Written Between the Stars

This powerful community lecture series explores the deep historical and cultural connections between West African Islamic scholarship, the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, and the enduring legacy of Ajami literacy — the African practice of writing local languages using Arabic script.

Led by Asad Ikemba, a PhD candidate in Educational Leadership, Culture, and Curriculum at Miami University, this series invites audiences to reimagine African American history through the lens of linguistic resilience, faith, and intellectual continuity across the Black Atlantic.

Through engaging lectures, interactive discussions, and archival materials, attendees will discover how Islamic education systems, Ajami manuscripts, and African scholars shaped the spiritual, educational, and political foundations that survived enslavement and influenced the Black experience in the Americas.

Hosted at the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, this initiative serves as a bridge between academic research and community storytelling — highlighting how ancestral knowledge systems can inspire contemporary movements for cultural restoration and self-definition.