Abdullah R. Muhammad

Abdullah R. Muhammad, is an educator and historian formerly from Baltimore, MD, and Queens, NY, currently residing in Wilmington, Delaware. He is a member of the New Sweden Centre board. He serves as a volunteer re-enactor for our organization in the role of Black Anthony, the first free African in New Sweden Colony in 1639. In addition, he also lectures around the state on this little-known subject. 

Upon relocating to Delaware, he learned that his high school students had little interest or knowledge about Delaware’s history. This inspired him to create and publish a 2007-2012 Delaware history calendar, including a perpetual calendar providing ready access to important historical events throughout the history of Delaware. This calendar became the #1-selling calendar after 60 days. In conjunction with this unique educational tool, he published The Making of Delaware One Day at a Time, an easy-to-read book on the historical events and people in Delaware from 1608 to 2007. This book, with its fresh look at the subject, became the #1-selling history book in the state in 90 days. Also, Abdullah has been honored for his first book by the Wilmington City Council, the New Castle County Council and the State House of Representatives.

 

Just as he has approached well-known topics with a fresh look, so has he approached this mostly unknown topic of Africans in New Sweden and the Delaware River Valley. It was in his role as Black Anthony that he was inspired to research the history of Africans in our developing Swedish colony and the rest of the Delaware River Valley, because he found it very hard to believe that Anthony was the only African living in the area.