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>> CHARISSA: I grew up spending most of the summers of my life on my grandparents' farm,

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which was in the rural South.

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I spent, um, almost every summer there until
I was nineteen years old, and the things that

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I saw and experienced in the South were more overt (racism, bigotry, prejudice, hatred)

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than, of course, here in the North, in Ohio,
where I was born and raised.

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So, the writings and the reading and the things
that influenced me were based on my experiences

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as a child in the South, and as a child growing
up in the North.

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Her name was Winifred, we called her Winnie,
and we were in the library and she came over

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and I guess she had been observing me before
and she noticed that I always sat and read

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book after book after book, and she gave me
a book called "Manchild in the Promised Land".

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And after I finished that book I was so excited
because it was the first book that I ever

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read that dealt with the Black American experience,
and the book takes place in Harlem, New York.

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Then she gave me Shirley Chisholm's book,
and she gave me "Black Like Me", and so that

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began to make me want to read more and more
and more about what it was like to be black

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in America, and the experiences that other
people were having at that time.

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I think the biggest differences in the way
that life has changed for not only just people

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who are in my generation but for our youth,
for just overall everything that has happened

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with our people as a whole, as a nation, as
a society, the writings have changed extremely.

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The last book I read was President Obama's
"The Audacity of Hope", and just seeing how

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this young man has transitioned, you know,
from people back in my generation.

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I was talking with my nephew about the book,
who is only twenty-seven or -eight, and even

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he said, "I never thought that we would live
to see a black President."

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So just that change within itself in the United
States is just fascinating to me, you know.

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The writing - how everything has changed so
much, because back then it was just, "I hope

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I can live in a decent neighborhood.

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I hope I can have a decent car.

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I hope that I can educate my children.

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I hope that my children will grow up to be
something great."

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And now it's kind of like it's come full circle.

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These things are beginning to manifest themselves.

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You see it everyday: millionaires, black millionaires.

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Whereas when I grew up, if someone was a black
millionaire, they were either a doctor or

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a famous lawyer.

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We didn't have those types of people throughout
our community for us to show our children,

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this is what you can grow up to be, and now
we have a black President.

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It was "Message to the Blackman in America",
which was written, of course, by the most

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honorable Elijah Muhammad.

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I read that book and, to me, it was like,
'This is what I've been searching for all

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of my life!'

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Because he gave passages out of the Bible
and passages out of the Koran, and when I

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went back and 
I read them, I'm like, 'This is what's been

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going on all of my life!

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This is what I need!'

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And so his book, "Message to the Blackman
in America" was the one book that probably

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influenced me more than any other book.

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I still think, even though we have a black
President, I feel that our people are sometimes

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worse off than we were in the '50s or the
'60s.

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We had a sense of community.

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We had a sense of value for life.

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We had a sense of dedication, not just to
fulfilling financial goals or educational

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goals, but fulfilling community goals.

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I don't think we have that, necessarily, today,
and sometimes I feel like we think that we

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have arrived, and when you look in our areas
you can see that we have not.

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So many people are still struggling just to
achieve average goals, so... so I see that.

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When I read "Message to the Blackman" today,
it was written and published in 1965, which

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is, what, thirty-forty years ago?

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Um, I don't see that his words are not applicable
to today, so yeah.

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I think it's still very, very necessary today.

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[laughing] We still need the message in our
lives today.

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I was raised a Christian.

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Of course, most people who were born in my
generation's parents were Christians, so therefore

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I was raised a Christian.

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However, when I read "Message to the Blackman"
and I got a Holy Koran and I read the Bible,

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I just really didn't see a big difference.

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I think Bible backs up Koran and Koran backs
up Bible.

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I don't really see where we have to negate
one book over the other.

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Of course, my book of choice is Holy Koran.

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It is my religion, so therefore I probably
read it more than I do the Bible, but I cheat

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[laughing].

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I have a Bible on tape and I listen to the
Bible on tape and so many times when I hear

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things that are being read to me, I go, 'That's
so... it's so Islamic!

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You know, it's straight out of Holy Koran.'

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And then when I read the Holy Koran, I think,
'Wow, this is straight out of the Bible!'

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So both books to me are very, very necessary
and very important in my life.

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I raised my children as Muslims, however,
I was not one of those kinds of parents that

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was so dictatorial that I felt like, 'You
HAVE to be a Muslim!'

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I really, and this is probably going to sound
somewhat strange coming from a woman who is

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a Muslim, but I wanted my children to choose
which path they went down, so I also introduced

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them to Christianity.

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I really don't have a problem if my child
were a Christian or a Muslim.

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I want my child, whatever book they choose
to follow, to follow it to its fullest.

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If they choose that they want to be Christians,
I want them to be good Christians.

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Because, if you are a good Christian, then
you are going to follow the Ten Commandments,

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which don't just govern Christian lives, they
govern all of our lives.

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The Bible says the first commandment is: Thou
shall have no other God but me.

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Holy Koran says: There is only one God - Allah.

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To me, that's one in the same.

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It says that you are to honor your mother
and your father.

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Muhammad said that... a man asked him a question, 
he said, "If you were to worship anyone other

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than Allah who should it be?"

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Muhammad said, "Your mother."

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And the man said, "Well who after that?"

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Muhammad said, "Your father."

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That's the Ten Commandments.

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It says to not covet what your neighbor has.

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That's one of the Ten Commandments, and Holy
Koran teaches us to want for your brothers

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and sisters what you have for yourself.

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So, to me, these Commandments are all in Holy
Koran and they are all the same as if they

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were the Ten Commandments that were given
to Moses.

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So I don't really find a distinction between
them, so if you are following what the rules

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and regulations are in the Bible then you
are a good Muslim, and if you are following

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what the rules and regulations are in Koran
then you are a good Christian.

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So, to me, I don't see a difference between
them as long as you follow what has been put

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for you to follow.

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When you read Holy Koran, it gives you passages
in the footnotes to go back and it'll tell

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you, 'You can read Isaiah.

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You can read Ezekial.

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You can read Jesus.

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Jesus said this, that and the other.'

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So, you have to have a Bible if you're going
to read Holy Koran because it gives you these

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footnotes to go back and read.

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So without... you can't...

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I don't see how you could read the Bible if
you don't have one [laughing].

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I do not read Arabic.

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I have a Holy Koran that is translated from
Arabic into English.

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I've always wanted to learn Arabic and I can
say my prayers in Arabic and that is because

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I have a disc, a CD, where I play it daily
as I'm doing my prayers to learn my prayers

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in Arabic, but unfortunately, the older you
get the more difficult it is to pick up a

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foreign language [laughing].

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And in this country, being raised, like I
said in the early '50s, '60s and '70s, foreign

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languages were not available to us like they
are now.

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So I don't speak Arabic and my Koran has been 
translated from Arabic into English.

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So, (Arabic word for 'one day'), one day I
will be able to speak Arabic fluently.

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My son took Arabic and he doesn't speak it
fluently, but he can listen and tell me some

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of the words that they are saying, you know.

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So I always wanted a child to learn it but,
you know, it's a very difficult language to

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learn when you've never learned a foreign
language before.

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Actually, we have a class in the nation of
Islam that is called MGT-GCC: Muslim Girls'

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Training and General Civilization Class.

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That class was set up by Master Pharad Muhammad
to help black women have a better home life.

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It has seven elements to it: how to cook,
how to sew, how to keep house, how to take

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care of your husband and your children, and
how to act at home and abroad.

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Now, a lot of times when people hear that,
they go, 'How to cook??'

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But a lot of young women do not know how to
cook.

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And if you're blessed where you have a cook,
that's fantastic.

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But you really should know how to cook because
the saying is true: The way to a man's heart

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is through his stomach [laughing].

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So, of course, we learn how to cook and we
learn how to sew.

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Um...

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I love to sew.

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I am an avid sewer.

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I learned how to sew from my great grandmother,
my grandmother, my mother, and then I learned

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how to sew.

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And the sewing was such a necessary part of
life back when we were growing up.

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You couldn't always just go to the store.

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There weren't Macy's [laughing], and in the
South you couldn't even go in the stores to

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buy garments, you know we just were not allowed
to do so.

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So sewing was a necessary part of our life
back then, but I actually like sewing.

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Sewing is relaxing to me.

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I like taking this piece of fabric that is
just a square and seeing it turn into a garment.

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How to clean house: well no man, or woman,
or child wants to live in a dirty house, so

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I mean, that's just...

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But you also have to be taught how to do that,
you know.

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So many times we say, 'I wonder why this person's
home looks like that.'

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It's because they were never taught.

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They just do not know how.

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How to take care of your husband: well that's
a big job [laughing].

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Uh, once again going back to the Bible, in
Corinthians it says, 'God over man, man over

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woman, woman over home and child.'

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So if you have a peaceful home, a clean home,
your husband is more likely to be at peace

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when he comes into his home.

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And if you can make your husband happy, he's
going to do everything he can to please you.

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The Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that,
um...

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Heaven is in the women.

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What he means by that, not necessarily the
hereafter Heaven, but here on Earth.

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If you are at peace, you really will be able
to create a paradise here on Earth for yourself

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and your family.

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So, how to take care... and if you can take
proper care of your husband...

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I once read on a tea box, it said, 'The most
important thing a man can do for his wife,

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or his children is to love their mother.'

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So, you know, if a man... then you're happy
and you're going to do the best you can to

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make your children happy and to raise them
properly, spend time with them, you know,

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do all the things that it takes to-- to raise
your children up.

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My husband used to always say that the most
important thing a parent can do for their

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child is to teach them how to be totally independent,
because one day, obviously, the parents are

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not going to be there.

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So if they don't need the parents in the sense
of, 'I don't need my mother to give me money.

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I don't need my mother to pay my rent [laughing]
or my car payment when I get out of college'

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then they'll be able to take care of themselves.

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And, of course, how to act at home and abroad:
that's just being civilized.

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>> INTERVIEWER: Now with the Johnny Katherine
book is there some influence from his life

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that, um, you see the same as yours, that
influenced you in some way?

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>>CHARISSA: Well, only in the sense that he
kept the faith and he always just continued

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to struggle to do what he felt was best, not
just for himself, but for his family and his

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people.

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So it just was inspirational to see that here,
this man is this famous lawyer, and he was

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so concerned about the little person,too.

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He had a, umm... he purchased these apartment
buildings just specifically because he saw

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some of the bad conditions that black people
were living in in California, and he, he...

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you know, said, 'I need...

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I need to know that...

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Here I have all this money.

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I need to know that other people can have
a decent place to live.'

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So, that influenced me to go and purchase
an apartment building on this street [laughing]

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and, um... try and put it in good condition
so that other people will have a decent place

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to live.

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So, just little things like that.

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You know, it's always somebody who, once you
read their story, you go, 'I can do that too!'

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Maybe not on the scale of Johnny Katherine
[laughing], of course, but you know on a smaller

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scale.

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It goes back to each one teach one, each one
help one.

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So I know that um... that his book influenced
me in that way, and the fact that no matter

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what I do I will always be grateful to his
dedication to people, you know, to black people.

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Because the chokehold law didn't just affect
black people.

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I'm sure that there were others, you know,
being affected by this too.

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That was the thing that stuck out in my mind.

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Well actually, um... as I had, of course,
subscribed to "The Final Call" and I read it.

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There are many articles in "The Final Call"
but The Minister always has an article about

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a lecture that he has given.

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And we are so very, very blessed with modern
technology because we can get The Minister

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on DVD and I probably have the largest CD
collection because I'm a listener.

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I don't like just sitting and watching television,
but I can actually take The Minister's CD

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and put it in my car while I'm driving, or
put it on while I'm sewing, or while I'm washing

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the dishes, or--or any type of housework that
may be mundane I can throw in that CD and

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I can put on my headset.

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Cutting grass is relaxing to me!

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I can put on my headset while I'm cutting
my grass and listen to The Minister, and his

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words are just so powerful.

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I don't think people really understand how
powerful words are, and that's why when I

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hear people using such derogatory language
I don't really think they understand how the

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words influence or affect us.

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That's just like if you constantly... my daughter
and I, Akiva, we went to see Precious.

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In the movie, I kept thinking about, 'Listen
to this mother's words to her child!' and

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how her words were so derogatory that it affected
this child in such a way, you know, and I

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sat there and [laughing] it was really funny,
and after the movie was over, Akiva and I

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just sat there.

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And I said, 'Babe, do you think we should
get up and leave now?'

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And she said, 'Yeah.'

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And the whole time I was thinking, 'Oh, Allah!

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I hope I have never used any of those words
with my daughters or my son!'

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But, his words: that's the thing that is just,
I don't think people... he draws hundreds

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of thousands of people just because he looks
good or he dresses well, it's his words.

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And I know that he is divine and guided by
Allah and his messenger.

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And the messenger's words were so powerful.

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His books, you know, he gave us "How to Eat
to Live", "Message to the Blackman in America",

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"Fall of America".

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The minister has written other books, but
of course they're all based on these teachings.

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And he's just reiterating what the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad has already said.

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So, there's not one particular book that he
has ever given me.

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I think the book that he did give us which
influenced me to, to really get on it was

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he gave everyone a Holy Koran one year, which
was a gift, I believe was from Saudi Arabia,

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if I'm not mistaken, or the United Arab Emirates.

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If I'm wrong may Allah forgive me for that,
for my mistake.

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And then the other book that he personally
gave to everyone in Phoenix was he gave us

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a small daily book of prayers, and those are
the books that probably influenced me the

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most that he's ever given to us.

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I had an English teacher- her name was Miss
Hicks.

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And back in our day, you know, you mainly
had African American teachers.

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So she was an elderly black woman, she had
a cane, and Miss Hicks did not play.

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And she taught English and she made English
so fascinating that even today when I go past

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"past participle," I think of Miss Hicks [laughing],
so it was the English book.

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And then the other books that really, really
influenced me, or I shouldn't say just books

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period, but I had a Black History teacher
and his name was Ralph Bunch, and I had another

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Black History teacher, his name was Mr. Gerin.

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They just made history so exciting and even
today, my sisters and I always say we missed

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our calling.

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We should've been history teachers.

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Because if I were to go back to school today,
I wouldn't want to teach African American

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History or American History or Asian History
- I would want to teach History, but I would

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want to teach it correctly.

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I would want to teach it the way it should
be taught.

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I think that one of the reasons why our children
don't love our history, or history period,

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is because we start out in our history books...
you were a slave.

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And that's not true.

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So, I don't think that we really understand
our history, and I think as a child I remember

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one of the very first books that my mother
got for me out of the library was on Cleopatra.

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And it was really fascinating because Cleopatra
was black, and you know, most of the time

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they do not portray her as a black woman.

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And I just was so enamored by this book to
hear these kings and queens are black.

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So, I think that would be one of the books
that really influenced me as a child - Cleopatra.

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Um... there were two sisters, Sr. Janice Muhammad
and Sr. Shelley Kasan Muhammad who looked

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at our children and said, 'Boy, we need to
have some culture and refinement for our children.'

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And Minister Farrakhan started what is called
"The Arts and Cultural Department".

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So these two sisters said, 'We need to give
our children something else besides what they

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see on TV [laughing].'

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So they got together with another sister,
Sr. Hazel Williams, Sr. Angela Collie and

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myself, and we did what was called the Jewels
Foundation.

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And with that we try and teach our children
through arts and culture, which includes reading,

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of course.

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We put on what is called the Jewels Ball once
a year for our children, and they have to

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learn how to Waltz, they have to learn, well
they learn to Cha-Cha because it's fun for

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them, but we also are constantly telling them,
'Read this book.

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Read that book.

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Read a book on how to be a civilized person.'

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When it comes to our children, I try and influence
them not just to read, you know, the Holy

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Koran or the Bible, but to read all kinds
of books that will help uplift and elevate

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them to be the most civilized people that
they can be - to be the most educated.

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College is not for everyone, although I do
feel that everyone should go to college [laughing]

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or at least give it a try, but some people
are just natural at what they do and they

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can pick up things naturally, but somebody
has to guide them where to go to get this

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information.

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So I don't try to limit the children on what
they read.

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Of course, I think the teachings overrule
everything, but I also try and tell them,

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'Look, if you read a book on, as I stated
before, Better Homes and Gardens, it gives

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you a lot of hints and clues.'

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So I try and influence them in that way.

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And I thoroughly enjoy working with our young
people.

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It is such a delight to see these young girls
come in with their jeans and their t-shirts

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and, you know, and then transform into these
beautiful young women in their ball-gown dresses

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doing the waltz.

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It's a wonderful thing.

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I think I get more enjoyment out of it probably
than they do, but it's a beautiful thing and

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hopefully...

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Um, we're doing it in Chicago this year, but
we plan on having one here and hopefully you'll

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come and see what I'm talking about, and that
can be part of your program too because it

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would be something to see.

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It's something that we used to do as a society.

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We used to have cotillions.

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Basically, that's what it's based on - a botillion
or a cotillion for our young ladies to introduce

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them to society, and we don't hardly see that
anymore among just regular ordinary black

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people.

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Usually it's for the so called "higher echelon"
and so it's something that all of our young

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people need to know how to.

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They need to know how to conduct themselves
in life.

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I can't really say there was one individual
book except for the Holy Koran and "Message

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to the Blackman" that really influenced me
to go in the direction that I go in.

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When you read a lot, you get bits and pieces
from all books that influence you either positively

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or negatively.

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I read a book, um, about four months ago and
it was called "The KKK" because I said, 'You

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know what, we always hear about these people
and we see them on TV, but I really don't

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know what they're about.

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I mean, I know they're history.'

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And that book influenced me in such a way.

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It made me say, 'Wow!'

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I am surprised that black people didn't just
rise up and take arms against these people!

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But it also helped me to understand the mentality
of people who are in a position of high places

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and still have that KKK mentality.

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I mean, when you listen to some of the news
reporters, you go, 'KKK!' [laughing].

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Particularly on Fox!

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I mean, I listen and I'm like, 'Wow, he sounds
just like he read the Klan book and said I'm

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just going to make it into 2010.'

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So, when you read books it can influence you,
but it also opens your eyes to be able to

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decipher someone's mindset.

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And I think that's why we need to read more
- because it helps you to break down, piece

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it apart and put it back together in a way
where you understand how others think, you know.

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I read the book "Sybyl" which was about a
mother who had mental illness and you know,

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three faces of these psychological... and
actually the movies that I like are the psychological

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thrillers, which sounds weird but I do because
it lets you see into the mind of how someone

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thinks - why someone would become a serial
killer and devalue human life so much.

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So, I read that book and I thought, 'Wow.

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There was no way that this young lady could've
ever grown up to live a normal life because

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her mother was crazy!' [laughing] And we joke
and we say certain family members are crazy,

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and we joke around like that, but really,
true mental illness is something that is going

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to take a lot more to understand.

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It also shows us how our environment makes
us who we are.

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So it's really necessary to surround our children
with books of all kind.