Author Archives: lesterknibbs

With the Name of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth “Mabel!” “Huh?” “MABEL!” “WHAT?” “Turn on the light, Mabel.” “Where is that light? … Oh, there it is! … Goodness gracious! What are you doing on the floor, Walter? You should be in the bed!” “Mabel. You knocked me out ofContinue reading “I’m Goin’ to See My Mother”

With the Name of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth When I was a boy, somewhere between six and nine, Hulan Jack came to our neighborhood. Hulan Jack was not only the borough president of Manhattan, but he was a Black Man, and his coming to our Harlem neighborhood was causeContinue reading “Bodily Marks”

With the Name of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth In the 1920s, the white bandleader Paul Whiteman (1890-1967) was called the King of Jazz. A few years later, Benny Goodman (1909-1986) was named the King of Swing. Twenty years after that, Elvis Presley (1935-1977) was called the King of RockContinue reading “The Preservation of African American Musical History”

8th of Safar, 1433 — January 2, 2012 With the Name of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth The World Beyond the Sky The sun had set, perhaps fifteen minutes earlier, and I was about to do Salaat-ul-Maghrib (the sunset salaah), when I decided to look out my front door atContinue reading “Maghrib Sky”

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth I wrote this essay in August 2003, and I have not changed it (except for removing the parentheses around one of the paragraphs and replacing the word “universe” with the word “cosmos” where I now prefer to use the latter). CosmologyContinue reading “Universe, or Heaven and Earth: Preliminary Comments”

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth I. Adam meant wellbut Satan deceived him an astronomer meant wellwhen he saidwe are madeof star-stuff unconsciously deceivedtrying to inspire us believing stars to bea higher reality a group of womencalled computersbut actual astronomers learned that starsare made of dirt theContinue reading “Adam meant well (001)”

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth Resolving the Palestine situation — five points: 1. Form One State. Form one state, not two. Separation – a form of segregation or Bantustan – is a bad idea. The current nation of Israel will not feel secure with a viableContinue reading “A New Israel: Resolving the Palestine Situation”

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth The President sat at his large desk in his spacious office, working on his regular Monday afternoon speech. He pressed the intercom button on his phone and said, “Watson, I need you,” mimicking (inaccurately) Alexander Graham Bell’s famous first words overContinue reading ““Watson, I Need You””

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth I am a Moor. I was born in Brooklyn to African American parents and raised as a Christian. My ancestors (like many African American ancestors) came from Muslim nations in West Africa. They were literate in Arabic as well as inContinue reading “miscellaneous 14370720”