US student Khaliq Muhammad on mission to track Trinidadian, African roots

Four years ago, a university student from Chicago with no connection to Trinidad visited the island as part of a campus exchange programme.

This chance visit would lead to one of the most surreal moments of his life as it brought him face to face with a man whom he believes is a distant relative and propelled his desire to learn more about his ancestry.

A self-described Yankee, Khaliq Jabbar Muhammad always had an interest in the history of his family, the African diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean.

Muhammad began researching his family's history while completing his undergraduate degree, tracing his roots across the southern US during the last days of the transatlantic slave trade in the 1800s.

Responding to Sunday Newsday's questions via e-mail on Tuesday, Muhammad, 28, who has since returned to the US, says visiting TT was a watershed moment and hopes to return to rediscover other distant relatives, while inspiring others to do the same.

He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but Muhammad's family moved to South Shore on the east side of Chicago, where he grew up and went to school.

During this time his curiosity was piqued after listening to stories from some of his older relatives about the family's history.

"My grandmother's father was a businessman. He had a grocery store in rural Louisiana, and it was very profitable.

"I would hear stories about how self-sustained and how skilled he was as an entrepreneur.

"It was along that bloodline I was able to find the slave manifest for a ship called the Big Hayne that brought my ancestor, who they called Ben Johnson, from South Carolina to the Port of New Orleans. He was 17 years-old in 1846."

Using Ancestry.com and researching the records and logbooks of plantations in Louisiana, Muhammad found he was a descendant of the people from the Kingdom of the Kongo, in modern-day Angola and parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He shared a screenshot of the results of his DNA test on Ancestry.com, showing he matched with inhabitants of Cameroon, the Congo and Western Bantu peoples.

Years later, in 2016, while completing his master's in global studies, Muhammad, looking for an opportunity to study abroad, registered for several courses at UWI's St Augustine campus.

Despite not knowing much about TT at the time, Muhammad said his sense of adventure and exploration was aroused after spending a semester at the National Cheng Chi University in New Taipei City, Taiwan, as an undergraduate, and he wanted to stray from the proverbial "beaten path" that most of his friends frequented.

"I was just looking at countries that could be exclusive to me. I had an interest in studying in Venezuela. It just so happened that the situation in Venezuela became very difficult around the time I wanted to study there.

"I never met any Trinidadians before, so I didn't know what to expect. I saw Trinidad was the island right next to Venezuela, so I started doing research on Trinidad in terms of the climate, the culture, I loved the diversity. I saw Trinidad as this exotic unexplored territory, and that's what guided my decision."

Muhammad said his family did not know much about TT and urged him to be extra careful on his trip, but also encouraged his adventurous nature.

While at UWI, Muhammad stayed at the Sir Arthur Lewis Hall on St John's Road, Tunapuna, near the campus. It was there he had his first experiences with Trinidadians and other Caribbean people before courses began.

Muhammad says he felt a certain level of kinship with Afro-Caribbean people, but also noticed there were several subtle differences in their mannerisms owing to culture and upbringing. He still felt a connection.

"We all came from the same place. Our ships just arrived in different places, and that's how it was.

"I formed great friendships with people from Barbados, playing basketball with people from Belize, the other islands and a few Trinidadians, and they have the whole soccer, or football culture. Playing sports is really how we got to meet and interact with each other."

This bond was further realised one day when, walking on the Eastern Main Road, he saw someone closely resembling his father. Muhammad says the resemblance was so uncanny he checked his eyes several times to make sure he was not hallucinating.

"It felt like a scene from the twilight zone when I saw someone who seemed to be so close to my family whom I never knew. It was like looking at myself while simultaneously looking at my father and an alien all in one.

"I was walking to class – it was always hot to me, as an American – but that day it was especially hot, and I'm sure I wasn't imagining this. I had this encounter, that person really exists and if he's still alive will also remember that encounter."

Muhammad said he felt there was some mutual recognition when the stranger noticed their strong resemblance, but they did not speak.

"He was ready to embrace me as family, but it was just too powerful of a moment, it was incredible, and even when I was walking past I looked again to be sure. My mind wouldn't let me accept it.

"The point of this story is that I hope we can fully connect, because we are ancestral family."

This interaction further pushed Muhammad into more extensive research on the diversity of Afro-Trinidadians, dividing his time between a demanding course schedule and reading every piece of information he could on the topic.

Citing research quoted in the book Black Studies: The Black Book Mind Revolution by Trinidadian researcher and activist Dr David Muhammad, he says people from the Kongo kingdom were among the ten major African tribes brought to Trinidad as slaves.

He says as he is a descendant of the Kongo people, it's plausible that the man he saw that day in St Augustine is in fact a distant relative, and believes there may be more on the island.

Referring to research done by Tobagonian anthropologist Dr JD Elder, in his paper African Survivals in Trinidad and Tobago, he notes that descendants of the Kongo people settled in Patna Village, Tabaquite Road, and he hopes to visit this area and Congo Village, Diego Martin, to try and reconnect with the people there when he returns to TT.

Outside the lessons learnt on his own heritage while visiting TT, Muhammad said his eyes were opened to the East Indian diaspora on the island and he felt these experiences were just as enriching as his time in class.

"Outside of UWI, I had very intelligent conversations with East Indians in terms of them being curious about America and how we lived.

"I never engaged with East Indians like that, East Indians in America aren't that outgoing, so that was very new.

"I was definitely getting roti and doubles on St John's Road. I love the fact that once you get some doubles it could sustain you for a while."

Not one to be bound by the "tourist" experience, Muhammad said he fully immersed himself in every aspect of Trinidadian culture, participating in J'Ouvert, shopping at markets and visiting every community he could.

"I know Trinidad has a reputation for crime, but I was all up and down St John's Road, I was on the block, with the people, I was in Tunapuna, Curepe, St Augustine, I visited San Juan and Port of Spain and I would be by the ocean, the markets, the malls. Even in the markets in Tunapuna I would be getting fresh produce.

"When I heard the steelpans for the first time – I was walking in the middle of the night – while walking I heard them playing. It was amazing and memorable, I felt it really connected with my soul. It was at that moment I thought that I didn't want to leave Trinidad."

Muhammad eventually finished his degree, submitting his thesis on migration patterns between Venezuela and Trinidad after returning to the US in 2017. He is now applying for his PhD in international relations while continuing his research on the African experience in the western hemisphere.

His experiences have equipped him with the knowledge and resources to earn an academic degree and renewed his sense of purpose, putting into perspective not only his life but the lives of millions of other people in the African diaspora.

For any envoy, being able to make connections with people from different cultures is a crucial skill in establishing good foreign relations. For an aspiring diplomat like Muhammad, his open mind, tireless work ethic and grounded approach to life has earned him not only a degree but lifelong skills.

He hopes others can follow suit and find the courage to step outside of their comfort zones to find themselves.