On Sunday (Feb. 27), The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan closed out Saviours’ Day with his major address “The Swan Song,” an inspirational message for Black America and humanity at large.
Saviours’ Day is the annual Nation of Islam commemoration of the birth of Master Fard Muhammad, the Great Madhi of the Muslims and the Messiah of the Christians. In 1981, Minister Farrakhan brought the celebration back. Now, thousands of people attend the Saviours’ Day convention, which includes workshops, health screenings, fashion shows, discussions, the Salaam Expo bazaar, and more.
During his major address, live at Chicago’s Mosque Maryam, Minister Farrakhan spoke of resilience and a generation of Black champions who stand strong in the face of distress.
“You were made to conquer whatever life presents,” he proclaimed. “With the mind of a conquerer and the spirit of God, anything that came our way — in order to get where we are today — we had to conquer. You are a generation that is born from ancestors that came through the roughest of times, the hardest of trials, the depth of depravation. Our ancestors died longing for a generation that would come forth, that would not bend, would not bow, would not scratch when they did not itch, but stand tall. We are Black people who were brought to America to be made slaves — beaten and brutalized, misused and abused. Our women were the play things of a slave master who used your womb to bring forth more slaves, that with every slave that was nurtured as a slave the slave master could become rich. The slave died, the woman that birthed him died, but children were born under that cycle of pain.”
Despite the pain and hardship the Black community has endured, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan insisted, “But here we are, the strongest of the strong.” His message was inspiring and right on time as the Black diaspora continues to contend with systemic racism and violence, on top of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Elsewhere during his address, Minister Farrakhan spoke out against letting people exploit your gifts and beauty, saying that if you can’t walk away from money and fame in unethical circumstances, then your talent is diminished. “You sold out,” he stated.
While explaining the meaning of the phrase “The Swan Song,” the Nation of Islam leader said: “When you hear the note that God designed for you, hold it in your mind because if you play that note right, you may come out of death into life again. God did not come for us to die, he came for us to live, to give us life and give it to us in abundance.”
“I want you to hold on to the words ‘I can’t live without the truth,'” the famed minister later added, urging those listening to walk away from any negative relationship that does not encompass honesty. “Don’t tell me, brothers and sisters, that you love Farrakhan … but you hate me for telling the truth,” he quipped, broaching topics such as addiction and the accusations of antisemitism that have been hurled at him over the years. “It don’t work like that.”
Minister Farrakhan also spoke about his relationship with late civil rights legend Malcolm X, reminisced about the teachings of late Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, told personal stories, shared his thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccine and more.