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

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

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

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

''. 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 an American grantmaking network founded by business magnate George Soros. Open Society Foundations financially supports civil society groups around the world, with the s ...

, and teaches a seminar on race, media, and politics for the Urban Studies Program of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. Muwakkil, born in New York City, attended

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

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 (originally the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) was a Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist and Black Power movement, black power political organization founded by college students Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newto ...

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

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

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

Nation of Islam The Nation of Islam (NOI) is a religious organization founded in the United States by Wallace Fard Muhammad in 1930. A centralized and hierarchical organization, the NOI is committed to black nationalism and focuses its attention on the Afr ...

. He moved to '' Muhammad Speaks'' 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 may refer to: *In These Times (magazine), ''In These Times'' (magazine), an American monthly magazine of news and opinion *In These Times (Peter, Paul, and Mary album), ''In These Times'' (Peter, Paul, and Mary album), a 2004 album b ...

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

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' and the ''

.'' He hosts "The Salim Muwakkil" show on WVON, 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 university, 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 gr ...

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'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

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 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 Foll ...

'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving 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" ...

'', '' 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, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'', '' Z Magazine'', ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'', ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'', 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 research library for the study of military history located in a state-of-the art facility in Kenosha, WI. The institution was founded in 2003, ...

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