Print detail event | Roots of Islam in the United States

Roots of Islam in the United States | Zoom Webinar

Presented by The Phipps Center for the Arts at The Phipps Center for the Arts

The presentation also chronicles the development of conversion movements in the African American community and the impact of West African Muslim culture on the U.S., and traces the presence of Arab and other immigrant Muslims from pre-Columbus times.

A presentation by speakers from the Islamic Resource Group

This event is free, but preregistration is required. Follow this link to register.

This presentation, one of several offered by the Islamic Resource Group of Minnesota (IRG), describes the earliest Muslims in this country, namely enslaved West Africans, and features stories and experiences of individual enslaved Muslims, including “Prince”, who is featured in a PBS documentary called “Prince Among Slaves,” which aired in 2007.

IRG’s mission is to build bridges of understanding between Muslim Americans and the broader community through education. Speakers for this presentation are John Emery, director of IRG, and Reies Romero.

Reies Romero AKA Zulu King Reies grew up living the culture of Hip Hop from a very early age, first with falling in love with the art of B-boying and later on Djing, also just being a life-long fan of the culture. Reies is an established and well-respected member of the Twin Cities Hip Hop community, a DJ of 25+ years, show promoter (TC DillaDay), culturally responsible event coordinator and Chapter Leader of the Omega Zuluz Twin Cities MN (Zulu Union est. 2017). Reies is a graduate of both Saint Paul College (AA degree) and Augsburg University (Bachelors’ in Social Work). He is the current Director of the James Dewitt Yancey Foundation MN Chapter, Marketing Director of the Muslim Youth Leadership Awards, and an Official Speaker with the Islamic Resource Group. Reies serves on the Advisory Board for Masjid An-Nur (North Minneapolis) and serves as the Entertainment Coordinator for the annual event Day of Dignity. Reies served 3 years as the Community Village coordinator for the Annual Westside Cinco de Mayo festival sponsored by the SPFHF and serves as a Restorative Justice Circle keeper for the Dispute Resolution Center in Saint Paul and Community Member for Restorative Justice Community Action. Reies is currently working as a Behavioral Specialist in Roseville Area Schools. In case your interested, Reies converted to Islam is 2006.