Hakeem Khaaliq

Activist, Artist, Designer, Filmmaker, Photographer, Producer, Scientist, World traveler

Hakeem Khaaliq is an award-winning American cinematographer, visual anthropologist, film director, photographer, and multi-media activist. Khaaliq is the co-author of the award winning exhibition “Invisible Mexico” a collection of photographs documenting the lives of isolated descendants of the African diaspora in Mexico using augmented reality technology. Hakeem has directed films in 7 countries, and have lectured in universities and organizations around the world, including the Confucius Institute in Beijing China, MoMA (The Museum of Modern Arts) in New York, Tiapapata Art Centre in Apia Samoa, Arizona State University, Glasgow Short Film Festival, Denver Metropolitan College, Glendale community College, University of Arizona, Wayne State University, and California State University in Long Beach. His work has appeared on Univision Television, CNN, BET, MTV, KTLA, New York Daily News, Samoa News, Associated Press, Ebony Magazine, Jet, Huffington Post, and LA Weekly. Hakeem is also the great nephew to prominent photographer Addison N. Scurlock. Operating as both an artist collective and a television/film production company, Hakeem and his longtime partner Queen Muhammad Ali's ambitious projects are frequently anchored in Hip Hop Culture, Archeology, and Ethnographic research. They have made it their mission to demystify preconceived notions about Indigenous and underserved communities around the globe. Working in innovative ways, Khaaliq and Muhammad Ali have developed a model that merges collaborative conceptual art practices—partially steeped in Activism, Edutainment, and Visual Anthropology.

Showing the beauty of underserved Black and Indigenous Cultures and disseminating positive images to combat negative stereotypes

Visual Anthropological Activism.

I was reluctant to speak at TEDx because I'm usually behind the scenes. But my wife Queen Muhammad Ali encouraged me to join her on stage and I'm glad I did. The work of changing negative stereotypes is tough and TEDx gave us an opportunity to show its importance.

Martial Arts, Hip Hop Music Production, and DJing