"Toward A Learned Community Connected To The Masses" - The Final Call Interview of Brother Cedric Muhammad Regarding "Business and Building" II, October 26th to 28th

Brother Cedric Muhammad, Publisher and Co-Founder of BlackElectorate.com is calling the website's extensive online audience together for his website's second annual get together in Washington, D.C. to discuss, plan, and take action steps on a variety of fronts. The format of the three-day affair - (October 26th to October 28th) is a mixture of ice-breaking, rapport building, fun, and very serious private discussion, dialogue and planning. Inspired by the Millions More Movement, the event is dedicated to launching holistic and sustainable Initiatives that highlight issues of concern to Blacks in America, the Western Hemisphere, and Africa. He recently discussed the motivation, format, and objectives with The Final Call Online.

FCN: As-Salaam-Alaikum.

Brother Cedric: Wa-Laikum-Salaam and thank you for this privilege. Writing for the greatest newspaper on earth has been a blessing, and this interview is a tremendous honor.

FCN: How did you come up with "Business and Building"?

Brother Cedric: One day, I was back home in New Jersey with a friend and Believer who is like my little Brother - Brother Stephen - who has known me for a long time. And he told me that he thought that I had gotten away from my roots as a concert and party promoter - from my old days in the music industry - and that there was an opportunity for me to pursue, in our work of trying to better connect and unite our people. He said that I should put together an event to bring together my most enthusiastic and interested BlackElectorate.com viewers. I thought it over, discussed it with my business partner and the one who first introduced me to Islam - Brother Charles (BlackElectorate.com's Co-Founder) - and we decided to take the risk and see if we could use this event to move the website beyond its important informational and educational aspects and into a third phase of community action. After posting over 100,000 articles in 7 years, my writing over 800 myself, and our offering an online economics university, I think we have an informed foundation to stand on, but I want to marry that with the other elements of the human personality for a holistic experience and balanced interaction that results in follow-through on whatever is agreed upon.

FCN: Your event offers an unusual format, What is behind that?

Brother Cedric: Well, we know our people, a little bit of human nature, and I think understand what makes for building agreement and trust, which is the foundation of people working together. So we decided to place a great emphasis on social setting and rapport building. That is why we have a Mixer-Dinner and Private Bowling Party, as well as guest speakers. Last year we were honored to have a diverse line up of speakers - Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, Financial Expert Kelvin Boston, Conservative Commentator Armstrong Williams, International Economist Dr. Steve Hanke, and Entrepreneurial Economist Professor Reuven Brenner as speakers. I don't think you can develop the warmth, familiarity, and camaraderie that is necessary for unity by simply preaching, teaching, and talking about issues. You have to get to know one another - as real people - in a comfortable atmosphere, and offer a variety of viewpoints and an environment for informal debate and formal dialogue. In that spirit, as long as it does not get too relaxed, I think you can unleash a lot of creative energy married with critical thought, and take care of some serious business. We thought this through in terms of a five-step process that I once heard Brother Jabril Muhammad lay out: Knowledge, Contact, Respect, Love, Unity. Some of those elements are inter-changeable but to have operational unity, in a collective, you need to move through those steps, stages, and phases. Intellectual agreement is one thing, but the unity of spirit is another. I don't think you will find a community that has as much serious discussion, while enjoying each other's company, and networking.

FCN: In what way has the Million Man March and Millions More Movement inspired you?

To Read The Final Call's Interview Of Cedric Muhammad In Its Entirety Please Visit:

http://www.finalcall.com/artman/publish/article_3995.shtml

Thursday, October 11, 2007