Our Own Black Prince

• Brooklyn, NY

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Poem by noted poet, Suliaman El-Hadi, in the newspaper of the Dar ul Islam Movement.

Notes: Suliaman El-Hadi was a member of the legendary ensemble, The Last Poets, from 1972 until his passing in 1995. The Last Poets’ style is credited as the progenitor to hip hop. Today, El-Hadi’s tasbih (prayer beads) is on display in the National Museum of African American History and Culture. The Dar-ul-Islam was a Black Sunni Muslim movement established in Brooklyn, NY in 1962. Known in shorthand as “the Dar,” it grew to become a national federation of masjids in urban Black communities whose vision and activities demonstrated a parallel commitment to Sunni orthodoxy and Black empowerment.