- Brooklyn, NY
1980
Selected pages from a 26-page booklet for a fundraising drive for Islamic education initiatives.
Notes: Sister Aliyah Abdul-Karim was one of the “activist sisters” Umi felt blessed that Allah introduced her to as a new Muslim. Being almost 20 years older than Umi, she saw Aliyah as a Soul Sister and mentor. Umi was already an activist, Black Panther, and African Nationalist. Aliyah had come from a similar experience of proactive protest and community struggle, leading to advocacy in the fight for racial and educational equity. Before embracing Islam in 1969, Sister Aliyah was an active member of the Ocean Hill-Brownsville fight for Community Control. Due to her activism and unwavering stance with the parents/community of JHS 271 to hire more Black and Brown teachers and administrators, create curriculum that reflected community needs, and establish shared decision-making power in school management; her services with the NYC Board of Education as a Master Teacher was terminated. She thereafter began her own school, Uhuru Academy, with like-minded colleagues. Upon accepting Islam, she worked diligently to provide exemplar Islamic education through Curriculum Development, Teacher Training, Islamic Pedagogy leading to student attainment, and Capital Fund Building. Aliyah was also a published poet and author. So it is no surprise she is the brain behind this project. The booklet opens with 30 facts drawn from various news reports that speak to the need for alternative education, according Sis. Aliyah. Then it moves on to describe the campaign in more detail and includes messages from Imam Siraj Wahhaj and Imam Warith Deen Mohammad.