My own 4th great grandfather Ned Knight was born in North Carolina in this very same year. In 1807, Omar ibn Said was kidnapped in Fouta Toro (Senegal), enslaved and brought to America. The life, legacy and writing of Omar ibn Said offers us rich guidance and wisdom. How do we find ourselves in the counter-narrative, processing the nuances and complexities of life in this American context? And so they seep into our collective consciousness. However, this context, this country, excels in these extremes. I recognize the danger, rigidity and limitations of binaries – life and spirit flows. It is this story of faith, resilience and resistance that I am most drawn to – it fuels the questions I often ask myself: What enabled our ancestors to remain steadfast? What profound belief comforted them? How do we recognize and honor what will forever remain unknown, though its presence courses through our veins? How do we channel the faith or faiths which have all contributed to our existence?Īs a psychologist, I wonder about the dance between sure faith and abject despair, certainty and confusion, devastation and wholeness, trauma and healing, connectedness and isolation? I am a descendant of people who (because I am here), were resistant and resilient against the arrogant, persistent, unrepentant narrative of a country, which will only see itself as earnest and triumphant in the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness. I have learned that I am a descendant of people who found ways to be and endure despite unimaginable oppression. ![]() ![]() Over a span of 200 years, I’ve traced births, marriages, deaths, migrations and more across and to the Southern, Midwestern and Northeastern United States. My three decades of family history (which began when I was 12 years old) is, in many ways, a quintessential American story – that of a descendant of people enslaved in the U.S. Son of Ned Knight born in North Carolina in 1807. ![]() “I Wish To Be Seen”: Exploring the West African Roots of Enslaved Muslim Scholar Omar Ibn Said - Muslim Journal Close
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