In The Housing Projects, Farrakhan Wins Respect By Bringing Safety, Hope -- Security Services Offer Non-Violent Assistance

BALTIMORE - Until eight months ago, tenants of the Flag House Courts housing project in East Baltimore generally ventured outside their apartments only when they needed to.

"We didn't know where the next bullet was coming from, and they were coming all the time, every day," said Dorothy Scott, who moved into the development 25 years ago.

Thanks in large part to the work of a security agency founded by the Nation of Islam, the nightmare has ended. And therein lies one reason Louis Farrakhan and his quasi-religious organization appeal to many African Americans, and why many mainstream black leaders hesitate to ostracize him even when he and his aides make inflammatory, racially charged statements.

In crime-scarred cities around the country, real-estate companies and politicians are hiring security firms run by Nation members. And, with few exceptions, the guards are bringing a semblance of peace and dignity to the low-income projects they patrol.

The number of criminal acts reported at Flag House, for example, has dropped 65 percent since NOI Security Inc. began its round-the-clock patrols on July 1.

Through such activities Farrakhan's organization is winning loyalty and admiration among many blacks, including some who have little interest in Islam and who disagree vehemently with his controversial beliefs.

An equally important draw, according to academics, politicians and dozens of black Americans interviewed last week, is a visceral factor: Even as Farrakhan and his followers alienate much of the country with their often belligerent and defiant stands, they strike a responsive chord with people who feel they have been beaten down, disrespected and disenfranchised for too long.

"The bad part is the hate they preach," said Keith Whitting, a student at the Community College of Baltimore who attended a speech on campus earlier this month by Khalid Abdul Muhammad. An overflow crowd of about 400 attended and gave a standing ovation to Muhammad, a former aide whom Farrakhan suspended for igniting a political firestorm in an address in New Jersey in which he derided Jews, gays and the pope, among others.

"The good part," Whitting added, "is that they speak of black self-awareness . . . and they understand what we're feeling, that a black man is made to feel like the lowest thing a person can be on this Earth."

Steven Barboza, author of "American Jihad, Islam after Malcolm X," sharpened this point.

"Blacks in every part of society understand the feeling, but black youths in particular . . . are attracted to Farrakhan because he is so unwilling to compromise with whites, and he articulates a rage that is rooted in centuries of oppression for black people in this country," he said. "People leave Nation of Islam rallies not with a desire to burn or do violence, but with a burst of self-pride."

Barboza, a Muslim unaffiliated with the Nation, did not offer his analysis as praise. Instead, most black scholars and clergy members interviewed disparaged the Nation of Islam as an organization with a religious facade designed to carry out its nationalistic aims. Moreover, they criticized Farrakhan as a demagogue who picks his targets largely to incite a public response and thereby draw more attention to himself.

Officials of the Nation of Islam dismiss such concerns as the product of detractors' disinformation and point out that they not only preach peace but do not even allow their security forces to carry guns. Farrakhan's own bodyguards, who are called the Fruit of Islam, reportedly are armed, however, and there have been recorded instances of guards at housing projects beating up suspected drug dealers.

Nation members wear closely cropped hair, dark suits, white shirts and bow ties, and they spend much of their time tidying up hallways and stairwells to help residents feel good about their surroundings. They invariably treat residents with deference and respect, while standing up to people engaging in questionable activities with firm requests for them to leave.

"We tried to clean up with security guards with guns on their hips, but the result was just more confrontation and no less crime," said William Moorhead, owner of a company that manages some Chicago housing projects. Moorhead said that since he hired Farrakhan's New Life Self-Development Co., "the difference has been night and day. . . . They treat people like human beings and show honest concern for their safety. It works."