Salim Muwakkil (born Alonzo James Cannady, January 20, 1947) is an American journalist and political commentator, based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He is a senior editor at '' In These Times magazine'' and an op-ed columnist for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

''. Muwakkil writes on African-American issues, Middle East politics, and US foreign policy. He is a Crime and Communities Media Fellow of the

Open Society Institute Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute, is a grantmaking network founded and chaired by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with a sta ...

, and teaches a seminar on race, media, and politics for the Urban Studies Program of the

Associated Colleges of the Midwest Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) is a consortium of 14 private liberal arts colleges, primarily in the Midwestern United States. The 14 colleges are located in five states (Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Colorado). The ACM was es ...

. Muwakkil, born in New York City, attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

in New Jersey; he graduated with a BA in Political Science in 1973.

Background and career

After graduating from Linden High School, Muwakkil joined the U.S. Air Force in 1964. After serving five-years as an administration specialist in Germany, he returned in 1969 and enrolled at Rutgers University, graduating in 1973. He joined the

Black Panther Party The Black Panther Party (BPP), originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense, was a Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton in October 1966 in Oakland, Califo ...

directly after his discharge. Shortly before his graduation, Muwakkil began his journalism career at the ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

'' in Newark, New Jersey as a reporter. Later, he joined the

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious and political organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A black nationalist organization, the NOI focuses its attention on the African diaspora, especially on African ...

. He moved to ''

Muhammad Speaks ''Muhammad Speaks'' was one of the most widely read newspapers ever produced by an African-American organization. It was the official newspaper of the Nation of Islam from 1960 to 1975, founded by a group of Elijah Muhammad's ministers, includi ...

'' and its successor '' Bilalian News'' as a copy editor and then managing editor. He is now a former activist in that movement. After moving to Chicago, Muwakkil joined the staff at ''

In These Times ''In These Times'' is an American politically progressive monthly magazine of news and opinion published in Chicago, Illinois. It was established as a broadsheet-format fortnightly newspaper in 1976 by James Weinstein, a lifelong socialist. ...

'' in 1983 and became a contributing writer to the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

'' and the ''

.'' He hosts "The Salim Muwakkil" show on

WVON WVON (1690 AM "The Voice of the Nation", originally "Voice of the Negro") is a radio station serving the Chicago market, which airs an African-American-oriented talk format. WVON is owned by Midway Broadcasting Corporation, and broadcasts at 169 ...

, Chicago's historic Black radio station. Muwakkil serves as board member for the Progressive Media Project and the Chicago-based Public Square. In the past he has been an adjunct professor at Columbia College, Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, and the

School of the Art Institute of Chicago The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) is a private art school associated with the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) in Chicago, Illinois. Tracing its history to an art students' cooperative founded in 1866, which grew into the museum and ...

Bibliography

Muwakkil wrote the text for the book, "Harold!: Photographs from the Harold Washington Years." He has also been a contributing author of other works as listed below. * ''Journal of Ordinary Thought, Summer 2008: Authors of History'', Neighborhood Writing Alliance, 2008 * ''Appeal to Reason: 25 years in these times'', Seven Stories Press, 2002 * ''States of Confinement'', Palgrave Macmillan, New York, 2000 * ''The Farrakhan Factor: African-American writers on minister Louis Farrakhan,'' Grove Press, 1998 * ''The Bell Curve Debate'', Times Books, 1995 * ''Collateral Damage: The New World Order at Home and Abroad'', South End Press, ''1992'' Other publications in which Muwakkil's work has appeared include ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', ''

The Chicago Reader The ''Chicago Reader'', or ''Reader'' (stylized as ЯEADER), is an American alternative weekly newspaper in Chicago, Illinois, noted for its literary style of journalism and coverage of the arts, particularly film and theater. It was founded by ...

'', ''

The Progressive ''The Progressive'' is a left-leaning American magazine and website covering politics and culture. Founded in 1909 by U.S. senator Robert M. La Follette Sr. and co-edited with his wife Belle Case La Follette, it was originally called ''La Follett ...

'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...

'', '' Cineaste'', ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

'', ''

Z Magazine Z Communications is a left-wing activist-oriented media group founded in 1986 by Michael Albert and Lydia Sargent.Max Elbaum''Revolution in the Air: Sixties Radicals Turn to Lenin, Mao and Che'' London, England, UK; New York, New York, US: Verso ...

'', ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'', and ''

Utne Reader ''Utne Reader'' (also known as ''Utne'') ( ) is a digital digest that collects and reprints articles on politics, culture, and the environment, generally from alternative media sources including journals, newsletters, weeklies, zines, music, and ...

''.

Awards and recognition

Muwakkil has been recognized for his journalism as listed below: * 2022 Marcus Garvey History And Education Lifetime Award - Chicago Music Awards--https://www.chicagomusicawards.org/copy-of-nominees-vote-1 * 2021 Lifetime Achievement Award - Institute of Kemetic Yoga --https://myemail.constantcontact.com/Soul-Yoga-Fest-Resurrection-July-9---10--2021-Fuller-Park-Field-House-Chicago.html?soid=1101914437981&aid=cG_za-a__YA * 2004 Lillian Award for Excellence in Journalism - Delta Sigma Theta sorority * 2001 Studs Terkel Award for Journalistic Excellence - Chicago-based Community Media Workshop * 1997 Black Rose Achievement Award - League of Black Women * 1994 Top Ten Media Heroes - Institute of Alternative Journalism

References

External links

Panel discussion
with Muwakkil on the 2008 U.S. Presidential Elections at the

Pritzker Military Museum & Library The Pritzker Military Museum & Library (formerly Pritzker Military Library) is a non-profit museum and a research library for the study of military history on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The institution was founded in 2003, and its spe ...

Essay
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muwakkil, Salim 1947 births American male journalists Journalists from California Living people Rutgers University alumni Members of the Nation of Islam Members of the Black Panther Party Writers from Newark, New Jersey Writers from Chicago 20th-century African-American writers