Indianapolis Recorder, Indianapolis, Marion County, 28 July 2000 — Page 7

THE INDIANAPOLIS RECORDER

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FRIDAY, JULY 28,2000

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IBE releases 30th Summer Celebration attendance count More than 300,000 people from across the nation attended Summer Celebration 2000, according to Indiana Black Expo officials. “We were pleased to present a dynamic event that uplifted the achievements, talents and contributions of African Americans, both nationally-recognized and Indiana’s very own,” said IBE President Rev. Charles Williams. “There were many difficult obstacles to overcome while planning this year’s event, but with the dedication and determination of our staff, results were promising.”

www. indianapolisrecorder. com tog on to us

Changes within NOI

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NEWYORK(NNPA)—Minister Benjamin F. Muhammad, formally known as Rev. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., has been removed as head of the Nation of Islam in the Eastern Region and at Mosque No. 7, a move seen asa major demotion within the NOI, sources said. A spokesman for the upcoming Million Family March denied the move was punitive, instead calling it a promotion because Muhammad will now be working full-time on coordinating that event The Million Family March will be held Oct. 16 in Washington, D.C. — the fifth anniversary of the

Million Man March.

Muhammad is scheduled to return to both of his former posts, the NOI

spokesman added.

Sources said the action is designed to keep the spotlight on die Million Family March and away from '"--' Muhammad, a former Christian preacher who has been a lightning rod

' for controversy.

<' In 1994, Benjamin Muhammad— then named Chavis—was ousted as executive director of the national NAACP due to allegations of fiscal mismanagement and attempts to use the organization's funds to settle sexual discriminationchaiges brought against him by an aide. He subsequently assistedFarrakhaninorganizingthe 1995 Million Man March and later con-

verted to the NOI.

Muhammad allegedly let productivity drop at Mosque No. 7. Key officials at the mosque had stopped cooperating with the minister, according to

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Muhammad is a nationally known civil rights leader who was part of the Wilmington Ten, a group of activists imprisoned unjustly in North Carolina

for much of the 1970s. As an activist for the Commission for Racial Justice of the United Church of Christ in the 1980s and 1990s, he led national protests and forums, particularly in the movement for environment^ justice — a phrase he coined. Neither Farrakhan nor Muhammad could be reached for comment, but the New York Amsterdam News has learned that Minister Kevin Muhammad of Mosque No. 7-C in Brooklyn replaced Benjamin Muhammad as head of Mosque No. 7 in Harlem — a position once held by Malcolm X before his break from the NOI in 1964. Minister Khadir Muhammad of Mosque No. 4 in Washington has now been tapped to be East Coast Regional Minister,saidEricTureMuhammad,a I spokesman for the Million Family < March. Farrakhan and other membersofthe Nation’s leadership remain silent on the issue, with those interviewed by the Amsterdam News calling it an “inter- \ nal affair.” March spokesman Eric Ture ! Muhammad, interviewed by the NNPA, emphasized that Muhammad “wasn’t kicked out, wasn’t pushed out; he was stepped up.” He said Muhammad’s move was made to properly prepare700cities for 1 the march in the next 90 or so days. “That’s not easy,” said Ture Muhammad. “It’s a whole lot of work that needs to be doubled.” He said march organizers would have a presence at the national political conventions, as well as holding town hall meetings and speidungtoursaeross America. The Million Family March is designed to make families stronger to combat America’s social ills.

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