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Sunday, February 8, 2009

Boys To Men


By Starla Muhammad

Black men who take active role in the lives of young Black boys is crucial to the development of their self-esteem. Studies have shown boys perform better academically, are less likely to drop out of school and are less likely to join gangs, if they have a father -figure or active male role model in their life. This is especially true for our young brothers. Recently the Fruit of Islam (F.O.I.) who are the men of the Nation of Islam took a group of 20 Jr. F.O.I. on a day trip from Phoenix, up to Prescott, Sedona and Flagstaff. The group spent the day hiking, visiting an observatory, playing in the snow and fellowshipping with one another. The young men, ranging in age from 7 – 16 also met a former professional football player on their trip. Earl Faison, a former player with the San Diego Chargers gave the youngsters a history lesson on his experience as a Black man in the National Football League in the 1960’s. Brother Ghazi Muhammad, one of the men who accompanied the Jr.’s was amazed some of the boys had never seen snow before. He expressed it was satisfying to interact with his young “nephews” and looks forward to planning and participating in future activities with them. In the life of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), of 1400 years ago, it was his uncles who took care of him, trained him and educated him after his parents died. “As uncles to these young men, we have to take a more active role in their lives” said Brother Ghazi. A future trip to take the young men to Tucson is already in the works.

Photos by: Ghazi Muhammad

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Inspiring...great story about The Fruit!