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COMMENTARY: Faith and Fortitude — How Black Muslims’ Core Values Can Transform the Racial Wealth Landscape

NNPA NEWSWIRE — It’s no longer a choice but an obligation to take the current economic state of our community into consideration. We need to be aware of the influence of our purchasing power and support the policies that influence the expansion of the local economy. We should not rely on the government or corporate entities to bring about change in our communities.
The post COMMENTARY: Faith and Fortitude — How Black Muslims’ Core Values Can Transform the Racial Wealth Landscape first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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3 years ago

August 17, 2023

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By Dr. Quiana M. Shamsid-Deen
DSW, LMSW, Exe. Dir.
Supreme Family Foundation
Assoc. Prof., Georgia State University

ATLANTA, Ga. – In order to encourage economic empowerment, the Nation of Islam (NOI) put a strong emphasis on business education and financial literacy. They founded a national bank in 1973 with offices in Chicago, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York City that provided financial services like small business loans and credit cards that were especially suited to their members’ requirements.

The Nation of Islam also aimed to establish member-run cooperatives and small businesses in order to foster a culture of economic self-sufficiency. They established Muhammad Speaks Music Group, their own record company, to release albums from various rap and R&B artists. In terms of economic justice and self-sufficiency, the Nation of Islam has left a significant legacy, and its teachings are still applicable today.

In order to build a sustainable business that generates jobs and supports the neighborhood economy, Black Muslim entrepreneur Khalilah Beavers opened the Halal Soulfood restaurant in New York City in 2019. She did this by drawing on Islamic principles of economic justice.

Meals were donated to food banks, homeless shelters, and other charitable organizations as a result of Beavers’ dedication to social responsibility.

The development of impact Investment funds are another instance of how Black Muslims have applied these ideas. The Black Muslim Investment Group (BMIG) is an African American-led investment fund that focuses on delivering financial returns while also achieving positive social and environmental impact.

The BMIG has made investments in companies in a variety of sectors, including technology, healthcare, education, and renewable energy. They support sustainability while also fostering economic opportunity within their community by utilizing their resources to invest in companies that share their values.

Through the concept of Zakat, an obligatory act of charity and one of Islam’s Five Pillars, Islamic principles can be used to combat the structural causes of the racial wealth gap. By requiring people to donate a portion of their wealth to the less fortunate, zakat promotes economic justice by providing a source of income for those who are in need.

If properly implemented, this system can help lessen economic inequality by redistributing wealth among the various social classes. Islamic principles also place a strong emphasis on racial and class-neutral solidarity among all members of society; this idea of universal equality under God serves as a foundation for opposing systemic racism and advancing equality for all.

Last but not least, Islamic banking practices like the ban on interest can act as an alternative to conventional banking systems, which have been accused of fostering racial socioeconomic inequality.

Islamic banking can increase access to financial services for minorities, who frequently lack access to traditional banking services due to income inequality. Islamic banking does this by providing an ethical framework for lending money without charging interest.

It’s no longer a choice but an obligation to take the current economic state of our community into consideration. We need to be aware of the influence of our purchasing power and support the policies that influence the expansion of the local economy. We should not rely on the government or corporate entities to bring about change in our communities.

However, we should hold them responsible and have a plan in place for how to make amends for their wrongdoing. It is our responsibility to ensure that we are championing the idea of contributing to capital reinvestment in our community in order to ensure its expansion and prosperity for coming generations.

Furthermore, rather than relying on outside sources, we must develop a financial system unique to the Black community. We should also stay informed about economic inequality and use our resources to help eliminate it, in turn becoming disruptors to the current state of our economic affairs.

The tenets that Black people should “Do for themselves” are the foundation of these principles. This motto encourages the development of economic self-sufficiency among Black people and serves as an inspiration for them to build their own economic ecosystem.

The racial wealth gap nonetheless persists, so Black Muslims must keep advocating for measures to address the causes of inequality in order to close the gap. Black Muslims can regain the self-assurance to take charge of their financial destinies and build a new world for themselves and future generations by relying on these principles and upholding this legacy.

We have the ability to affect long-lasting change both domestically and internationally because of our position as Black Americans. However, in order to achieve this, we must take decisive action to overcome systemic obstacles.

If our voices are included in the global dialogue, our vision of equality can take shape; however, without first addressing injustice at home, we won’t be able to make real progress on a global scale. We’ve waited too long; it’s time for us to take control and turn survival into thriving!

Sources:

Allen, E. (1996). Religious Heterodoxy and Nationalist Tradition: The Continuing Evolution of the Nation of Islam. The Black Scholar, 26(3/4), 2–34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41068679

Prosperity Now (2017, September). Road to Zero Net Wealth: How the Racial Wealth Divide is Hollowing Out America’s Middle Class. Prosperity Now.

Rochester, S. (2019). The Black Tax: The Cost of Being Black in America. John Wiley & Sons.

This article originally appeared in The Muslim Journal.

The post COMMENTARY: Faith and Fortitude — How Black Muslims’ Core Values Can Transform the Racial Wealth Landscape first appeared on BlackPressUSA.

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2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring Review — Is This $136K EV Sedan Worth It?

AUTONETWORK ON BLACKPRESSUSA — Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, but it still feels elegant instead of trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

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The 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring is the kind of luxury EV that makes people stop and ask a simple question: Is this really better than a Tesla Model S, Mercedes EQS, or BMW i7? At $136,150, it has to do more than look futuristic. It has to feel special every time you get in it.

Finished in Stellar White Metallic with the Tahoe Grand Touring interior, this Lucid makes a strong first impression. The shape is sleek and low, yet it still feels elegant rather than trying too hard. Features like soft-close doors, powered illuminated door handles, 20-inch Aero Lite wheels, and the Glass Canopy Roof help the car feel expensive before you even start it.

Inside is where the Air Grand Touring really makes its case. The 34-inch Glass Cockpit Display and retractable Pilot Panel screen give the cabin a clean, modern look that still feels different from other EVs. The Tahoe Extended Leather and Lucid Black Alcantara headliner lifts the sense of occasion, and the front seats are a highlight. They are 20-way power-adjustable, heated, ventilated, and include massage. That matters because luxury buyers at this price expect comfort first.

Rear passengers are not ignored either. You get 5-zone heated rear seating, a rear center console display, and power rear and rear side window sunshades. Add in the Surreal Sound Pro system with 21 speakers, and the Air feels like a true long-distance luxury sedan.

Lucid also gives this car serious EV hardware. The dual-motor all-wheel-drive system, 900V+ charging architecture, and Wunderbox onboard charger are big talking points. Buyers in this segment care about range, charging speed, and everyday ease, not just raw performance. That is where the Lucid continues to stand out.

On the technology side, the Air Grand Touring includes DreamDrive Premium, with 3D Surround View Monitoring, Blind Spot Warning, Automatic Park In and Out, Automatic Emergency Braking, and a Driver Monitoring System with distracted and drowsy driver alerts. This one also has DreamDrive Pro, which adds future-capable ADAS hardware.

There are still some real-world annoyances. Based on your notes, the windshield wiper control is hard to find and use, and that matters more than people think in a high-tech car. When controls become less intuitive, even a beautiful interior can feel frustrating.

Still, the 2026 Lucid Air Grand Touring succeeds where it matters most. It feels luxurious, advanced, comfortable, and thoughtfully engineered. For buyers who want an EV sedan that feels truly premium and less common than the usual choices, this Lucid makes a very strong case.

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Snoop Dogg Celebrates 10 Til’ Midnight at the Compound

LOS ANGELES SENTINEL — The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles.

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May 3, 2026

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Snoop Dogg celebrated the premiere of 10 Til’ Midnight at his Inglewood recording studio & multipurpose facility, The Compound, but the night felt like much more than an album release. It felt like Los Angeles. It felt like legacy. And it felt like another major move from one of the city’s greatest cultural architects as he continues to prove that he is not just dropping music — he is building moments, shaping narratives, and pushing the culture forward in real time.

What made the event so powerful was the clarity behind the vision. During a panel conversation with DJ Hed, Snoop opened up about the heart behind 10 Til’ Midnight, explaining that the project was created to help bridge older and younger generations while also speaking to the long-standing divisions between Bloods and Crips in a unique way through film. That alone gave the project a different kind of weight. This was not just about songs. This was about using creativity as a tool for connection. This was about taking a story rooted in Los Angeles and telling it in a way that could bring people together.

Snoop Congratulated By Rapper & Fellow 10 Til Midnight Cast Member G Perico (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

The album is paired with a film that stars Snoop Dogg, Hitta J3, G Perico, and Ray Vaughn, and one of the strongest elements of the whole project is that the production stayed rooted right here in Los Angeles. The film was shot in the city, including at WePlay Studios in Inglewood, which gave the entire project an even deeper hometown feel. It was not just a West Coast story in content — it was a Los Angeles-made production from the ground up.

That matters because, in a city like this, authenticity still carries weight. Snoop understands how to make sure that what he creates does not just represent Los Angeles on the surface, but actually comes from it.

What also makes 10 Til’ Midnight significant is that it represents another major step in Snoop’s evolution as both an artist and executive. Public reporting around the project identifies it as his 22nd studio album, but the bigger story is what it represents in this season of his life. This is one of several consecutive moves he has made in his 50s that show he is still building, still expanding, and still finding new ways to reinvent what the next chapter looks like.

Snoop Dogg at the Premiere of 10 Til Midnight (CreativeLB/KreativeKapturez)

Now, as the head of Death Row Records and the newly aligned leader of Death Row Pictures, he is taking the brand into a new dimension. That is what made this moment feel bigger than music. Snoop is not just protecting the legacy of Death Row — he is stretching it. He is expanding it beyond records and into film, visual storytelling, and larger creative worlds that can continue carrying the label’s impact forward. Public reporting has noted that this project arrives as part of that broader cinematic push.

That is a major Los Angeles move because the city has always been built on the intersection of music, film, neighborhood identity, and cultural storytelling. With 10 Til’ Midnight, Snoop is leaning all the way into that intersection.

The room at The Compound reflected that. It felt like a private premiere, but it also felt like a statement — a reminder that Snoop Dogg’s staying power has never been based only on nostalgia. It comes from his ability to remain connected, remain visionary, and remain in tune with how to move the culture without losing the essence of who he is.

That is why this premiere mattered. It was not just about celebrating another album. It was about witnessing a Los Angeles legend continue to evolve, continue to unify, and continue to use art to tell stories that hit deeper than entertainment alone.

In that sense, 10 Til’ Midnight became more than a project launch. It became another example of how Snoop Dogg is still taking Los Angeles to the next level — using music, film, and legacy together to build something bigger than a moment.

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OP-ED: Small Businesses Need Minnesota to Act on Pass-Through Tax Policy

MINNESOTA SPOKESMAN RECORDER — A Twin Cities immigrant entrepreneur who built several businesses including grocery stores in underserved neighborhoods is calling on Minnesota lawmakers to extend the Pass-Through Entity tax option before it expires, warning that its loss would hit small businesses already recovering from Operation Metro Surge with higher federal tax bills.

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May 3, 2026

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A Twin Cities Small Business Owner Is Urging Minnesota to Extend a Tax Policy That Could Save Thousands of Businesses

By Daniel Hernandez | Minnesota Spokesman Recorder

I came to the United States as a teenager with a clear goal: to build something meaningful through hard work. I put in long days in construction, restaurants, and landscaping; doing whatever it took to learn, save, and eventually start my own business.

Over time, I built and ran several successful ventures, including an event photography company, a magazine, a tax and accounting firm, and now grocery stores serving neighborhoods across the Twin Cities where other retailers chose not to invest. I’ve created jobs, supported families, and committed to communities that deserve stability and opportunity.

That’s why I’m speaking out now.

Small business owners in Minneapolis and the communities we serve are recovering from serious disruptions, including the impacts of Operation Metro Surge. That event hit immigrant communities especially hard. In my own case, I lost nearly half of my 60 employees and saw revenue drop by about 85%. While I worked to provide competitive wages, health benefits, and paid time off, the real hardship fell on the people who lost their jobs and income.

Even as we rebuild, small businesses are facing another challenge. The Minnesota Legislature is considering letting an important tax policy expire: the Pass-Through Entity tax option.

Here’s what that means in plain terms.

Many small businesses, including mine, are pass-through businesses. That means the business itself doesn’t pay income tax. Instead, the owners report the income on their personal tax returns. But under current federal rules, there’s a limit on how much state tax we can deduct. That often leads to higher federal tax bills.

The Pass-Through Entity option fixes that. It allows the business to pay the state tax directly, which means the business can fully deduct those taxes on its federal return and lower the total amount of income taxed federally. The result is straightforward: small business owners pay less in federal taxes, without reducing what the state collects.

This policy is not new or controversial. Thirty-six states already offer it. It doesn’t cost Minnesota anything, it’s revenue neutral. And it benefits more than 66,000 businesses across the state.

In a state where the cost of doing business is already high, it’s hard to understand why we wouldn’t offer the same basic tax treatment as states like California and Illinois.

Small businesses have carried a heavy load in recent years, through a pandemic, rising costs and public safety disruptions. We’ve adapted, reinvested and stayed committed to our communities. What we need now are practical policies that support that work, not make it harder.

If the Minnesota House does not act soon, many businesses will face significantly higher federal tax bills. That’s money that could otherwise be used to hire workers, raise wages or reinvest in local neighborhoods.

I urge Gov. Tim Walz and members of the House Tax Committee to pass House File 3127 and extend the Pass-Through Entity election.

Small businesses are the backbone of our communities. We’ve proven our resilience. Now we need our state leaders to show the same commitment to us.

Daniel Hernandez is the owner of Colonial Market located at 2100 E. Lake St.

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