El Hajj Malik El Shabazz

Where's my head - oh, it's stuffed with a severe cold.  So mind my lapse, as I did not post that yesterday was the date Malcolm X was assassinated.  Electronic Villager, has a good post.

I read about the man shortly after learning he read the entire dictionary.  Impressive.  Later - a rare and fairly unknown fact about me - I would later take the train from the Bronx to Bushwick, Brooklyn, and participate in classes learning about the Koran, the Old Testament, and the New Testament, basically studying Christianity, Judaism, and Islam.

Yes, I was a  Puerto Rican brother, that embraced  Islam.  A few years later, I sold oils, incense, and books on 14th street by day (actually, I was selling many places before I settled there - even in the subway in Harlem - 125th street), and then on 42nd street between 8th and 7th by night.

My Muslim name was Duma; some of the elders told me I had an 'old soul,' for I was very young and showed interest in learning and practing Sufi teachings.  But, enough about me; this posts is to honor Malcolm X.