Ishma'il Marcus Allgood, a self pro-claimed Mu'tazilite Muslim, is an author,spoken word poet, public speaker, devoted husband, parent, and a Muslim community organizer/activist in Los Angeles.  And because he is a Mu'tazilite, who believes in Al-'Adl العدل –  or divine justice, and the personal responsibility of human beings to act justly, he has had involvement on many different social justice issues such as: Immigration, Housing, and the Mass Incarceration fight in Los Angeles,Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC. Ishma'il was quoted as saying: "We need to fight for justice and correctness in all the major areas of human activity including: Economics, Education, Labor, Law, Politics, Religion, Sex, & War."

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Mr. Allgood was  also involved in the “Ban the Box” movement in California.The picture to the left, was a public speaking engagement where he spoke at City Hall (regarding moving the felony check box from job applications that ask "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?").

He was the team captain in South  L.A.  to canvass and phone bank to get Prop 47 passed, which changed 6 petty non-violent crimes from felonies to misdemeanors , which resulted 10,000 inmates being freed from prison industrial complex and the money going back to Victim services, Re-entry programs, and Schools. He feels prison shouldn’t be the Black man’s right of passage, college should be. And has worked in partnership with L.A. Voice to co-sponsor legislation to change the definition of Racial Profiling.  He is currently involved in the Affordable Housing fight.

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Marcus comes from a long line of civil rights activists. He was raised by a C.O.G.I.C. Pastor, John Carter, who believed he was Marcus' father thus accepted him as his own son. His mother,Juliette Larkins- Tatum, is a sought after Public Speaker, Evangelist, and President of the Tennessee chapter of the N.A.A.C.P., who was the the first woman to integrate schools in Tennessee. His Grandmother, Emma Hill, close alley to Martin Luther King, lead the way in ending Jim Crow in Tennessee. Ishma'il himself was a former youth minister at his dad's church. His favorite quote is, "Don't Blame God or the Devil for your problems, If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.”

 

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Organization Affiliations: Black Alliance for Just Immigration (Baji), United Hood Nation, The Safe  Communities Initiative,  Black Lives Matter LA, Project Islamic Hope, National Action Network (NAN), ACT-LA, The People's Plan, LA Voice Pico, Islah LA, ILM Foundation, and  Muslim ARC