MALIK Fraternity Inc. takes great pride in the development of sincere relationships with all members of our community. Of important note is the organizational ties to our Latino community.

A Latino is predominately any individual of Spanish-speaking descent. The racial makeup of a Latino is usually one of a mixture of the African, the Spanish European and the Indigenous (incorrectly called 'indian').

A quick glance at our present history reveals a number of facts. African-Americans and Latinos are currently at the bottom of America's social ladder. We live side by side in the neighborhoods of the 'inner cities.' We share the same poor quality health care and education services; we definitely overpopulate the prison systems and share higher mortality and morbidity rates in America. However our society has major difficulty when it comes to recognizing the similarities that are inherently common among us.

A further look at the history of Spain will dispel the popular myths about the connection between the Latino and the African. Before Spain became a part of the Roman empire, it was colonized by the African Empire of Carthage. This empire is now known as present day Libya. The ruler of Carthage, founded and named the city of Barcelona, Spain after himself. He is also known as the father of the legendary Hannibal. Hannibal is famous for successfully leading a massive African army on the backs of elephants over the Alps mountains to conquer the arch-rivals of the Carthaginians, the Romans.

Incidentally, Spain and the Iberian Peninsula was ruled for over 500 years by the Black African Muslims known commonly as the Moors. During their control of this section of Europe, the Moors established an enriching culture incorporating the arts and sciences providing eduction on architecture, navigation, and irrigation to geology, physics and music. After the rape and destruction of Egypt, we see that the knowledge was preserved and utilized through the contribution of our Moorish brothers. It would also be interesting to note that the same systems of navigation and ship-building lead to the development of the Spanish Armada and the so-called discovery of the 'New World' by Columbus.

Predating the intrusion of the European into the Western Hemisphere,the native indigenous people document their communication and contact with Africans. The earliest Meso-American peoples were known as the Olmec who left a lasting impact on the later peoples of Central and South America (namely the Maya, Inca and Aztec). The Olmec were the first in the Western Hemisphere to devise a 260 day calendar in addition to being the first to utilize hiero/petroglyphic writings. Ironically, the giant Olmec heads left in Mexico and Central America serve as proof of the racial identity of these people while historians and anthropologists refuse to acknowledge the Africanness of the Olmec statues. ('They Came Before Columbus' by VanSertima)

It is known through the experience of slavery in the Western World, that the enslaved Africans mixed with the Indigenous peoples and the Europeans. In areas such as the Caribbean islands, Peru, Costa Rica, Brazil, and Ecuador, the oppressed also fought alongside each other to win their freedom. So why is there a distinct line of separation between the African-American and Latino-American descendents of these proud people? Despite the fact that a perverse mental enslavement perpetuates itself to this date, it is the hope of MALIK Fraternity Inc, that our brothers and sisters can realize, accept and uphold with pride the historical validity to the Latino ties to Africa.

Important links:
Black Mexico
African & Native American Geneology