The Sister Clara Muhammad Memorial Education Foundation Needs Your Support
Your support today is more important than ever because of various factors. One such factor is the racial wealth gap. The online Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, on Wednesday, August 17, 2016, reported that the Institute for Policy Studies documented the racial wealth gap over the last thirty years as having increased by eighty-four percent for average European American families, which is three times the increase for African American families. They predict that if this trend continues, it will take two hundred and twenty-eight years for the average African American family’s wealth to equal that of the European American family. Another factor is that society has a need for the sober-minded, moderate, critical-thinking students these schools produce. The graduates, many descendants of ex-slaves, are responsible, accountable, dependable individuals with the disciplined moral fortitude for developing and contributing to a shared freedom space for all humankind that in necessary to build a good family and good community life globally.
Recognizing that “all children have a right to an education in a moral environment,” according to Imam W. D. Mohammed, we encourage you to contribute to the Sister Clara Muhammad Education Foundation , which supports the network of schools, providing an excellent education for our diverse Muslim and non-Muslim student population, many of whom would have little to no other opportunity for a quality education.
We thank you in advance for your financial assistance. Please see the form below and support our cause by pledging your donation today.
Dr. Jon A. Yasin - President
Jon A. Yasin is a professor of English and Linguistics at Bergen Community College. He was Le Responsable D’ Animation Rurale in N’gabou, Senegal, West Africa for two years after completing his undergraduate studies at the California State University at Hayward, where he received the Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Anthropology. Upon his return to the United States from Senegal, while converting to Al Islam in 1971, Dr. Yasin attended graduate school in Massachusetts, where he received a masters of education from Northeastern University in Applied Linguistics; a masters of public administration from Harvard University, with a specialization in the politics of language, and a Certificate of Graduate Studies from Boston College. While in Massachusetts, Dr. Yasin was on the founding faculty of Roxbury Community College. During this time, he was the Director of the University of Islam School, which Imam W.D. Mohammed [RA] renamed the Clara Muhammad School, of which Yasin was Convener of the School Board. He was awarded the PhD in English and Rhetoric by the State University of Pennsylvania in Indiana, PA, after which he taught Linguistics and English at the United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi from 1981 through 1988. Returning to the United States, Dr. Yasin joined the faculty at Bergen in Paramus, New Jersey, and completed the Doctorate of Education in Applied Linguistics at Columbia University’s Teachers College, in New York City. He has written a plethora of articles on various aspects of Youth and Hip Hop culture, with his primary research interest being the emcee and the notion of talk in the music of the African Diaspora. Other research interests include the language of racism and the University of Islam Schools/ Clara Muhammad Schools. Imam Warithudeen Mohammed [RA] appointed Yasin to his committee on education in 2004, on which he has continuously served. He is married to Sarah Terry Yasin, an educator, and psychologist.
Contact Jon A. Yasin
Dr. Hameed el Amin – Vice President
Dr. Hameed el Amin was raised in Tuskegee, Alabama and educated at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He received his masters degree in Biological Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, from where he earned the PhD in Clinical Psychology, as well. Dr. Hameed was an officer in the United States Army; in addition, he worked in the Montclair Schools in Montclair, New Jersey. Having lectured in the academy for many years, presently, he teaches undergraduates at Calhoun Community College, and graduate students at Alabama A and M University in Huntsville, Alabama. He converted to Al Islam during the 1970s. For nearly fifteen years, Dr. Hameed has dedicated his life to working with the Imam W.D. Mohammed Educational Program, after being commissioned by Imam Mohammed [RA] to contribute to this great work, by assisting in the development of the Creation Inspired Curriculum. Dr. Hameed is spearheading the effort by educators working on the Clara Muhammad School’s curriculum, about which a colleague from the University of California at Los Angeles, at the annual meeting of the American Education Research Association [AERA] in Toronto, Canada, described as a new approach to the representation of knowledge. He is the author of two books. Dr. Hameed is married to our beloved Sister Linda and lives between Huntsville, Alabama and Detroit, Michigan with his wife, children, and grandchildren.
Contact Dr. Hameed el Amin
Sarah T. Yasin
Sarah T. Yasin was born and raised in the State of North Carolina. She received the Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and the Masters of Education in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University. After accepting Al Islam in 1972, she has had a plethora of experiences working in the Muslim schools and community. She was a counselor at the Sister Clara Muhammad School in New York City, and at the Muftaalhul Learning Center in Union City, New Jersey. For several years, she was the secretary of the historic Malcolm Shabazz Masjid in New York City and for the Imam at Masjid Nurriddin in Queens, of which both masajid were purchased under the supervision of Malcolm X/El Hajj Malik Shabazz. Sarah Yasin taught in the New York City Public Schools for eight years and coordinated youth services at Teaneck High School, Teaneck, New Jersey for fourteen years. She has been an adjunct professor of Psychology at College of New Rochelle, and later, Bergen Community College. In 2007, she founded the A+ Tutoring Service and continues to direct these New Jersey Approved Supplemental Educational Services. Sarah T. Yasin is married and lives in northern New Jersey.
Contact Sarah T. Yasin
Sister Laila Muhammad – Board Member
Laila Muhammad was born in Philadelphia, PA, during the time her father, Imam W. Deen Mohammed, Malcolm X and other Ministers under the leadership of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad were spreading the message of social reform through the Nation of Islam. Laila and her parents, Wallace D. Mohammed, as he was then known, and Shirley Mohammed, moved to Chicago a few years later. She was blessed to have her father as her leader and friend until he passed September 9, 2008. At present, she works within the interfaith and intrafaith communities. As her grandparents, Elijah and Clara Muhammad, and her parents, W. D. and Shirley Mohammed were, she, too, is committed to serving G-d, the Creator, and leaving an example of good for the human family. A Faith Community Organizer, activist, and leader, Laila lectures and dialogues on human salvation and social concerns. Laila is a graduate of the University of Islam/Sister Clara Muhammad School. She holds a degree in Child Development, in addition to having twelve years of experience working in the field. She has graciously traveled the world interfacing with different peoples of diverse cultures and beliefs. This has enabled her to relate to people of various backgrounds and experiences. She was among President Barack Obama’s Presidential Delegation of Faith Leaders to Indonesia. At that assembly, she addressed faith leaders and community members at the Centre for Dialogue and Cooperation among Civilizations in Indonesia. As a member of an Interfaith Delegation, she visited the World War II gas chambers in a concentration camp in Poland with other Faith Leaders from the United States; the visit confirmed her commitment to stand with others as one human family. Laila, a third generation Faith Community Organizer, activist, and leader, is dedicated to this work and believes G-d has given everything humankind needs to succeed collectively. Following her grandparents, Elijah Muhammad and Clara Muhammad, and her parents, W. D. Mohammed and Shirley Mohammed, Laila is committed to serving G-d and leaving an example of good for our human family. Laila Muhammad is Founder and Executive Director of Ash-Shamsiyyah/The Umbrella, Family Service, established for the purpose of helping families in need. Moreover, she is the Founder of A Shared Memory, an annual interfaith conference in honor of her father Imam W.D. Mohammed Laila is trained to facilitate conflict resolution and a variety of other services. She is a published author. She also is a spoken word poet with released CDs. For more information, you may contact her via the form on the right or by mail at:
P. O. Box 1483, Calumet City, IL 60409.
Contact Sister Laila Muhammad
Dr. Adella Baseemah Alim
Dr. Adella Alim is a retired Educator from Detroit Public Schools. She was born in Gadsden, Alabama, raised on a small farm in Ashland, Alabama and later moved to Detroit, Michigan. Dr. Adella received a Bachelor’s Degree in Science Education with a minor in Mathematics from Wayne State University in 1985. She taught one year at Clara Muhammad School in Detroit, Michigan, 1985-1986. While teaching 9th grade students in Detroit Public Schools, she obtained a master’s degree in Science Education with a minor in Mathematics from Wayne State University, 1988. In 1992, Dr. Adella received an Administrative Certification from Wayne State University. She received her EdD in Educational Administration, Supervision and Policy Study from Wayne State University in 2008. During her years as a teacher and an administrator, Dr. Adella designed and developed programs for the Michigan Educational Assessment Program test; The Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program; Teacher use of Diversity in the classroom; Communities in School; Improved achievement for Title I students; Classroom Management, Teacher Efficacy; Lesson Planning; and Grant writing. Since retiring, Dr. Adella, a widow of three years, has dedicated her time to the community. She currently serves on Masjid Wali Muhammad’s Board of Trustees for Education; member of ,“Neighborly Needs,” an organization dedicated to revitalizing neighborhoods near Masajid in Detroit, Michigan, and conducts staff development in lesson Planning and Teacher Efficacy for Al-Iklas Academy and Tawheed School. Dr. Adella is the mother of six children, eleven grandchildren, and three great grandchildren. Finally, she has strong ties to the community in which she lives. She has been a member of Police Athletic League (PAL) for the past 25 years. This organization, United Youth Sports, uses football, basketball, baseball, bowling to teach children good sportsmanship, communication skills, discipline and team spirit, self- esteem, with the goal of providing youth activities to deter juvenile delinquency. Although retired, she is extraordinarily busy working for good neighborhoods and community life.