Courses/Lectures
Each of the 34 courses available can be enrolled in individually, or in packages. Each course is an approximately 1-hour session that consists of the opportunity for the students to interact with the associated artifacts, and a discussion exercise tailored for your specific class in accordance with your teacher's curriculum/recommendations. If the Course List below doesn’t fit your needs, we can work together to develop the presentation you desire – from control of the discussion topics to selection of items to be presented.
Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam
Born Elijah Poole, Elijah Muhammad was a former Garveyite that would go on to found the Nation of Islam – blending the religion of Islam with the politics of Black Nationalism. Ultimately, the success of the Nation of Islam led to Elijah Muhammad becoming one of the most influential Black leaders of the twentieth century. The organization he started more than half a century ago remains active today, and still plays an active role in the social-political scene.
Artifacts: First edition copies of Message to the Black Man and Eat to Live, early editions of Muhammad Speaks newspapers, recent Final Call newspapers, booklet on Women of the Nation of Islam, advertisement for a St. Louis visit by Elijah Muhammad.
How to Eat to Live, Hon. Ellijah Muhammad, 1967 - When this book was first published, it was designed to promote healthy eating habits. In it, Muhammad doesn't focus on dieting, rather on lifestyle choices and food handling practices he believed would lead to healthy living. While its popularity was limited largely to the membership of the Nation of Islam and African-Americans that supported the organization, many of the suggestions contained in the book - like ways in which you rinse/clean certain beans or his call to refrain from processed meats, are strategies now commonly recognized as beneficial. The copy shown above is a 1st edition, published in 1967.
Message to the Black Man in America, Hon. Elijah Muhammad, 1965 - Considered standard reading for individuals interested in learning more about the early ideology of the Nation of Islam, Message to the Black Man in America has been one of the more influential books in the African-American community in the last 100 years. This copy, is a 1st Edition, published in 1965.