2 new articles: U.S. Latina/o Muslims and Lucius Lehman, the "Mullah of San Quentin"

Over the past 5 years, I have been researching conversion to Islam in the U.S. from a variety of perspectives. Although I have written several essays on U.S. converts from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds, recently my work has focused on early African-American conversions, and when I originally started out on this path I spent a lot of time studying U.S. Latina/o Muslims--both of which are subjects I hope to continue to stay with in the years to come.

The first of these essays, 'U.S. Latina/o Muslims Since 1920: From “Moors” to “Latino Muslims”' is a product of my earliest historical research. Drawing from my previous work on the topic as well as an interview with Ibrahim Gonzalez, an important early Latina/o Muslim leader, this article provides an overview of the history of Latina/o Muslim converts in the U.S. It discusses their early years in African-American-majority organizations, the growing frequency of encounters with immigrant Muslims, and the increased desire to form a "latino Muslim" identity to address the community's unique social needs.

The article can be accessed here: http://0-onlinelibrary.wiley.com.bianca.penlib.du.edu/doi/10.1111/1467-9809.12026/abstract

UPDATE: I just learned that Ibrahim Gonzalez, who graciously agreed to do a several-hour long interview over two days with me in late 2010, passed away on June 3. Mr. Gonzalez played a key role in the development of the U.S. Latina/o Muslim community and, through his many socially-minded and musical activities, made numerous  other contributions to the improvement of society. Please visit his online memorial.

The second paper is "‘The Colored Genius’: Lucius Lehman and the Californian Roots of Modern African-American Islam". This article came about after looking through 1920s' issues of the UNIA's "Negro World" newspaper and coming across an interesting article written by--as the newspaper called him--the "Mullah of San Quentin." I found this title very interesting as there has long been a rumor that Wallace Fard, the founder of the Nation of Islam, had bee incarcerated in San Quentin Prison in the 1920s, where he went by the name of Wallace or Wallie Ford. As it turns out, this Mullah, who went by the name Lucius, had left San Quentin a few years before Ford's arrival. But, as I delved further into his background, I learned that not only was Lucius himself an interesting figure whose life deserved at least an article-length treatment, he was a black nationalist Muslim connected to the Garvey movement at the same time that Islam and Garveyism were uniting in other parts of the country, and so his connections to the movement may provide insight into the Islamic Black Nationalism that was emerging across the country in the 1920s.

You can read the article here: http://cultandculture.org/culture/index.php/issues/25-culture-82-spring-2013/89-the-colored-genius-lucius-lehman-and-the-californian-roots-of-modern-african-american-islam.html

and you can download a pdf here: http://www.academia.edu/3731536/The_Colored_Genius_Lucius_Lehman_and_the_Californian_Roots_of_Modern_African-American_Islam