Category Archives: Biography

African Americans: People of the Book

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth My mother’s father’s name was Moses, and his father’s name also. They sang “Go down, Moses” in the New Chapel Baptist Church in Plymouth, North Carolina, where he was the choirmaster and a trustee. I remember reading in the Gospels, asContinue reading “African Americans: People of the Book”

Second Preliminary Introduction to “Taa’ Marbooṭah”

تاء مربوطة Taa’ Marbooṭah This is the second preliminary introduction to (hopefully) a series of essays about my strange life, my family background, and our connection to the noble and exciting history of our origins — before the horrendous Middle Passage — in the regions surrounding the Senegal River, and the connection to the riseContinue reading “Second Preliminary Introduction to “Taa’ Marbooṭah””

The Parable of Lester the Heliocentric

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth Once upon a time, everyone in the world was a Geocentric or a Heliocentric. The Geocentrics believed that the Sun is in orbit around the Earth. The Heliocentrics believed that the Earth is in orbit around the Sun. Lester studied theContinue reading “The Parable of Lester the Heliocentric”

Tales from the Crypt: An Introduction

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth Half a century ago, I left my pleasant life at Antioch College to join what I now know to be a pseudo-Islamic quasi-Christian cult-group criminal organization — Elijah Muhammad’s “Nation of Islam”. I abandoned my academic career, ended up losing everythingContinue reading “Tales from the Crypt: An Introduction”

On Homosexuality: More than a Comment, Less than a Book

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth What follows is a response to a request for a comment on an article. It was over nine years ago, and I do not remember what the article was. I just recently came across these comments in my computer files andContinue reading “On Homosexuality: More than a Comment, Less than a Book”

An Amtrak Journey

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth May 25, 2010NYP (Penn Station, New York) to SOP (Southern Pines, North Carolina)Amtrak Train #91 Train #91 left New York’s Penn Station at precisely the scheduled departure time of 10:52 a.m. For whatever reason, it arrived at Newark’s Penn Station –Continue reading “An Amtrak Journey”

A Serious Life — Invocation and Gratitude

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth The praise belongs to Allah, who created each and every one of us, nurtures us, and protects us. I thank Allah for blessing me with a life of purpose, a serious life, a life full of challenges to overcome, knowing thatContinue reading “A Serious Life — Invocation and Gratitude”

Triple Bait-and-Switch: A Ramadan Dilemma

In the Spirit of the Gracious and CompassionateCreator of the Heavens and the Earth I hardly know where to begin. Part One: The First Bait-and-Switch In August 1971 – a reasonable starting point, perhaps – a friend and fellow musician returned from a several-months-long out-of-town journey clean shaven (including his head) and dressed in aContinue reading “Triple Bait-and-Switch: A Ramadan Dilemma”