Prison Reform Ministry town hall meeting shows time and what must be done

By Timeka Muhammad | Last updated: Dec 12, 2013 - 9:18:16 AM

The Prison Reform Department of the Nation of Islam in Birmingham, Ala., had a successful second annual town hall meeting.

The event was held at the Five Points West Library. The Topic Was “The Mental Health Of Those Incarcerated.” Several speakers came out to the meeting to part take in the program.

Student Minister James Muhammad of Muhammad Mosque No. 69 called on the families of those incarcerated to come together for a meeting about mental health and to discuss the conditions of their loved ones.

Student Prison Minister James Muhammad

Bro. Muhammad talked about the unfair treatment of those that are sick and how being in prison for an extended amount of time can wear down the individual and make them dependent on others for support taking away their independent nature. They are changed in their mental state from men to boys, making them dependent on their families and the state, he added.

By making them dependent, when the men come home from prison, it is very difficult for them to work and provide for their families, he explained. This makes them turn back to the streets for support, Student Minister Muhammad added.

He talked about how the families can prepare for the men and women to come home by helping them with jobs and giving them back more of themselves and not reminding them of what they did wrong. They need to be reminded of the good done in life and how important they are to their families, Bro. Muhammad said.

He pointed out to the families some of the men and women that the Nation of Islam has helped and delivered from the prison mindset.

Rodney Cole

“I was fortunate in that blessing was bestowed upon me in being honored through experiencing a collaborative effort exemplifying truth. In our society today, often the seeds of truth are kept hidden from us—thereby diminishing or even extinguishing the chance for cultural and spiritual evolution,” said Rodney Cole.

“From the perspective of the work which I perform daily, it was an exonerating experience to be surrounded in a room of those who cared enough, and are dedicated enough, to fight for progressive evolution of mind and spirit. Willing to learn the detrimental causes of the past and address the necessities of the present, and fortify themselves for the struggle of the future. The young men and women in attendance were not there seeking to exalt themselves, or to prescribe that their concerns were any greater or less than others. They were there solely for answers of truth which has been an elusive page in their lives for far too long.”

“I commend the work that Student Minister James Muhammad, and hope for nothing less than the assured regaining of lives which have been lost. That evolution may proceed and humanity might be escalated without the loss of so many of our young men and women,” added Mr. Cole, director of Repairers of Breach Ministries.

“Our son is at Bibb County Correctional Facility and we learned so much today from this meeting dealing with the mental health of our son and what we can better do to help him,” said Mr. and Mrs. Rodney Mitchell.

The Junior F.O.I. and Junior M.G.T., Muslim boys and girls, showed the families how their sons and daughters can be disciplined and trained and children brought to the mosque for help and development.

Bro. Muhammad shared how the prison system works to make the men dependent on others, and take away their manhood and skills and ability to do for self. The prison system makes them look for sympathy, he said. The Nation of Islam Prison Reform Ministry goes into prisons and penal institutions to give men and women spiritual guidance and moral strength.

The Nation of Islam has helped build stronger relationships between the men and women in prison with Allah. With the guidance of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, men and women have returned back home and have become productive members of society.

(Timeka Muhammad is a member of the Montgomery, Ala. Study Group.)

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