GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Dr. Khalid el-Hakim remembers Proof well. Proof was a popular Detroit rapper, a part of the group D12. El-Hakim was his manager. However, back when Proof was a member of a group called 5 Elementz, he gave el-Hakim a small green flyer inviting him to a show on Woodward Avenue where Eminem was the opening act.
Dr. el-Hakim has kept that flyer pristine to this day. Now, it’s on display at his Black History 101 Mobile Museum.
“It’s the 50th anniversary of hip hop culture worldwide,” Dr. el-Hakim said during an interview with FOX 17. “So, when hip hop first started, people didn’t think that this culture was going to last. And 50 years later it’s impacted the whole world.”
Proof passed away in 2006. Dr. el-Hakim celebrates his legacy and other hip hop artists at his exhibit, which was open on Thursday and Friday at the Grand Rapids Public Library.
“There’s a young man from Kenya that was brought from Africa based on this program. He ended up marrying a woman here & they had a baby & that baby’s name was Barack Obama.”
— Lauren Edwards (@LaurenEdwardsTV) February 4, 2023
Some of the 💎 taught at the Black History 101 Mobile Museum that was on display @grpl this week// @FOX17 pic.twitter.com/MYhPNbdvAv
“Today we have 150 artifacts of Black memorabilia, and this year’s theme is celebrating 50 years of hip hop culture,” Dr. el-Hakim said. “So, a part of the theme on the last four tables is looking at hip hop culture through the lens of social movements in America: the Black Lives Matter movement, the Million Man March, the Stop The Violence, and the first one is the anti-apartheid movement.”
The hip hop tables are the last in a long line of tables filled with documents, materials and other mementos, including albums from James Brown and Biggie, magazines featuring Aretha Franklin and Breonna Taylor, a few Egyptian paintings, Black caricature postcards from the 1800s and 1900s, comic books and dozens of flyers and pins. The tour begins, though, with artifacts from the 1600s — like a whip and shackle — from the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
“It’s a little overwhelming to kind of take it all in but the information is so very impactful and important to see,” said Kim Williams, a Grand Rapids resident who stopped by and browsed through the museum. “I like the fact that I can get up close with it. Sometimes you can’t always get up close and kind of touch it. And the handwritten letters, amazing.”
On display were several letters, including one from baseball legend Jackie Robinson and a handwritten note from Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks.
READ MORE: 10 meaningful ways to honor Black History Month in 2023
Dr. el-Hakim, who spent years as a social studies teacher in Detroit, has been trekking across the country for years, showing his museum in elementary schools, high schools and business corporations.
“It’s been amazing,” he said. “The museum now has been to 41 states and over 1,000 institutions. So, the response has been overwhelming.”
Currently, he’s on a 15-state tour. Over the weekend, the museum will be in the Detroit area. Next week, it’ll be at Florida International University. In March, Dr. el-Hakim returns to Michigan to host an event at Miller Auditorium in Kalamazoo with Khalilah Ali, former wife of the legendary Muhammad Ali. The museum will be open to the public.
He hopes that everyone who sees it will be inspired to learn more about all aspects of American history.
“It’s not just Black history but it’s all marginalized groups of people whose histories have not been included in the American experience,” Dr. el-Hakim said. “So, it’s really time for us to come together as a society and deal with having an inclusive history for our society.”
