A Black Man's Journey in America: Glimpses of Islam, Conversations and Travels

About the Book

One of the most progressive movements for “Freedom, Justice and Equality” in African American history has been Islam. Transported into America among the very first slaves, it has survived for four centuries under the most difficult of circumstances. Yet, it has produced some of the most influential leaders among Black Americans including Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Imam Warithu Deen Mohammed, Louis Farrakhan and many others. In A Black Man’s Journey in America: Glimpses of Islam, Conversations and Travels, I have placed my family’s history within the context of that Islamic heritage. Further, I have attempted to unravel the method through which African American Muslims were so often forced to embrace as a means of survival.

About the Author

Muhammad Ali Salaam is a sixth-generation descendant of Mike Carmichael. He was educated at Snow Hill Institute in Alabama, where he graduated in the class of 1968. He received a BS in political science with a double minor in American and African American history from Lincoln University, Missouri. He has done additional studies in third-world history at the University of Missouri (Kansas City), Spanish at the University of Alabama (Birmingham), and Arabic and Spanish civilization at the University of South Florida (Tampa). Salaam is a former schoolteacher in the public school system of Kansas City, Missouri. He has also taught history at Sister Clara Muhammad School, a private Muslim school in Birmingham, Alabama. He served as program director for the Boys Club of Kansas City, Missouri, where he was later promoted to the director. He later relocated to Birmingham, Alabama, and served as program director of the A. G. Gaston Boys’ Club of Birmingham, Alabama, where he implemented a tutorial and basic survival program for inner-city black youth. He is the author of an out-of-print book of poems entitled The Sayings of Cush and former editor of a monthly newsletter entitled THINK. He has made regular appearances on Atlanta cable television programs dealing with African American history, Islamic history, and the history of world religions.