Ayesha K. Mustafaa

Ayesha K. Mustafaa | Muslim Community Member (Jackson, MS)

Ayesha K. Mustafaa: Hi. As-salaamu ʿalaykum [peace be upon you].

My name is Ayesha K. Mustafa, editor of the Muslim Journal newspaper.

I have been editor for The Muslim Journal since 1990. 33 years.

I became editor at the age of 37.

The purpose of The Muslim Journal is the work that I have been doing, which is to keep a media expression, a media presence with the democratic bedrock, addressing the rights given to us in the First Amendment, the Bill of Rights that protects the freedom of the press. The Muslim Journal is the press for the Muslim African American community that evolved out of the newspaper that was started by Malcolm [X], called the Muhammad Speaks.

Malcolm started the Muhammad Speaks at age 36. Remembering the bedrock of journalism is a part of my responsibility. Remembering the power of the press even as it is considered the fourth estate. That is, we have the three branches of government, the Executive, the President, the Legislative, the Congress, the Judicial, the Supreme Court. But we also have what we call that fourth estate, that fourth column, which is your free press.

In The Muslim Journal we celebrate Muslim African American history going back to recapture the lives of the Africans who were brought to these shores and chains as slaves, who had great backgrounds and religion, great knowledge of the Quran, great stamina as individuals and human beings, and growing up here in Mississippi. My favorite narration is on Abdul Rahman [Ibrahima ibn Sori], who was captured, brought across in the transatlantic slave trade. Who was a man in his father's army, a general in his father's army in West Africa, who commanded an average of 2000 men at any given time. Spoke fluent Arabic. Knew how to agriculture made the plantation in Nachos, Mississippi a successful program.

In the history of journalism we also have, coming out of slavery, Freedoms Journal, which was the first African American newspaper. This newspaper was started by men who were it was illegal to teach them how to read and write. Then we had the North Star, started by Frederick Douglass, the abolitionist, as The North Star newspaper was to punish towards freedom. We have the likes of Ida B. Wells, who was free from slavery at the age of nine months old, because that's when the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Then she grew to be a young lady who started a newspaper with her husband, and their mission was to investigate lynchings of black men. Her newspaper was firebombed. She escaped from Memphis, Tennessee, went to Chicago, start writing for The Chicago Defender, which is credited with starting the greatest migration of any people within the borders of the United States. When it advocated for African Americans in the south who were being denied their rights, who were being cheated from their resources as share croppers. He advised them to start moving north, and they did. From Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, they came up to Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit.

And then we had The Pittsburgh Courier which were always acknowledged was a newspaper that allowed the message of the Muslims, the African American Muslims, to be printed in its pages. Before Malcolm started The Muhammad Speaks, we embarked upon 60 years, 60 years history of a publication for Muslims, by Muslims and advocacy publication. The pages of the Muslim Journal cover many greats like Muhammad Speaks recognition of Malcolm, one of the greatest in our time. On the pages of the Muslim Journal, we have individuals like Muhammad Ali, the greatest of all times. We've captured the stories of the first African American Muslim to be elected to Congress, Keith Ellison. We focus a lot on education, our school system. Our leader, Imam WD Mohammed told us to have education is our priority. And we have the sister Clara Mohammed school system of education, which is a priority on the pages of Muslim Journal, Islamic education to our children.

Through the pandemic the Muslim Journal has been a place to come and get accurate information, keeping our communities informed. On the world scene the Muslim Journal has had articles advocating for peace in various hotspots around the world, as well as justice and equity. It is an activism newspaper, as we've had to more than once, perhaps over and over again, advocate for justice, where we see young African American men, be they Muslim or not, brought down early in their lives, and those who have brought their demise should be held to justice. Activism started early. We had one especially that we paid tribute to Diane Nash, who's now in her late 70’s. But Diane Nash started in activism as a student at Fisk University, where she loaded a bus of Fisk University students and headed south because they wanted to test the integration laws to make sure they were working. When word got out that Diane Nash was coming to the south with a bus load of students, someone from the Kennedy administration called her and told her, do not bring those students south, you're going to get them killed. Her response was, sir, everyone on this bus has signed their last will and testament. She was in her 20’s. Later in life, Diane Nash became a copy editor for the Mohammed Speaks newspaper that Malcolm started.

Muslim Journal has also begun a cultural extravaganza, annually, that we called ‘A Time to Be Grateful.’ Having experienced this 18th, 19th presentation in Washington DC in December 2022. Muslim Journal acknowledges the youth that is coming behind us, who have prepared themselves early to be ready to step into positions as they open. For example, Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard from our community of Muslim African Americans. Khadijah Sharif-Drinkard has recently been named as Senior Vice President for Business Affairs for ABC News. The list goes on and on. Those are only a few.

But coming from an African American civil rights family, of the King era, I recall all the youth who were part of that movement, who were part of the mission to advocate for freedom, justice, and equality, now that we call equity. I think about Dr. Martin Luther King, who at 35 received the Nobel Peace Prize, which means that he was well seasoned at 35. I think of John Lewis, who joined the ranks of Dr. King at age 24. John Lewis advocated for there to be the law put on the books called the Anti Lynching Laws, named in honor of Emmett Till, who died at age 14 at the hands of racists. I think of [James] Chaney, [Andrew] Goodman, and [Michael] Schwerner, three young men in their 20’s who came to Mississippi to advocate for the rights to vote of African Americans, whose lives were cut short by racist Ku Klux Klansmen. The number of young people who were spearheaded major advancement in our community life, social life, political life are numerous. I teach at a college here in Mississippi, Tougaloo College. And we do a salute to the Tougaloo Nine who took it upon themselves to do sit ins, to go places where they were denied access, and to be, demanded to be served. And they were paid with jail time.

I pray Allah, that our youth prepare, themselves. Be ready, be in position. And when the baton is ready to pass, be there to receive it. Let us not forsake these great works that have been done on our behalf, not only on our our behalf, but in essence, to move the world forward. Because as we receive our justice, so is justice spread throughout the world.

Thank you for giving me these few minutes. I look forward to seeing what our youth bring forward. We can't wait for you to be in place.

As-salaamu ʿalaykum [peace be upon you].

Ayesha K. Mustafa believes the written word is paramount and integral to the stability of a democratic society. She currently serves as the Editor of Muslim Journal Newspaper. She also serves as an Assistant Professor of Reporting, News Writing, Editing, Feature/Specialized Writing, and Advance Investigative Reporting at Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi. She holds a Bachelor’s degree, Double Major, in Psychology and Political Science from Bucknell University and a Master’s degree in Journalism from Columbia College Chicago.

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