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Southern headquarters of 10K Fearless established in Atlanta

By Kenetta Muhammad | Last updated: Jan 5, 2016 - 3:23:51 PM

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Left to right: Student Minister Sharrieff Muhammad and Rev. Timothy McDonald. Photos: Rashaad Muhammad

—The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said, “Ten-thousand fearless, welltrained men and women are needed to go into Black neighborhoods and stand between Black people aiming guns at other Black people. We’ve got to stop the killing, we can’t talk about it; we’ve got to do it.”

On October 10, 2015, Minister Farrakhan called for the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March themed, Justice Or Else! The March was held on the National Mall in Washington D.C. and brought an estimated 800,000 to one million people crossing various racial, gender and ethnic lines in support of universal justice for all people. During this monumental gathering Min. Farrakhan called for 10,000 fearless men and women to go into our communities and stop the violence, create peace and help transform lives.

The 10,000 Fearless Men & Women Headquarters of the South located in Atlanta.

Some may have wondered, what’s next?

In Atlanta, under the leadership of Student Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad, Southern Regional Representative of Min. Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam and Reverend Timothy McDonald, pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church, partnered as Chair and Co-Chair of the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the Justice Or Else movement. In 1995, Rev. McDonald served as Atlanta LOC head and continued 20 years later for the 10.10.15 march. After the gathering Rev. McDonald and Student Minister Sharrieff followed the instructions of Min. Farrakhan and established the 10,000 Fearless Men & Women Headquarters of the South.

Residents participate in community food giveaway.

The headquarters is located at 801 Joseph E. Boone Blvd. In Atlanta, Georgia, 30314. Its mission as guided by the words of Minister Farrakhan in a call to action is: “What the Black community needs is true faith in God, not guns, and men who love God! When you are unafraid of man and you love God in man, you can go in the hood like we do and stand in the gap between the guns. That’s what the 10,000 fearless men and women can do in our community.” The Atlanta LOC, under the leadership of Student Minister Sharrieff and Rev. McDonald, moved quickly to answer the call.

The 10,000 Fearless Headquarters of the South is located in the highest crime ridden community in Georgia known as ‘The Bluff ’. On the front of the house where the headquarters is located a posted sign reads, “God Is In The Bluff ”, a phrase coined by the 10,000 Fearless Men & Women Headquarters of the South. Many people walk by the house and stop to read the sign.

The headquarters is a free 24- hour center founded in the spirit of love and unity to provide resources and training that empowers families spiritually, physically and economically. It promotes peace and with the ultimate goal to transform communities. The headquarters offers resources such as community patrol, counseling, a food pantry, conflict resolution, youth programs, culinary arts and other training programs.

Maynard Eaton, National Communication Director of SCLC, stated, “This sort of community policing is not new to Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad. Eleven years ago as Supreme Captain of the Nation of Islam’s security force known as the Fruit of Islam, Sharrieff Muhammad shut down the notorious drug trade in a community fiercely controlled by Rayful Edmonds, once known as Washington, D.C.’s ‘drug tycoon.’”

When asked if he thought hardened criminals, drug dealers and gang members in ‘The Bluff ’ would listen and curtail their activities. “You think those same gang leaders don’t listen to the Honorable Louis Farrakhan? They went all the way to Washington, D.C. to listen to Minister Farrakhan at the Justice Or Else rally. And, when he came here to the city they came out and packed the church with so-called gang bangers and rappers to listen to the Honorable Louis Farrakhan. He is the real spiritual leader of the people; they want to hear an uncompromising voice, an unafraid voice,” said Student Minister Sharrieff .

Student Min. Sharrieff stands in front of a bus donated to the 10,000 Fearless Men & Women Headquarters of the South.

“They are getting ready to see something happen in The Bluff that has never happened before,” he added.

So far, the 10,000 Fearless Men & Women Headquarters of the South have hit the ground strong with a weekly food pantry, feeding over 200 people per week. The ‘Occupy the Corner’ initiative a collaborative effort involving several groups to form a community patrol unit is continuing with the 10,000 Fearless Training Class hosted every Wednesday at 6 p.m. The training suite is named after longtime Nation of Islam pioneer, Minister Abdul Rahman Muhammad. There is also a conflict resolution center that has been used to resolve beefs and other issues in the community. Local residents that battled personal issues have come to the headquarters and have received help and support from personnel.

The headquarters has also started painting houses in close proximity to its building as an example of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad words, “Make your own neighborhood a decent place to live.” In doing so, residents have come by just to assist and even give donations. Recently a bus was donated to the headquarters to help in efforts of reaching the people in the community.

The word is traveling fast and the excitement is growing. Dozens are joining the training sessions. Local churches and organizations have started to come by the headquarters and join in the efforts in response to letters sent out by Student Minister Sharrieff to all churches in the surrounding area asking them to unite, including Reverend Anthony Motley, pastor of Lindsey Street Baptist Church for 35 years.

“Islam is a religion of peace and it has been demonized by the likes of Donald Trump and others who play on the xenophobic paranoia of our White brothers and sisters,” said Rev. Motley. “We welcome the Nation of Islam into the English Avenue community. The Nation of Islam has an excellent track record for taking Black males and ministering to them and giving them a sense of hope and discipline and dignity and introducing them to God through the Muslim faith, and we applaud that,” he added.

The 10,000 Fearless Men & Women Headquarters of the South is just the continuation of a great movement that will work to help improve our local communities in the spirit of love and unity. We must learn to do as Min. Farrakhan asked which is, “We must love our people more than they hate themselves.”