Aging

 

Senior citizens in Cuba can be seen doing everything from musical performances, to running a business, and making the most out of retirement. 

HAVANA, CUBA—Aging looks good in this city—from classic cars to 80-year-old men playing the drums. Seniors can be seen doing everything from musical performances, to running a business, and making the most out of retirement.

In spite of the American embargo that has produced economic hardships, humanitarian concerns, and technological limitations, the current life expectancy in Cuba is nearly 80 years compared to 77.5 years in America.

The current life expectancy in Cuba is nearly 80 years compared to 77.5 years in America.

According to the National Office of Statistics and Information in their publication “The Aging of the Population: Cuba and its Territories 2023,” nearly 25 percent of Cubans were aged 60 or older by the end of 2023.

“Everybody has to walk and climb stairs here,” D.C. activist and frequent traveler to Cuba Luci Murphy told The Final Call. “There are not a lot of elevators or escalators. The best way to get around is by walking. That keeps people fit into their 70s, 80s and 90s.

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You still see people working in their 70s, 80s and 90s, and they don’t look 70, 80 or 90. The blockade has kept modern technology out and they haven’t been able to develop their own industry because they’re not able to import some necessary raw materials.”

Cuban culture is big on family and the embargo has forced many young people to leave the island for better opportunities. That leaves many seniors by themselves without traditional cultural familial support.

Helen Cairo Madrazo, a former educator, is now a senior citizen living on a modest monthly allowance. She experienced the revolution as a young girl and has spent her adulthood under the U.S. trade restrictions. Her residence, inherited from her uncle, is a compact space comparable to a college dorm room, featuring just one window.

“It’s difficult being old in Cuba,” she told The Final Call. “Things can be very hard here. People love their families but sanctions are forcing people to leave. Mainly to the USA, but also to Venezuela, Ecuador, Spain, and Mexico.   Some even travel to Russia—anywhere they can find opportunities.”

While young people are leaving, classic cars are there to stay. Glance down any main street in downtown Havana and see a range of classics from a 1957 Chevy Bel Air Convertible to a 1955 Ford Fairlane to Buick Roadmaster or a Cadillac DeVille. It’s a car collector’s paradise.

Before the embargo, Cuba was one of the largest importers of American vehicles, with brands like Chevrolet, Ford, and Buick dominating the market. The embargo cut off Cuba’s access to new cars and car parts from the United States. When imports ceased, the cars already on the island became indispensable.

The U.S. embargo cut off Cuba’s access to new cars and car parts from the U.S. After the revolution, Cubans learned quickly how to repair and maintain the cars that they had on the island.

Guillermo Duran drives a 1958 baby blue Plymouth Savoy. He rents his car, gives rides and lets tourists take pictures in his car for a small fee. He told The Final Call, “After the revolution, we learned quickly how to repair and maintain the cars that we had. We couldn’t get new cars or parts. We became our own auto repair stations.”

With no access to official replacement parts, Cubans developed remarkable skills in repairing and maintaining their classic cars. They fabricate parts from scratch, repurpose parts from Soviet cars, trucks, and even household items.

They even adapt engines—many classic cars now have diesel engines from Soviet or European vehicles, as they are more fuel-efficient and easier to maintain.

Classic cars have become a symbol of Cuban identity and resilience. These vehicles are cherished as part of the country’s cultural and historical fabric, representing an era before the embargo and the dramatic changes that followed the revolution.

God in 2025

 

As we enter the New Year, it is wise to consider the previous year and lessons to be learned. The New Year can also bring up new vision and inspiration about what we would like to accomplish in 2025 as we seek to make progress and do better.

Black America in 2024 faced again serious challenges and were haunted by old struggles we have endured during our sojourn in North America for nearly 500 years now.

We saw rising racism, violence within our community, racial and police attacks outside of our community, the rise of right-wing, anti-Black politics and rhetoric coming from the Supreme Court and Republicans while the Democrats move away from us in efforts to regain the White House and Congress.

State legislatures continue to work to blunt and deny us voting rights and power as our enemies assert their determination to protect White privilege and White status in the United States.

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We have suffered from worse health, lagged behind in wealth, employment and income, and suffered more from the ravages of inflation. Suicide and deaths from drug addiction and diseases have brought us tremendous pain and suffering.

Yet in the midst of these curses, we have a blessing if we choose to embrace it. Clearly we have been shown we cannot depend on the children of our slavemasters to treat us fairly or even respectfully.

We have clearly been shown that moral appeals, public protests, voting at the ballot box and hoping and praying that White America will change have not protected us from loss.

These bitter realities are good for us if we are willing to act in accord with the time and what must be done. If this is not the time to depend on those who have spitefully used us, what time is it?

It is time we turn to Almighty God Allah and ourselves with strong faith and a determination to act in our own best interests. Acting on our own behalf, exercising self-determination and joyfully embracing the ordained struggle for freedom, justice and equality are inspiring.

It is empowering to take charge of your life and the life of your community instead of waiting for a benevolent White man, or White woman, to come to the rescue and for a recalcitrant, hate-filled, murderous system to change. None of those things will happen.

Things are not getting better; they are getting worse. Harmony and peace are not increasing, strife, anger and division are the order of the day. That’s all the more reason for us to abandon hopes and dreams for an American change of heart and action.

Where must we turn and who must we turn to? How about God Himself?

“Who is better than Allah (God) to depend on for our sustenance and the granting of our innermost desires? Who knows what is best for us, other than Allah (God)?” asked the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, in an article originally published April 15, 1988, in The Final Call. It was titled, “We Must Depend On Allah and Ourselves.”

“Oftimes we have desires which, if fulfilled, would bring us great sorrow. However, if we are strong enough to desire only that which pleases Allah (God), then we can never suffer disappointment and grief over not fulfilling some cherished desires.

“Allah (God) teaches us in the Holy Qur’an that He is the Grantor of Security and that He straitens the means of subsistence for whom He pleases. It is He, then, who can cause the Earth to reveal its treasures to us and it is He who can keep us from the treasures of the Earth. So let us depend on Allah and ourselves,” said Minister Farrakhan.

“Why should we depend on ourselves? There is an old saying that God helps those who help themselves; and we are taught in the Holy Qur’an, ‘Surely Allah changes not the condition of a people, until they change their own condition.’ ”

“When we submit our will to do the Will of Allah (God), and it turns Him toward us, producing the springtime of our life. Faith takes root, we grow, bud, blossom and reproduce, spiritually and materially,” observed Minister Farrakhan.

For a long time, we have desired to be accepted by White people and have been rejected at every turn. Even momentary progress has been met by social, political and legal backlashes that killed “progress.”

The joy and hope many felt with the election of Barack Obama as the first Black president is long gone and was replaced by ugly All-American racism and extreme politics that are still growing.

Many Whites who voted for him turned around and voted for a president who is the antithesis of the best impulses of Mr. Obama and his soaring, if inaccurate, One America rhetoric.

Four years ago with the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, Blacks and Whites sometimes marched together to protest the murder of a Black man that was caught on videotape.

The outrage over this heinous theft of life is long gone and any thought that America owes Blacks anything or must undo racial injustice is long gone too.

Being rid of fantasies and illusions is a good thing. If we accept reality and build for ourselves, we will find a greater level of peace and joy as we do that which is good for us—and what Almighty God Allah desires for us. Please see The Muslim Program published on the inside back page of The Final Call.

Legacy

 

Abdul Wali Muhammad

Remembering Abdul Wali Muhammad

“Jesus said, ‘Let him that would be great among you, let him be your servant.’ You cannot serve if you think you are greater than that which you are called to serve. To be a servant means you must see those whom you are called to serve as greater than yourself.”

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, speaking September 23, 2001,

at Union Temple Baptist Church in Washington, D.C.

As we look forward to 2025, we pray for Almighty God’s blessings and protection. We pray for progress, good things and most of all that we withstand whatever the new year brings—whether good or bad.

Often, we remember lives lost, reflect on their contributions and thank Allah (God) for these gifted ones He gave us.

Our memories may relate to private or personal contributions to our lives. Such recollections may also be of those who touched our lives and the lives of our people because of their work in the cause of freedom, justice and equality.

We honor their work in a difficult mission as servants of a destroyed people and a cause much bigger than themselves.

It doesn’t mean their lives were easy or without sacrifice. Their sacrifice is what makes us consider their legacy and the work they left behind.

Blessed are those who forge a way for others. Blessed are those who don’t lead lives devoted to leisure and frivolity. Blessed are those who show and prove their love through their work.

Blessed are the institution builders and those who lay foundations for institutions that, by God’s Grace, are growing in longevity.

We are blessed when we understand and respect such sacrifices. We are doubly blessed when we are willing to keep making sacrifices so these institutions will live and the names of those who helped build them will be remembered.

Abdul Wali Muhammad is such a person and holds a special place in the history and development of The Final Call, the history of our people and the history of the Black sojourn in America.

Brother Wali, as he was called, was both a builder and an inspiration. The circumstances of his death and our belief that he was poisoned only cement his place as a martyr in the cause of Islam and one who gave his life as he breathed life into The Final Call.

The son of legendary civil rights era journalist Simeon Booker, Brother Wali was fiercely and unapologetically devoted to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the global liberation of Black people.

Though he attended Cornell University, where he was introduced to Islam through the Five Percenters or the Nation of Gods and Earths, Brother Wali was always proud to declare he held no degree from “the devil’s institutions,” but was educated through the Supreme Wisdom of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the guidance of Minister Farrakhan.

He entered the Nation of Islam in Washington, D.C., served as a captain of the Fruit of Islam, and later became a Muslim minister when Minister Farrakhan asked him to come to Chicago to play a bigger role in the rebuilding of the Nation.

Brother Wali was blunt, sometimes brusque, hard-charging and fearless. He was demanding and commanded obedience. He gave no excuses and he accepted none.

With his commitment and his drive, he fostered a spirit in those who labored under him to accept the challenge to make an intermittent journal, an award-winning bi-weekly and then respected weekly publication. His work also produced two editors-in-chief after his death, past editor James G. Muhammad, who remains a Final Call contributing editor, and current editor-in-chief Naba’a Muhammad.

Along with his sharp mind and candid speech was a deep, hearty laugh and a great sense of humor. There was also a kindness in his steel-handed glove that engendered respect, admiration and love.

And, if love is duty, and it is, Brother Wali loved deeply and his efforts and accomplishments showed it. Early on he pushed The Final Call into the world of technology when few had personal computers. Cyberspace meant connecting via bulletin boards and e-mail addresses were assigned numbers, not names you assigned yourself.

He deeply loved his beloved wife Zenobia and their children and was proud of her sacrifice in homeschooling the children prior to the reopening of the Muhammad University of Islam in Chicago during the late 1980s.

Vital to Brother Wali’s life were his loving and faithful wife, his sons Akmal, Luqman and Farrakhan and daughters Crescent, Amira and Zainab. He was a devoted son to his mother and loved his siblings, a brother and a sister.

Minister Farrakhan gave him the name Abdul Wali Muhammad, which means servant of the Protecting Friend and is an attribute of Allah (God.) After assisting others with the newspaper, he became editor-in-chief in 1984.

Brother Wali had a heart attack and was 37 years old at the time of his death. It was believed that he may have been poisoned through something added to his coffee.

He departed this life on December 26, 1991.

“The Nation mourns the passing of one of its brightest stars, Minister Abdul Wali Muhammad,” Minister Farrakhan said at funeral services for Brother Wali on December 31, 1991. “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.”

With the end of 2024, we will close the 45th anniversary year of the founding of The Final Call. We are building on the sacrifice of lives. We are building a legacy. We are working to expand the longevity of a vital tool in the resurrection of our people.

Through these commitments, we honor Brother Wali, hope to help cement him in our national memory and history and keep his name and his life’s work alive.

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Gifts

 HAVANA, Cuba—For decades, Cuba has gifted the world with medicine, music, and, when needed, military support in fights for freedom. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Cuba sent nearly 1,000 doctors to 40 countries across five continents. The country’s music has entertained with its West African and European influences.

When Africa calls, Cuba responds

Since the 1970s, African independence movements have received essential military support from Cuba. This support was pivotal in fighting South African apartheid, countering covert U.S. operations, and securing independence in southern Africa.

In the 1970s, the region’s prospects were bleak. Portugal controlled Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau. After Portuguese rule ended, the U.S. allied with South Africa to suppress Angolan rebels. Apartheid persisted in South Africa and extended to Namibia until Cuba deployed forces.

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Kathryn Hall-Trujillo, administrator of the U.S.
Cuba Medical School Scholarship Program.
Photos: Michael Spencer

“Cuba’s contributions to Africa go back to the Congo. They were unsuccessful but determined to help with the liberation of the Congo, particularly after the assassination of Patrice Lumumba (the first prime minister of Congo). While unsuccessful, it showed the spirit of what role Cuba wanted to play,” Omowale Clay of the December 12th Movement told The Final Call.

“The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale in Angola (1988) was probably one of the most important battles in the history of the African continent because it was key to the liberation of Namibia, Angola, and South Africa. The Cubans paid a tremendous price there, by sending 80,000 troops there.”

Acclaimed actor Danny Glover recalled to The Final Call an important moment when Cuba’s Fidel Castro attended South Africa’s inauguration of Nelson Mandela. “I had worked in the anti-apartheid movement and was backstage preparing to introduce people.

Fidel approaches Mandela to shake his hand. Mandela pushed his hand away and hugged him. I heard the words distinctly, ‘This day doesn’t happen without you,’”

Mr. Glover said, recalling what he heard Mr. Mandela say to Comandante Castro. “I never forget that understanding from Mandela. ‘This moment doesn’t happen without you,’” said Mr. Glover.

Cuba’s musical revolution

“I think music is the greatest gift Cuba has given to the world,” Luci Murphy, a Washington, D.C.-based performer and activist, told The Final Call. “If you listen to music in Cuba, it’s students, professionals, semiprofessionals, and amateurs.

Second-year medical student In´Rfam Abou
Bakary from Benin, in middle, speaks at the
recent International Decade for People of
African Descent conference.

It’s fabulous. They still have large groups of people playing together, which we have lost in the United States because we can’t afford it. Musicians can’t afford the time to rehearse.

The theaters and venues don’t pay enough to support a large group. The United States, and other countries, do not support jazz orchestras or orchestras of traditional music,” she said.

Music surrounds life in Cuba. From coast to coast, dance floors and communities are energized by a diverse range of musical styles, including salsa, rumba, jazz, and reggae, as well as the contemporary beats of Timba. Historical Cuban musicians include Celia Cruz, Nicolas Guillen, and Sara Gomez. Contemporary artists include Ibeyi, Yosvanny Terry, and Dayme Arocena.

Doctors for humanity

For over 60 years, Cuba has deployed medical teams, known as “armies of white robes,” to aid global crises, particularly in developing nations. After a severe earthquake in Chile, Cuban medical professionals were sent to help. Following Algerian independence, Havana sent healthcare workers to help establish the country’s medical infrastructure.

In the 2010s, Cuban doctors were pivotal in addressing cholera in Haiti and the Ebola crisis in West Africa. During the severe COVID-19 outbreak in Lombardy, Italy, Cuba responded by dispatching medical teams. Additionally, Cuba sent physicians to countries such as Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Grenada.

In addition to sending doctors around the world, Cuba also trains doctors from around the world with its free medical school. “The value of the medical school is that it’s an opportunity for the United States to have more doctors,” Kathryn Hall-Trujillo, the administrator of the U.S. Cuba Medical School Scholarship Program, told The Final Call.

“The extra value is that it gives the United States an opportunity to have doctors that were trained in a global community that understands that there’s a world bigger than the United States. They are part of it and they have to learn how to be a part of that world that is bigger than the United States.”

Cuban medical institutions have awarded degrees in health-related fields to 35,787 graduates from 141 countries, mainly in Africa and Latin America.

Over 4,000 Cuban healthcare professionals are currently deployed in 32 African countries, addressing diseases like Ebola, cholera, tuberculosis, AIDS, and malaria. These physicians are noted for their focus on preventive healthcare and their commitment to disease prevention.

“We are trained to be community doctors,” second-year medical student In´Rfam Abou Bakary from Benin told the audience at the International Decade for People of African Descent conference held in Cuba in December 2024. “We are aware of the needs of our communities;

This helps us decide what to specialize in. At the medical school, we have a vision, a community approach. We are not training to be doctors to make money. We are training to become doctors with the obligation to serve our community.”

This is an installment in a series of articles by The Final Call from Cuba while covering the International Decade for People of African Descent conference, Cuba and the Cuban people.

‘Official’ Crypto

 President-elect Donald Trump’s “official” meme coin, TRUMP, has surged to a near $14 billion market capitalization within hours of its launch, according to cryptocurrency trackers. The Solana-based meme token was unveiled early on Saturday, two days before Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States.

The token started trading at an opening price of $0.1824, but within five hours had jumped over 8,000%, trading at roughly $14.4 as of 08:00 GMT, according to Dexscreener. Its market cap stood at $14 billion at the time. Over 66,000 buyers have so far bought the token, outpacing the nearly 18,000 sellers. Liquidity also surged, topping $388 million.

Trump announced the launch of the coin on his official Truth Social and X accounts.

“My NEW Official Trump Meme is HERE! It’s time to celebrate everything we stand for: WINNING! Join my very special Trump Community. GET YOUR $TRUMP NOW,” the president-elect wrote on his social media platform.

The crypto community initially voiced concerns about the token’s legitimacy, with some warning of a possible hack or social engineering scheme. Pseudonymous blockchain engineer cygaar noted on X that the project’s official website mirrors those of Trump’s previous NFT collections and suggested that “either this is the greatest cyber heist of all time, or this is legitimate.” However, as Trump’s posts remained online, and with Polymarket data suggesting only a 10% chance of account compromise, skepticism began to subside, pushing the price of the token further up.

The token’s explosive growth has also drawn concerns regarding its allocation.

READ MORE: Bitcoin skyrockets past $100,000

“80% of the token supply is locked in a multisignature wallet, amounting to $3 billion controlled by the creator, who also added $40 million in liquidity,” Conor Grogan, head of product business operations at Coinbase, said in a post on X, adding that the project was seeded with millions of dollars of funds from Binance and Gate, two exchanges that don’t serve US customers. Other analysts noted that 80% of the token’s circulating supply is allocated to Fight Fight Fight LLC and CIC Digital LLC, entities linked to the Trump Organization, with only 20% of the supply split equally between public investors and liquidity.

The launch of TRUMP comes as the president-elect continues to align himself with cryptocurrency initiatives. Once an outspoken crypto-skeptic, he made a U-turn during his election campaign and pledged to reshape the US cryptocurrency landscape to make the country the “crypto capital of the planet.” Paul Atkins, Trump’s pick to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), is expected to spearhead these efforts. A known crypto advocate and former SEC commissioner, Atkins will replace Gary Gensler, who has been criticized for his crackdown on the industry.

On Drugs

 

The Black Alliance for Peace (BAP) has condemned in the strongest terms the, recent disappearance of four Black children in Ecuador as a byproduct of the U.S.-led “war on drugs” scheme in Latin America.

The boys are between 11 and 15 years of age, and the episode is posing a serious challenge to President Daniel Noboa’s “war on drugs.”

BAP, a people-centered human rights project against war, said on Jan. 7, that President Noboa had effectively sold-out Ecuador’s sovereignty to Washington.

“The Ecuadorian government has been all too willing to fight its war on drugs in Afro-Ecuadorian territories and communities, imposing horrific state repression and violence, as it surrenders its sovereignty to U.S. military (and geopolitical) interests.”

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“This has meant the militarization of society and strengthening the repressive apparatus of the state in a way that aligns with U.S. foreign policy objectives.”

“With the recent concession of the Galapagos Island to the U.S. military by the Noboa government, Ecuadorian sovereignty is being sold along with Afro-Ecuadorian human rights.”

BAP stated that it is “concerned and outraged” by the fact that the Afro-Ecuadorian children “can go missing for almost two weeks after coming into contact with members of the armed forces without any concerns or official statements provided by government officials.” 

The “Guayaquil Four”—as the children are nicknamed—are from the Las Malvinas neighborhood, a largely Black and impoverished community, in Ecuador’s largest city Guayaquil.

They were returning from a football game on December 8, when 16 Air Force soldiers approached them. The “Guayaquil Four” were allegedly freed some distance away and have not been seen since.

Desperate over the disappearance of their children, the families approached the armed forces the next morning, but the case began to move forward only after it caused a national uproar later on.

On Christmas Eve, four incinerated bodies were found in the same region, and experts are trying to determine if they are the remains of the “Guayaquil Four.”

Their disappearance has generated protests nationwide.

Ecuador has experienced an explosion in the crime rate in the recent past. The country is a route for cocaine trafficking to Europe, primarily through the port of Guayaquil.

Since Noboa declared a state of “internal armed conflict” in January, the armed forces have been at the forefront of the president’s “security” project, with soldiers patrolling the streets, conducting anti-drug operations and controlling prisons.

The measures initially enjoyed popularity, but a change of direction might be underway.

Experts say the United States’ so-called anti-drug policy in Latin America is not working.

In May, it was Colombian President Gustavo Petro who said the American anti-drug attitude had caused “genocide” in the region. 

Saviour

 It was prophesied that Allah (God) would come and choose the despised, the rejected, the unloved, the unwanted and they would be His people and He would be their God. Is there any people more despised, more rejected, more unloved than the Black people of America? Allah (God) promised that He would marry with us.

The promise was made over 6,000 years ago. From the time that Adam fell, and hell reigned supreme on the Earth, Allah (God) prophesied or promised through the mouth of His prophet that, in the Last Days, He would come and choose a people to be His own. The scripture says, “When we are old enough, we will marry.” It means that at the fullness of time, when you are matured and ready for God, He will present Himself. He can’t come to you before the time. He can’t come after the time. He must come on time.

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The marriage can’t take place now. You have something to go through in order to evolve and develop and your Saviour has something to go through in order to evolve and develop. When you both have fully matured, let the marriage take place. The Book of Revelation mentions the marriage of the lamb with the church.

Joseph and Mary were childhood sweethearts. When they were old enough, God presents Himself, the Messenger presents himself and the father of Mary stands in the way. Mary is a prototype of Black people. You are really the woman here that is going to give birth to a child. You are the people that are to give birth to the Messiah. You don’t know it, but you are the people that are going to do that. And White people, like a father, are standing there looking at who comes to be your leader and marry you.

Have you noticed how every Black leader who wants to unite Black people but is not made by White people, they reject him for you? When White people reject him, you reject him. We rejected Marcus Garvey. We rejected Noble Drew Ali. We rejected Malcolm X. We rejected Elijah Muhammad. Why did we reject them? Because the White man didn’t want them for us; he becomes an interference between us marrying anybody who has truth to tell.

But the Book says, “A darkness came over the people and Mary called out”—even though Joseph was married and had six children. This is actually referring to God raising prophets out of other nations of the earth, while we were the apple of His eye all along. Count the prophets from Abraham: Abraham, Noah, Lot, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad and Aaron, because Aaron was also considered a prophet—not equal to Moses but a subordinate of Moses. That’s six prophets. There are also minor prophets.

Although God is raising prophets all over the world, none of these prophets delight His heart, not because He doesn’t love His prophets, but the prophets were unsuccessful. Satan’s power was so great. The prophets could not overcome the power of Satan. The prophets were killed by Satan. So, God sent the prophets, but secretly in His heart He wanted a son. He wanted somebody that would help Him in His mission and work. He was looking for the ideal prophet, not the prophet of yesterday. But He knew that there was one coming. He had a covenant. He had a contract of marriage with Israel. He had a contract of marriage with the Muslim world. But none of them have fulfilled what God wanted.

The Muslim world has not fulfilled its covenant to Allah (God). Neither have the Jews or the Christians. So, He has to go outside of the family to find a woman to make a child for Himself. Just like David’s child, the heir to the throne, was not from the Original family; it came from Bathsheba, who was a strange woman. The Bible tells us that the Last Man would be a man like David.

Now, the woman (Mary) is under darkness and she cries out for her lover to come. This refers to a people, Black people, in a time of great trouble, turmoil, tribulation, crying out to God, “Have mercy on us.” The Bible says, “Jehovah heard the moaning and the groaning of Israel.” He didn’t say, “I’m going to send somebody.” He said, “I’m coming Myself to see whether the cry is altogether what I heard.”

So it is with Black people. We have been crying out for 400 years under the continual stroke of White people. But God couldn’t come in the first century. He couldn’t come in the second century. He had to come on time.

The Messiah asked, “Who do they say I am?” The people responded, “They say you are that prophet that was to come.” He knew that they did not know who He was. And it wasn’t time to reveal who He was.

Beloved brothers and sisters, if you can only see that we became pregnant with a Divine One from among ourselves, and whether you want to recognize it or not, that One that God gave us is the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. A strange man. A strange-looking man with a fez on his head. His fez with the sun, moon and star in the front of his forehead, in a Black background. It wasn’t just a pillbox on his head. It was a sign that God would ultimately bring him to Himself and teach him the utmost of His signs and give him power over that which he had in his head and on his head. Jesus is supposed to be taught by God the Mastery of the forces of nature, where he becomes Lord over the universe.

Elijah Muhammad was in our midst and we did not know who he was. Jesus was in our midst and we did not know who he was. When he spoke to us, our eyes opened up. When he spoke to us, our ears opened up. When he spoke to us, we spoke back and the knot in our tongue was gone. When he spoke to us, our hands got busy working. When he spoke to us, our feet got busy walking. When he spoke to us, we came up from a dead level and the world recognized that life was coming into the Black man and woman. The Resurrection process had begun.

R - ONE - LADY

Youth in Climate

Protesters attend a rally held by Our Children's Trust outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on October 29, 2018.

 (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images)

 Dozens of members of Congress on Monday submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting 21 youth plaintiffs who launched a historic constitutional climate case against the federal government nearly a decade ago.

Since Juliana v. United States was first filed in the District of Oregon in August 2015, the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations have fought against it. Last May, a panel of three judges appointed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals by President-elect Donald Trump granted a request by President Joe Biden's Department of Justice to dismiss the case.

After the U.S. Supreme Court in November denied the youth plaintiffs' initial request for intervention regarding the panel's decision, their attorneys filed a different type of petition last month. As Our Children's Trust, which represents the 21 young people, explains on its website, they argued to the justices that federal courts are empowered by the U.S. Constitution and the Declaratory Judgment Act (DJA) "to resolve active disputes between citizens and their government when citizens are being personally injured by government policies, even if the relief is limited to a declaration of individual rights and government wrongs."

The Monday filing from seven U.S. senators and 36 members of the House of Representatives argues to the nation's top court that "the 9th Circuit's dismissal of the petitioners' constitutional suit for declaratory relief has no basis in law and threatens to undermine the Declaratory Judgment Act, one of the most consequential remedial statutes that Congress has ever enacted."

The Supreme Court "should grant the petition to clarify that declaratory relief under the DJA satisfies the Article III redressability requirement," wrote the federal lawmakers, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.). "Doing so is necessary because Congress expressly authorized declaratory relief 'whether or not further relief is or could be sought.'"

"The 9th Circuit's jurisdictional holding, which prevented the district court from even reaching the question whether declaratory relief would be appropriate, conflicts with this court's holding that the DJA is constitutional," the lawmakers continued. "It also conflicts with this court's holding that Article III courts may not limit DJA relief to cases where an injunction would be appropriate."

— (@)

In a Monday statement, Juliana's youngest plaintiff, 17-year-old Levi D., welcomed the support from the 43 members of Congress—including Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as well as Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.).

"After 10 years of delay, I have spent more than half of my life as a plaintiff fighting for my fundamental rights to a safe climate. Yet, the courthouse doors are still closed to us," said Levi. "Five years ago, members of Congress stood by me and my co-plaintiffs on the steps of the Supreme Court. Today, as the climate crisis worsens and hurricanes ravage my home state of Florida, they are still with us, using their voices to weigh in on the importance of our rights to access justice and to a livable climate."

"The recent win in Held v. State of Montana and historic settlement in Navahine v. Hawaii Department of Transportation showed the world that young people's voices, my voice, and legal action are not just symbolic, but they hold governments accountable to protect our constitutional rights," Levi added. "Now, it's our turn to be heard!"

The lawmakers weren't alone in formally supporting the young climate advocates on Monday. Public Justice and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association filed another brief that takes aim at the government's use of mandamus—a court order directing a lower entity to perform official duties—to deny the Juliana youth a trial.

"The government's sole argument to justify mandamus is the Department of Justice's past and anticipated future litigation expenses associated with going to trial. That argument is firmly foreclosed by precedent," the groups argued. "And even if it wasn't foreclosed by precedent, the argument trivializes the extraordinary nature of mandamus and would improperly circumvent the final judgment rule."

The organizations urged the high court to grant certiorari to uphold the mandamus standard set out in Cheney v. United States District Court for the District of Columbia in 2004. Plaintiff Miko V. said Monday that "I'm incredibly grateful to Public Justice and the Montana Trial Lawyers Association for standing with us in our fight for justice."

"We're not asking for special treatment; we're demanding the right to access justice, as our constitutional democracy guarantees," Miko stressed. "The recent victory in Held v. State of Montana demonstrates the power of youth-led legal action, and the urgent need for courts to recognize that our generation has the right to hold our government accountable. Every day that the government prevents us from presenting our case, we all lose more ground in the fight for a livable future. It's time for the judiciary to open the courthouse doors and allow us a fair trial."

The briefs came just a week before Big Oil-backed Trump's second inauguration and on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court rejected attempts by fossil fuel giants to quash a Hawaiian municipality's lawsuit that aims to hold the climate polluters accountable, in line with justices' previous decisions. Dozens of U.S. state and local governments have filed similar suits.