My guest is Clyde El-Amin, former president of Kennedy-King & Olive Harvey city colleges (Chicago), and current organizational and development consultant. His leadership and talents have benefited many. Growing up during the civil rights movement, originally from Alabama, before moving to Detroit and finally making his way to Chicago, you'll appreciate his perspective on the state of Black history month.

Guest- Clyde El-Amin

Host/Producer- Tariq I. El-Amin

Image- Clyde El-Amin(modified by T. El-Amin)

Music-Benjamin Banger- Whistle (Instagram (@BenJaminBanger) smarturtit/hit20)

Our guest is Chaplain Tahara Akmal, the first Muslim Woman to become certified as a Clinical Pastoral Education Educator by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) since its founding in 1967. Chaplain Tahara is the Manager of CPE at a Washington DC hospital, an interfaith Chaplain, and a Visiting Faculty member at Bayan Islamic Seminary at Chicago Theological Seminary, where she teaches in the Islamic Chaplaincy program.

We have a wide-ranging discussion that includes Chaplain Tahara's pathway to Chaplaincy, the growth of Chaplaincy as a career path, and why such a broad base of knowledge is needed to be a successful chaplain.

Guest- Tahara Akmal

Host/Producer- Tariq I. El-Amin

Image- Tahar Akmal (modified by T. El-Amin)

Music-Benjamin Banger-- Whistle (Instagram (@BenJaminBanger)http://smarturl.it/hjfi20)

J-Serius-- Muslim Black American

Ijeoma Ukenta, a Black Muslim Nigerian American woman, was accosted by Abigail Elphick, a white woman, at a Victoria’s Secret in the Milborn mall in Short Hills, New Jersey. Ms. Ukenta began recording the interaction which showed Ms. Elphick go from--what appeared to be an attempted strike to laying down on the floor in the store crying, asking why no one was defending her? She (Elphick) was the clear aggressor, but history has shown that the lives of Black people are put in jeopardy when white women are moved (or move) to tears.

Tariq is joined by Layla Abdullah Poulos to talk about the implications of those tears, and the responses of mall security, the police, and Victoria’s Secret employees.

Guest- Layla Abdullah Poulos

Host/Producer- Tariq I. El-Amin

Image- Tariq I. El-Amin

Music

Our guest is writer and social justice activist Mahal Lofton Emenari, who recently penned an open letter, following a two-and-a-half-year period of visiting masaajid/mosques throughout the Chicagoland area that left him feeling unwelcomed. Br. Emenari reads the letter in its entirety at the outset of the program. We discuss the nuances of culture and its potential impact on the perceptions of hospitality and also suggest that Black people (in general) have relied on sacred spaces to provide more than ritual, but have needed them to be places that affirm their identity also. 

Guest- Mahal Lofton Emenari

Host/Producer- Tariq I. El-Amin

Epidemic Sound- Got Real

J-Serius-- Muslim Black American

Image- Tariq I. El-Amin

In this episode, Imam Tariq talks with Rev. Brian E. Smith about the importance of interfaith cooperation in the Black community. They talk about potential opportunities for growth, such as the grant Rev. Smith administers (see below).

Reverend Brian E. Smith, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Chicago Theological Seminary where he is the administrator of a Henry LUCE Foundation COVID-19 Emergency Response Grant providing leadership and resources to over 40 Chicago-Southside faith leaders. Rev. Smith also pastors the North Shore Faith Community Church.

Guest- Rev. Brian E. Smith

Host/Producer- Imam Tariq I. El-Amin

Music-

Epidemic Sound- Got Real

J-Serius-- Muslim Black American

Image- Tariq I. El-Amin

Tariq is joined by longtime contributor, Layla Abdullah-Poulos (Author of the Brothers in Law series) to talk about pragmatism, optimism, and planning to meet the challenge of a shelter-in-place Ramadan.

Guest- Layla Abdullah-Poulos

Host- Tariq I. El-Amin

Music

Benjamin Banger-- Whistle (Instagram (@BenJaminBanger)http://smarturl.it/hjfi20)

J-Serius-- Muslim Black American

Image

Tariq I. El-Amin

Pt. 2

Our guest is Jimmie C. Gardner. After spending 27 years wrongfully imprisoned, he has emerged as an advocate for other wrongfully imprisoned men and women who have felt the sting of this country's systemic and racial injustices throughout the criminal justice system. He also advocates for prison reform and inmate rights all over the country. He is an active motivational speaker, engaged by high schools, colleges, and universities, including the Georgetown School of Law, churches, community, as well as civic organizations throughout the country. He has also spoken in prisons such as Lee County State Prison and Autry State Prison in Georgia, in his effort to expose ongoing injustices and bring about prison reform for inmates. Jimmie offers prisoners hope through specific insight and encouragement as only he can share given all that he has endured. Jimmie C. Gardner's constitutional fortitude is a living testament to individuals striving to overcome in any walk of life, be they, inmate or civilian. His story is triumphant, compelling and he is a living example of steadfastness, perseverance, and strength. Since his release, he has hit the ground running and he looks forward to completely embracing his new life and living in his calling. (Taken from https://www.jcgardnerspeaks.com/about/)

Guest- Jimmie C. Gardner

Host/Producer- Tariq I. El-Amin

Music

Benjamin Banger-- Whistle (Instagram (@BenJaminBanger)http://smarturl.it/hjfi20)

J-Serius-- Muslim Black American

Image

Jimmie C. Gardner (modified by Tariq I. El-Amin)

Our guest is Jimmie C. Gardner. After spending 27 years wrongfully imprisoned, he has emerged as an advocate for other wrongfully imprisoned men and women who have felt the sting of this country's systemic and racial injustices throughout the criminal justice system. He also advocates for prison reform and inmate rights all over the country. He is an active motivational speaker, engaged by high schools, colleges and universities, including the Georgetown School of Law, churches, community, as well as civic organizations throughout the country. He has also spoken in prisons such as Lee County State Prison and Autry State Prison in Georgia, in his effort to expose ongoing injustices and bring about prison reform for inmates. Jimmie offers prisoners hope through specific insight and encouragement as only he can share given all that he has endured. Jimmie C. Gardner's constitutional fortitude is a living testament to individuals striving to overcome in any walk of life, be they inmate or civilian. His story is triumphant, compelling and he is a living example of steadfastness, perseverance and strength. Since his release he has hit the ground running and he looks forward to completely embracing his new life and living in his calling. (Taken from https://www.jcgardnerspeaks.com/about/)

Guest- Jimmie C. Gardner

Host/Producer- Tariq I. El-Amin

Music

Benjamin Banger-- Whistle (Instagram (@BenJaminBanger)http://smarturl.it/hjfi20)

J-Serius-- Muslim Black American

Image

Jimmie C. Gardner (modified by Tariq I. El-Amin)

Our guest is Dr. Kameelah Rashad, founder of Muslim Wellness Foundation and Black Muslim Psychology Conference, and Sr. Margari Hill, co-founder and Executive Director of Muslim ARC (Antiracism Collaborative). They are also the two co-founders of the Black Muslim COVID Coalition, which came into being as a result of the disproportionate impact (and the lack of coordinated response to) COVID-19 has had on Black Americans in general and Black Muslims in particular. Our conversation begins by looking at what has shaped the work of each of these leaders. We also examine some of the existing challenges related to race, as well as gender, present in their work. And finally, we talk about the inherited struggle of Blackness and what it means to move the needle forward?

Guest- Dr. Kameelah Rashad

Guest- Sr. Margari Hill

Host/Producer- Tariq I. El-Amin

Music

Benjamin Banger-- Whistle (Instagram (@BenJaminBanger)http://smarturl.it/hjfi20)

J-Serius-- Muslim Black American

Image

Tariq I. El-Amin

Tariq talks with NBA Muslims Founder Layla Abdullah-Poulos about the impact the COVID-19 shelter in place order is having on the home life of some Black & Brown communities.

Guest- Layla Abdullah-Poulos

Host/Producer/Engineer-Tariq I. El-Amin

Music

Benjamin Banger-- Whistle (Instagram (@BenJaminBanger)http://smarturl.it/hjfi20)

J-Serius-- Muslim Black American