MAS Press - MAS Youth D.C. Hosts Event on Civil Rights Movement

MAS Press- February 27th, 2010

Alexandria, VA - MAS Youth of Washington D.C. hosted a panel discussion and film viewing on the civil rights movement of the 1950's-60's. More than seventy people attended the event at the MAS Community Center in Alexandria, VA. The crowd ranged from youth as young as nine years old to men and women who had lived through and experienced the exciting years that made up the Civil Rights Movement.

Presenters Ruqayyah and Ayah Nuriddin gave the audience a quick overview of the major legal and political events in American history that built up to the election of the current President Barak Obama. They highlighted the March on Selma as the major turning point in the Civil Rights Movement, after which major legislation was passed in Congress paving the way for black participation in the political landscape on a much wider scale. This presentation was followed by a viewing of the Eyes on the Prize documentary's March on Selma clip. The audience joined in at this point with comments and questions to the presenters. Most notable was the participation of audience member, Jaquie Mohammed, who was twenty years old during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. Her words of wisdom and personal experience gave this historical presentation a personal touch for the audience members.

Imam Mahdi Bray followed with a presentation on his personal memories of the Civil Rights Movement, and how it eventually led him to Islam in the 1970's. His story reminded the audience of the importance of seeking social justice on the most personal of levels, justice towards one's own soul. During the q&a session, one of the audience members stood up and spoke about the new civil rights movement of today, and how it should really be called a "da'wah movement." He described the situation of Muslims and people of other faiths in South East DC, and exhorted the audience to remember their own neighbors in DC and to remember their need for our help and teaching on Islam.
please direct questions and comments to communications@masdc.org