From Strange Fruit to Fruit of Islam

Nsenga Knight interviewing Sister Alberta at Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah in Brooklyn for As the Veil Turns, 2007, Black and White 35mm photography/ Archival Pigment Print, 30 x 20 inches

I knew that Sister Alberta had been attending Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah (the historic Brooklyn mosque community that I grew up in) since Malcolm X had established it in 1959. Excited to learn more about her and our community, I asked if I could photograph and interview her for my As the Veil Turns project. In our time together, I learned that she had escaped sharecropping in South Carolina by stealing away in the middle of the night in a rescue effort planned by family members. She hoped to never see Black men hanging from trees again, but soon after reaching New York she attended a meeting led by Minister Malcolm X that brought her back to those moments. This time, instead of running, she was lifted her off of her feet. 

Click the image below to listen to an excerpt from sister Alberta’s As the Veil Turns interview:

Click HERE to purchase a print from the As the Veil Turns series