Because of the article I wrote on reparations that was posted on American Thinker, I received an invitation from Minister Ishmael Al-Islam of the Muhammad Mosque in Philadelphia to attend the 'historic National Reparations Conference' that was to be held in Philadelphia in early October. There, I was informed, I would be 'educated on the international fight for reparations taking place at the UN level and what is taking place nationally to repair the damage done through centuries of unjust and inhumane treatment of people of African descent.'  The letter also mentioned Silis Muhammad, the CEO of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam/Afrodescendant Nation had the blue-print for the Afrodescendant people's salvation and the answer to the ongoing racial divide in this country.

Prior to accepting the invitation to the conference I found out more about Silis Muhammad, the Lost-Found Nation of Islam and the 'blueprint' for the Afrodescendant people's salvation. 

Silas was born and raised in Texas and move to Los Angeles in 1960. He embraced Islam through the teachings of Elijah Muhammad (Nation of Islam) and eventually moved to Illinois where he received a BA in History/Mathematics. Silas worked with Elijah Muhammad until internal strife sent him in another direction. In 1985 he formed the Lost-Found Nation of Islam and in 1990 formed the National Commission for Reparations. At the time of this writing the membership was approximately 144,000.

What this group is trying to do is first establish themselves as a recognized nation even though they neither own nor occupy as a group any land or territory, and second, to claim reparations from the government of the United States for the 'crimes' committed against the Afrodescendant peoples of America. Don't try to find Afrodescendant in any dictionary or other online resource. My research couldn't find it except as a part of this endeavor.   

The blueprint for the Afrodecendant people's salvation is more interesting. Although I was unable to find an enumerated list the high points are as follows:

• They want separation from the slave master's children.
• They want to be able to leave this country peacefully and without any political influence of our government.
• They want freedom for all believers of Islam currently incarcerated as well as freedom for all black men and women currently incarcerated and under sentences of death.
• They want forgiveness of all debts owed by St. Kitts which is currently their destination of choice.
• They want airplanes and ships for transportation to their destination.  They also want the cost of a one-way ticket to whatever islands would accept them as citizens.
• They want highway, bridge, and road-building materials and equipment along with equipment to cultivate land.
• They want materials and machinery with which to make clothing, shoes, and furniture and materials and equipment and materials for putting in infrastructure.
• They want housing, apartments and multistory building materials and equipment.
• They want freedom from taxation during the period they must remain in the United States during the period they must remain in America during the time it takes to give them all of the above.
• They want to be supported by the government of the United States for a period of 20 years or until they become self-sufficient.

Intrigued and always open to other points of view, I accepted the invitation and attended the conference with Colin Flaherty (Don't Make the Black Kids Angry), Taleeb Starkes (The Un-civil War: BLACKS vs NIGGERS) and Paul Nehlen, a fan whom I met through my articles. 

I was rather surprised when we arrived at the venue on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. Since Philadelphia is a majority black city I had expected quite a crowd.  Not even close. Other than the four of us there were thirteen attendees. There were more people either helping with the conference or speaking then the total of the audience.

The conference started with a black and white video that portrayed every possible thing that has probably ever happened to even one black person in this country and ended with a group of people in the now highly debunked position of kneeling with their hands up, a la Michael Brown.

This was followed by three students from the Imhotep Charter school in Philadelphia who performed a Muslim tribute they do daily in their school. One student did the tribute while the others played tribal drums. After this tribute, Minister Al-Islam introduced them and spoke about how the drums were played in Africa as a type of warning system when the invaders came into their villages to enslave them. The word invaders was stressed and hung in the air. The word 'white' was not attached to 'invaders' but it seemed to me to appear in the air and hang there with invaders. However, I know that the invaders weren't white. They were other Africans and Muslims. That, however, wouldn't have fit into the narrative that was being built of black victimhood.

Next on the program was supposed to be a guest appearance via Skype by way of Dubai by Minister Ishmael Abdul-Salaam. Not only did it not happen, no explanation was given as to why this was skipped.

Minister Sha'Allah Shabazz was the first actual speaker. The first portion of his speech was more a recruiting speech for Islam than about reparations. We left before he finished but I did go to his website and listen to the entire speech.  He called for black unity and basically blamed every bad thing that ever happened to any black person on white people.  It can be heard here: 

Reparations is a growth industry in this country and it seems to be gaining traction. See here and here.

As I stated in my previous article, I have a problem with all of this. But perhaps the worst thing these race baiters and poverty pimps are doing is trying to make all black people feel that they are victims all the time --everyplace and in every instance.

“60 Minutes” had a segment on the Last Slave Ship the other night. Lonnie Bunch, the Founding Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture which is in the process of being built and himself a black man, was interviewed extensively. A good portion of the segment was filmed on Mozambique Island, off of Africa. Most of the slaves were processed through there to be sent around the world. The two things he said that especially struck me were 'What all Americans need to recognize is that as tragic and horrible as slavery was, as big an economic shadow as it cast, the one thing it didn't do was strip people of their humanity' and that slavery was a global issue. He also referenced the fact that the slaves captured were primarily Africans capturing other Africans.

These early slaves were victimized by their own people but they were survivors. The slaves that reached the shores of America survived capture and the horrible conditions of the slave ships. They survived slavery. I imagine these slaves, if they could see what their descendants are devolving into by trying to enrich themselves through the suffering of their ancestors would be ashamed. They would point out that white people, who bled and died to right a wrong and most of whom have become an inclusive society attempting to assist black persons are not deserving of what is trying to be perpetuated on the American people.

They would look at the racist statement of Silas Muhammad  who said 'If we could summon the hatred our ancestors had for this Caucasian American Government and bring that condition to bear on the shoulders of this generation of Afrodescendants, the resulting wrath would be like unto a blaze of fire, the size of which would engulf the United States. It would burn for 1,000 years! The evil done to the Black man by the American Government far surpasses the evil done by any other government, especially the Governments of France, Germany, Great Britain and France' and be ashamed."

They could also point out that while slavery in America was horrible, almost all of the slaves who reached these shores survived, something Africans who were captured by Muslims can't say. Those slaves, if put to hard labor, rarely survived 5 years. Families were never kept together and those slaves weren't permitted to procreate so they had no descendants. Attractive females were put in harems and attractive young men were made into eunuchs. Would our modern-day 'victims' have preferred that their ancestors were captured by Muslims, whose faith many of them now embrace? Doubtful, as they wouldn't exist.

All of these people need to start to think of their ancestors as survivors, be grateful for the wonderful country where they now live and the opportunities they are given and stop trying to put their hands in someone else's pocket. 

Victims want pity, survivors reach for the stars.

Hat tip: Taleeb Starkes

Claire Hawks is a gray-haired granny, retired from her nursing and IT careers.