By Sabir Muhammad
(Photos by Nassar Madyun)
ATLANTA, Ga. – Much has been made about the devastation and detrimental changes in the normal everyday lives of people all over the world, as a result of the continuing infections bought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
While we must acknowledge the impact of the virus on our health and schedules of our daily lives, it is those who seek to find advantages that Allah is still providing even during these dire times that not only advance their lives but help to enable themselves and others.
Our faith in Allah during this time gives us the ability to keep our focus on our goals, the key to accomplishing success.
Kesha Muhammad-Garrett and her sister Akilah Muhammad McKnight, the beautiful daughters of Imam John and Veverly Muhammad of Atlanta, have seized on the abundance of time the pandemic has afforded them in order to produce exceptional children books.
The sisters are keeping with Imam W.D. Mohammed’s directives to our community to publish our own books.
Kesha, who lives in Decatur, Georgia, with her husband, Thaddeus, is a public school educator with over 20 years of experience in the elementary school setting. She has served as both general education and gifted education teacher, a Curriculum Support Teacher, a Lead Literacy Coach and a School Improvement Facilitator.
She is the founder of UpLift Them, LLC, where the mission is to empower both adolescents and adults through literacy. In adolescents, the organization serves to improve the reading and writing habits of elementary-aged scholars, while also promoting positive self-esteem, positive self-images and healthy lifestyles through literacy.
For adults, the organization offers consulting and data-driven professional learning opportunities for parents and educators that also promote improved instruction in the areas of reading and writing.
Kesha began her education at Atlanta’s Sis. Clara Mohammed Elementary School and is a graduate of “THE” Albany State University and a financially active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and the Junior League of DeKalb.
Kesha is dedicated to building communities by empowering the youth and the villages that support them.
Akilah, a 2010 graduate of W.D. Mohammed High School, lives in nearby Stonecrest, Georgia, with her husband Larry McKnight and sons Malik and Ameer. Both sisters relish their family closeness and their opportunities to stay engaged.
All of the books have been beautifully illustrated by Shaifali Bajad: “Brown Boy, Brown Boy,” “Brown Girl, Brown Girl” and “What do you see?”
