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Umar Lee | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brett Darren Lee September 18, 1974 (1974-09-18) (age 50) St Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
Umar Lee (BornBrett Darren Lee; September 18, 1974 inSt. Louis, Missouri) is an American writer, media personality, and politicalactivist.[1]
Coming from a whiteProtestant background, Lee converted toSunni Islam in the 1990s, and quickly associated himself within the Salafi movement.[2] In 2007, Lee authored a ten post blog series entitledThe Rise and Fall of theSalafi Movement, which focused mostly on black converts to Salafism in the United States, in a lineage of interest inIslam which he traced fromMalcolm X onward.[2] Lee's writing about the movement portrayed his disillusionment with various aspects of the Salafi movement such as a separation from the real world, divisions, and overseas influence.[3] During this time, Lee's blog won the award for "best series" in theBrass Crescent Awards.[4] In 2017, Lee criticized theGeorgetown Islamic Studies ProfessorJonathan Brown after he attended his lecture on slavery.[5]
Lee, while working as a cab driver, campaigned against the introduction of ride-share companies to the St. Louis Market.[6][7] In 2014, Lee covered theFerguson unrest and was interviewed on several national outlets. During his coverage of the events, Lee was arrested on two occasions[8] Lee was subsequently fired as a cab driver and contended that it was for his political activities in Ferguson.[9] In 2016 Lee briefly announced he was running for St. LouisMayor as aRepublican.[10] Lee also writesNoir Literature that is based in St. Louis.[11]
Since June 2018, Lee hosted St. Louis Speaks, apodcast that fosters dialogue about St. Louis and the surrounding area. The podcast was co-created and is produced by historian Mark Loehrer[12] .In 2020, the podcast changed its name to Informal History STL and added several localhistorians andwriters while adding a quarterly print publication. In 2021, he began hosting a podcast withFather Augustine Wetta entitled "Disagreement."[13]
Umar Lee[14] was born to James D. Lee and Karen Arnold, inSt Louis, Missouri into a blue collar family. Lee's 19-year old nephew, an aspiringSoundCloud rapper named "Shelbyon Polk" (also known as "Lil' Chubb"), was found dead with gunshot wounds to his torso on Thanksgiving Day 2017 in St Louis.[15] Lee's mother, Karen Arnold, was murdered on December 18, 2018 inKirkwood, Missouri by unknown assailants who broke into her apartment while she was sleeping and shot her.[16]
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