Dr. Ahmed Akinwole Alhamisi (formerly Lawrence Edward Graham Jr.) age 84 of Charlotte, NC, passed away peacefully on September 22, 2024.

Dr. Alhamisi is preceded in death by his parents Lawrence E. Graham Sr. and Ruth Armstrong Graham and a sister Mazie Graham Copeland, and survived by his three children Ijnanya (Darrell) Brothers, Charlotte, NC; Ekundayo, Portland, OR; Obioma (Abimbola) Solaja, Houston, TX; their mother, Judy King Alhamisi, Detroit, MI and four grandchildren Amil Brothers, Charlotte, NC; Laila Brothers, Charlotte, NC; Ryan Solaja, Houston, TX and Michael Solaja, Houston, TX. He also leaves, three brothers Rufus (Hattie) Graham, Fairburn, GA; Ronald Graham, Chattanooga, TN; Michael Graham, Philadelphia, PA; a sister Joyce Ann Graham (Harold) Conner, Knoxville, TN; a brother-in-law Evindies Copeland, Oak Ridge, TN and his nieces and nephew who were adopted by his parents and raised in the Graham household after the death of his beloved sister: Donna Copeland (Dennis) Maple, Malvern, PA; Rev. J. Scott (Lisa) Copeland, Marietta, GA and Jennifer Copeland Hendrix, Atlanta, GA.

Dr. Alhamisi graduated from Oak Ridge High School in 1957. He completed his undergraduate education in Industrial Arts Education at Tennessee A&I State (now Tennessee State University) in Nashville, TN. He served in and was honorably discharged from the United States Army. He completed his Master’s degree in Industrial Education at Stout State University (now University of Wisconsin-Stout). Dr. Alhamisi was awarded the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Occupational Education and Instructional Technology from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. He was a member of the Phi Delta Kappa Honor Society, University of Michigan Chapter. Dr. Alhamisi was an educator with the Detroit Public School System for over 30 years in Detroit, MI, until his retirement.

Dr. Alhamisi was a gifted artist, poet, author and editor and his work appeared in numerous publications and anthologies in this country and abroad. Major works included “Black Arts: An Anthology of Black Creations,” edited with Harun Kofi Wangara; and “Zizwe: A Little African Boy Born in a Foreign Land” (for children). “Holy Ghosts,” (poems) was selected as Outstanding Work in Black Literature during 1972 by George E. Kent of the University of Chicago in “Phylon,” the Atlanta University Review of Race and Culture Bulletin. Dr. Alhamisi was a prominent voice in the Black Arts Movement, guest editing publications like Black Dialogue and the Journal of Black Poetry. He was interviewed for “Tender Warriors”, a book about “Negro and white school children who were at the forefront of America’s efforts to achieve integration.” As the authors stated, the book stands as a permanent and dramatic record of the most far-reaching social changes of that time. As one of the Scarboro 85, he was a pioneer who helped forge the course of history as the first to integrate a public school and sporting event within the Southeast region of the United States.