March 7, 2012

Khalid el-Hakim turned a 500-piece personal collection of artifacts into a 5,000-piece collection that he shares nationwide. / Photos by JARRAD HENDERSON/Detroit Free Press

By Brian McCollum

Detroit Free Press Staff Writer

The G.R. N'Namdi Gallery in Detroit features artifacts from el-Hakim's "Drum Majors for Justice" exhibit Saturday. They include slave chains, racist postcards, magazines and other items from the Black History 101 Mobile Museum.

"Some collectors feel a duty to history. Some have an urge to enlighten the public. Detroit's Khalid el-Hakim calls his collecting a spiritual mission. As proprietor of the Black History 101 Mobile Museum, el-Hakim has become an in-demand figure at college campuses and events across the Midwest and, increasingly, nationwide. His single-room exhibits -- featuring artifacts from the slave era through the Obama presidency -- are customized to a variety of themes and often draw several hundred patrons in a single afternoon."
read the entire article here 


So begins a wonderful write up of an awesome young man doing great things in Detroit and around the country. In a time when Detroit doesn't always get a good "rap", there are several folks who are turning it around. Khalid is an ex-Detroit Public School History teacher who is following his dream to success. A newlywed and new dad, he takes his dream on the road to help other school districts and schools teach hands on lessons to the young and the not-so-young. The museum is broken down into "era" rooms of information, giving educators the opportunity to focus in on specific periods of time or genres to help drive a lesson home. el-Hakim continues to add to his collection while pursuing his Master's Degree from Michigan's Western University.


I remember when Khalid was just a troublesome little guy, terrorizing the likes of his older brother and his sister. Even then, he knew how to think outside the box to get what he thought was important done. I won't tell any embarrassing stories or let out any secrets (there really aren't any ^_^), but don't tell him...I've got to have something to hold over his head!


Check out more about the Mobile Museum and Khalid el-Hakim through these links:

http://common-breath.com/?tag=khalid-el-hakim
news.artservemichigan.org/2011/07/one-in-a-million/