As a part of our ongoing Public Conversation Series, we’ll hear from Okolo Rashid, founder of the International Museum of Muslim Cultures in Jackson, Mississippi and Aseelah Rashid, founder of The Muslim Mix in Atlanta, Georgia, who also happen to be mother and daughter. In light of Black History Month, this conversation will explore the history and contributions of Black Muslims in American history, and the changing landscape of Black Muslim American life. We look forward to the stories and perspectives they will share.
Watch a recording of the conversation on Facebook or Youtube
Biographies:
OKOLO RASHID was born in Mississippi, the daughter of sharecroppers, and grew up in America’s turbulent era of overt racism and segregation. She has, thus, been a life-long advocate of human dignity, social and economic justice, and racial harmony. After graduating from Hinds Junior College (now Hinds Community College) in 1970, among the handful of African Americans who integrated it, and earning degrees in economics and public policy at Tougaloo College and Jackson State University, respectively, Okolo has had a varied career. A community activist, organizer, and historic preservation advocate, she has worked primarily with inner-city communities and grassroots organizations, for much of her life.
Okolo is currently President and Co-founder of the International Museum of Muslim Cultures (IMMC). She is also the founder and director of IMMC’s Islamic Thought Institute. IMMC is American’s first Muslim Museum, which opened in Jackson, Mississippi, in April 2001. It was through Okolo’s vision that IMMC was born—a vision that comprises activism and an inclusive world view where human dignity, individual worth, and freedom are core values.
In January 2004 Okolo and her husband, Sababu, traveled to the Republic of Mali, West Africa, where they negotiated a partnership with the Mamma Haidara Memorial Library of Timbuktu. Through this partnership they were successful in bringing back ancient manuscripts from Timbuktu for the groundbreaking international, one-of-a-kind Legacy of Timbuktu Exhibition, to Jackson, Mississippi, and America.
Okolo and Sababu are very active in the Metro Jackson Islamic and interfaith communities. Okolo was featured in two books: The Face Behind the Veil: The Extraordinary Lives of Muslim Women in America , by Donna Gekrke-White in 2006; and Liberating Minds Liberating Society: Black Women in the Development of American Culture and Society, edited by Lopez D. Matthews, Jr. and Kenvi C. Phillips in 2014. Living through Mississippi’s turbulent ‘60s, it was in 1976 that Okolo and Sababu embraced Islam and have sought to live out their faith among family, friends, and neighbors, embracing many faith traditions. They have four children: a son, Ismail; three daughters: Khadijah, Maryam, and Aseelah; ten grandchildren and a great-grandson and daughter.
ASEELAH RASHID is Co-founder and CEO of The Muslim Mix, Inc. a 501c3 non-profit organization which presents creative social events and environments targeted at Muslim young adults, while also fostering social justice activism, and work specifically directed at changing the narrative about Muslim Americans and how they’re portrayed in the media and society.
As an active organizer within the Interfaith community, she currently serves on the Board for Atlanta Interfaith Broadcasters (AIB) and Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta (FAMA). She partners with the American Jewish Committee (AJC), serving on the steering committee to facilitate Muslim-Jewish Dialogues. And she regularly hosts Interfaith Visits to the Local Mosques in the Atlanta, GA area.
She is well known and recognized for her exceptional leadership within the Muslim community in the United States. Aseelah has curated, and convened high quality, high impact programming for people in Georgia and across the region. She has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe and the Middle East to build bridges and amplify female voices across religious, cultural and ethnic lines.
Outside of her work within faith communities and service, Aseelah enjoys spending time with her Husband, Adrian “Asim” Rogers and their three sons, Righteous, Noble and Scholar.