Inna lilahi wa inna lilaihi rajeoun
From Allah we come and to Allah we return
As a child of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s-1970s, Imam Mahdi was born in 1950 in Norfolk, Virginia, the state with the dubious distinction of having the most enslaved Africans in the country before Emancipation. His grandparents raised him in Richmond, VA, the former capital of the Confederacy. At an early age, Imam Mahdi was influenced by his grandparents to struggle for civil rights and to stand up for the oppressed. The 13-year-old Wright Bray was present at the 1963 March on Washington, where he listened to the giants of the Civil Rights Movement, including the historic “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
He did not just have a childhood flirtation with civil and human rights but later became a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). During this time, Imam Mahdi worked closely with former US Congressman from Georgia John Lewis, who spoke at the March on Washington, and other recognizable names from the Civil Rights Era. SNCC was a driving force in the movement for racial justice during the 1960s, including the Mississippi Freedom Summer in 1964.
After embracing Islam, Imam Mahdi used his considerable organizing and oratory skills to take a stand for justice for Muslims in the United States and worldwide. He was a constant, courageous voice calling out the civil and human rights excesses that targeted the Muslim community in the United States after the events of 9/11. Imam Mahdi was frequently seen at demonstrations and rallies and heard on radio and television stations defending the rights of Muslims and condemning the wrongdoings of law enforcement against the Muslim community here and abroad. Imam Mahdi understood the necessity of organized Muslim work as he worked with various civil and social Muslim groups, including Impact, MAS Freedom Foundation, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, and the American Muslim Council. He was also a frequent lecturer at national and regional conferences sponsored by Muslim organizations.
Imam Mahdi Bray is one of the unheralded Civil and Human Rights Movement heroes. After suffering a debilitating stroke a few years ago, he was no longer a visible fixture for the rights of Muslims in the United States and across the globe. However, he did not miss a single major demonstration in the DMV area against the one-year-long genocide against Palestinian Muslims in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. Imam Mahdi’s life is a symbol of a profile in courage for Muslims left behind to emulate. May Allah subhanawata’la forgive his shortcomings, make his grave spacious and filled with light, and grant him Jannatul Firdous.
