BIO

Where does someone begin in speaking about another person's life?

Sean was a father. A brother. A son. A friend. A comrade in the struggle. An educator. A revolutionary.

He was a revolutionary and he was an educator; one who worked to uplift kids who society continually forgot about. He worked with kids who had behavioral issues; that was the base of his work. But his real work — what drove him, what motivated and kept him on— was that he was developing policies for his district to help young boys and girls of color and all culturally and economically marginalized students to achieve more than society wanted them to. So, instead of just allowing them to slip through the cracks, they would have a path to success even in this system that needs them to fail. He wasn’t interested in the process that is the state of our education system which only produces a generation of labor to help other people make money. He wanted kids to grow and develop so they could change the world.

And he believed in change. He believed in action. He was a revolutionary.

Sean always wanted to help people who were suffering. When he lived in Fresno, we started a group that would take on monthly projects to help Fresno’s homeless and the underserved. This was the work he treasured.

Sean was a humble man. A good brother. You always knew where you stood with him. Never fake. Never half-stepped. Never put in a front. If he loved you, you knew it deeply. Likewise, if he didn’t want to speak to you, he didn’t pretend. He didn't waste time wearing a front. This is one of the many traits that everybody respected about him. There are people who met him just once. Sean and I met someone 18 years ago for a mere weekend who was visiting from the UK and today, like all of you, is heartbroken. That’s the effect that Sean had on people.

We all know Sean was an artist. A poet. An emcee. And he never stopped. He used his powerful, deep voice as an instrument to change the way people thought. For Sean, and all of us, the spoken word — the verse — was not just to make you nod your head, but rather a tool to change the ideas that knock around inside of your head.

When he was only 23 years old, he wrote this verse that I want to share with all of you. It’s called “Judgment Day.”

”I’ve heard many things about the day when every heart gets weighed,
Signs to look for
Like when the sun rises from off the Western floor
And sets on the Eastern shore, the world hears Israfil’s horn
But then again only God really knows
The future day got me to read, contemplate revenge on my foes
Heaven or Hell, it all depends, I try to do good things for heads outside of my circle of friends
Man, I’m trying to see God
Hell's worse than this? Hmmph, life on earth is hard
Especially for kids stuck in the belly of the beast
Stuck in the streets, hustling to make ends meet
Or those stuck in 9-to-5 lifestyles as if payday is what living life is all about.
Balance my physical work while training in Shahada
I worry in the now because the now is tomorrow
No man I follow, unless approved by Almighty
Achieve heaven without prayer right here is unlikely
So I pray at the beginning and the end of my day
Struggling to live my life the right way.
I say I pray at the beginning and the end of my day
Struggling to live my life the right way”

"I try to do good things for heads outside of my circle of friends.” Not to down anyone, but most people are nothing like this. He was. That was the source of his movement. That was the strength of his revolution. That was the spirit behind many of his friendships.

In 2003, he was still a young man. Even as a young man, in another verse, he wrote, "I'm ready to fade into the next phase / Stuck on Earth waiting for that better day / As life passes by and by / Trying to find truth can take a whole lifetime"

Sean. Abdullah. Trunks. The Hypnotic. Shake Dawg. Letsgo.
You’ve now found the truth. You see what we only believe.
And until we meet again.
Rest in peace... But more importantly, rest in power, my brother

(Excerpt of eulogy by Reza Nekumanesh, executive director of Islamic Cultural Center of Fresno, on August 10, 2019)