Strange Fruit A Bitter Crop - Saviour's Day Address
By Professor Zaki - The Invisible Man
Silis Muhammad C.E.O. of the Lost Found Nation of Islam celebrating the 147th birth anniversary of Master Fard Muhammad, “Founder of the Lost Found Nation of Islam delivered his annual Saviour’s Day Address at Muhammad’s Temple 3040 Campbellton Road Atlanta, Georgia.
Strange Fruit A Bitter Crop was his title and he began by wishing the in-person audience and those listening via social media, a “Happy Saviour’s Day.” He immediately informed everyone that in the past, he had submitted to being called Colored and Negro, but never to African American.
Billie Holiday’s tune “Strange Fruit” played in the background as he launched into his lecture saying, “This excerpt captures in my view a strange fruit of which we are speaking. Negro, Colored, African American of which we are talking was your so – called Nationality, our Nation’s identity, was Negro, Colored and African American.”
At this point in his lecture, he began to stress the oppressive circumstances we as a people find ourselves in because of the lack of identity.
He put it in this manner, “Billie Holiday, in her quality of voice, singing her arrangement, about three generations ago; it seems that her mind pictured a people terribly afraid or dead: “a bitter crop.”
Continuing, he said, “Billie, in the song, insinuates, in my view, just how our Nationality was willfully killed, and murdered out of us, because of death and a horrible fear.”
Mr. Muhammad then turned his attention to the perpetrator of the evils against us by saying, “Hopefully, you will feel and see your identity or race is lost; we are “a bitter crop.” This is the hand (man) which the United States of America gave rise to.”
Giving warning to the rulers of this land with these words, he said, “It is to your ‘benefit’, (the White man’s BENEFIT) to bless our departure, for the whole wide world to see.”
Becoming more explicit in his meaning of what transpired with us and why we are so weakened, he said, “We want our new name, nationality, identity, to be Afrodescendant, like those nationalities of other nations, like the French, the British, or German. What do those names say about us, before we became African American?”
The Honorable Silis Muhammad in answering the destruction of us explained, “Our identity was questionable. A nation of people absent our true nationality, our original identity was lost, just as prophecy foresaw.”
Making it completely visible for everyone to know what happened to us as a people he stated, “Our nationality was wiped out because of death and a horrible fear of dying, imposed and afflicted upon us, by the slave master.”
Knowledge of the time we are living in and the principals involved in world events, Mr. Muhammad raised the question of who is who with a comparison of leaders.
“The whole wide world is in big trouble today. A world Savior is prophesied, expected to be born. Is it Louis Farrakhan, or former President Trump, or President Biden, of the United States of America, or me, Silis Muhammad?”
Some may consider Silis Muhammad to be blowing his own horn, but far be it from the true state of affairs; he has been at the forefront of the “Reparations” issue for many years and his following statement tells it all.
“We are asking for compensation, “Reparations ” is one of the objectives of his work he spoke plainly about before addressed the acquisition of a homeland.
He demanded an answer from the United States government when he asked “Is the new nation of us included in your bargaining for peace with Arabia? I have heard. I do reason/think sometimes,”
And as a point of reference: President Trump’s first trip abroad in office was to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on May 20th 2017.
President Trump was responsible for the “Riyadh Summit” a conference of three meetings consisting of one bilateral meeting with the United States and Saudi Arabia, and two multilateral meetings, between the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the other with Arab and Muslim countries.
Members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation took part while Iran and Turkey boycotted the summit, and Syria was not invited.
The Honorable Silis Muhammad then directed his focus on the historical origin of us as a people.
“Our original homeland is Arabia, says the Last Messenger Elijah Muhammad, in his teaching. Next Africa, then afterwards, we were shipped off to America as slaves.”
Touching the need for Afrodescendant Nation involvement in negotiations for a home of our own, he asked America, “Are we in your bargaining for peace with Arabia?
Speaking directly to us he said, “Negro, Colored, or African American are/were not sufficient identities to define what we have become. ‘Well,’ you can be African American, Colored, or Negro if you want to be. But, in addition, you are more; you are an Afrodescendant. It is your new international nationality, identity. As in what race are you, you are an Afrodescendant.”
Looking back to pre emancipation times, Mr. Muhammad exclaimed, “in slavery, some died; others were scared, after witnessing “a bitter Crop.” Going a step further he articulated “We were a lost nation (nationality speaking).Our nationality was willfully killed, murdered out of us during our long period of plantation slavery, in America and in the Diaspora, us all.”
Becoming very personal, he proclaimed, “I, Silis Muhammad, am a Human Being with feelings, as labeled, Lost-found. How do I feel about that statement? The word Lost, in the common sense of the word, means we had no knowledge of our original identity or race.
The term found, meaning to me, we have been found, resurrected by Allah and His Last Messenger Elijah Muhammad.”
“The lost found nation was on the world stage,” he informed the audience as he referenced an article in the Pittsburg Courier, published October 5th, 1957 in which Messenger Muhammad said, “God, Allah, under the name of Mr. W. D. Fard Muhammad in THE HISTORY of Jesus and His mother is a sign of the history of the so-called Negroes, who have been lost from their people for 400 years – who now are found and must be returned to their own; or else every Western (Christian) government will be brought to a naught by the Great Mr. W. D. Fard Muhammad, “The Mighty Mahdi, the Son of Man," Allah in person,” are the teachings of the Messenger.
Verbalizing an intelligent truth, he said, “Here, the Messenger is saying he is the mother of Jesus” and communicated “The Last Messenger who further stated “But I don't want to be so smart in taking over the naming of the people. I expect Him here soon and I don't want Him to come and find me taking over His job.”
The Honorable Silis Muhammad made it clear, with respect to “The new Nationality name, the Messenger is not speaking of the great Mahdi establishing a new name, for the new nationality for the lost-found people.”
Linking his understanding of what Messenger Muhammad said with his, he again talked about our race. “Our racial identity was lost, as said by the Messenger. Our group has had four name changes, in my lifetime, and I am now 85 years old. A new “Nationality,” or Race, does rightfully exist, established by us with the help of the highest establishment in the world, the U.N.
Speaking for himself, he said, “Thanks to the Working Group of the UN, especially during the years 1992 to 2002 and beyond. They did that which makes good common sense. If I can’t live in that kind of world, why live;” was what he said inside as he stood before the experts at the U. N.
Mr. Muhammad referenced Genesis Ch. 15: 12-13: with emphasis on “We were placed into slavery. And we were afflicted by them for “four hundred years,” plus.
Also he advised listeners to see Sir William Muir’s book, The Life of Muhammad, Chapter 3, on prophet Muhammad. He added, “There is a discussion of Ishmael, and his father, Abraham, Ishmael’s marriage, and then to the spot where Abraham’s ‘brighter senses’ were awaking, when and wherein he thought. Well, he sacrificed an animal, other than his own blood son Ishmael.”
Increasing understanding of the story everyone has heard, he said, “Which reminds me that A Muslim is always loyal to his/her word. The only religion you need is to be loyal to your word and to be loyal to your nationality, or identity; the Muslims come the closest to honoring their word, to my limited knowledge.”
Speaking about the United Nations, he underlined the fact “The United Nation supported the idea, “I am a human being, and the UN supported the idea of a new people, a new nation, and a new nationality: Afrodescendant!”
Specifying us, he repeated, “You, the Afrodescendant, should know your history. Just when, where, and how did it begin” as he return to his opening thesis with these words, “Billie Holiday best captures, in the quality of her voice, this moment of history’s incitements, to go forth through slavery, as Billie tells it. The remarks are heard and felt in Billie Holiday’s singing of Strange Fruit.”
The Honorable Silis Muhammad pointed out that, “We, Black folks in the United States of America and the Diaspora, are a jumbled group. We were lost from our nationality.”
Again referring to Ms. Holiday, he insisted, “Billie does capture the picture of this “Strange Fruit,” Negro, Colored, African American, with her quality of voice, singing, her arrangement, of how our nationality, or race, was willfully killed out of us, because of death and a horrible fear.”
Asking the audience this question, “Can you see and feel that we were a “lost” nation,” he followed with this statement, “This reminds me of that scene of Kunta Kenta being beaten because he would not accept the white man’s name, Toby.”
Expressing our current reality, he enthusiastically reported, “Afrodescendant means we have found self. We now know who we are. It is the life we have in common, Afrodescendant.”
Proving his love for details, he shared a story of looking for information on the word nationality by saying, “I searched the records for where, and the name of the first man who founded the meaning of the term, nationality, and why.
At best, two men discussed an issue while drunk. And they discussed the same issue while sober.” He doubled down on nationality with this rationalization, “It was uncovered that people who look somewhat alike and live in the same area, and share in similar things are said to be of the same nationality. This is spoken from an American mind.”
Mr. Muhammad then put out the call for Afrodescendants as he said, “Now, we are looking to our intelligence and well trained minds, like my wife, Queen Misshaki, my daughters, Amal and Amira, Esq. Julie Walker Esq, GABWA, Dr. Akilah, Mukarram, Dr. Tauheedah Sabre, Malik Zulu Shabazz Esq, and those who have extremely educated positions – the doctors, lawyers, judges, and the upper class administrators to help guide our government and our lost youth, our children.
Preparing to complete his Saviour’s Day lecture, the Honorable Silis Muhammad implored Afrodescendants to understand him and his mission with these words, “I am only to cause you to be (born again) in a new nationality, a nation, once again. Will you HELP me?”
Going back to his predecessor, he argued, “The Messenger said he was the person giving birth to his followers, the Messiah. And, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad says, he is not the Messiah,” October 5th, Pittsburg Courier and Page 127, last Paragraph in MTTBM, 1965.
Coming almost to the end of his lecture, he poses a question, “We ask are you saying the Messenger said one thing in 1965 in MTTBM and that he changed his mind. In Theology of Time book, June 4th, 1972, page?”
With pleasure the Honorable Silis Muhammad defending the statement of Messenger Elijah Muhammad noted, “It seems to me that was only a discussion he was having about the writings in the Bible and Holy Qur’an. Messenger Elijah Muhammad does not say he is Jesus at one time, then at another, sometime later, he says differently.
The man, Elijah Muhammad, was consistent if you really knew and saw, and felt him. In 1965 in MTTBM, page 127 last paragraph he said that he is the MOTHER of JESUS, NOT JESUS.”
His final exhortation was, “Be wiser, Call them. You may find the very person you needed to reach, we as a group of people, a new nation black and lighter, are about to come into our own, a new nation this day. Will you all say with me: Afrodescendants. Shout it, Afrodescendants… Keep it going. That is your new nationality”!