Monday, February 5, 2024 | Michigan Union, Pond Room | 4:00-5:30 pm

In the late 1960s, Muhammad Speaks was the most circulated Black newspaper in America. It was often associated with the fiery images and ominous messaging of its front pages. Far more than a sensationalist tabloid, the paper stood out in Black communities for its grassroots investigative journalism and critique of structural racism. It also served as an important source of information for racial justice organizations, like CORE and the NAACP, as well as those surveilling Black communities such as the FBI and the KKK.

This event is offered as an in-person event in the Pond Room in the Michigan Union. It will also be available virtually on Zoom: https://umich.zoom.us/j/98413159103, meeting ID number 984 1315 9103, passcode 322598.

(Illustration by Eugene Majied, Muhammad Speaks, April 12, 1968, p. 7.)

Khuram Houssain

 

Khuram Hussain holds a Ph.D. in Cultural Foundations of Education from Syracuse University, where he was awarded the All-University Dissertation Prize. In addition to his DEI work, he teaches classes that explore social movements for racial justice in schools and the pedagogy of democratic, multicultural classrooms.

He has published numerous journal articles, and his book, Weapons for Minds: Visual Thought in Muhammad Speaks, 1960–1975, is under contract with Johns Hopkins University Press.

Khuram has also served as a dialogue facilitator, trainer, and consultant to schools, universities, government offices, nonprofits, and community organizations on issues of diversity and equity. His work has been recognized by the NAACP, the U.S. Armed Forces, and community and campus organizations nationwide. He is the co-founder of Tools for Social Change (TFSC), a dialogue-driven initiative that advances equity and inclusion in the Finger Lakes region of New York. As a member of TFSC, he helped design and facilitate Geneva’s largest grassroots self-study on diversity, equity, and land use. Khuram also collaborated with the U.S. Department of Justice to sustain Geneva’s Community Compact between communities of color and law enforcement.