Perseverance — Page 1
Part I – Life Before Islam Chapter 1 – My Family I was born as Rudolph Thomas in East St. Louis, Illinois on March 26, 1923. My father’s name is Albert Thomas and my mother’s name is Octavia Jackson, always keeping her maiden name. Albert was a chemical engineer for a moth ball manufacturing company, the name of which I do not recall. Prior to this he was a chipper in a steel mill factory. He was a very honest person and well liked in our community. In an environment when rowdiness was the routine of the day, and Prohibition [of alcohol in the US] was in full swing, he stood out as an honest, law-abiding citizen. In those days there were various gangs involved in lawlessness, such as the manufacture and distribution of alcohol, gambling, and prostitution. Other drugs were not as common. Gangs in East St. Louis were primarily Jewish or Italian and Blacks acted as their agents. As a child I recall commonplace shootings, killings and widespread gambling.