Omar Said – Nsenga Knight

The Timbuktu African Manuscripts, Omar Ibn Said and Ibrahim Sori: An Islamic, Black Muslim and Black American Intellectual Continuum

Timbuktu Manuscript with drawings and text

I share why the Timbuktu manuscripts and the writings of African Muslims who were enslaved in America – like Omar Said and Ibrahim Sori are important to my artistic practice, and why they are an important opportunity for all of us to learn more about ourselves (especially Black people and Muslims) from those who came before us.

Omar Said: Artwork Inspired by writings of African Muslims Enslaved in Antebellum America

I don’t know about you, but when I was growing up all of my school teachers told us that Africans couldn’t read or write! They weren’t just talking about slaves either. These teachers, both Black and White said that Africans had an oral tradition so writing was just not their thing. Well, that’s a lie!