Oral History Interview with Ameedah W. Abdullah (Iola E. Corbett) on July 14, 2020
Title
Oral History Interview with Ameedah W. Abdullah (Iola E. Corbett) on July 14, 2020
Creator
Dream Storytelling Project Team
Date
2020
Description
Oral history interview with Ameedah Abdullah (Iola E. Corbett) conducted by Hadia Zahid on July 14, 2020. Interview written by Dr. Alisa Perkins (Research Director) and Hadia Zahid. Ameedah W. Abdullah was born in 1945 in Detroit, Michigan, to parents who hailed from Mississippi. Abdullah was raised in a Muslim family. Her parents joined the Nation of Islam in 1953 when Abdullah was eight years old. Around that time, the family began attending Temple No. 1 in Detroit and Abdullah switched from public school to the University of Islam. As a young girl, Abdullah attended the Muslim Girls Training and General Civilization Class where she honed her cooking and other homemaking skills. Abdullah's parents were prominent business owners in Detroit’s African American Muslim community. Abdullah's father, Mumin Abdullah, managed and cut hair at the family’s barbershop. Her mother, Geneva Wakeelah Abdullah, managed and helped cook at the family’s Shabazz Restaurant, where Abdullah also served customers. Many influential leaders dined at the restaurant, including Malcolm X. Abdullah remembers serving milk and bean pie to Malcolm X and fondly recalls how he did not judge her for using the money from his tips to play her favorite songs from the restaurant’s jukebox. On one occasion in her teenage years, Malcolm X honored Abdullah by inviting her to speak at a convention about growing up in the Nation of Islam. Abdullah details this experience in her interview. As a young adult, Abdullah embraced Sunni Islam under the leadership of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed. As a life-long member of Historic Masjid Wali Muhammad, Abdullah serves on its board and volunteers at the mosque’s kitchen and office. In the interview, Abdullah elaborates on the significance of her long-term involvement and service at Historic Masjid Wali Muhammad and other Detroit Muslim institutions. She reflects on her family’s early involvement with the Nation of Islam. She also details what it was like to attend the Muslim Girls Training and General Civilization Class along with other young Muslim girls, and the strong friendships she established there which endure to this day.
Subject
African-American history
African-American Muslims
Omar Abdul Aziz
Geneva Wakeelah Abdullah
Mumin Abdullah
African American musicians
Muhammad Ali
Arabic language education
Assassination of Malcolm X
Banana pudding
Barber
Barber shop
Bean pie
Black-owned businesses
Blended family
Board member
Cantrell's Funeral Home
Chicago
Christianity
Civil Rights Movement
Close-knit community
Community building
Community leadership
Community organizing
Conversion to Islam
Cooking
COVID-19 pandemic
The Dells
Detroit
The Drifters
Economic development
El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz
Minister Louis Farrakhan
Friday prayer services
Fruit of Islam (FOI)
The Great Migration
Hajj
Halal food
Head coverings
Hijab
Historic Masjid Wali Muhammad
Interfaith family
Intergenerational faith
International Association for Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Interracial activism
Interracial allyship
Jumu'ah
Labor Union
Linwood Street
Philip Little
Wilfred Little
Mecca
Michigan
Mississippi
Modest dress
Imam Warith Deen Mohammed
Mosque breakfast
Mosque fundraising
Master Wallace Fard Muhammad
Sister Clara Muhammad
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
Multi-ethnic Muslim community
Muskegon
Muslims
Muslim Americans
Muslim Girls Training & General Civilization Class
Muslim women's community space
Muslim-American business
Nation of Islam
Nation of Islam diet
Nation of Islam uniforms
Networking
Parental pride
Elvis Presley
Project manager
Prophet Muhammad
Public speaking
Racial segregation
Racism
Imam Tauheed Rashad
Reversion to Islam
Saginaw
Saudi Arabia
Saviours' Day
Shabazz Restaurant
Betty Shabazz
Signification of Muslim names
Sunni Islam
Taylorsville
Temple No. 1
Tennessee
University of Islam
Volunteering
Malcolm X
Philip X
Wilfred X
African American Studies
Africana Studies
American Studies
Civic and Community Engagement
Community-Based Research
Digital Humanities
Ethics in Religion
Inequality and Stratification
Islamic Studies
Nonprofit Administration and Management
Politics and Social Change
Race and Ethnicity
Religion
Urban Studies and Planning
Source
Michigan Service Hub
Language
English
Relation
Type
text
References
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dream-storytelling-interviews/40
Collection
Citation
Dream Storytelling Project Team, “Oral History Interview with Ameedah W. Abdullah (Iola E. Corbett) on July 14, 2020,” Center for Knit and Crochet Digital Repository, accessed November 2, 2026, https://digital.centerforknitandcrochet.org/items/show/33163.
Added by Rebecca Keyel
Comments