1984-October-12

A.M. Journal

Imam Muhammad's Address To 1st Political Awareness Confab: Part 4

Imam W. Deen Muhammad

(Editor's note: Following are excerpts from Imam W. Deen Muhammad's address at the 1st National Political Awareness Convention, held Aug. 25, 1984 at the Convention Center, Washington, D.C)

IT SEEMS like the major trends (mentioned in John Naisbitt's book) favor us because we have been moving in most of those directions all along. I'm just trying to get you to see that God is on our side. That's what you need in order to make it.

He (Naisbitt) says we will be seeing a change from representative democracy to participatory democracy. Well, let me tell you, participatory democracy is more Islamic than representative democracy.
These major trends favor us, they don't favor the far left. I don't see how you can want to be left. I want to be included. I don't want to be left. And I don't see how you Christian people can go left, when the Gospel says throw your nets on the right side— sit down on my right hand.

Another trend is that we are moving from hierarchies to networks. That's devilish. Hierarchies are devilish and networks are devilish too. If he means collective effort, communities that differ or are separate but belong to one nation, then that's okay. But when I see that word "networking," I stop and collect my forces—I don't know what's happening there.

He says that we are moving from North to South. I guess we have to understand or see this as a movement of industry from the North to the West and the South. Industry is leaving these Northern big cities deserted with no tax base—nothing to help them but us.
He says we are moving from choices between "this" and "that" to "multiple" choices. He's saying that the future is going to place more responsibility on people and that's why we, the striving poor, have decided to go ahead for the select few.
We've had too much attention to self-importance, personal recognition, false race pride. We have had too much attention to the showtime life of the African-American man, and we want to give a little   attention   to   serious thoughts in our lives — the past,  the  present  and the future.

CONTINUING NOW, I want to read the statement from a report produced by the National Urban League. The National Urban League is an organization that is highly respected in the private sector and also by the government for its professional research, analysis and so forth.
I have kept up with the Urban League and I have great respect for it. They have helped greatly as the NAACP and organizations have. They have helped the situation of the striving poor—people who want to be free, dignified and share in the blessings of America.

They have helped a lot of lazy people too. They say here in a statement on the economic condition of the African-American —Black Americans: "Over the past 30 years the labor force participation rates for both white and minority males have fallen. However, among younger male workers aged 18 to 34 years, whites have been able to maintain more constant labor force participation. Minorities on the other hand have lost ground in all categories with minority teen-agers being most affected."

This is the third quarter 1983 report. And this summary/statement goes on to say: "When considering that in all categories, minority males have an unemployment rate at least twice as high as that of white males.''