Elijah Muhammad: The Father of Criminal Justice Reform

His Treacherous Environment

I generally get annoyed when so many choose to take it upon themselves to criticize Elijah Muhammad. As annoyed as I become, I generally choose to ignore it as any other ignorant chatter on social media. After thinking about it, though, I realize the future of our youth is at stake, so maybe I should comment on it. Given many of the pioneers in this movement are no longer hear to tell their story, we have to be extra vigilant to make sure their contributions to the United States are preserved.

I won’t address each individual criticism. I’ll only say Elijah Muhammad was able to cut the tentacles of White supremacy. Decades after his passing, It is an issue even our intelligence communities are currently saying is one of the biggest threats this nation faces.

You may also be familiar with a recent very popular title written by, PRRI Founder and CEO, Robert Jones entitled White Too Long. Here, the author argues White Christian churches ‘have been responsible for constructing and sustaining a project to protect White supremacy and resist Black equality.’ This was the environment in which Elijah Muhammad built his Nation.

His Honorable Achievements

I laugh to myself when I see African-Americans begging their politicians for a Black agenda when Elijah Muhammad already gave them one. Elijah Muhammad is, indisputably, the father of criminal justice reform, which, as most people know, is a big issue in U.S. politics right now.

It’s no mystery why as the FBI was dismantling the Nation of Islam, the era of mass incarceration was starting under the Nixon administration.

In our community, we call Elijah Muhammad the man behind the men. It is well known he was a mentor for men such as Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and, his son, Wallace Mohammed. I should probably mention that if you have any questions about where Elijah Muhammad was trying to take his nation, the choice of Wallace to lead his movement after him should give you an indication.

Elijah Muhammad was a great American. I’ll leave you with that. We’ll talk about his contributions to the healthcare debate another time.

References

Jones, Robert P. White too long: the legacy of white supremacy in American Christianity. Simon & Schuster, 2020.