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I. Biography
Ahmed Bilal Kareem, whose pen name is Bilal the Poet, was born in
Chicago, Illinois on December 20, 1945. At a young age, he moved to New Orleans, Louisiana with his identical twin brother, his younger brother and his two sisters. This move opened up a new view for
Bilal. There was more diversity there and different cultures, especially in Creole. While living there he attended Robert R. Multon Elementary and then moved on to George Washington Carver High
which was named after a great black scientist. After graduating, he decided to move back to Chicago, reasons being he had family back there and he had just
had the opportunity to hear Malcolm X speak in New Orleans and he wanted to be closer to him. He enjoyed the work ethic in Chicago. Everyone who worked was given respect.
And he was very impressed with the community though the only setbacks were the gangs. While in Chicago, he took courses at the Crane College which is now called the Malcolm X
college, to learn how to express himself more in writing. "I wanted to address what was happening around me. Writing had therapeutic value. I could express to others what I saw
and felt," he said. There he was interested in social studies, sociology, journalism and creative writing.
His mother had a philosophy: "There is no such thing as being poor. You were poor if you
had no substance inside. Keeping in touch with the world and culture was what made you rich." When he was younger, his mother read poems and plays to him and his siblings. As
a result, installed in him was an appreciation for the beauty of the spoken word and its impact on society as a whole. This wisdom inspired him to take journalism, sociology and
creative writing and his goal was to get an AA degree. However, the community wanted him to run as a councilman so his goal was not reached. He continued to keep up with his
writing and had his own column in the community newspaper called "Black Awareness Is." His column pertained to those things that directly affected the African Community. But
although his writing intensified at that point, it was not the start of his writing career.
He first started seriously writing poetry in the beginning of his college days. He was the
editor of the school newspaper called the Liberator. His column had such an impact that he decided to run for school president and he won the position. He had good contact with
his fellow students and when he ran for office, it gave him the opportunity to reach out. From all this he was given the idea of government and community orientation and his writing intensified.
Bilal has continued to publish his own works through his publishing company Bilal Productions International. He has a number of books that are available and if you wish to contact him you can do so at (209) 469-4865.II. Summary of Interview at Bilal's House (Feb. 15, 1999)
Living here in Stockton, Bilal the Poet tries to direct a portion of the message of his poetry
to the Stockton community. Bilal hopes that people in our community may be influence by his message and possibly make a change in our society.
Bilal enjoys Stockton for its diversity. Because the city contains so many different cultures, there are many different ideas and beliefs here. Despite the problems and crime
and hate which does play a part in the city of Stockton, Bilal continues to enjoy the city.
He remembers a time when there was a Billboard put up by the Chamber of Commerce. It
read: "Stockton is Great... Take a look." This, Bilal felt was a very positive attempt to boost
up the city and from this Billboard he was inspired to write a poem .
Bilal is soon to publish a book titled Stockton Sketches
to praise the City. It is basically about people and things in the city which are important and which describe what Stockton is all about. Included in the book is the poem which first inspired him, titled "Stockton is
Great...Take a look."
Bilal the Poet lists some people whom he felt were important in making a difference in the city of Stockton. Some of those people are Ralph Lee White, Ulysses Hall, and Richard
Lopez -- all of whom have been influential in building up many sections of our community.
Writing about and living in Stockton gives Bilal the Poet a chance to let people in the
community hear and benefit from his message, through his poems. He feels that his poetry may help people to stop being hateful towards one another and to start looking at life a
little differently. His message is not directed toward a specific group, but more to let everyone know that it is time to start to get along and to lead a constructive life with one another.
III. Transcript of Interview
Q: Why did you start writing?
A: I started writing because I felt that I had a need- an inner need, a personal need, a
psychological need, as well as a need as a contributor to my community to say something to the world about issues and conditions in the world.
Initially, my writing took on just a stage where I appreciated the art of poetry -- I appreciated the beauty of poetry. So that was my initial start; loving poetry itself. It didn't
stay at that level, however, because as I realized what Martin Luther King was going through, when I realized some of the things that brought Malcolm X to prominence, when I
realized the unsolved issues in the society that really needed more people to speak out and address them, then it just became clear to me that if indeed I was a poet, then why not avail
to the world the expertise that I had developed in poetry and put it to use in saying things that needed to be said in this society. For example, why are people being kept down
because of their race? Why is it that colleges and universities and even high schools refuse to teach certain things? Why are there still oppressive kinds of things happening
and coming out of our very own legal system, the political arena itself? Why when a policeman shoots and kills a minority person in the street do the police departments look
the other way, and the political institutions look the other way?
All of these things that may happen in our society today need more voices to speak out
against them and to speak out for justice and equality. Now, I'm not saying that my voice makes such a great difference, but that wasn't the issue. The issue was that I felt I should at
least lend my voice for whatever difference it might make being big or small. There were always great writers among my people, such as James Baldwin, such as Nikki Giovanni,
such as Martin Luther King and Dick Gregory. There were others. Believe it or not even Richard Pryor, with his humor, addressed certain racial issues in his act. So there were
voices saying things, but I always feel that when there is a bad situation on the scene, there's never too many voices to speak against it. So that is an idea of why I became Bilal the Poet -- a message poet.
Q: How do you feel your writing relates to your community?
A: One of the things that I love about Stockton is its diversity. We are a family of all kinds -- African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, Caucasians. My poetry, in turn, speaks to not
one specific group, but to society as a whole and all different races and cultures within. I am trying to save our children by reaching out and erasing boundaries among people and
disproving racial stereotypes. And, in this community, I feel that progress is being made and my poetry can really be heard among the people here. The injustices and inequalities
need to be fought. And if not with words, then examples of loving acceptance which this community provides. Here, my poetry comes alive. IV. Literary Works
Poems:
Poems For Human Dignity (1969)
To Live On Our Feet (1976)
Word Images (1978)
"Look At Our Children" (1983)
The Rope of Allah (1986)
"Dope is for Dopes, Tommorow's Child" (1989)
Save Our Children: A Passionate Appeal to American Families (1998)
Newspaper Columns
"The Liberator" (1972-1973)
"Freedom Ways" (1972-1975)
"West Side Journal" (1972-1975)
"Haramba" (1972-1975)
"Chicago Defender" (1972-1975)
"Afro-American" (1972-1975)
"The Muslim News" (1998-Present) Plays
"Life of a Martyr" (1969) V. Contact:
1242 West Rose Street
Stockton, Ca 95203
Phone: (209) 469-4865
Fax: (209) 464-0422 VI. Sources
Bilal the Poet. Personal Interview. 15 Feb 1999.
This essay was submitted by students of Matthew Weeks, a teacher at St. Mary's High School in Stockton, California.
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