Oral History Interview with Ameedah W. Abdullah (Iola E. Corbett) on July 14, 2020
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.
In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted: Dream of Detroit Interviews were made possible by funding from the Pillars Grant and Whiting Foundation. Content is for educational purposes only and non-reproducible; interviews are not to be duplicated, but may be linked through ScholarWorks with appropriate attribution. Please direct any questions about copyright to scholarworks@wmich.edu.