhan’s defense of Rev. Jackson’s comment was receiving a tumult of assaults from every corner, The Final Call’s coverage of the National Representative’s first press conference since 1972 was an historic occasion. In April 1984, Min. Farrakhan blasted the white press for portraying his criticism of Washington Post reporter Milton Coleman, who allegedly leaked to another reporter Rev. Jackson’s private remarks, as a death threat.

Further, Min. Farrakhan raised the issue of journalistic ethics in connection with a reporter’s integrity to publish off-the-record comments of public figures and the white media’s poor practices of hiring and promoting Blacks.

Even so, the white-owned-and-operated media kept the controversy raging—to distract Blacks from focusing on Rev. Jackson’s candidacy—when Min. Farrakhan’s remarks concerning Adolf Hitler as "wickedly great" (as the Bible refers to Babylon "the Great" has fallen) were taken totally out of context.

Without the accurate reporting found in The Final Call, all of these major white owned media snafus would have carried the day, analysts suggested.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Senate voted 95-0 to censure Min. Farrakhan and Vice President Walter Mondale called for Rev. Jackson to repudiate Min. Farrakhan. Rev. Jackson ultimately repudiated Min. Farrakhan to keep his campaign alive and to later deliver the most watched televised presidential campaign speech at the Democratic Convention.

In September of 1984, The Final Call gave exclusive history making coverage of Min. Farrakhan’s participation in Libya’s 15th Anniversary Celebration of the First of September Revolution. "War Is Coming," was the title of his keynote address, and he discussed his ideas in the foreign policy arena.

On the home front in the autumn of 1984, The Final Call reported on an important conference which included Min. Farrakhan, Imari Obadele, President of the Republic of New Afrika, and Prince Asiel Ben Israel who came together under the rubric, "Conference Toward Assuring a Black Tomorrow" at Philadelphia’s Temple University. The three leaders of liberation movements pledged to work to prevent Black people from ever again dying in overseas conflicts on behalf of imperialistic powers like the United States, The Final Call reported.

POWER … at last

Min. Farrakhan in January 1985 launched People Organized and Working for Economic Rebirth (POWER) from Detroit as "a mass movement for economic rebirth of Black people into our former industrial and commercial greatness."

In February 1985, Minister Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam convened International Saviours’ Day at the Richard L. Jones Armory in Chicago, The Final Call reported. "POWER, AT LAST ... FOREVER!" was the theme as he called "the entire Black nation to economic rebirth."

The convention highlights included the remarks of Algeria’s freedom fighter, Ahmed Ben Bella and Ghana’s head of state Flight Lieut. Jerry John Rawlings and Col. Muammar Ghadafi of Libya, who addressed the convention via satellite. In Col. Ghadafi’s remarks, he congratulated Min. Farrakhan for his work and affirmed that Black people should no longer be under the yoke of oppression. As an aid to their cause, he offered that Black people’s current state of condition merited their moving toward armed struggle with the powers that be and his country would help if asked.

In response to Col. Ghadafi’s offer of weapons, on Feb. 28, 1985, Min. Farrakhan held another press conference in Washington, D.C. He thanked Col. Ghadafi for participating in the Saviours’ Day Convention, The Final Call reported, and Min. Farrakhan politely rejected the offer of arms. "Economic power leads to political empowerment which will give us strength to help restructure the foreign and domestic policies of the United States," he said.

On May 1, 1985, Min. Farrakhan held another press conference in Washington, D.C., The Final Call reported, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he disclosed that Bro. Ghadafi and the Libyan Arab Republic had given the Nation of Islam a $5 million interest-free loan, which was used to launch the POWER program.

Hajj, a pillar Islam, was the focus of Min. Farrakhan and his delegation’s pilgrimage to Mecca in August 1985.

In another great spiritual and religious moment in the Nation of Islam’s history, The Final Call reported on Min. Farrakhan’s September travels to a little village in Mexico where he experienced a vision of the U.S. President’s foreign and domestic policies that wage war on a small Muslim nation. In the vision, he received guidance to expose this genocidal plot before it occurs.

In October 1985, Min. Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam convened its first October Saviours’ Day. This was described as a celebration of the birth of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and marked the beginning of Phase 2 of the Nation of Islam’s rebuilding effort in the area of economic development as over 30,000 attended.

Min. Farrakhan delivered his final address in early February 1986 before departing on an international speaking tour. From the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., he issued a rebuke to President Reagan for imposing an executive order that virtually cut off Libya from the rest of the world. He also denounced the president’s re-deployment of the American Sixth Fleet into the Gulf of Sidra off the coast of Libya causing a provocative situation to arise.

In another great spiritual moment in the Nation of Islam’s history during the month of Ramadan from the United Arab Emirates, Min. Farrakhan addressed the Nation of Islam via telephone conference call. In his remarks, he said the Nation of Islam would participate in the fast of Ramadan in the Holy Month of Ramadan as well as the Nation of Islam’s traditional fast in December. He said that fasting strengthens discipline and is a prescription for the ills of society.

Upon his return in June 1986, with all of the threats by President Reagan and media frenzy around his trip to Libya (the government had banned travel to Libya), Min. Farrakhan introduced from Chicago the Nation of Islam’s line of personal care POWER products and he denounced America’s foreign policy that attempted to deny believers in the faith of Islam from meeting and discussing religious topics in countries that the State Department does not like, The Final Call reported.

"I didn’t defy the President’s ban," Min. Farrakhan declared. "I respect the President’s right to issue an executive order. He has that right, but he must exercise that right on the basis of truth and justice and not use lies and deceit to rob the American people of their constitutional right to travel, and I submit to you that the President used lies and deceit to rob, not Farrakhan, but the American people of their right to travel where they want to go in the world."

In 1986, Min. Farrakhan introduced a series of study guides and lectures called "Self Improvement—The Basis for Community Development." Also, Min. Farrakhan and Imam W. Deen Mohammed shared the dais in "A Tribute to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad" at the Pavilion at the University of Illinois at Chicago, The Final Call reported in October 1986.

"For the first time in the history of the Nation of Islam in the West, Muslim followers of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad under the guidance of Minister Louis Farrakhan, began observance of the Friday prayer service, known as Jummu’ah," The Final Call noted in May 1987.

Later that summer, Nation of Islam members collected more than 50,000 signatures, declaring that indeed Min. Farrakhan would speak at the Los Angeles Convention Center despite the City Council’s resolution 85-1662 claiming that his message is a not a message for Los Angeles.

Min. Farrakhan, Rev. Al Sharpton and other Black leaders attended a rally in defense of Tawana Brawley who was allegedly raped in a small upstate New York town, The Final Call reported in late 1987.

In January 1988, the Nation of Islam under the leadership of Min. Farrakhan came into an agreement with the American Muslim Mission under the leadership of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed to re-purchase the headquarters mosque and school for $2.175 million, The Final Call reported.

A squad of bold and daring Muslims totally removed open air drug sales from a crime ridden neighborhood of Washington, D.C., while TV news casters recorded their efforts on videotape, The Final Call reported in April 1988. "After various meetings with residents and management, the brothers came to Mayfair (Mansions), began to clean up a third story apartment provided by management, and patrolled the grounds with a regular presence," Richard Muhammad remembered. "The eyes of the nation were focused on the former drug hot spot when a skirmish developed after a non-resident was asked to leave and responded by pulling (out) a sawed-off shotgun." In the ensuing melee, "the aggressor was disarmed" and a TV news crew was also mistakenly roughed up, Supreme Captain Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad remembered.

A Muslim-owned security firm, The Dopebusters, was birthed from the incident, a firm that brought peace to many troubled areas across the country but was set upon for destruction by the government and members of the Jewish community.

On the political scene, in the summer of 1988, from Atlanta’s Wheat Street Baptist Church, Min. Farrakhan announced the "Black Agenda" during the Democratic Party’s convention across town.

Saviours’ Day in October 1988, described as "The Overwhelming Event," would see the Nation of Islam back on the grounds of the headquarter’s mosque on Stony Island Avenue in Chicago. "Over 12,000 people gathered under the tent on the grounds of the National Center of the Nation of Islam to hear Minister Louis Farrakhan’s Saviours’ Day address," The Final Call reported in October.

Min. Farrakhan formally dedicated the repurchased and renovated mosque during the February 1989 Saviours’ Day convention on the grounds of the religious institution, The Final Call reported in February 1989.

In August 1989, at a rally in Washington, D.C., Min. Farrakhan defended Black former federal judge Alcee Hastings, who was undergoing Senate impeachment hearings at the time.

In keeping with a vision he had in 1985 in Mexico, Min. Farrakhan held a major press conference in Washington, D.C., in October 1989 to warn the country that the war the U.S. planned against a small nation was the Nation of Islam and Black youth (check this!!!!).

Oliver X Beasley was killed as a result of police brutality in Los Angeles, The Final Call reported in January 1990. Bro. Oliver X became the first Muslim to die for the cause of Islam in the rebuilding effort under Minister Farrakhan. Over 17,000 people attended a rally for justice for Bro. Oliver at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, The Final Call reported in Feb. 1990.

Min. Farrakhan, in February 1990, accepted invitations for an interview with the editorial board of The Washington Times and on the next day with The Washington Post. The Post published his complete interview as well as a front page news story on the event.

Min. Farrakhan made the case for reparations to the Black community in his address to 19,000 at Atlanta’s Omni in April 1990.

In a historic first, Minister and Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad, national spokesman for Min. Farrakhan, ran for the Fifth Congressional District in Prince George’s County, Maryland; Attorney George X Cure, now known as Abdul Arif Muhammad, ran for the District of Columbia’s non-voting delegate’s seat; and Shawn X Brakeen, now known as Shawn Muhammad, ran for the D.C. School Board’s at-large seat, The Final Call reported in May 1990.

In June 1990, the Minister was denied a seat in the gallery to witness the trial of D.C.’s Mayor Marion Barry on federal drug charges in U.S. District Court. In mid-July, he joined Effi Barry, then-wife of Mayor Barry, at the trial proceedings that he had been previously barred from attending, The Final Call reported.

After a leading civil rights organization and an attorney for Min. Farrakhan appealed the judge’s decision to bar the Islamic leader from attending the trial to the next highest court, in a 2-1 decision, Judge Clarence Thomas delivered the deciding appellate court opinion ruling in favor of Min. Farrakhan’s right to attend the trial.

Min. Farrakhan addressed the conference of North American Masajid in Chicago, embraced by Imams W.D. Mohammed and Sirraj Wahaj. Min. Farrakhan called it one of his most important addresses, The Final Call reported in September 1990.

In the summer of 1991, Minister Farrakhan authorized a historic fact-finding tour to Kenya to investigate the reported success of a low dose alpha interferon treatment sold under the brand name, KEMRON, IMMUNEX or IMMUVIRON. He dispatched Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad and Editor-in-Chief Abdul Wali Muhammad to Africa to investigate the progress of a potential treatment for the dreaded AIDS disease.

Meanwhile, Bermuda, a British Commonwealth country, lifted its ban on Min. Farrakhan in the autumn of 1991 which prevented him from visiting the island in the Atlantic Ocean, The Final Call reported, even as a ban remained in place prohibiting him from visiting England.

The year ended with the passing of The Final Call’s editor-in-chief, Min. Abdul Wali Muhammad, at the age of 37 on Dec. 26, 1991. "The Nation mourns the passing of one of its brightest stars, Minister Abdul Wali Muhammad," Min. Farrakhan said. "His brilliant mind reflected in his speech and in his pen will be greatly missed among us. I personally have lost a brother, a companion, a friend and a son in the most difficult of all endeavors, the transformation of the lives of our people here and throughout the world. I thank Allah (God) for the privilege and honor of having known him. His memory shall be with me to my dying day and his work shall endure in the history of the Nation of Islam."

Indeed, The Final Call’s Abdul Wali Muhammad years were extraordinary to say the least. The Nation of Islam’s rapid rebuilding and popularity was authoritatively captured in the pages of The Final Call. The legacy of Abdul Wali Muhammad lives on and his service to the Nation of Islam, Black people and all people around the world remains the standard by which activist journalism in the ’80s and ’90s was used for the greater good of humanity.

Rise, You Mighty Nation, Rise!

Under the guidance of Min. Farrakhan, Bro. Wali’s assistant, James G. Muhammad, would carry the journalistic torch of The Final Call to new heights as he assumed the post of editor-in-chief in January 1992.

As attacks on Min. Farrakhan, particularly from some segments of the Jewish community persisted relentlessly and a debate raged about Jewish involvement in the slave trade, the Nation of Islam released "The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews," a 334 page book which detailed the Jewish involvement in the transportation and sale of African slaves in the Caribbean and Americas, The Final Call reported in May 1992.

The life and work of Abdul Wazir Muhammad, national accountant of the Nation of Islam and human rights activists, was saluted in memorial services held at Mosque Maryam and officiated by Min. Farrakhan, Richard Muhammad, managing editor of The Final Call reported in August 1992. "Brother Wazir was not cheated though he lived 45 years on this earth. He saw and experienced what all of the prophets saw and experienced. ... He was privileged to know of God and of the Prophets," Min. Farrakhan said.

Min. Farrakhan and numerous supporters paid homage to the late editor-in-chief, Abdul Wali Muhammad, by erecting a new street sign that carried the new honorary name of Chicago’s W. 79th Street in favor of "Abdul Wali Muhammad Avenue." "Don’t put up monuments but live the life he lived, "Min. Farrakhan advised. "Make The Final Call newspaper the most widely read paper in the world! That’s what his life was all about," The Final Call reported in August 1992.

Sixty-thousand people came to the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for Minister Farrakhan’s historic October Saviours’ Day address, "A Torchlight for America." More people came to hear Min. Farrakhan speak than those who came to attend the baseball World Series game being played across town, The Final Call reported.

In an open letter to the newly elected president, Bill Clinton, published in The Final Call in February 1993, Min. Farrakhan offered his thoughts on what the new head of state should do. "As I watched your inauguration," he said, "I thought, never in my years of watching inaugurations has there been one so filled with joy, hope and the high expectation of the broad mass of the American people that you and your administration will be able to turn this great ship of state in the right direction and fit her for the new world order, that is not designed by the old world rulers, but according to the Will and Desire of Allah (God) spoken through the mouths of His Prophets."

"As I listened to your words," he continued, "and saw the tremendous support that you have, it is clear to me that if any person could effect a meaningful change for this Nation and world, it is you. You are faced with the awesome tasks and responsibility of saving this Nation from repeating the history of the ruin of Sister Nations that have gone before America: Ancient Egypt, Rome, Babylon and Sodom and Gomorra. All of the evils that brought these nations and cities to ruin are present in America. However, also present is Divine Guidance that could perhaps save this Nation from repeating past history.

"In order to do this, you, Mr. President, must be imbued with extraordinary strength to resist the pressure coming from forces within and without the government. These forces would hold you to failed policies and programs of the past and veil your vision of America for today and tomorrow. …"

Malcolm X controversy

At the University of Illinois Pavilion, where Min. Farrakhan had invited the world to tune in via satellite, he delved into the subject "The Honorable Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X—28 Years Later—What Really Happened?’ before 10,000 anxious onlookers," The Final Call reported in February 1993.

The domestic life of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was the centerpiece of the controversy. Min. Farrakhan defended with crystal clarity the divinity of his teacher. Also defending the Messenger’s divinity were four of his wives who spoke publicly for the first time in 30 years. Sisters Tynnetta Muhammad, Evelyn Muhammad, Ola Muhammad and June Muhammad made a few brief remarks.

On the cultural front in April 1993, the Minister performed at the Reynolds Auditorium in Winston-Salem, N.C., on a program entitled, "Gateways: Classical Music and the Black Musician." The New York Times gave him rave reviews for his performance of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto and noted that he had not touched the instrument in more than 40 years, demonstrating that if a person sets his or her mind to do something it can be achieved. The esteemed Black conductor from Washington, D.C., Michael Morgan, conducted the orchestra.

Min. Farrakhan released his book in May 1993, "A Torchlight for America," from the prestigious National Press Club (NPC) in Washington, D.C., as a guest of the Capital Press Club, the country’s oldest Black association of journalists. "He said that unless America’s leaders deal honestly and forthrightly with its problems, telling the American people the truth about the gravity of the problems, the country will self-destruct," The Final Call reported.

"On this my 60th birthday," Min. Farrakhan explained in The Final Call in May 1993, as he performed Mendelssohn during a major follow-up concert to his Winston-Salem "tune-up" appearance, "I desire for us to use the universal language of music to help us to rise above the fray that has been created by the usage of words. Therefore, this concert will be held in a Christian Church, Christ Universal Temple, hosted by Rev. Dr. Johnnie Coleman.

"The music will be performed by those of three faiths: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Hopefully, the music will lift us above divisiveness and produce a bridge upon which we can meet to form the basis of a New Beginning," the paper reported. The occasion presented an opportunity for dialogue between Min. Farrakhan and members of the Jewish community. In the foreign policy arena, Min. Farrakhan journeyed to Libreville, Gabon, to participate in Rev. Leon Sullivan’s Second African-African American Summit, The Final Call reported in May 1993. The Summit gathered together more than 40 representatives from African nations including 11 heads of state and many prominent Black American leaders. In Gabon, the Black American leaders vowed to work in unity in America.

A visit by South African hero Nelson Mandela brought Min. Farrakhan, Rev. Jackson, Imam W.D. Mohamed and Chicago’s Mayor Richard M. Daley to the same platform to welcome the esteemed leader to the city, The Final Call reported in July 1993.

Let my people go!

At the 30th anniversary of the March on Washington, several months after their pledge in Gabon, the civil rights establishment invited Min. Farrakhan to speak as they had in 1983, The Final Call reported in August 1993. In a shocking turn of events, a collection of civil rights organizations led by Rev. Joseph Lowery, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, received threats of loss of Jewish financial support for the ’93 march if Min. Farrakhan appeared.

Also, The Final Call exposed a secret memo from a leading Jewish civil rights organization addressed to Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the widow of the slain civil rights leader, that advised her to disinvite the leader of the Nation of Islam of which the civil rights establishment later did.

Min. Farrakhan, in an editorial, published in The Final Call in September 1993, stated, "The 30th Anniversary March on Washington will live in my memory as the day that the truth of the lack of strength of Black leadership was made manifest."

Also in September, Min. Farrakhan participated in and addressed, in special session, the prestigious Parliament of World Religions in Chicago. Despite the pressure exerted by some Jewish groups who threatened the conference’s conveners with their withdrawal of financial support and their attendance if the Minister participated in the convention’s activities. Min. Farrakhan’s supporters overcame those obstacles and held one of the event’s most successful and thought provoking sessions, organizers said.

Min. Farrakhan attended the Congressional Black Caucus 23rd Annual Legislative Weekend, The Final Call reported in September 1993. At a Town Meeting broadcast live on national television, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Jesse Jackson, NAACP Executive Director Rev. Ben Chavis, California Rep. Maxine Waters and CBC Chairman, Kweisi Mfume announced the unity of the Black leadership circle.

"Capping the afternoon meeting with a statement symbolic of a healing for the Black community," The Final Call reported, "Rep. Mfume announced: ‘We want the word to go forward today to friend and foe alike that the Congressional Black Caucus, after having entered into a sacred covenant with the N.A.A.C.P. to work for real and meaningful change, will enter into that same covenant with the Nation of Islam. ...’" Out of this meeting, the inspiration for a National African American Leadership Summit was born, analysts suggested.

Min. Farrakhan spoke on "Healing The Wounds" at Saviours’ Day 1993 from Los Angeles, The Final Call reported in October 1993. A temporary victory of sorts was won when 16,000 came to the L.A. Sports Arena and celebrated a truce among street gangs that Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam had inspired.

Back in Chicago, on Oct. 24, 1993, fulfilling a unity pledge, Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis, executive director of the N.A.A.C.P., delivered the Sunday sermon from Mosque Maryam. "Several weeks ago in Washington, D.C., I reached out and shook the hand of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan," Rev. Chavis said. While holding aloft both the Holy Qur’an and Bible, Rev. Chavis said there were forces exerting pressure on the Black community. In particular, he noted that danger was lurking afoot in a veiled attempt at breaking up the gang truce and the unity among the Black leadership, James Muhammad reported.

New York Police, responding to an alleged officer in distress call, attacked Muhammad Mosque No. 7 during Sunday prayer service and were repulsed, The Final Call reported in Jan. 1994.

The New York Post published a story, "Widow of Malcolm X Fingers Farrakhan," which prompted the Nation of Islam to initiate a lawsuit calling for damages in the amount of $4.4 billion. "The New York Post," Ava Muhammad, attorney for the Nation of Islam, stated, "since as early as 1984, has recklessly, and maliciously, printed lies and falsehoods. ... We have determined that that will no longer take place," The Final Call reported in March 1994.

"The Post maliciously, deliberately and unlawfully characterized the language from that interview (with Betty Shabazz) as an accusation that Minister Louis Farrakhan is guilty of the murder of Malcolm X," Min. Ava, a former New York prosecutor, said.

"Mrs. Shabazz’s statements did not characterize Min. Farrakhan as a murderer. We feel she is just as much a victim as we are. The media used her grief and anguish to lead her into making statements that they in turn characterize as murder on the part of Minister Farrakhan," she added.

Min. Farrakhan, from the Fresno, Calif., Hilton Hotel, announced his plan to organize one million Black men to participate in the largest march on Washington on behalf of all the suffering Black women and children in America and around the world, The Final Call reported in March 1994.

History would again grace the leadership mantle of Min. Louis Farrakhan when he and the Nation of Islam participated in the N.A.A.C.P. First Annual African-American Leadership Summit in Baltimore from June 12-14, 1994, The Final Call reported.

Never again!

With more than 100 leaders from nearly every spectrum of the Black community in attendance, the N.A.A.C.P.’s executive director, Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr. called the 3-day conference a significant success story for Black America and the world. He said, "Never again will we allow any external force to the African-American community attempt to dictate who we can meet with, where we can meet and what we’re going to meet about. Never again!"

Min. Farrakhan, in his first international Saviours’ Day convention held in Accra, Ghana, West Africa, urged Africans at home and abroad to become self-sufficient, The Final Call reported in Oct. 1994. His theme, "Fulfilling the Vision of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad," capped three days of celebrations which combined the remembrance of the birth of his mentor, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, 97, and the return of Blacks dispersed to America due to the international slave trade.

Min. Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam reacquired 1,600 acres of farmland once owned by the religious community prior to 1975 in Dawson, Ga., complete with farm implements and a canning factory, The Final Call reported in November 1994.

Qubilah Shabazz, daughter of the late Minister Malcolm X, was indicted in Minnesota for allegedly plotting the death of Min. Farrakhan with a white, Jewish informant and childhood friend as key witness against her. If convicted, she could face 90 years in prison and fines up to $2.25 million, The Final Call reported in January 1995.

The Minister held press conference from Mosque Maryam to rebuke the U.S. Dept. of Justice’s case against Qubilah Shabazz, describing it as ploy to reignite hostilities between the followers of Messenger Elijah Muhammad and the late Minister Malcolm X. He announced the initiation of a letter writing campaign in favor of Qubilah’s immediate release from custody and demanded the Federal government to reopen its files on the assassination of Minister Malcolm X, The Final Call reported.

The new Salaam Restaurant and Bakery complex opened in February 1995 during Saviours’ Day in Chicago, displaying a full-service dining area, take-out and bakery service center, according to The Final Call.

Meanwhile, full-scale open Congressional hearings, in March 1995, initiated by Rep. Peter King (D-N.Y.), began in Washington, D.C., into the hiring practices and federal contracts awarded to housing complexes that hire Muslim-owned-and-operated security companies.

After the victory of getting Qubilah released, Min. Farrakhan and Dr. Betty Shabazz, the widow of Brother Malcolm X, appeared together at Harlem’s Apollo theater at a fund-raiser, "A Call For Justice" in the Qubilah Shabazz affair, The Final Call reported in May 1995. Proceeds went to support the "Betty Shabazz Family Fund." From this meeting an accord of sorts was reached between the two sides and the healing process inside the Black community had begun, analysts reported.

Shabazz family attorney William Kunstler, in an interview with Donald Muhammad, contributing editor to The Final Call, in June 1995, unequivocally exonerated Min. Farrakhan as having had any role whatsoever in the assassination of Malcolm X. According to Kunstler, he had an affidavit from Talmage X Hayer (aka Hagans), in which Hayer exonerated his two co-defendants as well as any other member of the Nation of Islam as having played a role in the assassination. Atty. Kunstler also had a copy of a declassified internal F.B.I. document that stated that they (the F.B.I.) had done a good job in removing the Malcolm X problem.

Min. Farrakhan attended and addressed the Fourth National African American Leadership Summit convened in Texas. The progress of the preparations for the planned Million Man March was at the top of the agenda, The Final Call reported in June 1995.

Historic march in D.C.

Min. Farrakhan and Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis opened the headquarters of the Million Man March in Washington, D.C., in the offices of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, The Final Call reported in July 1995. He announced that the date of October 16 will be the first Holy Day of Atonement and Reconciliation for Black America.

Two million Black men, representing 15 percent of the Black male population, peacefully assembled on the Washington Mall at the steps of the U.S. Capitol Building to hear Minister Farrakhan and 61 other speakers discuss the issues of atonement and reconciliation, among others, in one of the largest gatherings of its kind anywhere in the world. The entire program was broadcast on the Black college satellite channel as well as several white owned cable and non-cable carriers, The Final Call reported in October 1995.

A libel suit, in the amount of $4.4 billion, filed by the Min. Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam against The New York Post was dismissed by the New York State Supreme Court that said no proof of malice was demonstrated by the newspaper’s story alleging that the Islamic leader was a part of a conspiracy to assassinate Brother Malcolm X in 1965, The Final Call reported in December 1995.

Min. Farrakhan and a delegation of 28 distinguished Black Americans departed on a 16-country "World Friendship Tour I" carrying their primary goal of spreading the message of the Million Man March abroad to 23 countries. Their first stop was in Ghana where they held meetings with President Jerry John Rawlings and others, The Final Call reported in January 1996.

Meanwhile, the all-Black National Newspaper Publisher’s Association (NNPA) named Minister Farrakhan Man of the Year for 1995. Bill Reed, executive director of the N.N.P.A. said, among other things, that Minister Farrakhan’s overwhelming success in convening the Million Man March was the prime factor in his selection, The Final Call reported in Jan. 1996.

On the tour, Min. Farrakhan and President Nelson Mandela, met eye-to-eye in the presidential residence in Johannesburg, South Africa, The Final Call reported in January 1996.

During Ramadan, Minister Farrakhan and Muslims in his tour delegation completed umrah in the Holy City of Mecca. They also met with the country’s religious and political leaders, The Final Call reported in Feb. 1996.

In Iran during that country’s celebration of its revolution, Min. Farrakhan addressed five million people at a rally and the entire country via television. During the ceremonies, he sat with President Hashemi Rafsanjani, The Final Call reported in February 1996.

In a news release, in February 1996, Rep. Peter King rebuked Min. Farrakhan’s visit to Iran. At King’s behest the International Operations and Human Rights Subcommittee announced it would conduct hearings on the "Farrakhan-Khadafy connection." Mr. King is the author of the Iran Foreign Sanctions Act, H.R. 1541, and he said he would seek to broaden the scope of the inquiry to include Sudan and Iran.

Saviours’ Day 1996, celebrating the 119th birthday of Master Fard Muhammad, began a 4-day convention in Chicago, The Final Call reported in February 1996. Fresh from his tour, Minister Farrakhan delivered keynote Saviours’ Day address to 10,000 from the University of Illinois Pavilion in Chicago while another 10,000 watched via satellite downlink at the Amphitheater, The Final Call reported in February 1996.

On April 16, 1996, The Final Call announced, the newspaper began its weekly publication schedule. "Following the legacy of the Muhammad Speaks newspaper, published by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, we plan to maintain and, in fact, increase our standard of excellence in bringing information to the Black community."

Meanwhile, from Washington, D.C.’s prestigious National Press Club, Min. Farrakhan was awarded the NNPA’s "Newsmaker of the Year Award" on March 14, 1996, The Final Call reported. Also, the June 17 edition of Time magazine named the Honorable Minister one of the top 25 influential people, The Final Call reported in its June 18, 1996 edition.

"The CIA Drug Pipeline: How the U.S. government spread crack cocaine in the Black ghetto," was the cover story headline of The Final Call’s Sept. 3, 1996 edition. While the San Jose Mercury News first broke the story about the CIA’s drug sales to support Nicaraguan contras, it was the coverage to the story in The Final Call that spread it across the country and made it a topic of protest in the Black community.

An interview with "Freeway" Ricky Ross, who allegedly helped to spread CIA-financed crack cocaine sales inside Black America, was a page 2 exclusive in The Final Call’s Sept. 10, 1996 edition.

From Tripoli, Libya, Min. Farrakhan on Aug. 30, 1996, received a prestigious human rights award from North-South 21, a non-governmental organization based in Switzerland. The prize included an award of $250,000 which Min. Farrakhan declined due to the sanctions imposed on Libya by the United States government, The Final Call reported in its September 10, 1996 edition. "Instead of blocking this prize and Brother Muammar Gadhafi from offering me aid that I might help" the homeless, the poor, the jobless and others in need, "America should have matched that promise of her own," Min. Farrakhan declared. It was the beginning of his World Friendship Tour II. During Min. Farrakhan’s tour of South American and Caribbean nations, he held an historic meeting with Cuban President Fidel Castro, The Final Call reported in its September 17, 1996 edition.

At the anniversary of the Million Man March and World Day of Atonement, Min. Farrakhan called for an end to war, murder and violence, The Final Call reported in its cover story of Oct. 22, 1996.

Subsequently, in The Final Call’s Oct. 29, 1996 edition, ran the cover story headline, "Farrakhan warns United Nation, War of Armageddon at your door!" The New York street rally in front the prestigious world body attracted 100,000.

Rapper’s pledge peace

"Peace in the Streets," was the theme of a national summit of Black entertainers convened by Min. Farrakhan in Chicago in an effort to reduce Black on Black homicide, The Final Call reported in its April 15, 1997 edition. In memory of two recently slain Black entertainers, a "Rapper’s Pledge" was published on page 2.

Amidst racial tensions in Philadelphia after a Black woman was attacked by a group of whites, Mayor Ed Rendell invited Min. Farrakhan to come to the city to address the situation, The Final Call reported in its April 22, 1997 edition. The meeting was also seen as breakthrough in Black-Jewish relationships since the mayor is Jewish and Min. Farrakhan is a Muslim who has been attacked by Jews for his views on Israel and racial relations.

"Sister Soldiers, Women’s March Draws 1 million, plus," declared the cover story headline published in The Final Call’s Nov. 4, 1997 edition. "It (the Million Woman March)," Min. Farrakhan explained in his centerfold editorial published in The Final Call’s Nov. 11, 1997 edition, "was a sign that the new millennium will see all women free in every society on this earth."

"Picture perfect beginning for Minister Farrakhan’s World Friendship Tour III," was the page 3 headline of The Final Call’s Dec. 16, 1997 edition. Africa, the Near East, Asia, and the Pacific rim nations were on the list of stops the delegation traveled to, The Final Call reported in his Dec. 30, 1997 edition.

In Palestine, Min. Farrakhan held historic talks with President Yasser Arafat, The Final Call’s Dec. 23, 1997 edition.

"Million youth march toward unity, peace and justice," was the cover story headline of the paper’s Sept. 15, 1998 edition that covered the Million Youth March in New York and the Million Youth Movement in Atlanta.

From Howard University in Washington, D.C., the third anniversary of the Million Man March was held according to The Final Call’s Oct. 13, 1998 edition. "The Healing for a Sin-Sick Nation" was the page 3 headline announcing the convention. In Min. Farrakhan’s address, he admonished President Clinton that atonement would save America and the president’s own legacy.

Impact felt worldwide

Saviours’ Day 1999 quieted the fears of many and silenced the opposition regarding the health and fitness of Min. Farrakhan. In a 3-hour lecture, the Minister defended the founders of the Nation of Islam, The Final Call reported in February. His lecture, titled, "An Apologia" explained his ministry and announced his goals for Black America and all over the world. Spiritual, moral, political, economic and social goals were at the top of his list.

"Controversy erupts over Farrakhan’s health," was the cover story headline of The Final Call’s March 30, 1999 edition. The paper responded to an avalanche of negative publicity stemming from distorted reports about the Black leader’s health.

In a March 19 press conference from Chicago, The Final Call reported the Nation of Islam’s response to the false accusations of the imminent demise of Min. Farrakhan. According to Min. Farrakhan’s physician, Dr. Abdul Alim Muhammad, Min. Farrakhan is resting and has taken a "sabbatical" for the next four months. Min. Farrakhan’s health is fine, he disclosed.

The Final Call’s impact in the world of media has seen a tremendous response from all corners. "By all standards," Sidney and Reva Kobre determined in their book, "A Gallery of Black Journalists Who Advanced Their Race," (1993), "The Final Call is widely accepted to be the standard bearer for all Black newspapers in the world today." The Black press, in the authors’ view, contributed much to the development and progress of the Black people who sought inclusion in America, helping to expand the United States’ democracy.

Mattias Gardell, in his book, "In the Name of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam," (1996) explained that the title of The Final Call has roots in the Holy Qur’an’s Chapter 74 Verse 8. "The Final Call publishes well-written and researched articles relevant to the African American community; further, it is connected with the major news agencies and has an above-average international section," Gardell stated.

Indeed, with such a strong foundation to stand on, James Muhammad, editor-in-chief of The Final Call, in an exclusive interview, disclosed the future of the paper. "Of course, growth, growth, growth! We want our paper to be more subscription based. We want to purchase our own printing press and expand on our Internet web site and other things that we can do over the Internet. We want to build up our staff to make it first-class and to add the additional staff that’s needed in certain cities as well as in the United Nations and establish bureaus in other international hubs. Those are our immediate goals."