On February 3, 1965, SNCC, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, invited Imam El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz to speak at Tuskegee Institute, an 1890 Land-Grant HBCU in Alabama. On February 4, 1965 he traveled to Selma, Alabama and spoke in Brown Chapel A.M.E Church as SCLC, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, was building the Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Campaign. Imam El-Hajj Malik articulated concepts and themes from his two classic speeches: “Message to the Grassroots” and “Ballot or the Bullet.” His mission was to convince the Civil Rights Establishment to elevate the domestic Civil Rights Movement debate to the international venue of Human Rights. Unfortunately, Dr. King was in jail for engaging in voting rights demonstrations. However, he succeeded in meeting with Mrs. Coretta Scott King, Andrew Young and John Lewis to discuss this objective.
On May 16-17, 2025, the Great Debate Academy LLC, Great Debate Honor Society, Save TSU Community Coalition and Muslim American Cultural Center will revisit this historic inter-faith dialogue and human rights objective. This conference shall be a celebration of the 100th Birthday Anniversary of Imam El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz, May 19, 1925 – May 19, 2025.
The conference theme is “Building Beloved Community: Interfaith Dialogue & Nonsectarian Coalitions.”
Friday May 16, 2025
1:00-5:30 p.m.
On Friday, May 16, 2025 the conference opens with Jummah Prayer Service, 1:00-2:00 p.m. Dr. Awad Binhazim, Meharry Medical College will give the khutbah (sermon). His topic shall be “African Muslims in America before Columbus and during Slavery.”
The official conference greetings will be delivered by:
• State Senator Charlane Oliver (D), 19th District
• State Representative Vincent Dixie (D), 58th District
The Muslim American Cultural Center will host a New Masjid Fundraiser immediately after the Jummah Prayer Service from 2:30-5:30 p.m.
Saturday May 17, 2025
9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
9:30-10:00 a.m. Reception & Continental Breakfast
The Opening Ceremony starts at 10:00 a.m. with a Qur’anic Recitation from Sura Rum (Romans) 30:20-23. Official conference greetings will be delivered by:
• State Representative Harold Moses Love (D), 54th District
• Metro-Nashville Council Lady-at-Large Zulfat Suara (D)
The Prologue will be a biographical sketch of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz by Dr. Amiri Al-Hadid, Great Debate Academy LLC. Dramatist Darryl Van Leer will perform a dramatic interpretation of Imam El-Hajj Malik’s classic speeches: “Message to the Grassroots,” “Ballot or Bullet,” and his “Epistle from Mecca.” The biography and dramatic interpretations shall attempt to capture the “letter and spirit” of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz’s life and legacy.
12:00 noon-12:45 p.m. | Catered Lunch
1:00-1:25 p.m. Zuhr Salat (noon prayer)
Saturday afternoon will feature two exciting panel discussions:
Panel I (1:30-2:30 p.m.): “History of Islam & Muslims in Nashville, Tennessee, 1960-present”
Moderator: Imam Todd McKenney, Muslim American Cultural Center
Panelists:
• Sister Julia Naaba – “African American Muslims in Nashville: Early History”
• Imam Ali Aqeel – “Muslim American Cultural Center, Jefferson Street”
• Sister Sabina Mohyuddin (AMAC) – “Islamic Center of Nashville, 12th Avenue South & Sweetbriar”
• Sheikh Yasser Arafat – Peace Ambassadors USA, Harlin Drive
Panel II (2:35-4:00 p.m.): Christians & Muslims Dialogue: “Building Beloved Community with Interfaith Dialogue & Nonsectarian Coalitions”
Moderator: Dr. Lewis V. Baldwin, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar and Lecturer
Panelists:
• Ms. Jamila H. Hutchinson – President, Great Debate Honor Society
• Pastor Kelli X – Great Debate Honor Society
• Pastor Barry Barlow – Save TSU Community Coalition
• Mr. Ryan White – CEO, Rawper4mance
4:30-5:00 p.m. Asr Salat (afternoon prayer)
This historic conference is a spiritual, cultural and political experience that you don’t want to miss. As Nobel Peace Laureate, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr said: “We are all tied together in a single garment of destiny; in an inescapable network of mutuality. What effects one group directly, effects all groups indirectly.”
If you want to advertise in the Program, your ad should be camera ready. The costs and sizes are as follows:
• Full Page $200
• Half Page $100
• Quarter Page/Business Card $50
Contact Email: Dr. Amiri Yasin Al-Hadid, Great Debate Academy LLC
greatdebateuniverse@gmail.com
If you want to advertise in the Program, your ad should be camera ready. The costs and sizes are as follows:
• Full Page $200
• Half Page $100
• Quarter Page/Business Card $50
Contact Email: Dr. Amiri Yasin Al-Hadid, Great Debate Academy LLC
greatdebateuniverse@gmail.com
