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Killings of Three Muslim Men in Albuquerque May Be Linked, Police Say

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The police in Albuquerque are investigating the killings of three Muslim men that they say may be connected.

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41, two Pakistani men who attended the same mosque, were fatally shot within a week of each other, the police said. Mr. Hussain, who was killed on Monday, was the planning and land use director for the city of Española, about 90 miles north of Albuquerque. Mr. Hussein, slain on July 26, worked at a local cafe.

A third Muslim man was killed just before midnight Friday, according to the police. The identity and age of the latest victim has not been released, though the police said he was a “young man” and from South Asia.

The authorities said they believed the recent violence might also be connected to the November 2021 killing in Albuquerque of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, a Muslim man from Afghanistan. Mr. Ahmadi was killed outside a business he and his brother ran on San Mateo Boulevard, the police said.

The authorities did not elaborate on why they thought the killings may be connected and did not say whether there were any witnesses to the homicides, but they said they believed the Muslim community was being targeted.

The Albuquerque Police Department, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, is asking city residents to come forward with any information that could be connected to the killings.

“This is something that impacts us all,” Raúl Torrez, the Bernalillo County district attorney, said at a news conference on Saturday. “Every member of this community has to stand up.”

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said on Twitter on Saturday that the killings were “deeply angering and wholly intolerable” and that she was sending more State Police officers to help the Albuquerque Police and the F.B.I. She also expressed solidarity with the Muslim community in the state.

“We stand with you,” she said.

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Officials with the Islamic Center of New Mexico, still reeling from the Friday night funeral service for Mr. Hussain and Mr. Hussein, said they were shocked to learn of another death the next morning, and that the slayings have Muslims in the city fearing for their safety.

“We are incredibly sickened with the idea that someone has this much hate against innocent people,” said Ahmad Assed, the president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico. “We’re scared for our families, we’re scared for our children. And we are incredibly confused about why this is happening.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest nonprofit Muslim civil rights group in the country, said Friday that it would offer a $10,000 reward to anyone who could provide information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the killings.

“We’ve really never seen something like this, where there’s multiple similar murders that really seem connected,” said Ibrahim Hooper, the national communications director for the council.

Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the council, said in an interview that the tragedies affected not only the Muslim community but all Americans. “We must be united against hate and violence regardless of the race, faith or background of the victims or the perpetrators,” he said. “We urge anyone with information about these crimes to come forward by contacting law enforcement.”

Amid the shock, outrage and anxiety, those who knew the victims also expressed their grief and paid tribute on Saturday.

Erika Roberts, who went to graduate school with Mr. Hussain at the University of New Mexico, remembered her classmate as always having a smile on his face.

“Muhammad was friendly and enthusiastic about everything he did,” she said. “I was impressed that coming from Pakistan, he dedicated himself to making our communities in New Mexico better, safer and more compassionate.”

She added: “He always had a kind word to say. Nothing bitter ever came from him.”

Read the full article here

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A journalist since 1994, he also founded DMGlobal Marketing & Public Relations. Glover has an extensive list of clients including corporations, non-profits, government agencies, politics, business owners, PR firms, and attorneys.

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My ancestors were full-blooded Indians … until the census said otherwise

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(OKLAHOMA – August 17, 2025) – When I first started researching my family’s genealogy, I thought I was just going to fill in a few blanks.
Instead, I uncovered a lie so deep, so systematic, it reshaped everything I thought I knew about who we are as a people.

I want to show you something personal.

Below, you’ll see two official U.S. government records—both documenting one of my direct ancestors. Thomas Jefferson Adams Harjo.

Creek Nation certificate

Creek Nation certificate

📜 The first is from the Dawes Roll, the federal list created in the early 1900s to register members of the Five Civilized Tribes.

As you’ll see, my ancestor is listed as a Full-Blood Indian—a clear acknowledgment of their tribal heritage and cultural identity.

1900 US Census

But then, take a look at the second image:

📄 That’s the federal census record from just a few years later.
Same ancestor.
Same location.
But this time, the government marked them as Negro.

No tribe. No Indian classification.
Just folded into the general Black population—without consent, without explanation.

That wasn’t a mistake.
That was paper genocide.

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This is what happened to millions of Indigenous Black Americans across the South.
Their identities were stripped away on paper—one document at a time—by a system designed to erase, absorb, and exploit.

This wasn’t just about racism. It was about land, power, and control.

By reclassifying tribal people as Negro or Colored, the government could:

  • Deny them land rights

  • Remove them from tribal rolls

  • Steal their inheritance

  • And make sure future generations never knew who they really were

This is why so many of our elders say, “My grandma said we had Indian in us.”
They weren’t lying.
They just didn’t have the tools to prove it.

Now we do.

And I’m not showing you this to just share my story—I’m showing you because this might be your story, too.

If you’re ready to go deeper, tomorrow I’m going to pull back the curtain on how far this went—how the reclassification of Black Indians was not an exception, but the rule across the Southeast.

You’re not crazy.
You’re not reaching.
You’re remembering.

—Mike
Founder, Native Black Ancestry

 

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Voices of West Tampa: District 5 Special Election Forum, Aug. 27th

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(TAMPA, FL – August 12, 2025) – The Black Agenda is coming! Join us this August for a powerful virtual town hall where residents, neighborhood associations, nonprofit leaders, faith communities, and other key stakeholders will come together to share their concerns and discuss solutions.

🎥
 This event will be streamed live and will feature candidates offering their vision for the future of West Tampa.
This will be a street-level, bottom-up dialogue—focused on real voices, real stories, and real strategies to protect and uplift our community.
https://us02web.zoom.us/…/register/n2MwP53TQ-2e9xfih1rrAg

Join us this August for a powerful virtual town hall.

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From Illinois to Texas, CTU President Stacy Davis Gates Leads Largest African American Parade in the Country Amid National Education and Democracy Attacks

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(CHICAGO – August 8, 2025) – This Saturday, internationally recognized labor leader and Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates will serve as an Honorary Marshal at the 96th Annual Bud Billiken Parade, the largest African American parade in the United States.

Why Does This Matter?

  • Back To School: As families nationwide prepare for the academic year, the Chicago Teachers Union will usher it in by continuing the call for Chicago’s 300,000+ students to have the schools they deserve.
  • Texas: State-level fights over education and democracy in Illinois resonate across the nation. Illinois is currently hosting Texas Democratic leaders who are fighting shared policy battles including public education funding and labor protections.
  • National Relevance: The Chicago Teachers Union is one of the most powerful teachers’ unions in the country. When America catches a cold, Chicago catches the flu, but its leaders continue to push back on attacks against equality and opportunity. It is the third-largest local teachers union in the country and the largest local union in Illinois.

“DOGE already happened in Chicago. Our public school system was ravaged by the types of policies that are being implemented at the federal level right now: summarily firing female workers, Black female workers from the schools; closing schools—Rahm Emanuel closed fifty of them.” – Stacy Davis Gates (May 2025)

________________________________________________
About Stacy Davis Gates

  • A working mother and high school social studies teacher.
  • Led the historic 2019 CTU strike, securing smaller class sizes, sanctuary protections for immigrant students and the right to teach Black history.
  • Raised millions to elect pro-education and pro-worker candidates including Mayor Brandon Johnson and fought for equitable school funding.
  • Serves as Executive Vice President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Vice President of the American Federation of Teachers, Party Chair of United Working Families, and board member of the Action Center on Race & the Economy (ACRE).
  • Is one of the next-generation labor leaders that you are going to want to get to know. She is going to help define what union leadership looks like in the coming years.

Stacy Davis Gates

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