Once Upon A Time The Vanguard, 2021

Between the early to mid-1960s and early 1970s Elijah Muhammad created an economic plan which arguably reflected the most militant approach to collective Black economics since Marcus Garvey’s UNIA movement. Under Muhammad’s economic plan there was a proliferation of businesses in predominantly Black urban areas under such names as Shabazz Barbershops, Shabazz Bakeries as well as the Your Supermarkets chain. This economic strategy was accompanied by the FOI (Fruit Of Islam) who represented the most disciplined, respected, and formidable expression of black men and women. They were dedicated to the security of fellow NOI members and provided a sense (real or imagined) that both the economic plan and the FOI served as the vanguard which hermetically sealed the Black community against the racist forces within the dominant society.