Because The Devil Gives Them Nothing
And the enchanters came to Pharaoh, saying: We must surely have a reward if we prevail. He said: Yes, and you shall certainly be of those who are near (to me). – Holy Qu’ran, Al-A`raf 7:113-114
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad compared certain misguided Black preachers to Pharaoh’s magicians (enchanters) of the scriptures. This comparison appears quite evident today: present-day political leaders (representing Pharaoh) have summoned their enchanters in an effort to deceive the people. A simple observation of today’s religious and political scene makes it rather easy to see those who are for or against the true cause of justice.
The Farrakhan Litmus Test
When powerful Whites want to determine whether a Black leader is more amenable to White causes above Black people’s need for justice, Whites apply what has become known as the “Farrakhan litmus test.” In other words, those who publicly denounce the Minister find favor with their modern slave masters—much like Pharaoh’s relationship with his magicians. Conversely, if a Black man or woman responds favorably to the truth Minister Farrakhan speaks, he or she is castigated and prevented either from enjoying the privileges of White acceptance or from rising in his or her respective fields.
The Farrakhan litmus test became a popularized tool during the mid 1980s when Minister Farrakhan toured the country enlightening Blacks and encouraging them toward self-empowerment. Members of the Jewish community deliberately misinterpreted his words and mislabeled him as “anti-Semitic,” causing Black leaders and celebrities to distance themselves and their resources from helping him in the cause of Black people’s liberation.
This method of determining Black consciousness was rekindled during Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign, when on public television candidate Hilary Clinton and journalist Tim Russett pressed Obama to “denounce” and “reject” an association with the Minister. Obama’s unjustified denunciation of Minister Farrakhan was necessary in order for him to be approved by his White Jewish backers. This dichotomy is biblically congruent with the Jewish leaders’ maltreatment of Jesus wherein powerful Jewish leaders frightened the people from publicly acknowledging the goodness of Jesus (John 7:13).
More recently, Pastor Jamal Bryant was castigated by Christian evangelicals (including several Black preachers) for speaking with Minister Farrakhan and uniting with members of the Nation of Islam (NOI) to stop the violence in the streets of Baltimore. Sadly, many of the same preachers who denounced his association with Farrakhan were the same ones who rushed to meet with racist presidential candidate and businessman Donald Trump. These Black pastors boasted of a meeting with Trump that led to absolutely nothing for the progress of their people. Like Pharaoh’s magicians, religious leaders attempted to enchant Black people to support an agenda that represents their own demise.
If today’s leaders reject the Minister, then flock to racist White political candidates for empty hope, are they truly leaders or are they political pawns? The Farrakhan litmus test easily makes that distinction.
The Trump Card
As a vast array of dissatisfied people have united to boycott unnecessary spending with White establishments this Christmas season, it’s rather ironic that Donald Trump—a business mogul—would call on Black leaders to endorse his Presidential candidacy. Obviously, he knew exactly who to contact because, historically, Black preachers have been those most amenable to their slave masters’ bidding.
The Honorable Elijah taught that Black people have been conditioned to love and admire their former slave master (devil) because the devil gives them nothing. The gravitation of Black leaders toward political candidates who have no plan or intention to address white supremacy is rather baffling. It’s baffling because several Black pastors have openly supported Donald Trump, who has blatantly expressed his disdain for Black and Brown communities with false statistics (lies) and a litany of racist statements.
After being questioned by the Black community (most notably journalist Roland Martin), it became apparent that those Black preachers who met with Trump to discuss “black concerns” left the meeting with absolutely nothing at all—no policies, no promises, not even an insincere apology! Instead, many of these leaders proudly boasted of just talking to this rich white man who gave the people nothing. Is this the new criterion for Black leadership?
Since those pastors provided no specific action items they could share with the public from their Trump meeting, maybe he promised them nearness to him (or his fortune), or maybe they actually believe he can “make America great again,” whatever that means.
When Trump speaks of “making America great again,” it has nothing to do with being good for Black America because America’s greatness has always been predicated upon the subjugation of Blacks. The wealth of this country was built on and catapulted by slavery, and then maintained off by the exploitation of Black talent, skill, and unwise spending. The mistreatment of Black, Brown, and Indigenous people is what made America the great superpower it has become today.
The Clinton Act
Those so-called African American leaders who are pacified by Hillary Clinton should be just as ashamed as those standing with Trump! Seeking Black votes, she was recently seen singing “We Shall Overcome” with Black professionals at the National Bar Association’s 60th Anniversary of the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Like her husband and former president, Bill Clinton, she seems to believe that providing song and dance with no substance is the key to obtaining the Black vote. Remember, it was under the Clinton administration that more Blacks became incarcerated than under the previous Republican administrations. It was under the Clintons that the heinous “three-strikes-and-you’re-out” policies were enacted, targeting the Black community and destroying Black families in ways that Donald Trump’s rhetoric has yet to do.
When Hillary Clinton was questioned by Black Lives Matter activists about her position on the topic of justice for Blacks, she was dumbfounded, offering nothing more than political babble.
One activist told her that the mass incarceration system (fueled by the Clintons) is akin to the slave plantation system. The only major reply she could give was basically “What do you want me to do about it?” She suggested that those questioning her don’t have a real agenda and told them they’re going to “have to come together as a movement” and get something done. If she were sincere about her statement, then she should be the first to praise the Justice Or Else movement and the works of the Honorable Minister Farrakhan, who has already put forth an agenda and program that he is anxious to present before the U.S. Government. Instead, she offered no solution to the persistent problem of racial injustice. Yet, some feel that she would be much different from Trump, but racism by any other name or political party is racism nonetheless.
Remember, it was Mrs. Clinton who said she admires Eugenics advocate Margaret Sanger—the racist founder of Planned Parenthood. In 2009, Mrs. Clinton accepted the Margaret Sanger Award at the Planned Parenthood Honors Gala in Houston, Texas. “I admire Margaret Sanger enormously, her courage, her tenacity, her vision,” Clinton said. What is this vision? Sanger’s life’s work and vision were centered around exterminating and preventing the growth of “undesirable populations.” In order to keep Black people from believing her vision was targeting them, she sought Negro preachers to help clean up her program’s image. In a December 19, 1939, letter to Dr. Clarence Gamble, Margaret Sanger expressed her vision in these words:
“We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the [Negro] minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”
Clinton further stated of Sanger, “I am really in awe of her. And there are a lot of lessons that we can learn from her life.” It appears the mass incarceration of Blacks under the Clinton administration shows that she has helped implement the vision of Sanger’s racism. Despite these facts, some Black leaders believe she’s really different from Trump and other racists. Those who study the scriptures might see a resemblance between Clinton’s work and the biblical Jezebel who misled God’s people into the worship of false deities and ideas. Trying to choose today’s political candidates is like choosing between Jezebel, Beelzebub, or Lucifer.
Buy Nothing, Save Something
Since some Blacks foolishly give away their vote just as they give away their money, it would be wise to do as Farrakhan has suggested and save both our money and our vote instead of using them to fuel a system that was never designed to work for Black people anyway. After all, “Politics without economics is symbol without substance.”
Black people believing this system will bring freedom is like a butterfly believing it will obtain freedom within the spider’s web. How about seeking solutions outside of the framework of white supremacy and do as Minister Farrakhan suggested: unify and empower your own by saving your money this Christmas season and don’t empower the oppressor by fueling his system with frivolous spending. That’s a worthy start! Unlike the devil who leaves our people with NOTHING, take the Minister’s advice and do SOMETHING for yourself and your family by boycotting Christmas spending!