MUHAMMAD ALI IBN SAYYID

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#292 UNITED STATES COLORED TROOPS

(b. 1833-d. 1882)

This is the resurrection of an “untold story”… a “Legacy of Forgotten Roots”. A truly unique chapter in early American History.

Muhammad Ali ibn Sayyid , was an extraordinary African Fulani who was enslaved at 16 years of age and even made the Pilgrimage to Mecca with one of his masters. Muhammad Ali ibn Sayyid was born in 1833 in the Fulani State of Kanem-Bornu, near Lake Chad in Central West Africa. He was the son of a famous Kanem-Bornu horseman and General known as “Barca Gana”.

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Captured by Tuareg slavers at 16 years old and sold into slavery of the Arab World and Europe, his story reads like a “world tour”, before he would ultimately end up in the Union Army during the Civil War fighting for the freedom of African-Americans. He came to America as a “free man”. Muhammad Ali ibn Sayyid had learned to speak and write at least 12 different languages. He wrote his own autobiography while in the United States.

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You, your children and grandchildren will never forget this truly profound “untold story”… a “Legacy of Forgotten Roots”.

45 Min.-1 Hour - Including Post Performance Workshop-No Intermission

Portrayed by: William J.White

Written by Baba Ahmad Kenya

YOUTUBE LINK:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF_thrASmlE

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