Thread: Nation of Islam supports IA marches and Emma Lozano

Lifestyle
Nation of Islam group reaches out to Latinos

By Jennie Rodriguez
April 19, 2008
Record Staff Writer

There's a perception that Latinos and blacks don't mix, but the Nation of Islam affiliate in Stockton wants to change that view by taking part in Latino-related functions.

"I don't think it's been done before, but I think it's definitely something that needs to be done," said student minister Brian Muhammad, head of the Nation of Islam's Muhammad Study Group in Stockton.

For decades, tension between the two groups in the streets emanated from the prison system, where they are segregated by choice, Muhammad said. More recently in Stockton, however, that hasn't necessarily been the case.

For several years now, members of Nation of Islam have been visible in the May 1 - or May Day - immigration marches throughout the nation and in Stockton. The Muhammad Study Group plans to attend this year's march, too. Members have attended and provided featured speakers at forums hosted by Stockton's Mexican Community Center.

Recently, minister Rasul Muhammad was invited to speak at El Concilio's Latino Leadership Conference at Cesar Chavez High School. Rasul Muhammad, son of the late Islamic leader Elijah Muhammad, talked about unity between blacks and Latinos.

That activism reflects the formation of a relationship between the two groups as well as the Nation of Islam's efforts to attract Latinos to Islam. Blacks and Latinos have more in common than they have differences, said student minister Tommie Muhammad, past leader of the Stockton Nation of Islam.

The groups share many of the same social issues, such as high school dropout and expulsion rates, prison and jail inmate rates, low college graduation numbers, health care accessibility and some economic issues.

Nationwide, only 53.2 percent of Latino high school students and 50.2 percent of black students graduate, according to a 2001 study by the Urban Institute in Washington. On the other hand, the study found more than 70 percent of white, Asian and Pacific Islander students graduate.

National prison statistics show similar disproportions for Latinos and blacks. In 2006, for every 100,000 black males in the United States, 3,042 were sentenced to prison; for every 100,000 Latino males, 1,261 were sentenced to prison. For every 100,000 white males, 487 were sentenced to prison.

Sounds like a Bomb ready to explode!