By Charlene Muhammad From Los Angeles Sentinel

Unite and be free, Farrakhan tells Jamaica and the Caribbean during 19th Anniversary of the Million March message in Kingston

The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan was in good spirit as he delivered a message of unity to thousands who filled the National Arena, an overflow crowd who watched on jumbo screens outside, and many more who watched a live webcast of his Oct. 19 address.

The 81-year-old world leader issued a call for unity and economic development in Jamaica and the Caribbean during his speech commemorating the 19th Anniversary of the historic Million Man March – Holy Day of Atonement.

He implored the country and the region to break away from their colonial slave masters. The Caribbean must rise, Farrakhan said.

“You’ve got a flag. It’s beautiful. You’ve got one of the most beautiful anthems in the world. And you’ve got a seat in the United Nations. Big up for you. But independence, you don’t have that yet,” Farrakhan declared.

The first step toward Jamaica and the Caribbean’s freedom is to educate the children independently of colonial and slave masters, and work the land to feed the people, the region, and the world through the country’s natural resources, he guided.

It’s a struggle dating back to the Honorable Marcus Mosiah Garvey who started the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Kingston in 1914. Since then, leaders have continued to strive for unity and justice. Part of their efforts for repair and reparations for Blacks in the Caribbean for the enslavement of African people is a lawsuit filed by 14 Caribbean nations against the United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands.

However, true repair can only come from God, Farrakhan said. “We came here to show the world that there is a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole. There is a balm in Gilead to heal the sin-sick soul,” he stated.

“You do not need to ask your former slave and colonial masters to repair you. They don’t have the wisdom to do it, nor do they have the will to do it. God has brought the repair of the indigenous, the Black man and woman. It’s in the wisdom. It will come in your unity,” Farrakhan continued.

The first barrier to real freedom and the unification of the entire Caribbean is the language barrier that exists in a system of control that he intended to break up that day, Farrakhan stated boldly and calmly. “Why shouldn’t we break up the system that has destroyed us,” he rhetorically asked.

Farrakhan took some 2,000 Muslims with him to Jamaica and from the airport, to customs, on the highways and in hotels, the Muslims felt very much at home, he noted.

While he’s visited his father’s homeland before, this trip was different, Farrakhan said. He noted how the people of Jamaica were particularly intrigued and impressed by the Muslim sisters who donned beautiful pastel garments that covered their bodies.

“There’s a scripture in the Bible that says you can tell a tree by the fruit it bears, but you can tell a man by his works. So what we brought to Jamaica is a sample of the work of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, which is a proof that a new teacher has come among us,” Farrakhan said.

Signaling agreement with his message, some attendees waved the black, gold and green Jamaican National Flag. Others beat on traditional Jamaican drums.

“We are a dead people, and God has come to give us life, to breath life into us,” Farrakhan told the rapt audience. “When the Whites saw us walking, they knew, these are not my children. This is not the product that we made,” Farrakhan said.

“When you see us, when you hear us, when you come in our midst, you know you’re meeting a different student from a different teacher. You love Malcolm X. He came from a great teacher. You love Muhammad Ali. He came from a great teacher. You love Louis Farrakhan. He came from a great teacher,” Farrakhan continued, as proceeded to introduce Jamaica to the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the eternal leader of the Nation of Islam.

Farrakhan emphasized early in his address the importance and impact of the female. “And no matter how good the brothers look, and how handsome and clean we are, you don’t judge civilization by a man. You judge the measure of that civilization by women and the sisters of the Nation of Islam stopped traffic everywhere they went, their high degree of civilized behavior,” he said as the audience stood and applauded.

The country was also drawn by the way the Muslim men treated their women. “It is part of our teaching and training to lay down our lives for the honor of our women. We will never be respected as a people until we show honor, love and respect for our women,” Farrakhan stated.

Photos by Brother Hannibal Photography

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