Muhammad I. Kenyatta, (born Donald Brooks Jackson; March 3, 1944 – January 3, 1992), was an American
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
,
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
leader, and international human rights advocate. Jackson changed his name in the early 1970s to Muhammad Kenyatta.
[Muhammad Kenyatta, 47, Dies; Professor and Civil Rights Leader]
''New York Times'', January 6, 1992.
In the 1960s, he worked for the
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), also referred to as the Freedom Democratic Party, was an American political party created in 1964 as a branch of the populist Freedom Democratic organization in the state of Mississippi during the ...
, which challenged the denial of voting rights to African-Americans in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. In 1969 he was elected national vice-president of the Black Economic Development Conference and President of the Greater Philadelphia branch of the organization which was focused on ending poverty in communities of color which they outlined in a revolutionary document referred to as the 'Black Manifesto'. In 1975, Kenyatta had an unsuccessful run for Democratic nomination for mayor of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
against
Frank Rizzo
Francis Lazarro Rizzo (October 23, 1920 – July 16, 1991) was an American police officer and politician. He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He was a member of the Democr ...
.
[In the Minority: Muhammad Kenyatta Fights for Civil Rights]
''The Harvard Crimson'', November 1, 1982.
Kenyatta was a fellow in the
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
and
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
and led a boycott against minority hiring practices at Harvard. He was also active in international human rights education and advocacy through the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
and
TransAfrica
TransAfrica (formerly ''TransAfrica Forum'') is an advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. that seeks to influence the foreign policy of the United States concerning African and Caribbean countries and all African diaspora groups. They are a res ...
organizations.
Early life and education
In 1944, Kenyatta was born in
Chester, Pennsylvania
Chester is a city in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Located within the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, it is the only city in Delaware County and had a population of 32,605 as of the 2020 census.
Incorporated in 1682, Chester is ...
. He attended a
segregated elementary school and was ordained a minister in the
Calvary Baptist Church
Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...
in Chester at the age of 14. He attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania then joined the United States Air Force at age 17 when he could no longer afford tuition.
In 1981, Kenyatta received his bachelor's degree from
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
. Kenyatta attended
Harvard Divinity School
Harvard Divinity School (HDS) is one of the constituent schools of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school's mission is to educate its students either in the academic study of religion or for leadership roles in religion, gov ...
, where he was a Merrill Fellow (1973–74). He earned his
Juris Doctor
The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law
and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
degree three years later from
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States.
Each class ...
and was a Harvard fellow in public interest law in 1984-85 for the Pan African Project.
Career
In the mid to late 1960s Kenyatta was an organizer for the
Head Start Program
Head Start is a program of the United States Department of Health and Human Services that provides comprehensive early childhood education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services to low-income children and families. The program's s ...
that provided early childhood education and health services to impoverished children and their families. He supported the occupation of a building owned by
Quakers
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
demanding they pay
reparations
Reparation(s) may refer to:
Christianity
* Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation
* Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin
History
*War reparations
**World War I reparations, made from G ...
.
He also worked for the
Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), also referred to as the Freedom Democratic Party, was an American political party created in 1964 as a branch of the populist Freedom Democratic organization in the state of Mississippi during the ...
, a group that challenged the denial of voting right to African-Americans in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. It was at this time that he received a letter found to have been forged by three F.B.I. agents working in the
COINTELPRO
COINTELPRO ( syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program; 1956–1971) was a series of covert and illegal projects actively conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrati ...
program that was aimed at disrupting and discrediting people considered dangerously radical. The letter threatened Kenyatta with warnings to stay away from
Tougaloo College
Tougaloo College is a private historically black college in the Tougaloo area of Jackson, Mississippi. It is affiliated with the United Church of Christ and Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It was originally established in 1869 by New Yo ...
in Mississippi, where he had been a student. He left Mississippi, but later sued the Government for violating his constitutional right to free speech. A university spokesman, Arthur Page, said the suit finally came to trial in
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, officially the City of Jackson, is the Capital city, capital of and the List of municipalities in Mississippi, most populous city in the U.S. state of Mississippi. The city is also one of two county seats of Hinds County, Mississippi, ...
, in 1985, but the jury did not decide in his favor.
[
Back in Philadelphia Kenyatta continued his activism. In 1969 he was elected as national Vice President of the Black Economic Development Conference which set as its guiding document the Black Manifesto which among many things called for reparations for black people.
]
Harvard University boycott
Kenyatta gained prominence in the Harvard community as an organizer of a nationally controversial boycott of a Law School civil rights course. The boycott protested the assignment of Jack Greenberg
Jack Greenberg (December 22, 1924 – October 12, 2016) was an American attorney and legal scholar. He was the Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 1961 to 1984, succeeding Thurgood Marshall.
He was involved in numerous crucial ...
, director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, as co-instructor of the class "Racial Discrimination and Civil Rights." The course had previously been offered by Derrick Bell
Derrick Albert Bell Jr. (November 6, 1930 – October 5, 2011) was an American lawyer, professor, and civil rights activist. Bell worked for first the U.S. Justice Department, then the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, where he supervised over 300 schoo ...
, one of the few black members of the law faculty, who left Harvard in 1981 to become dean of the University of Oregon Law School
The University of Oregon School of Law is a public law school in the U.S. state of Oregon. Housed in the Knight Law Center, it is Oregon's only state funded law school. The school, founded in 1884, is located on the University of Oregon campus in ...
.[ Students had hoped the Law School administration would add a minority faculty member to its 58-man, one-woman, one-Black tenured staff. Instead, Harvard appointed a white professor, Greenberg, and J. Levonne Chambers, Black president of the NAACP fund.
As the president of the ]Black Law Students Association
The National Black Law Students Association (NBLSA), founded in 1968, is a nationwide organization formed to articulate and promote the needs and goals of black law students and effectuates change in the legal community. As the largest law stude ...
(BLSA), Kenyatta was an active spokesman for the boycott both inside and outside Harvard. Minority groups chose him to write a letter explaining the boycott to Greenberg and Chambers. Law School Dean James Vorenberg
James Vorenberg (October 1, 1928 – April 12, 2000) was the Roscoe Pound Professor of Law and Dean of Harvard Law School, former Watergate Associate Special Prosecutor, and first chair of the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission.
Biography
Born ...
sent a copy of that letter, along with a draft containing his own anti-boycott stance, to law students. The national media quoted from it in articles about the boycott, most of which criticized the boycotting student for what one columnist called "banal ethnocentrism."
Kenyatta was angry about what he saw as indifference to minority concerns at the Law School and had reservations about the teachers that "represent civil rights strategies from the 1950s".
Kenyatta thought the affirmative action controversy at the Law School was only a part of a national problem. He felt economic issues were the most important concern for Blacks in America at the time and that affirmative action was "a key concept" to help Blacks escape poverty.
Philadelphia mayoral run
Kenyatta ran for the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Philadelphia in 1975. At the time, Frank L. Rizzo
Francis Lazarro Rizzo (October 23, 1920 – July 16, 1991) was an American police officer and politician. He served as Philadelphia police commissioner from 1968 to 1971 and mayor of Philadelphia from 1972 to 1980. He was a member of the Democ ...
—whom Kenyatta called "the George Wallace of the North"—was up for reelection and being challenged by a white liberal state senator, Louis G. Hill, for the party's nomination. Hill was counting on support from the city's Black population to beat Rizzo.
Kenyatta did not support Hill and ran for the Democratic nomination himself. The Philadelphia media paid a great deal of attention to his candidacy, in part because he had just completed a highly publicized citizens' campaign against the Black Mafia
The Black Mafia, also known as the Philadelphia Black Mafia (PBM), Black Muslim Mafia and Muslim Mob, was a Philadelphia-based African-American organized crime syndicate. The organization began as a small criminal collective, known for robbery, ...
drug ring in the city. Although Kenyatta said he entered the race because he did not think Hill was any better than Rizzo, critics have accused him of deliberately splitting the Black vote so Rizzo would win. Kenyatta denied that he made any deals with Rizzo in exchange for his protest candidacy, however the charges of collusion were supported by the fact that two of his close friends were appointed patronage positions in the Rizzo administration.[
]
International work
Kenyatta was vice chairman of the Pan African Skills Project, an international education program including the United States, Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
and Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, and was a permanent representative to the United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
nongovernmental organizations section. He helped to organize the Western New York Chapter of TransAfrica
TransAfrica (formerly ''TransAfrica Forum'') is an advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. that seeks to influence the foreign policy of the United States concerning African and Caribbean countries and all African diaspora groups. They are a res ...
, a Washington-based lobbying group for African and Caribbean interests.
Death
Kenyatta was a visiting professor at the University at Buffalo School of Law
The University at Buffalo School of Law (also known as State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, or SUNY Buffalo Law School) is a graduate professional school at the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1887 and affiliate with Niagara Uni ...
from 1988 until his death on January 3, 1992, at age 47. He had long been in ill health, said university officials, who added that the professor had suffered complications from diabetes and was hospitalized at the time of his death.
Personal life
Kenyatta was married to Mary Kenyatta and together had a daughter and two sons.
Kenyatta's grandson, Malcolm Kenyatta
Malcolm Kenyatta (born July 30, 1990) is an American politician from North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A member of the Democratic Party, he has served as the Pennsylvania State Representative for the 181st district since 2019.
Early life and e ...
, is an active community and LGBT advocate in Philadelphia, and won election to District 181 of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts.
It ...
in 2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
. He was a candidate in the 2022 Democratic primary for Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Senator Pat Toomey
Patrick Joseph Toomey Jr. (born November 17, 1961) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator for Pennsylvania since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he served three terms as the U.S. representat ...
.Malcolm Kenyatta: Democratic Candidate for U.S. Senate
''NBC Philadelphia
WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jerse ...
'', March 16, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenyatta, Muhammad
1944 births
1992 deaths
African-American activists
Activists for African-American civil rights
African-American Baptist ministers
COINTELPRO targets
Harvard Law School alumni
Harvard Divinity School alumni
People from Chester, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Democrats
Politicians from Philadelphia
Williams College alumni
20th-century Baptist ministers from the United States