Oral History Interview with Mansur Blackman on January 23, 2021
Title
Oral History Interview with Mansur Blackman on January 23, 2021
Creator
Dream Storytelling Project Team
Date
2021
Description
Oral history interview with Mansur Blackman conducted by Samayyah Cook on January 23, 2021. Interview written by Dr. Alisa Perkins (Research Director) and Samayyah Cook. Mansur Blackman was born in Indianapolis, Indiana in 1990. His mother was born in Philadelphia and his father was born in Queens, New York. Blackman was raised in a Muslim family, as his mother and father each embraced Islam before meeting each other. His mother, Mumina Blackman, helped found an Islamic parochial school called the MTI School of Knowledge in Indianapolis, which Blackman attended. Growing up, he frequented Masjid Al-Fajr in Indianapolis with his family. After high school, Blackman graduated from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology with a degree in Electrical Engineering. Soon after, he was recruited by the Ford Motor Graduates Program and moved to Michigan to pursue a career at the Ford Motor Company. Blackman eventually returned to the University of Michigan to obtain his Master’s degree in Computer Engineering. He now works as a Systems Engineer for Ford. In Detroit, Blackman attended various mosques, including the Muslim Center Mosque and Community Center, the American Muslim Center, and the Islamic Center of Detroit (ICD). After he joined Dream of Detroit, Blackman and his family relocated to the organization’s neighborhood to be part of its intentional community. He currently serves as Housing Chair, helping coordinate the Dream of Detroit’s housing and neighborhood rehabilitation efforts. In the interview, Blackman discusses similarities between his childhood in the close-knit Indianapolis Muslim community and the warm atmosphere of the Muslim Center and Dream of Detroit. He elaborates on his role as Housing Chair for Dream of Detroit, describing the many projects the organization undertakes and his vision for the neighborhood’s future.
Subject
Abandoned houses
Advocacy for formally incarcerated citizens
African-American history
African-American Muslims
Alabama
Alcoa Corporation
Algeria
Algerian-Americans
American Moslim Center (AMS)
Arabic language education
Basketball
Canada
City of Detroit
Community building
Community leadership
Community organizing
Computer engineering
Conservatism
Construction
Conversion to Islam
COVID-19 pandemic
Mark Crain
Crowdfunding
Dearborn
Detroit
Detroit Repertory Theatre
Dream of Detroit
East Side Indianapolis
Economic development
Electric vehicle
Electrical engineering
Evansville
Ford College Graduate Program (FCG Program)
Ford Motor Company
Free medical clinic
Fundraising
General Motors Company
Guinean-Americans
Hajj
Hardest Hit Fund
Health Unit on Davison
Historic Masjid Wali Muhammad
Housing rehabilitation
Housing Chair
HUDA Clinic
Huntsville
Indiana
Indianapolis
Indianapolis Muslim Community Association
Intergenerational relations
International community
International students
Islam
Islam in America
Islamic Center of Detroit (ICD)
Islamic education
Islamic mortgage options
Islamic parochial school
Amanda Jaczkowski
Jamacia
LaunchGood
Masjid Al-Fajr
Master's degree
Mechanical engineering
‘Message to the Blackman in America'
Michigan
Mortgage
Mosque
MTI School of Knowledge
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
Muslim Americans
Muslim Center Mosque and Community Center
Muslim community
Muslim community building
Muslim Student Association (MSA)
Nation of Islam
Neighborhood revitalization
New York City
Oakville
Orthodox Islam
Oxford Village
Park rehabilitation
Peer pressure
Pennsylvania
Dr. Alisa Perkins
Philadelphia
Project Homecoming
Public relations
Purpose-built mosque
Queens
Qur'an memorization
Racism
Reentry services
Remote work
Reversion to Islam
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Imam Mika'il Stewart Saadiq
Saudi Arabia
Scattered site co-op
Scholarship
Self-reliance
Senegalese-Americans
Social justice
Somalian-Americans
South Asian-Americans
Systemic Racism
Systems Engineer
Terre Haute
The Great Migration
Time management
Toronto
Transitional housing
Tree planting
University of Michigan Dearborn
Volunteerism
Women's leadership
Woodrow Wilson Street
Yearly tax auction
Yemeni-Americans
African American Studies
Africana Studies
American Studies
Civic and Community Engagement
Digital Humanities
Islamic Studies
Nonprofit Administration and Management
Race and Ethnicity
Religion
Urban Studies and Planning
Source
Michigan Service Hub
Relation
Type
text
References
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dream-storytelling-interviews/20
Collection
Citation
Dream Storytelling Project Team, “Oral History Interview with Mansur Blackman on January 23, 2021,” Center for Knit and Crochet Digital Repository, accessed August 24, 2026, https://digital.centerforknitandcrochet.org/items/show/40245.
Added by Rebecca Keyel
Comments