“Have you forgotten, that once we were brought here, we were robbed of our names, robbed of our language, we lost our religion, our culture, our God, and many of us by the way we act, even lost our minds!” – Dr. Khalid Muhammad on Public Enemy’s ‘Night Of The Living Base Heads’.
February 17th, marks nine years since “The Black Power General” made his transition to the realm of the ancestors. Many of his comrades, protégés and supporters often reflect on the impact he had on them, and his contributions to freeing Afrikans throughout the Diaspora from mental colonialism.
“Dr. Khalid was influential to the youth because he came at a time when we didn’t really have anything. We didn’t have any structure or unity because of the biological warfare called ‘crack’. He not only put the manhood back in Black men, he also gave us the sense of self-worth,” affirmed Shaka Shakur, Harlem Chairman-New Black Panther Party (NBPP) .
Dr. Khalid joined the Nation Of Islam (N.O.I.) after witnessing Minister Louis Farrakhan deliver a dissertation at Louisiana’s Dillard University in 1970. He worked his way through the ranks during the ‘70s and early ‘80s, eventually earning the title – “Supreme Captain of the F.O.I.” By 1985 he was appointed “National Spokesman and National Representative” of the N.O.I., and later he also served as Minister of Harlem’s historic Temple #7, when it was on 5th Ave. (bet. 125th-126th Sts).
“One man’s terrorist, is another man’s freedom-fighter!” – Dr. Khalid Abdul Muhammad
Dr. Muhammad continued his thirst for knowledge and shared what he gained in the N.O.I. during his extensive travels throughout Afrika. “Dr. Khalid trained the Ugandan Army under Idi Amin, where he was a guest at Amin’s palace for two years,” revealed Kem-Neter – former Minister Of Defense and Education – NBPP. “He also trained the Libyan Army at the behest of Momar Khadafi.”
On November 29th 1993 in Union, N.J., Khalid delivered what was initially titled “The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews,” but is forever now infamously known as “The Kean College Speech,” due to the location it was delivered at.
During this lecture Khalid presented documentation revealing…
“How European Jews financed the Afrikan Holocaust, that the pope was a fa**ot/homosexual; and for advocating the killing of all Caucasians who still remained in South Africa after being given a 24 hour grace period to flee, because they were oppressing the original people there and leeching off the land,” assessed Dr. Shaka Zulu, War Chief for the Universal Zulu Nation.
Minister Farrakhan later removed Khalid from his post as National Representative and then exiled him from the NOI altogether, remarking:
“I found the speech, after listening to it in context, vile in manner, repugnant, malicious, mean-spirited and spoken in mockery of individuals and people, which is against the spirit of Islam. While I stand by the truths that he spoke, I must condemn in the strongest terms the manner in which those truths were represented.”
Now working independently, Khalid continued his liberating efforts while contributing to freeing Afrikans throughout the Diaspora from mental colonialism by hosting many seminars with his ‘take no prisoners’ delivery – “Who Are The Chosen People” and “Is The White Man The Devil?” being two of his most popular.
While speaking at the University of California on May 24th 1994, Dr. Muhammad was shot by James Bess. Afterwards he said the assassination attempt was… “a part of a conspiracy against me!”
He added,
“When white folks can’t defeat you, they’ll always find some Negro, some boot-licking, butt-kissing, bamboozled, half-baked, half-fried, sissified, punkafied, pasteurized, homogenized n!&&@# that they can trot out in front of you!”
He soon recovered and again beat the streets. This time as the National Chairman for the NBPP, which was established by Aaron Michaels. Whether working from within the confines of the NOI’s doctrine, or more freely out in the concrete jungle, he was always a unifying force.
“I looked at Khalid as a big uncle who brought together many organizations. He was instrumental in organizing his people,” asserted Dr. Shaka Zulu.
Divine Allah, National Youth Minister NBPP added,
“He’s our modern-day Malcolm. Whatever the generation of the ’50s and ‘60s saw in Malcolm X, the generation of the ‘80s and ‘90s saw in Khalid. His impact will forever be felt because of the connection he had with this particular generation.”
On September 5th 1998, Khalid organized the Million Youth March along Harlem’s Malcolm X Blvd. The demonstration was interrupted when low-flying NYPD helicopters, and over 3,000 cops on motorcycles and horseback, storm-trooped the event. Khalid grabbed the mic, called for calm, exhorting the participants to disperse… but, to defend themselves – “By any means necessary!” – if attacked by the pigs.
Shaka Shakur reflected: “He single-handedly defeated the machine run by Guiliani. That’s a major victory. You have a system that had the nerve to tell the youth that they couldn’t speak out – and Dr. Khalid being the person that he was – not only went to bat for the youth, he stood through it all: the altercations and courts; and defeated them all around the board!”
The event was repeated the following year without incident.
Is it any wonder why the rebellious Hip-Hop generation is so enamored by Khalid’s words?
“Give me a Black Goddess Sistah, I can’t resist her! No stringy haired, blonde hair, blue eye, pale skinned, buttermilk complexion, grafted recessive, depressive, ironing board backside, straight-up and straight down, no frills, no thrills, Ms. 6 o’clock, subject to the itch, mutanoid, Caucasoid, white cave bi**h!” – Dr. Khalid, on Ice Cube’s ‘White Cave B**ch’.
NBPP supporter Habiba Kush-El added. “His ability to speak truth to power is surely missed in this sorry period of sell-outs and snitches!”
Dr. Muhammad delivered his last lecture, “No More Negro Stuff!, at Harlem’s Harriet Tubman Learning Center, February 10th 2001. A few days later he allegedly suffered a brain aneurism in Atlanta, GA and completed his transition February 17th.
Although there’s much speculation surrounding his bodily expiration, with private investigations not fulfilling solid answers, Khalid’s efforts continue through the many lives he’s influenced.
Kem-Neter commented: “Dr. Khalid was the epitome of Black manhood. An uncompromising Black Nationalist and messiah of our time!”
In the immortal words of Dr. Khalid,
“Revolution is the only solution!”
Rest In Peace… Brother
