We were lucky to catch up with Jamaal Shabazz recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jamaal thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about serving the underserved.

There is an extensive history, and present day struggles of Black/African people across the globe as well as people in lower economic classes, due to numerous factors. My business and community efforts combat this. My products and services provide re-education, entertainment and inspiration which equips individuals with the information and inspiration to improve their overall quality of life, as well as their communities. This is done through my Knowledge of Self Trivia App, Knowledge of Self board game, lectures and speeches, youth program, novel, upcoming animated series, social media content and more.

My Knowledge of Self board game and trivia app allows you to laugh and learn as you venture through both Black history and culture. Many schools I have visited, students in my program and adults have reached out over the years expressing the impact of my products. Parents have been inspired to self-educate themselves so they can pass their level of consciousness to their children. My efforts have shown the youth that they can be more than an athlete or entertainer if they choose to. I provide them with optimism and knowledge so they understand who they are, what they can become, having dignity of your people, always be on the side of truth, and never cease to develop your new world making abilities.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Bio:

Brother Jamaal Shabazz (formerly Jamaal Nelson) is an Indianapolis native,
historian, community servant, Army veteran, author, and entrepreneur.

He is most known for his Knowledge of Self board game, which allows you to
laugh and learn as you venture through Black history and culture. He also
developed the Knowledge of Self Trivia App, which has earned a 5-star rating
and gained global popularity with hundreds of downloads. He is the first
person in history to offer both a board game and app that teaches you Black
history and Black culture.

Brother Jamaal leads his Liberation Club, a Black history program, at various
high schools and community centers across Indianapolis. His re-educational
content has garnered millions of views and engagement across social media.
Celebrities such as Michael B. Jordan, Erykah Badu, Ruth E. Carter, and others
have shared interacted with his social media content.

He was recently awarded Indiana University of Indianapolis’s 2025
Community Graceful Heart of Service Award at their annual Martin Luther King
event.

How I got into my industry:

I’m 27 years old. When I was 18, I joined the US Army. I ended up serving nearly 5 years active duty as a 68J Medical Logistics Specialist. I joined the Army because I had no idea what else to do after I graduated high school. Growing up, it was custom to think if you didn’t play sports, go to college the only other thing to keep you out of the streets and alive was ironically the military. During my second year, an Army comrade of mine referred a book to me called The New Jim Crow: Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. It was the first time I had ever read a book on my own since high school, when you were forced to read. That book led me to read dozens of other books. I now have over 200 books in my collection. With not only the information but also inspiration I obtained from reading books, I began to create and develop my unique sense of creativity. My sense of community and wanting to help people was fostered. I then began to immerse myself in community work and creating services and products to help people the same way books helped me.

I’m most proud of the positive impact I have on others. With all the social chaos, discord, and destruction in our world today being able to being the positive beacon of light to so many people are the best reward I’ve ever received. Also, taking a group of young girls to see Civil Rights icon Ruby Bridges speak in person was cool too.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

When I first began my community and business efforts on social media, I had about 2,700 followers on Instagram. Mostly from high school and childhood friends, and other teenage attractions. I was 19 or 20 at the time. When I began to post about books, community work, and other positive efforts, I lost about 400 followers in 6 months. I wasn’t upset because I realized the followers I lost were not my target audience. I stayed consistent with my content and posting. I now have almost 10k followers. Multiple videos with 100k plus views, one with 2.1 million views, various viral posts across multiple platforms, and celebrities like Michaeal B. Jordan, Erykah Badu, Ruth E. Carter, Caleb McLaughlin, and more sharing and interacting with my content. This has helped not only to positively impact the world but also generated sales for my numerous products and services. I also get paid by other organizations and business to create content for them due to my success.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I am the first person in history to provide and offer both a board game AND app that teaches you Black history and culture. I recently took the youth in my program to see Civil Rights icon Ruby Bridges speak in person. I have received various awards including Indiana University of Indianapolis’s 2025 Community Graceful Heart of Service Award at their annual Martin Luther King event. I’ve accomplished this and so much more with no grants, no allocated funding, or loans. I also have my Fist Full of Plight animated series coming soon. I was able to do all of this through partnership, collaboration, and ethno-aggregation amongst creatives and services providers in my community. I currently work 3 jobs due to the economic climate we are in today, but I know this is only temporary. I have had much success and have a long way to go but I have done great through collaboration. It’s not easy working 3 jobs while still staying disciplined in community work and creative projects but if I can balance it all at a high level than anyone can.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.brotherjamaalnelson.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
• Twitter: https://x.com/Maal317
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/