THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 21, 1994 TAG: 9407210537
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLISE LYLES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
A Hampton Roads anti-crime group has invited black Muslim leader Louis Farrakhan here to do more than deliver the fiery, controversial rhetoric for which he is known.
Members of the Hampton Roads Coalition Against Violence are calling on the Nation of Islam leader and his local followers to help guide a plan to stop black-on-black crime. It would include using Farrakhan's cleanshaven bow-tie-wearing security force to patrol drug-infested neighborhoods and developing an economic empowerment plan.
``I think everybody knows now the dire need to stop the violence because it has reached an epidemic. And no one has reached African-American youth the way that Minister Farrakhan has,'' Ida Sands, a member of the coalition, said Wednesday.
``If we can get the Nation of Islam into these housing projects and patrolling the Park Avenue area around Norfolk State and other places, they would do a wonderful job. These men get respect. One of the reasons for their success is they know what it's like because they've been there.''
Farrakhan is scheduled to speak at Scope on Saturday, July 30, at an anti-violence rally sponsored by the coalition.
Wednesday, at a news conference at Scope, about a dozen black leaders representing the NAACP, the church and the Nation of Islam vowed to unite in support of an anti-crime program based on the self-help principles and strategies of Farrakhan's movement, such as promoting black-owned businesses.
Farrakhan has drawn media attention for fiery rhetoric labeled anti-Semitic by some Jews and blacks. Last month, some blacks and Jews chastised the Rev. Benjamin Chavis, head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for inviting Farrakhan to a leadership summit.
But coalition members said Farrakhan's focus is on stopping violence.
``As a people, we are engulfed in a war; our young people are dying,'' said E. Curtis Alexander, an educator and author of ``Elijah Muhammad on African-American Education.'' ``I've been studying the Nation of Islam for 35 years. It was part of my doctoral dissertation. If you study the works of the founder, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, anti-Semitism wasn't an issue.''
They urged Jews to support the cause of nonviolence by attending the rally.
``Many in the Jewish community are in business. Surely anybody who stands against crime is going to benefit Jewish businesses and the Jewish community,'' said George Mimns, president of the Virginia Beach NAACP.
Asked whether the coalition could guarantee that Farrakhan would make no anti-Semitic remarks, Farrakhan's local follower and coalition chairman Minister John X said, ``We don't guarantee anything. In my opinion, Minister Farrakhan never did say anything like that.''
Farrakhan's reputation among most blacks rests on his success in rehabilitating black men from a life of crime and cleaning up crack-addled, crime-infested communities from Los Angeles to Washington, said Khalil Rasoul, co-chairman of the coalition and a Nation of Islam member.
``We have to help ourselves rather than looking to others. These young men you see in shirts and bow ties,'' Rasoul said, pointing to two Nation of Islam bodyguards standing still as statues, ``We're going to propose having these men on the corner with the drug dealers,'' patrolling to protect residents.
The coalition would raise money to pay for the Nation of Islam patrols, Sands said. And revenue from the July 30 rally will go toward jobs for black youth, she said. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster outlets. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by JIM WALKER
Minister John X, left, Khaleel Rasoul and Lester Ward of the Hampton
Roads Coalition Against Violence are seeking help from Louis
Farrakhan to stop black-on-black crime.
by CNB