Power 105’s The Breakfast Club had the honor to sit down with the leader of the Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan. Farrakhan has not done many media appearances in the last few years but he really wanted to youth to hear what he had to say. Some of the topics discussed were the protests and police killings, President Obama, Farrakhan’s musical past and rappers being the new leaders of the generation.
Minister Farrakhan was very vocal and fiery in his message that he delivered. At age 82, he is still a very passionate man about the conditions of his people. Charlamagne, DJ Envy and Angela Yee were all very respectful and did not interrupt what the man had to say.
When speaking on today’s generation Louis Farrakhan has very high praises:
For me to be on your show is a great honor to me. Because the audience that I’m really interested in is our young people. Our young people represent the strongest and the best generation that we’ve ever had. They’re not the wisest, but they are the best because they are fearless. When you see fearless young men and women, that’s the generation that God’s hand is on. Because that’s the generation that will fulfill the promise of our ancestors who died struggling for true freedom and justice. We got some serious decisions to make as a people. What are we going to do to prepare a future for our children and our grandchildren?
He has also been very knowledgeable in noticing who the youth look up to and listen to. Farrakhan called rappers the new leaders of the people. They can reach a mass of people who preachers cannot:
I was with Brother Snoop, and I was telling my brother how you rappers are the new leaders. You’re the real leaders of the people. The rapper doesn’t think he’s a leader, but he’s got followers all over the world. The biggest preachers don’t have as many followers as one rapper. How can we get you to rap where intelligence is coming through the lyrics with a beat that begins to open the minds of people. Our people want better and they’ll do better if they are shown better.
That idea of rappers being the leaders for a progressive movement is a very strong one. The influence of hip-hop music is immeasurable and he can recognize that and hopes that collective consciousness of other rappers raises to see this as well.
Of course one of the biggest revelations comes from the discussion of his musical background. As many people may not know Louis Farrakhan is an accomplished musician:
I made a song that was inspired by Malcolm X. He used to write for the Amsterdam News, and his column was The Angry Black Man. And this week he wrote a column, “A White Man’s Heaven Is the Black Man’s Hell.” So I took that title and made a song. In the 60s, it was an underground hit. It’s what converted Muhammad Ali. It was really rap in 1956.
Farrakhan then commented on President Obama over Baltimore Uprising:
We helped our brother get in office, and we were so excited and proud to have our first Black president. But then when our brothers in Baltimore – that’s a city where Black folks have been catching hell for a long time — when they rise up, our president refers to them as thugs and criminals. I want to say to Brother Barack: When the highest office in the land can look at our children and call them thugs and criminals, unwittingly he’s sentencing them to death by the forces that deal with thugs and criminals. They are not thugs. They are not criminals.
Also pointing out the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March is occurring this year. It will be on October 10th, 2015 and the theme is “Justice or Else.” We were given a hint as what to expect this fall:
Today, we are at that point in our development where we are being forced now to consider which is the way forward. Singing in, wading in, crying in, praying in has not worked. Marches have not worked. The oppression and the tyranny is getting worse, so we decided on the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March to return to the capital. First time we went, it was on atonement, reconciliation, responsibility, We wanted Black men to accept the responsibility of being a man and standing up for our women and our children. And creating that sense of strong family again.
But this time – well I’ll put it like this. Elijah Muhammad said to me one day, “One day I’m going to call a march. and that march will be for justice. He said it won’t be like the march in ‘ 63 where people where laughing, frolicking, and having a good time. When you say you’re going for justice and jobs, that’s no time to party. That’s a time to be serious, because the cry for justice against the forces of who uphold injustice – you got to have a mind now. What are you going to do to move the forces of injustice, if they won’t bow to the truth that should bring justice?
There are so many quotes and gems that the Minister Louis Farrakhan said in the hour plus long interview. Reading excerpts is not enough as you need to watch from start to finish and hear him talk about the struggle and how to organize and make a way for ourselves.
Investing in land was a big point he made, as he said to be cautious about putting your money in stocks and bonds. For land is where everything we need comes from such as food and shelter.
The fact that people are not talking to Farrakhan privately anymore and stand by his side in public is a big move. For that the revolution that Minister Farrakhan believes is happening, it will take fearlessness of the people to happen.
Very rarely does one person captivate and educate for that length of period and it feels like it was not enough time. Louis Farrakhan is a very honorable man and everyone needs to take time out to watch the interview in its entirety.
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