Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Saladin Allah. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Saladin, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s kick things off with a hypothetical question – if it were up to you, what would you change about the school or education system to better prepare students for a more fulfilling life and career?

Knowledge of self is key! As an early childhood educator, there are many things that I would change about the educational system. In fact, this is part of the inspiration behind me building my own educational institution called the Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters. When you look at the etymology of the word educate it comes from the Latin word “educare” which means to lead or draw out. Most educational systems that we see are not focused on drawing out the infinite potential in students that they can fashion into a purpose that contributes to our society. These systems are all about standardized testing, the rote memorization of information that students are quizzed about, and Westernized socialization. The fact that creative/performing arts and trade programs are grossly underfunded or nonexistent across this country is a huge indicator of what many adults view as important when it comes to investing in our future leaders. In order to better prepare our students for a more fulfilling life and career, we must invest in drawing out their infinite potential. We can do this by teaching them life basic skills such as financial literacy, holistic health, etc. and helping them craft their own individual education plans which includes exploratory classes/content that enables them learn more about themselves.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

To tell you a little about myself, I am the third-great grandson of the famed underground railroad Freedom Seeker Josiah Henson whom Harriet Beecher Stowe used as the primary narrative for her famous 19th Century novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I am a proud Father of three girls, a Therapeutic Recreation major who attended Central State University in Wilberforce Ohio, a Region 6 Representative of the Five Percenters in WNY/Southern Ontario, and founder of the Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters, Atlantis Build Talk Radio, and Quanaah Publishing. During my ten years as a freelance writer/radio host and twenty-two years as an educator, I have been globally published in print and online in a wide range of publications and created numerous youth programs, projects, and initiatives. I have published 350+ articles on various topics and authored
twenty-three books; five books are part of a Curatorial Activism archive initiative in the British Library.

In 2018 as a part of the Atlantis School For Gifted Youngsters, Saladin created seven online Youth Outreach Development courses, a Boys As Allies Rights of Passage Program, and Roku/Amazon Direct family-friendly animation series. I am the Niagara Falls’ 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Achievement Award recipient and a featured historian in the 2019 IMAX
Film ‘Into America’s Wild’ narrated by Morgan Freeman and hosted by Ariel Tweto and John Herrington. In 2020 he was again a featured historian in the six-part award-winning docuseries ‘Enslaved’ executive produced and starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by three-time Emmy award-winning journalist Simcha Jacobovici. Most recently I was a featured educator in a 2022 United Nations Outreach Programme on the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery short doc, a featured historian in ‘Secrets on the Boarder’; The Nature of Things CBC documentary directed by Adrian Callendar, and a producer/featured historian of the Buffalo & Erie County Naval Park exhibit and documentary Two Wars: The Road to Integration. I am currently the Director of Community Engagement at the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad Heritage Center, Public Art Coordinator for the Niagara Falls National Heritage Area, and Commissioner for the Human Rights Commission in the City of Niagara Falls, New York.

I am an educator and community organizer at heart and I was first exposed to this path through my family and community members as a child. These were, and are, everyday people doing the extraordinary work of inspiring, empowering, and educating others. Not because of social status, a job title, or a paycheck, but because they understood the value of one another, investment in our community, and commitment to sharing their knowledge, wisdom, and understanding with their future leaders.

One thing that I am proud of about the work that I do is that it is not work at all. Sure, everything that I do requires energy yet I love what I do and I am sure others can sense that when I share it. What I am most proud of is my children and their opportunity to add even more beauty to this world with their life purpose.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

One story from my journey that illustrates my resilience is losing both my father and brother on the same day in 2021, hours apart, under two totally unrelated circumstances. While my father passed away in his sleep, my brother was murdered. For the first time in my life I proactively sought out a therapist because I had no idea how this would affect me. It was an excellent decision and gave me an opportunity to start unpacking and processing what this felt and feels like. I am still grieving yet still continuing along my path and doing the things that they were both proud of.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

As an educator and author, you must always be adaptable. The ability to pivot, when necessary, in order to meet people where they are in life is critical to the sustainability of any profession. The pandemic shutdown taught billions of people this life lesson. It is not only wise to pivot but that wisdom is symbolic of being like water. Wisdom is right discernment (judgment), just like water is a universal solvent, and many of us came out much wiser when the world opened back up.

The challenges that we encountered were like a boulder in the path of water, To address these challenges, one of the wisest questions we can ask ourselves is, “What would water do?” In some cases, water will simply go around the boulder. If water does not go around the boulder it can soak into the soil, go beneath it, and resurface on the other side. If water does not go around or beneath the boulder it can evaporate, rise above it, and distill on the other side. If water does not go around, beneath, or above the boulder, it can freeze, become ice, and move the boulder out of its path. Lastly, if water does not go around, beneath, above, or move the boulder, it possesses the patience and consistency to go right through it!

With wisdom, like water, the universal solvent, we can rightly discern (judge) the best way to address our challenges, and help others address their challenges too.

Contact Info:

• Website: atlantisschool.blogspot.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/atlantisbuild
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/atlantisbuild
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/saladin-quanaah-allah-1bb43810
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/atlantisbuild
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/quanaah
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/niagara-falls-underground-railroad-heritage-center-niagara-falls
• Other: https://atlantisbuild.bandcamp.com/