DR. SHABAZZ Passes at age 87 - Peace Be Unto Him

By Gloria Dulan-Wilson

DR. ABDULALIM ABDULLAH SHABAZZ May 22, 1927 to June 25, 2014

I had recently announced the passing of a good friend and Son of Lincoln, Dr. Abdulalim Shabazz.  I had had the pleasure of meeting him and getting to know him briefly during one of the Alumni Week reunions at Lincoln.

He was a walking fount of knowledge - not just a mathematical genius, and told me of many things that used to exist (or not exist, depending on the situation) when he was a student there.  He had the pleasure of being a student under LU President Horace Mann Bond, whom he greatly admired. I teased him about doing an autobiography - his adventures had taken him around the world, and had opened doors for him in places he said he would never have imagined.  He always credited Lincoln University for  being more than a college - more like a home, a launching point where the world knew no boundaries.

The Homegoing Service were held for our distinguished brother, servant of African people, Dr. Abdulalim Shabazz, Sunday, July 6, 2014, 1 p.m. at Masjid Muhammad,1519 NW 4th St. Washington, D.C.

 According to Wikipedia, Dr. Muhammad has been credited with having produced more mathematics doctorates among African Americans than any other educator!!

Abdulalim A. Shabazz was an African American Professor of Mathematics. He received the National Association of Mathematicians Distinguished Service Award for his years of mentoring and teaching excellence. President of the United States Bill Clinton awarded Shabazz with a National Mentor award in September 2000.

Shabazz was  born Lonnie Cross on May 22, 1927, in Bessemer, Alabama. In 1949, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and mathematics from Lincoln University. Shabazz was appointed an Assistant Professor of Mathematics by Tuskegee Institute in 1956.

From 1957 until 1963, he served as chairman and Associate Professor of Mathematics at Clark Atlanta University.  Shabazz announced in 1961 that he was a member of the Nation of Islam (later he converted to Islam).

From 1975 until 1986, Shabazz taught in Chicago, Detroit, and in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.  In 1986, Shabazz returned to Clark Atlanta, where he served as chair from 1990 until 1995. Subsequently, Dr. Shabazz was happy to return to his Alma Mater, where from 1998 until 2000, he was Chairman of the Mathematics and Computer Science Department.  Unfortunately, his talents and reputation were not recognized by the current Lincoln Administrator of the time, and he subsequently curtailed his association with his alma mater after having been invited to become the endowed Mathematics Chair at Grambling State University in Florida.

Dr. Shabazz passed on June 25, 2014.  Peace Be Unto Him.

Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria 

-->