By Wayne A. Young 

Mooz-Lum (as in Muslim) is one of those films “conscious” African-Americans wish all of the “brothers and sisters” would see. However, it’s not preachy, just great storytelling (uses flashback superbly), has great acting (Diana Ross must be very proud of her son Evan Ross) and set in a very under represented environment (the American Muslim community). Besides Ross, Mooz-Lum has the star power of Danny Glover, Nia Long and Roger Guenveur Smith.

Set in urban America (the movie includes as many Whites as the recent Oscar awards show included Blacks), Tariq (Evan Ross) learns to reconcile having had parents raise him in a strict Muslim home and living in a majority Christian country. Early in the 1 hour and 39 minute film, we learn that his mother (Nia Long) is a devout follower of Islam, but not a Saudi women.


She’s from the US of A and has no problem telling her husband (Roger Guenveur Smith) she cannot take it anymore: She wants a divorce. And the drama unfolds to a crescendo on September 11 when too many Americans blame all Muslims for the planes that became bombs and destroy the World Trade Towers.

While the film has plenty of “good” and “bad” people, director Qasim Baisr doesn’t pit one group as evil and the other as bad. “It didn't have gratuitous sex and killing which many of our people tend to like seeing on film, as well as men in drag playing fat women,” added Ron King of Washington, D.C. Instead, Baisr focuses on telling a story and on intolerance coming in many forms, which should make everyone comfortable at having this film uplift and entertain them.

Photos:  Top) Nia Long Bottom) Evan Ross in center.

Epilepsy. And the Epilepsy Foundation has launched a new website that features notable Africans speaking about epilepsy.

Myth about epilepsy:
You should put a spoon, wallet or other object in the person's mouth who is having a seizure.

Fact:
You should never put anything in a person's mouth while he or she is having a seizure. Doing so can cause injury.

The Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement at Jackson State University will host a three-day conference featuring Minister Louis Farrakhan, Shirley Sherrod, Kathleen Cleaver and Myrlie Evers-Williams at its 1400 John R. Lynch St. campus Wednesday, March 23 to Saturday, March 26. The sixth annual conference, “Too Much Reform and Not Enough Change. NEEDED: A New Grassroots Movement for Change in EDUCATION,” is designed to inspire and empower youth through social activism education. Topics include: “The Threat to Free Speech,” “Cradle to Prison Pipeline” and “Islamophobia and Religious Intolerance.”

Ghanian David Agyin told Myjoyonline.com that Blacks in Libya are bearing the needless brunt of persecution from some anti-government protesters. The anti-government protestors are angry at the current Libyan government for several reasons including the enlisting of Black mercenaries to fight its cause. There are many Blacks in Libya, some are citizens and others like Agyin are from various countries including Ghana. The Ghanian government is in the process of airlifting its citizens back to its capital, Accra.

The Veterans of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement at Jackson State University will host a three-day conference featuring Minister Louis Farrakhan, Shirley Sherrod, Kathleen Cleaver and Myrlie Evers-Williams at its 1400 John R. Lynch St. campus Wednesday, March 23 to Saturday, March 26.

The sixth annual conference, “Too Much Reform and Not Enough Change. NEEDED: A New Grassroots Movement for Change in EDUCATION,” is designed to inspire and empower youth through social activism education. Topics include: “The Threat to Free Speech,” “Cradle to Prison Pipeline” and “Islamophobia and Religious Intolerance.”

Ghanian David Agyin told Myjoyonline.com that Blacks in Libya are bearing the needless brunt of persecution from some anti-government protesters. The anti-government protestors are angry at the current Libyan government for several reasons including the enlisting of Black mercenaries to fight its cause. There are many Blacks in Libya, some are citizens and others like Agyin are from various countries including Ghana. The Ghanian government is in the process of airlifting its citizens back to its capital, Accra.