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Queen Muhammad Ali

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Queen Muhammad Ali
Born
Queen Melé Le'iato Tuiasosopo Muhammad Ali

November 12
Watts, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupations
Websitequeenmuhammadali.com

Queen Melé Le'iato Tuiasosopo Muhammad Ali (born November 12) is an American filmmaker, composer, social activist and visual anthropologist.[1][2] Queen and her husband Hakeem Khaaliq founded Nation19, a magazine and film production company, and she is the director of the Manuia Samoa, a social wellness hub in American Samoa.[3]

Early life

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Queen was born in Watts, Los Angeles, California, to an American Samoan mother who worked as a teacher, and an African American father who worked as a percussionist and singer and toured the Caribbean. After graduating high school at an early age, she attended Mt. San Jacinto College in Riverside County, where she studied art. Her grandmother, Princess Masaniai Tunufa'i Le'iato Tuiasosopo, is the daughter of Tuli Leʻiato, a Faʻamatai paramount chief of the islands of Tutuila and Aunu'u.[4][5][6] From 1999 to 2007, part of which coincided with her time in college, Queen worked as a teacher at a private elementary school.

Career

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Queen was a composer on the MTV reality show Adventures in Hollyhood, starring rap group Three 6 Mafia, which premiered on April 5, 2007. Queen and Hakeem Khaaliq were consulting producers on the MTV reality show T.I.'s Road to Redemption, starring rapper T.I., which premiered on February 21, 2009.[7] In the winter of 2010, the couple established Nation19, first as a printed magazine and artist collective before expanding into visiting lectures, photography exhibitions and film production with emphases on ethnography and hip hop culture.[8][9]

In 2014, the couple produced ¿Quiénes son los afro-mexicanos? (Who are the Afro-Mexicans?), a two-part documentary short film that aired across Univision stations,[10] premiering on July 14 and July 15 on KTVW.[11] It also aired as a combined one-part short film in some markets.[12]

In 2015, the couple produced and directed the documentary short film #Bars4Justice which had its premiere on October 1 in Phoenix, Arizona. The film was shot on August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri, documenting the first anniversary of the police shooting and killing of Michael Brown.[13][14] It screened across film festivals internationally, including the 24th Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles in February 2016 and the Museum of Modern Art's 17th Doc Fortnight film festival in Manhattan, New York in February 2017.[15]

In 2016, the couple produced and directed the documentary short film War on Us, starring Rhymefest and Jasiri X in Bogota, Colombia, which had its premiere on April 19. The film highlights the negative consequences of the War on Drugs and was screened at the Museum of Drug Policy's pop-up exhibition held in Manhattan, New York on April 19–21 coinciding with the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS) that discussed the "world drug problem" and policies around it.[16][17]

Activism

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Queen was an organizer and speaker at the Indigenous Peoples March held in Washington, DC on January 18, 2019, where she highlighted the health issues faced by American Samoa and Pacific Islanders,[18][19] and was a speaker at the first Indigenous Peoples Movement conference held in Houston, Texas on May 10–12.[20] She was a speaker on the December 21, 2020 virtual session of the Inter-Generational Dialogue (IGD) organized by Global Peace, an initiative of ACCORD (African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes) based in Mount Edgecombe, South Africa.[21] The IGD was a part of the Global Conversation initiative launched by the United Nations in January 2020 to mark the body's 75th anniversary.[22]

On February 2, 2021, Queen was selected by the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco as part of its YBCA 100 honoring a hundred "everyday heroes—artists, activists, and community leaders—whose work is in service of building sustainable, equitable, and regenerative communities" held virtually at the YBCA 100 Summit on April 3.[23][24] On February 25, 2023, she received the Acie J. Belton Life Achievement Award in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[25]

Personal life

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Queen Muhammad Ali and Hakeem Khaaliq have three children. Their daughters are Melé Aliyah Khaaliq and Manaia Oli'oli Khaaliq.[26]

Works

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Filmography

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Year Film and television Director Producer Writer Editor or
Composer 		Notes
2007 Adventures in Hollyhood No No No Composer Reality TV series
2008 T.I.'s Road to Redemption No Yes No No Reality TV series
2014 ¿Quiénes son los afro-mexicanos?[27] No Yes No No TV short film
2015 #Bars4Justice [28][29][30] Yes Yes Yes Editor Short film
2016 War on Us Yes Yes Yes No Short film
2016 The Last Matai Yes No No Editor
2022 Comin' Up Short [31] Yes Yes No Composer

Educational exhibits and installations

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  • Invisible México: Afro-Mexicanos Arizona Community Foundation (The Karen Work Seleznow Gallery)[32]
  • Invisible Mexico: Global Education Center Nashville, Tennessee September 2017[33][34]
  • A New New Wave!: monOrchid Gallery Phoenix Arizona
  • Invisible Mexico: monOrchid Gallery Phoenix Arizona March 2017[35][36]
  • Exhibit19: February 2015 Glendale Community College[9]
  • Invisible Mexico: Private Gallery Univision Television April – July 2014[10]
  • #TURNUP Denver: DVSN WEST Cherry Creek Denver CO 2014[37]

Design and multimedia

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Michael Jackson commissioned Queen and her partner Hakeem Khaaliq to design for his This Is It concerts. The work included the design of the Earth Song website, design of MichaelJacksonCO.com website, print campaigns and the design of the Earth Song logo.[38]

References

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  1. ^ "Black African Coalition brings award-winning documentary, #Bars4Justice, to ASU". www.statepress.com. Retrieved 2016-03-07.
  2. ^ "Samoan artist to create 'Manuia Samoa' wellness hub". Radio New Zealand. 2017-12-11. Retrieved 2017-12-11.
  3. ^ "American Samoan woman takes local health issues to the nation's capital". www.samoanews.com. 2019-01-30. Retrieved 2019-06-16.
  4. ^ LLC, The Music Snobs. "ENTRY POINTS - Queen Muhammad Ali". entrypoints.fireside.fm. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  5. ^ 93KHJ Interviews Nation19 / APDTA, retrieved 2017-12-09
  6. ^ Whitney, Malika Lee. "WBAI Pacifica Radio NY: Voices and Visions interview w Nation19's Queen Muhammad Ali Hosted by the remarkable Malika Lee Whitney". WBAI Pacifica Radio NY.
  7. ^ T.I (2009-06-11). "Responsibility Is A Lifestyle: It's Time to Bury Da Beef". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  8. ^ "Check out Queen Muhammad Ali & Hakeem Khaaliq's Artwork". 8 January 2019. Archived from the original on 2024-02-21.
  9. ^ a b "African Diaspora Authority Dr. Runoko Rashidi Lectures In Arizona For First Time". Arizona Informant. Archived from the original on March 13, 2015.
  10. ^ a b "Culture Clash: New Univision TV Documentary Reveals Afro-Mexican Struggle for Identity". Ebony. February 6, 2014. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022.
  11. ^ https://www.univision.com/arizona/ktvw/quienes-son-los-afro-mexicanos-video
    https://www.univision.com/arizona/ktvw/afro-mexico-parte-2-video
  12. ^ "El México invisible: Afromexicanos". Univision. 13 November 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  13. ^ "Activists discuss social injustice at World Premier screening of film in Phoenix!". Nation19. October 5, 2015. Archived from the original on June 12, 2016.
  14. ^ "Filmmakers bring Ferguson to Phoenix's Hip Hop community". Nation19. September 30, 2015. Archived from the original on September 20, 2017.
  15. ^ "#Bars4Justice a.k.a. Bars4Justice - Available from TWN". www.twn.org. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  16. ^ "How to travel in one of the most dangerous cities in the world and still be fresh". Nation19. March 4, 2016. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016.
  17. ^ Maleszka, Jamie (April 20, 2016). "The Museum of Drug Policy Wants You to Speak Your Truth". Mass Appeal. Archived from the original on November 16, 2016.
  18. ^ Sagapolutele, Fili (January 30, 2019). "American Samoan woman takes local health issues to the nation's capital". Samoa News. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  19. ^ Vargas, Theresa (January 19, 2019). "'We will not be silenced': A march takes on new meaning in the age of Trump". The Washington Post.
  20. ^ "Indigenous Peoples Movement Conference set for Houston". Last Real Indians. April 19, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  21. ^ "UN75 Global Peace Intergenerational Dialogue, New York City - United States". Facebook. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  22. ^ "Global Peace – About". UN75.online. Archived from the original on January 17, 2021.
    "UN75 – Our Community – ACCORD". globalpeace.me. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021.
  23. ^ "Yerba Buena Center for the Arts announces the YBCA 100" (PDF). February 2, 2021. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  24. ^ "YBCA 100". February 2021. Archived from the original on 2021-02-09.
  25. ^ "Baton Rouge activists receive Acie J. Belton Life Achievement Award". TheDrumNewspaper.info. February 18, 2013. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  26. ^ "Young travelers find a creative way to teach kids about other cultures". January 27, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  27. ^ "¿Quiénes son los afro-mexicanos?". Univision.com. Archived from the original on 2014-11-11.
  28. ^ "#Bars4Justice (trailer)". Vimeo. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  29. ^ "Saturday "Gayle on the Go!", Saturday, February 13th, 2016". KTLA. 13 February 2016. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  30. ^ "Black African Coalition brings award-winning documentary, #Bars4Justice, to ASU". www.statepress.com. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  31. ^ "Comin' up Short". FilmFreeway. Retrieved 2020-12-17.
  32. ^ @AZFoundation (18 September 2018). "Join us on October 11 at The Karen Work Seleznow Gallery for the opening reception of Queen Muhammad Ali & Hakeem Khaaliq Invisible México : Afro-Mexicanos" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  33. ^ Lester, DeeGee (September 2017). "GLOBAL EDUCATION CENTER: THIRD ROOT OF MEXICO". nashville Arts. Archived from the original on 2017-09-20.
  34. ^ "Invisible Mexico". Nashville Scene. Retrieved 2017-09-19.
  35. ^ "New exhibit showcases indigenous Afro-Mexicanos through photos". Paradise Valley Independent. 2017-03-02. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  36. ^ "Artists uncover 'Invisible Mexico' through augmented reality | Cronkite News". Cronkite News - Arizona PBS. 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  37. ^ "Shout out to Plug1 of DeLaSoul....! #turnupdenver #djchonz City Limitz Dont miss the last day. #APDTA @nation19 @radiobums the artwork of Queen Muhammad Ali & Hakeem Khaaliq". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2017-03-10.
  38. ^ "Behance". March 2014.
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