Author Description

I wrote, "Cracked Mirrors: Emmett Till to Barack Obama and My Path to Authentic Islam" to clarify the visceral meaning of black life in America that began for me over fifty years ago. Emmett Till and President Barack Obama each occupy a historical and spiritual space and time. In my Memoir, I invoke the image of an event, a cracked bicycle mirror, to characterize my sojourn in America to reclaim my humanity. My cracked mirror lives as a spiritual metaphor to denote my efforts to experience life as a contiguous event instead of fractured images. I believe my story raises important questions for anyone who seeks to unravel the physics of history and seeks to understand a universal spiritual yearning. My spiritual yearnings led me to Islam. The names Emmett Till, Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, and Eric Garner stir up potent evidence that challenge American Exceptionalism. My book begs the following questions: Why are some white Americans violent toward people of color? Why has America been engaged in wars in every century? Why can't America shake off the stupor of racism? Why are so many Americans of all ethnicities in pain? The claim that America is still building a more perfect union fails to convince me that America is a work in progress. I believe that after 230 years of the American Empire, there are a large number of people in America that still consider African Americans as quasi-citizens of sorts. I don't claim to have answers to every question. However, I believe my memoir will assist and inform activist of all ethnicities who support the "Black Lives Matter" movement. Moreover, I believe my memoir illustrates that my struggle to find answers to issues of race and class in America, and your innate desire for answers, are similar. I pray that the process I describe of mending my cracked mirror, over decades, will inform and enrich your life.