The position of the African-American community, over the decades and centuries, in the United States, has continued to be that of a people in bondage, without a way out, as the oppressor/colonizer is fixated on snuffing out the very air they breathe.
This lesson in history is one that sends a bolt of displeasure through the heart of anyone who is loyal and sympathetic to the noble course of African and African-American liberation, from the hands of tyranny, oppression, and racial bullying.
Back in 1996, it was reported that the United States government outrightly blocked a donation which Muammar Gaddafi, of Libya, made to the African-American community, through Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the ‘Nation of Islam‘. The donation was made in the tune of above $1 billion.
The donation was meant to help African-Americans start businesses so that they could elevate their standards of living, in a country that was intentionally sabotaging them economically and otherwise.
Gaddafi believed that the government was oppressive to Blacks, and he stepped in to save those whom he believed were his brothers and sisters.
The Clinton administration denied Louis Farrakhan the right to receive the money donated. Louis Farrakhan made a request, through the Nation of Islam for the funds to be allowed to enter the United States, but the government officials refused – they feared that the funds will expand Black wealth.
In a statement during a News conference in Chicago, Louis Farrakhan defended the gift from Gaddafi and promised to mount a strong fight to make sure that the funds reached the African-American people, and in turn better their lives. He said “We are not terrorists, We are not trying to do anything against the good of America. What we want to do is good for our people and ultimately good for our nation.”
Farrakhan described the donation as a humanitarian gesture from Gaddafi. He also formally asked the Office of Foreign Assets Control at the Treasury Department for permission to receive the funds. But the government refused, since they had long labeled Gaddafi’s government a supporter of terrorism, and restricted all economic ties with Libya.
Louis Farrakhan did not believe in the United States economic war with Libya, and saw no crime in receiving a donation from him to help Black Americans. So, after his News conference, he left on a return visit to Libya, where he was scheduled to be a recipient of an award from Colonel Gaddafi.
The award came with a $250,000 honorarium, which the award carried. Reports say that it was the $250,000 honorarium plus the $1 billion, which Farrakhan applied to the Treasury Department to receive. But they refused.
The American government insisted that Gaddafi was sending the funds to support and fuel terrorism in the United States. That money never got to the African-American community which it was intended for. And the rest is history.
Sources: Informative440, Ny Times, Urban Intellectuals
PLEASE SHARE THIS SO OTHERS CAN KNOW THIS HISTORY!