Honoring the Mothers of Civilization: Then and Now...
- VirtueToday Magazine
- Jun 9
- 3 min read
Tahirah Muhammad
Sponsored by Sharien Muhammad
"I honor the woman, Tahirah Muhammad, who sacrificed as a co-creator with Allah to birth me and my three brothers into this world at this dispensation of time. I am grateful for the sacrifices she made to protect and nurture me into the woman I am today. She was always there to guide, protect, and support. There is so much to learn from our pioneers. What was the motivation behind their tremendous faith? They didn’t have as much knowledge as we have now. Many of them had limited education, some of whom were illiterate. They had blatant racism with police brutality as in the case of Emmett Till, multiple lynchings, beatings, “White Only” fountains, bathrooms, restaurants, department stores, housing, and schools. They had the realities of their living conditions in comparison to white societies depicted on television and in the news. They had the stories shared by their parents reared in the early 1900’s of what life was like in the south. Unemployment was high and dependency on government handouts was prevalent. High hopes were in landing a “good government job including the military from which many returned home addicted to drugs. This caused more problems in the neighborhood than before they left.
Many sought to work for civil service jobs like post office, sanitation, municipal housing and hospitals, and the MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority). These opportunities were only available to a few who could pass the test and be amongst the lucky ones picked by lottery. Most were left to fend for themselves with access to only low-level paying jobs often supplemented by government assistance, like welfare, food stamps, and Medicaid. Those who were willing and able to acquire an education may benefit from the so-called poverty programs which offered education and training to a limited number of students. These training programs designed to strengthen skills and qualifications of the labor force presumably lead to higher-paying jobs. However, if they were illiterate, had a criminal record, or simply did not make it amongst the “first-come-first served” group, those options were seemingly out of reach. Then as now, black people were given a record early in life for things white youth were given a “slap on the wrist or a pat on the back.” All of which instilled fear and hopelessness.
For a young girl with four brothers, a father, and uncles, this reality was heavy on her mind. My mother, Sister Tahirah Muhammad was born in Sumter, SC. It is said that her parents abruptly fled from Sumter up North because my grandfather and a group of his friends were wanted for alleged “reckless eyeballing (Looking at white woman), which is as good as being guilty in the eyes of white men.” It is also said that he and another friend avoided the fate of being lynched along with their other friends as that was one of the punishments for this allegation. Circumstances like this primed my parent’s heart and mind for what was to happen next...
(To read the rest of the article, go to the Mothers of Civilization Day site below. If you would like to honor a woman by giving her flowers while she lives, please put your entries in by July 1st to be included in the Mothers of Civilization book, Volume 2. A person or business can sponsor 1 or more women. Click below to read the rest of the article: https://www.mothersofcivilization.org/mothers-of-civilization-297/tahirah-muhammad
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