Fighting for Children’s Rights with LuQman Abdullah

LuQman Abdullah caught my attention when I read his commentaries on gun violence in the Philadelphia Citizen.

He emphasized something that had become evident to me through my work as a classroom teacher: Young people are not being heard.

Now maybe that’s always been the case. Maybe American adults have perennially dismissed the voices of children. But what LuQman says is that given the prevalence of guns and despair, our failure to listen is having deadly consequences.

LuQman’s passion for saving Philadelphia’s children is connected to the fact that he lost his way as a young man.

In this episode, I talk to LuQman about losing his way and about his perspective on young people.

We talk about the years he spent in prison, including five and half years in solitary confinement, and how he emerged from that time as a scholar, a leading voice in violence prevention and a human rights activist. I hope you’ll be as inspired as I am by LuQman’s vision for a more just and equitable city.

The Mighty Writers Podcast with Maureen Boland is produced by Mighty Writers in partnership with Rowhome Productions. The executive producer is Tim Whitaker. Lead producer is Danya AbdelHameid. Rowhome’s executive producers are Alex Lewis and John Myers.

Our theme song was composed by Jim Morgan.

This episode also includes music from Blue Dot Sessions.