An Open Letter to Louis Farrakhan October 20th, 2015 Tuesday

An Open Letter to Dignified Minister Louis Farrakhan:

From: Black Activist (Disabled) Brother Tracy Gibson).

It is with Great Respect & Dignity that I sit down to write the leader of the Nation of Islam, Minister Louis Farrakhan. I missed the recent march in D.C., but was with folks in Spirit. I have always considered myself a honorary member of the Nation of Islam and even have gone so far as to visualize & dream about being a member of the Fruit of Islam.  Even though this can never happen because I Am a Gay person, I still have my dreams and fantasies. Even though I Am a Christian by birth and choice, I still have my vision and dreams. It is said, if I Am not is mistaken, that all a person need to do is commit to Peace on this precious earth and they are naturally a Muslim. In this case then, I Am a Muslim, even though I Am actually a Christian (born into and Christened into the Saint Thomas African Methodist Episcopal Church when it was still housed at 52^nd and Parrish Street in West Philadelphia in 1957). I will be 59 in a few weeks. But what I want to say about Minister Louis Farrakhan is important so I will not dilly dally. (A good & close friend of mine, Sistah Charlotte Harris, says I write to long. I cannot say this will be short. ).

Dear Minister Farrakhan: You, as far as I can see, are a great and decent man. You have said some words about Gay People that I don’t agree with, but I Am more than willing to take such things with a grain of salt and look at the whole picture of what you have and are doing. (Please note I Am writing this without watching the footage of you & the demonstration in Wash D C with Brothers & Sistahs  on October 10, 2015.). For now, however, I want to say I have respected your work to bring our Black community nationally and internationally together. If People have been listening they have watched as your temper has cooled, but they know there is still fire in your heart as far as How much you care about the most poor and the most oppressed.  I just want to give you some suggestions from a Black Gay person who has many divergent political ties, but who has worked diligently to maintain high ethics and high standards even in the face of those who would criticize me due to my personal life.  What I think needs to be the What Else in your Justice of Else is two or even seven fold. 1) If People are poor or have a limited income, I strongly suggest they avoid going to some of the restaurants in our Black neighborhoods that are chocking off our robust health that God wants us to  have. Restaurants such as Mickie Dees; Burge King; Dairy Queen; Pop Eye’s Chicken, Dunkin Donuts, Church’s Chicken and the other fast foot places; as well as many of the Asian restaurants that serve fattening food under dirty conditions, such foods should be avoided at all cost. Our Black Mom’s and Black  Pop’s must start taking the time to cook ole fashion food with slow cookers, giving the proper time to cook. We also need to eat more raw foods, splendidly prepared by people who know what they are doing. Take more vegetarian cooking classes and more classes in raw food preparation so we can get our robust health back over time. We must also slow our use of cigarettes; alcohol; illegal drugs including pot and stop cursing our men, children & women.  These things can take time and one can read books about how to change such behaviors.  (There is a book called ``Ethical Ambition,’’ by Derrick Bell that is a fantastic example of How to bring more ethical behavior into the Black home and the Black dwelling.) If more serious behaviors are still a problems such as hurting your mate, male or female, we must ask that you talk to your Imam, Pastor, or Reverend at Mosque or Church  or get Psychiatric help through your general Doc.  (We as adults must look at the condition of our families and our neighborhoods and be realistic about getting the help we need. It is Way past time to be embarrassed & ashamed about getting professional help. I know this is not easy. It took me a full hour of my dear Sistah Claudia cajoling me into getting help before I finally got help some thirty plus years ago. We must understand that the hurting of each other is based on the modes of media we listen to including some, not all, but some of the mindless and violence-oriented rap we listen to; learned negative behaviors; and personal relationships that can be avoided with professional help. We can start to make better choices with the professional help we need.  Making such choices to move to better health is vital for our recovery and survival as Black People ready to take on leadership of this world. This is the only world we have. This is where we are going. That is why the world is in such a mess and rich White People are talking about going to Mars. I like the Planet earth and I want our babies and children to have time to live here and enjoy this planet in the future. There are a host of other types of restaurants that are inexpensive such as our Caribbean restaurants, but we must be trained as to how to order the proper foods for our best health of body and mind. 2) This will seem odd at first, but think about it. I want to and suggest you Brother Farrakhan, tell our People to buy certain stocks in some of the most profitable companies that are Black owned.  The ones that are doing good in our communities and creating foods, goods & services that are about human health and decency and human survival. Positive companies. We need to support the growth and development of Black companies that have a social agenda and want to help the Black community.  If we have stock in White companies it is time to sell them & buy stock in companies that are owned by Black People. There are literally hundreds of such companies on the Stock Exchange and they can be found in your latest Black Enterprise Magazine.  This is especially important for more wealthy Black People who might have large stock portfolios.  3) We must put our money into Black banks. I have preached this in Philadelphia and have started fighting for United Bank to get a new branch in West Philadelphia. Each of us must take it upon ourselves, if we are Black People who are serious about wanting the social change we seek, we must take it upon ourselves to seek out these banks and support them in every Way possible in all 50 states in the United States of Native America and all around the world. We need to take our money out of White oriented banks that mean us no good.  Our progressive and even radical organizations must also get on board with this idea and help us find and support our Black owned banks and our Black organizations must use these Black banks themselves. This will embolden our Black communities financially and give us more breathing room politically, economically and with our families and in our Black communities  while also making Way for us to have the Capital we need to start, grow or expand existing Black businesses. The stabilizing impact on the Black community will be lasting, ongoing and consistent.   4) We must support Black businesses in our communities and seek them out if we don’t have many in our own Black communities.  (Personally I own a corporation that has many helpful components and is designed to help stabilize Black families through both political, social and financial efforts. It is called Brother Tracy Gibson & Assoc., Inc.) Black Barber Shops; Black Churches; Black Grocery stores; Black Dollar Stores; Black Sneaker stores; Black restaurants; Black dress and clothing shops; Black hat shops; Black Auto repair shops ; Black Tee-Shirt shops and so forth – they must all be supported by us. They all need our strong and consistent support.  We should all, as Black People, be reading books like Maggie Anderson’s ``Our Black Year,’’ about seeking out and successfully supporting Black businesses. This important book uses Chicago as a case study. It is very important that our teens read this book. 5) The next part of the …justice or else is more important. We need to suffer the consequences & suffer the vibrations, and there is really just disruption, not difficulty, wherever possible we must take our children out of White institutions of higher learning and put our Black children and Black young adults into the best Black Colleges and Black universities. There are scholarships to be had (call our company when you need help finding money. Google my name – Brother Tracy Gibson.).  Our Black colleges and Black universities have been having financial difficulty because far too many of us have bought into the thought that ``White is better.’’  I Am convinced that our Black students get more traction from Black schools. It is a known fact that when a Black student graduates from a Black college or Black university He or She comes out with more close friends to network with and these friendships last much longer and are more helpful in helping graduated students find jobs, find better careers, move up the corporate scale, and --  more important -- their relationships with former teachers that can be used to leverage help with businesses and professional careers. Useful professional relationships are very important and need nurturing and help to stay alive and healthy. These nurturing  skills are ramped in  Black colleges and Black universities & Black schools are very good at establishing  such skills in Black teens and young Black adults.   Also: if you do the research, you will find that a large percentage of Black achievers come out of Black universities and Black colleges. Schools such as Fisk; Howard University, Lincoln University; Cheney University; Clark University; Spelman University; Florida A & M University; Clafton College in South Carolina; Johnson C. Smith University; Tuskegee University; (There are about 30 such Black colleges & Black Universities. You can go to your public library and look them up. Take your children with you.).    These are all powerful non-violent actions that will bring on the power and the positive social change we seek and have lasting political and financial benefits into the far future for our more wholesome and decent Black Community. 6) We should all also support the social change organizations in our Black neighborhoods and the cities we live in. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is important, but there are literally dozens of organizations that can be and should be getting our financial support and our support as volunteers. I personally have a laundry list of organizations (Mostly Black) that I support with my time and money. Most recently I Am helping serve food at The Church of The Advocate, a Black church at 18^th & Diamond Street, here in North Philadelphia.  I literally thrive on such work and LOVe to help the most needy in our Black community.  Although I Am disabled, I Am starting a new part time job very soon, or at least the paid training for that job. This has made me very proud because I’ll be able to interject more of my help & effort into the effort to lift the Black community internationally and Black People internationally.

This work will not be easy, but when a person gets used to taking on new tasks and when our friends & family and neighbors are helping right alongside of us, we find the work challenging, and even fun.  Reverend Paul Washington, the late Pastor of The Church of the Advocate was a mentor of mine and He taught me how to not only be strong, but when to accept help from others and when to listen to others. He was not only an activist, He was also an honored statesmen and a dignified diplomat. I honor Him by keeping on track with my life and doing the best I can each day. This is why I want the City of Philadelphia to name the Philadelphia Airport after Him. I will be advocating for this and asking City Council what I need to do to make this happen.

Again Brother Farrakhan, I thank you for your hard and diligent work. Remember, even the best of us need to take a break now and then. For you, since you don’t like vacations, perhaps you should make a meeting in an exotic Caribbean place (The Barbados is nice) and invite your best political allies and just dip your toes in the cool pristine waters a few times while you are there. I know this is corny, but I want you to know that I LOVe you and that your People also LOVe you.

 

Peace & Blessings,

 

 

 

Brother Tracy Gibson,

Disabled Black Businessman and Disabled Black activist

Owner of Brother Tracy Gibson & Assoc., Inc.

 

Keeping Black Families ahead of the Pack and ready for swift action that helps us survive & thrive.