Photograph of Clarice Ercel Reid Khan
Born in Georgetown, the capital of what was then British Guiana, Clarice Ercel Reid arrived in New York City on the steamship Mayaro in 1922, at the age of eighteen. In her years in the United States, she lived in West Harlem and worked as a housekeeper. She is pictured here in a photo from 1931, when she declared her intention to become a U.S. citizen. She became a U.S.
Henry Sivenandan's Census Record
This U.S. Census record from 1940 provides a picture of a family from British Guiana with Indo-Caribbean last names identified as "Negro." Henry Sivenandan, an elevator operator in a loft building, and his wife Agnes, who worked in a dress factory, lived in Harlem with their toddler Saundra and Agnes' widowed older sister, Rose Persad, who worked as a seamstress in a dress factory.
Shew Persaud's Naturalization Petition
Shew Persaud was born in Georgetown, Guiana's colonial capital, in 1881. After arriving in the United States on a ship that sailed via Barbados, he petitioned to become a U.S. citizen twice, in 1917 and 1924. The first time, he was working as a dishwasher and living in West Harlem, separated from his wife, who was still in British Guiana.
Salima and Aliyah Khan, Small Days Photo
This picture of Salima and Aliyah Khan together in Guyana in the 1980s was among the many things they carried from Guyana, including a collection of dolls puchased from across the world, Enid Blyton and Hardy Boys books, an urni that Aliyah wore as a child in masjid, her brother's Islamic skullcap, pamphlets and documents, crystal and household wares.
Women's Section, Ahmadiyya Anjuman Masjid, Guyana
This photo of the women's section at an Ahmadiyya Anjuman masjid in Wakenaam, Guyana, was taken during Eid in the 1960s. The Khan family brought it with them to the United States.
The Muslim Times
Aliyah's grandfather Mohamed Rasheed, a religious leader, published The Muslim Times as a newsletter for the Ahmadiyya community in the country.
Religion, A Force for Unity
This clip of a newspaper article brought by the Khan family shows Aliyah's grandfather Mohamed Rasheed greeting Guyanese President Desmond Hoyte at the opening of the Masjid Dar Salaam, headquarters for Guyana's Ahmadiyya Anjuman.
