Unity Hall in Chicago, Illinois
This is the site of the 1st annual convention of the Moorish Science Temple of America.
The building is a city landmark, constructed in 1887 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has been neglected for years and is currently on sale.
from www.preservationchicago.org:
“Standing as an important monument to Chicago’s rich African-American heritage, as well as an official Chicago Landmark (designated in 1998), Unity Hall is threatened with demolition by neglect.”
Cahokia Mounds
from wikipedia: “Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site ( /kəˈhoʊkiə/) is the area of an ancient indigenous city (c. 600–1400 CE) located in the American Bottom floodplain, between East Saint Louis and Collinsville in south-western Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. The 2,200-acre (890 ha) site included 120 human-built earthwork mounds over an area of six square miles, of which 80 remain.
Cahokia Mounds is the largest archaeological site related to the Mississippian culture, which developed advanced societies in central and eastern North America (within the present-day United States), beginning more than five centuries before the arrival of Europeans.[4] In the 1200s, its population was as large or larger than European cities, and it was not surpassed by any later United States city until 1800.
Cahokia Mounds is a National Historic Landmark and designated site for state protection. In addition, it is one of only 21 World Heritage Sites within the United States. It is the largest prehistoric earthen construction in the Americas north of Mexico.”
Prophet Noble Drew Ali taught the Moors that our dominion and inhabitation spanned from Canaan to Africa and “across the great Atlantis, even unto the present North, South and Central America and also Mexico and the Atlantis islands; before the great earthquake, which caused the great Atlantic Ocean.”
Grave site of Prophet Noble Drew Ali
Burr Oak Cemetary, Chicago, Illinois
Cook Bey Brothers Interview Pt 1 & 2
This is a snippet of an interview with the Brothers G. and I. Cook Bey.
It is the beginning of a first hand account of the works of Prophet Noble Drew Ali… from Moors who walked with him.
Meinl Coffee
Meinl Coffee is a popular brand from Austria that was founded in 1862. They’ve just recently opened their own store store in Chicago. The little coffee boy logo, originally designed in 1924 by Viennese artist Josef Binder and modernised in 1950 by artist Otto Exinger, combines Turkish Sultanate and Arabic traditions with those of the Baroque Angels of European architecture.
Coffee was brought to Vienna in 1683 by the besieging Turkish army of Pasha Kara Mustafa. The Fez, the red head dress with black tassel, was worn widely in the Turkish lands and was a symbol of the sovereignty of the Sultan, whose center of administration was the “Sublime Porte” in Constantinople, today’s Istanbul.
Oscar Stanton De Priest
Oscar Stanton De Priest (March 9, 1871 – May 12, 1951) was an American lawmaker, who served as a U.S. Representative from Illinois from 1929 to 1935. He was the first so-called “African American” to be elected to Congress in the 20th century. De Priest was born in Florence, Alabama to former slaves. Noble Drew Ali was a supporter of Oscar Depriest and helped him get elected by Moorish-American’s during a time in America, when so-called “African-American’s” were not allowed to vote. Noble Drew Ali encouraged the Moors to cast their “free national ballot” and elect Depriest, among others.
Sister Pearl Ali
The 1st wife of Prophet Noble Drew Ali
Brother E Mealy El in the Moorish Guide
This article from the Moorish guide states that Brother E Mealy El, who was the Grand Governor of Chicago, at the time would be presiding over all Moorish activities in Chicago, while Prophet Noble Drew Ali toured the Temples of America. There is also mention of a restaurant named “The Moorish Lunch”, owned by Brother Jordan-Bey, at the time.
Brother F Nelson-Bey
Second Supreme Grand Advisor and Moderator of the Moorish Science Temple of America Inc. (1959-1962). He obtained his membership and became a sheik under the original teachings of Prophet Noble Drew Ali. Bro. C. Kirkman-Bey engineered the blue print for a Moorish colony in Virginia, and he started the work. He helped build the first log cabin on the colony.
He was a graduate of agriculture college, which enabled him to teach and direct the farming at the Moorish national home.
Bro. F. Nelson-Bey’s work on the colony spanned his lifetime but is still being carried on through his son Mohammed, who was named by the Prophet.
LET PEACE BE THY MOTTO and TRUTH BE THY CHARM
Brother J Blakely-Bey
The third Supreme Grand Advisor and Moderator of the Moorish Science Temple of America Inc. (1963-1971), was dedicated to the laws, customs and traditions of Prophet Noble Drew Ali. He was a very strict vanguard of the movement. He received his membership and became a sheik, during the Prophet’s time. He issued a statement in 1966 to be identified with the true followers of Prophet Noble Drew Ali — We desire to purge ourselves, for we are at the point of being in a confused state of mind with so many leaders and various know alls, about six or seven different phases of Islam, each one with its theory, each a little different from the other.
Butta “Blowin Money Quicker”
Black P Stone hip-hop artist, BUTTA DA PRINCE “blowin money quicker”
Noble Drew Ali surrounded by Moors and Chicago’s top politicians
Prophet Noble Drew Ali is seated in the center with Chicago Alderman Louis B. Anderson (to his right) and Congressman Oscar DePriest, (left). The Moors were voting in America, in the 20’s, before the Civil Rights era. Prophet Noble Drew Ali made it clear that is our Constituional right to vote as United States Citizens, with a free national name. The Moors successfully campaigned for Oscar DePriest to become the 1st so-called “black” congressman, in the United States.
Elijah Poole-Bey aka Elijah Muhammad
Here is a great picture of Elijah Muhammad wearing a Fez. He was a member of the Moorish Science Temple before he founded the Nation of Islam and he was known as Elijah Poole-Bey. Also, notice how they use the term “Moslem”, in this article.
Violence in Chicago: The Interrupters Frontline Documentary
This is a documentary that recently aired on PBS, featuring the daughter of Jeff Fort, Ameena Mathews. It’s an interesting look at the gangs of Chicago, in particular, the Black P Stones. It shows the positive efforts of the older Stones, as they try to help Ameena in her work with CeaseFire, a not for profit organization in Chicago, that the documentary focuses on.
There is a community meeting that takes place at the end of the documentary, where the residents and local politicians discuss the possibility of bringing in the National Guard, to help the police. As the camera scans across the crowd, you can see that there are quite a few Moors in attendance. It is also interesting to note how the Black P Stones which used to refer to themselves as the El Rukns, after Jeff Fort joined the MST of A have shifted directions towards Sunni Islam.
Moorish Society 