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Honoring and thanking Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad, on the occasion of Pride Month, for their work organizing and supporting Black, Queer, Transgender, and HIV positive (poz) Philadelphians.
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WHEREAS, Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad is a native of West Philadelphia, and continues to honor their roots and the city of Philadelphia through ancestral work; and
WHEREAS, Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad was a founding member of the Black & Brown Workers Cooperative, formed in February 2016. The Black & Brown Workers Cooperative is a direct action-focused collective, whose mission is to actively challenge, resist and dismantle systems of oppression that adversely impact the Black and Brown worker. During their time with the Black & Brown Workers Cooperative, Abdul-Aliy led numerous direct actions, supported the organizing of employees at area non-profits, and facilitated anti-oppression trainings, and other workshops aimed at bringing equity to workplace culture. While with the Black and Brown Workers Cooperative, Abdul-Aliy coined the phrase #DisappearingBlackness to bring awareness to displacement politics that are being used to rapidly gentrify Philadelphia and push out Black citizens; and
WHEREAS, Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad, in an act of refusal, began a medication strike entitled Declining HAART in protest of abusive workplace conditions, and sexual violence against staff and patients of a local non-profit. In Abdul-Aliy’s own words, “As a Black Queer Poz person, I have to resist, fight for my humanity and others all while trying to survive and not die from unwavering targets on my back. In the U.S. and globally there are penalties for Blackness. As someone who is dark-skinned, Muslim-raised, positive, and queer, I don’t know any other experience than resistance”; and
WHEREAS, Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad has been a source of support and care for the family of Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells, uplifting her legacy and giving direct support to her mother, Terri Ann Edmonds; and
WHEREAS, Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad was a founding member of PHL Pride Collective. After the unceremonious dissolution of Philly Pride Presents, Abdul-Aliy organized and invited community members to provide input on what Pride celebrations should look like in the City of Philadelphia. The group that was formed, PHL Pride Collective, was responsible for the 2022 Philadelphia Pride festivities, including the parade and Pride Festival; and
WHEREAS, Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad created the Black Reverence Chair. Black Reverence Chair is a Black Affirmation and Joy ritual that invites Black people to sit on an adorned chair and receive positive affirmation and praise. Black Reverence Chair is a community process which fosters healing and wellness for and with its participants; and
WHEREAS, Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad is the co-creator of Finding Ceremony with Dr. Lyra D. Monteiro, formed in response to the desecration of stolen ancestral remains by the Penn Museum, including those of Black Philadelphians. Finding Ceremony is a descendant community-controlled process, restoring the lineages of care, reverence, and spiritual memory to the work of caring for our dead, whom the museum unethically obtained, possessed, displayed, and used as teaching tools. Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad’s work centers around returning ancestral remains to relatives, descendants, and descendant communities from which they were stolen; and
WHEREAS, The Council of the City of Philadelphia recognizes that Black and brown transgender and gender non-conforming residents of color experience marginalization, discrimination, and oppression at unacceptably high rates. This body appreciates activists such as Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad who are working each and every day to uplift this community; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA hereby honors and thanks Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad, on the occasion of Pride Month, for their work organizing and supporting Black, Queer, Transgender, and HIV positive (poz) Philadelphians, some of whom are trading sex, using drugs, are unsheltered, and/or disabled.
FURTHER RESOLVED, An Engrossed copy of this resolution to be presented to Abdul-Aliy A. Muhammad as a token of this body’s respect and appreciation.
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