Omar ibn Sayyid. Collection
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of documents that accompanied the Bible when it was given to the College including a note from Mrs. Guion and two pages of Sayyid's handwriting. The Bible is in the college's Rare Book Collection. In addition, there is an exhibit catalog and poster for My Name Is Omar: A life in the struggle for liberation., an exhibit created for Clemson University, October 2014-April 2015.
Dates
- Creation: Majority of material found in 1871 and undated
Creator
- Sayyid, Omar Ibn (Person)
Biographical / Historical
Omar ibn Sayyid (1770-1864) was a slave of James Owen of Bladen County. Born to a wealthy family in Futa Toro, in what is now Senegal, Sayyid was sold into slavery in 1807 and came to the Owen household around 1810. He was a Muslim and was given an Arabic Bible by Owens. Said spent much time studying the Bible and was eventually converted to Christianity. He wrote his autobiography in Arabic in 1831. He may have been one of the few formally educated Africans in slavery in North Carolina. His Arabic Bible was given to Davidson College in 1871 by Mrs. Ellen Guion.
Extent
2 folders (2 folders )
Language
English
Processing Information
Processed on Nov-94
Subject
- Sayyid, Omar Ibn (Person)
- Title
- Omar ibn Sayyid. Collection
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Manuscript Collections Repository