mm
3A
NEWS/^t Charlotte
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Farrakhan steps aside as NOI leader
Continued from pil9ft 1A
that the Naticm ^ Islam is
mckre than the charisma, elo
quence and personahty of
Loxiis Farrakhan,” he said in
a letter to his supporters. “In
this period of testing, you
can prove that the Nation of
Islam is under-girded by an
Idea that represents the
Kingdom of God on Earth,
an Idea that can never be
uprooted, never be destroyed
and can only increase its
power, effect and influence
over the hearts and minds of
the people of the Earth.”
During this period of recov
ery and testing, Farrakhan
said, 'T wfll be available to
give guidance in any major
situation that may arise, but
I would prefer that the
Executive Board of the
Nation of Islam help solve
the problems of the Nation,
without askbg me.”
The Nation of Islam leader
is recovering on his large
farm in Michigan.
In his letter, Farrakhan
said: “Commandante Fidel
Castro had a very serious
operation and he relin
quished power to his brother
and all those who were
trained to carry on in his
absence. While many rejoiced
- believing and thinking that,
if Fidel Castro and the Cuban
Revolution expired, they
could move Cuba and the
Revolution in a new direction
- his absence from the helm
only proved that Cuba wfll
not fall apart over the
absence or passing of their
illustrious leader. Such a
challenge is before us.”
Ironically it was on a trip to
Cuba in March that
Farrakhan’s emrent fllness
was diagnosed. Upset by the
slow response to Hmricane
Katrina, Minister Farrakhan
led a 23-meniber delegation
on a 9-day fact-finding mis
sion to learn how Cuba pre
pared for and reacted to nat
ural disasters.
“On my trip to Cuba to
learn disaster management
preparedness, I spent most of
my time there being, exam
ined and tested by some of
the finest doctors in Cuba,”
Farrakhan said. “They dis
covered an ulcer in the anal
area, similar to the ulcer that
I had in 1998-1999 that
almost caused the loss of my
life.
“The doctors in Cuba felt
, that my health at that time
was near perfect, except for
that ulcer; but fi-om that
time, March 2006, I have-
been steadily fighting serious
pain and infection. In the last
month, I had lost nearly 15
lbs. And over the last six
weeks, I have lost over 20
lbs.”
Upon being examined at
Howard University Hospital,
Farrakhan said it was discov
ered that he was dehydrated,
anemic, low in protein, albu
men and iron.
“Although I have some of
the finest cooks who always
prepare the finest meals for
me, I was in a seriously nutri-
Dose of African MDs for Charlotte
Continued from page 1A
Francis Obeng of Alfa are good fiiends, and
examples of the growing community of African
doctors that now call Charlotte home.
“IVe met a lot of Afiican doctors here in
Charlotte,” said Igjiade, a native of Liberia,
who attended medical school in Nigeria.
“Actually..! read an article stating that there
are around 60 Nigerian doctors [with practices]
in the Charlotte area. That is a large amount.”
Thoitgh he knows a good deal of Afiican doc
tors, Ighade doesn’t get a lot of African
patients.
“I’d say less than 1 percent of my patients are
Afiican,” he said.
For Obeng, the opposite is true. A native of
Ghana, Obenghasonlymet one Ghanaian doc
tor with a practice in CTiarlotte, however he
has a lot of Ghanaian patients. Similar to hav
ing someone who speaks fluent Spanish on
staff Obeng has found that the patients come
because they are comfoi-table speakir^ to him.
“Their comprehension of Er^lish and their
grasp of the language is not so good,” said
Obeng. “It is comforting for them to speak
with someone who knows the local dialect.
• They can teU me what’s wrong and ask ques
tions because we know the same langu^e.”
Both doctors attersled medical school in
Afiica, but contixm^ their training here in the
states. 'i'.'
“Ghana has soiHW r«3idency programs,” said
Obeng, who has ah Uncle practicirg medicine
inMarjdand “IfothMpiredtodomygpaduate
training here instead of the UK.”
Crump honored for filmmaking
Continued from page 1A
on Charlotte-bom artist
Romai-e Bearden, the exploits
of black paratroopers and the
Ttiskegee Airmen in World
War II and black photogra-
phei-s who covered the civil
rights era. He’s also covered
Bosnia’s attempts to recover
fix>m sectarian and ethnic vio
lence and the history of
Afiican Americans in thor-
ou^ibred horse racing.
Crump’s latest film,
“Smoketown: A Treasure Tb
Remember,” recalls his
Louisvflle, Ky, neighborhood.
The evening will include
chps firom eight documen
taries and commentaiy fix)m
luminaries fike broadcasting
legend Chatty Hattie Deeper
and sit-in protest leadei-s
Franklin McCain and
Charles Jones.
Tickets are $15 and avail
able at www.caiX)linatix.com
or (704) 333-9755.
EYES ON THE PRIZE
America’s Civil Rights Movement
Awakenings/Fighting Back
10/4 @ 9 pm & 10/8 @ 2 pm
Ain’t Scared of Your Jails/No Easy Walk
10/11 @ 9 pm & 10/22 @ 2 pm
Mississippi: Is This America?/Bridge to Freedom
10/18 @ 9 pm & 10/22 @ 4 pm
WTVIS
Community. Television.
The re-release of EYES ON THE PRIZE was made possible by grants from The Ford Foundation and the
Gilder Foundation. Funding for the National Outreach Campaign was provided by the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting Thf Annie E. Casey Foundation is supporting additbnal grants and an Oral History Toolkit.
tionally depleted state,
because the pain that I was in
took away my appetite,”
Fairakhan said. “The
Howard University doctors
discovered serious infection
and inflammation, which is
presently being treated, and
now I am forced to do what is
necessary to restore myself
nutritionally Otherwise, my
present condition coifldbe fife
threatening.”
FaiTakhan made it clear
that he is not stepping down
for good-
“1 do not believe that my
earthly work is done,” he
said. “I know that you (the
Believers) wfll accept the
challenge to move our Nation
foi-ward, being ever watchfifl
for any smart, crooked
deceiver and hypocrite who
would create confusion over
my present condition.”
HCIje CljarlottE ^oiSt
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10am-6pm, Fri. & Sat, September 29th & 30th
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“Where Attitudes are Changed intoEcU-tudes”
Obeng, an internist, completed his residency
in a joint program with Columbia University
and Harlem Hospital in New York.
“I think this is a better choice. The training
here is' more streamlined than ia the UK and
there are better opportunities to find a job.”
“Nigeria has programs bnt they are still in
the development stage,” said Ighade, who con
tinued his studies at Howard University
“Everyone wants to be a doctor in Nigeria. It is
very saturated. There are more opportunities
and the economy is better here.”
Despite ha'ving been in the United States for
several years, both have experienced gix)wing
hostility toward immigrants.
“Throughout my residency, I found people
who judged...and did not want to associate
■with me because I was not fiem this coimtry”
said Obeng.
Both thou^t it was ironic an ii-onic attitude
for members of a coimtry built by immigrants.
“When they establish themselves...tiiey start
looking out at others as the problau,” Obeng
said. “The only diffei’ence between you and
other people is that they were not bom hei-e.”
“But that is the nature of humans,” he adds
smiling,” how easily they forget how they or
theii- gi’andparents.-.or so began.”
The doctors met here in Charlotte while
working at Americare Health. They found the
scheduling commitments did not allow them to
properly serve patients, and so they decided to
open side-by-side practices.
‘T think the bottom fine is to be a blessing to
other people,” said Obeng. “
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