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Farrakhan asks students and professors: Are you truly educated?



The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
CHICAGO (FinalCall.com) - The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan told students and faculty at Chicago State University January 25 that they have to “break free” from the educational system that has been set up by their oppressors to maintain control.

“The Architects of our education never intended for us to escape the circle of activity that takes us out from under their control, so if we are still governed by the controlling systems of our former slave masters, then we yet have to break free, so Jesus said ‘you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free,’” said Minister Farrakhan as he delivered much needed guidance and straight talk to over 1,000 at the Jacoby Dickens center. The current student enrollment at CSU is a little over 7,000.

The Minister commanded audience attention for nearly two hours including a question and answer period. He said education should be used to solve the problems of humanity, not to keep the systems of the oppressor in power. With all the educated people within the Black community, others are still controlling the economics and educational systems within Black communities.

“When we leave here tonight, you will know what to do with your life and how you can develop the gift that God has already placed in you—cultivate that gift and use it for the liberation not only of our people, but all of humanity.”

Hosted by the Chicago State University African-American Studies Program and the African-American Male Resource Center, the Minister spoke on the topic: “Education: Black People and the Future.”

“He who gives you the diameter of your knowledge prescribes the circumference of your activity,” said Min. Farrakhan. “The former slave master is the architect of your education. If a man will not treat you right, what will make you think he will teach you right?” he asked.

“If we as a people are non-productive, then somebody prescribed the diameter of your knowledge,” he said. “If you got a good education, why have we not produced what we need as a people?” he asked.

“How much control do you have over where you live and if not, why not if you are educated? If you are educated, what are you producing that proves you are an educated person? If you’re not productive, you’re not educated.”

Creating new rulers

Minister Farrakhan said “government is formed to meet the requirements of the growth of the people” and educators should use the example of Jesus, who was a “loving dictator.” His followers were called “disciples.” They were disciplined according to the teachings of Jesus, however, his desire was for them to grow in knowledge telling them, “Greater works than I do, shall you do.”


“If Jesus is the Messiah and the Messiah is God-incarnate, then Jesus was not trying to make some ignorant stupid worshippers, Jesus was trying to make people into himself, so that there would be a nation of gods on our planet!” said the Minister. “He who is the architect of your liberation becomes your teacher and your guide to help you understand your self-interests then he can go away and you can take it from there.”

Minister Farrakhan used the example of Jesus throughout the evening to demonstrate that a good teacher or professor should teach the students to use what is being taught as a base, inspiring them to be critical thinkers with the desire to build upon and even go beyond what they are being taught.

“These young people that are gathered here—some with their parents and also with professors—our young people represent the strongest and finest generation of Black people that have ever been born in this wilderness of America. They are so different and so strong until now there’s a gap between our young people and their parents, our young people and their elders.”

“There’s a divine reason for that. The elders must understand that we are the product of mis-education, for if we were properly educated, we wouldn’t be as a people in the condition that we are in,” said the Minister. “Our condition is a testimony against our educational pursuits.”

The Muslim leader said some of Jesus’ disciples failed to see the value of the youth, and the same thing is happening today. Some religious leaders ignore the youth because they may not have money to tithe, but they are very valuable in the sight of God. He reminded the audience of Jesus’ words in the Bible: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the Kingdom of God.”

“The minds of your babies have gone beyond the reach of your knowledge,” said Min. Farrakhan. “You don’t have anything to deal with that kind of mind, and that’s why they are offering our babies Ritalin drugs because they cannot control the babies! There’s nothing wrong with your children there’s something wrong with the education and the so-called educators!”

Outsiders in control

The Minister said during his recent travels to the Caribbean, he discovered that despite the fertile soil there, island nations import food from the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It is for this reason Black people worldwide are the leading suffers of diabetes, high blood pressure and certain cancers.

“When somebody else is producing your food, and you are dumb enough to eat from your enemy, and he makes it look good he makes it taste good and your taste buds are deceiving you into thinking that it is good,” said the Minister. “What are you eating? Who is feeding you?”

“With all this education we’re a crippled people,” he lamented.

The social aspects of college life are well known: the parties, alcohol and drug use along with the mingling of the sexes, but the real purpose of education is sometimes an afterthought. Many parents worry about these factors when preparing to send their children off to college.

Minister Farrakhan said real education should properly prepare a students for future self-sufficiency by teaching them critical thinking, the science of farming, science of life, and the importance of the earth. Real education makes real men out of the young male students, not men who use women as sexual playthings.

“That is very bad when you have a college education and you disrespect your female, and you look at her as something only for pleasure and after you have pleasure, you discard her, but yet she’s pregnant with your seed and you walk away from her as though she means nothing to you,” said the Minister. “How can you be educated and don’t know how to respect your woman? How can you say you are educated and don’t know how to protect your female. Real college teaching makes a man out of you! Real professors make you a man that is not going to play with a woman!”



Members of fraternities, sororities and the Five Percent Nation heard the Minister’s message Jan. 25. Photo: Timothy 6X
To futher illustrate the point, the Minister asked if there were any members of the Five Percent Nation in the audience and a few stood up. The Minister pointed out the Five Percenters refer to the females connected to them as “Earths.”

“If the woman is your earth then she’s everything!” said the Minister. “When you call her your earth you’re saying that everything you need to make life what life should be is right sitting up in a woman that we are mistreating. So when you call her earth then honor and respect her as earth and don’t spit on the earth, don’t mistreat the earth, take care of the earth and the earth will take care of you and me.”

A sense of urgency

Prior to Minister Farrakhan’s message, he toured the the Aquaponics Department a few blocks away from where he was to deliver his message. The facility has been open since the summer of 2010. They are raising tilapia fish in a controlled continuously circulating water system, plants are grown hydroponically and the emphasis is on establishing urban gardening programs. This would solve the problem of “food deserts” that exist where Blacks live on the city’s South and West sides.



Minister Farrakhan toured the Aquaponics facility at Chicago State University prior to his lecture Jan. 25. He is shown shaking hands with the facility’s director Emmanuel Pratt. Look for more coverage of Chicago State University’s urban gardening initiative and an interview with Mr. Pratt in future editions of The Final Call Photos: Timothy 6X
Students, faculty, and the community should support CSU’s president Dr. Wayne Watson because he is thinking “outside the box” as demonstrated by the Aquaponics program and other enlightening and productive initiatives on the campus, said Min. Farrakhan.

Dr. Kelly Harris, director of CSU’s African-American studies department told the audience they have a responsibility to understand the true value of education, not just focus on the material benefits.

“We take that one purpose of increasing our bank account as the reason for getting an education but generally, we lose sight of the purpose for education,” said Dr. Harris. “When we talk about education, we need to transform our condition. This is really the value of education,” he added.

He went on to say some of his colleagues were upset and uncomfortable with Min. Farrakhan’s appearance on campus, however, the Minister has the solutions needed to solve problems plaguing society.

“How can anybody be comfortable with the state of Black America?” asked Dr. Harris. “Nobody in here should be comfortable. We all need a sense of urgency about the problems, we all need to figure out a way to deal with this education problem and understanding what education is.”

As an African American studies professor, Dr. Harris said he would be doing a disservice to his students if he taught about prominent Black leaders, and failed to include Min. Farrakhan.

“If I’m teaching about Black leadership in America and I leave out Minister Farrakhan, whether I agree with him or not, if I leave out Minister Farrakhan, that tells you something about my education,” Dr. Harris told the crowd. “I might be educated, but if you are educated and you leave out Minister Farrakhan, you’re just an educated fool.”

Following Minister Farrakhan’s message, Dr. Harris told The Final Call he was very pleased.

“It was a great turnout, it was a powerful message, it was a timely message and a message that will give people a charge. It’s not just talking to people, it’s giving people a charge to do something,” said Dr. Harris.

“Minister Farrakhan brought to them tonight knowledge, wisdom, understanding and a vision, because they represent the future leaders of tomorrow,” said Student Minister Ishmael R. Muhammad, Min. Farrakhan’s assistant at Mosque Maryam, the international headquarters of the Nation of Islam. “Chicago State University received a blessing and the Minister also received a blessing. It was a double blessing because as you can see, the Minister enjoys and loves not only teaching, but he loves young people,” he added.

Dr. Watson, told The Final Call Minister Farrakhan’s message was “powerful.”

“Minister Farrakhan’s primary focus was looking at education and those tenets of education that can be the foundation for young men and young ladies as they go through a university. He had an educational message for the students and without a doubt, I know the students and the faculty greatly appreciated it,” said Dr. Watson.

(Follow Ashahed M. Muhammad @ http://twitter.com/AshahedM)