Mr. Muneer Hafiz Bahauddeen

Lloyd Allen Blassingame was born on March 21, 1949, in Chicago, Illinois. He was the second child of the late James Lee Blassingame Sr. and Rebecca Susan Hames. In his formative years, Lloyd moved to Bay City, Michigan to live with his grandparents, Novella Evans Hames and Herbert Hames Sr. He discovered his passion for art in an elementary school art class, Later, while attending Bay City Central High School, he became an Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) track star and running back on the football team. After graduating high school, he moved back to Chicago where he became a member of the Nation of Islam. Lloyd changed his name to Muneer Hafiz Bahauddeen, Arabic for "luminous splendor of the faith", and carried that light into every piece he made. After moving to Chicago, he worked as an art preparator at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, while completing his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ceramics and printmaking. While studying at The Art Institute of Chicago, he met his wife, Phyllis Thompson, who was a visiting artist in print making. They married in 1982, and soon after, their children Nazeer and Nzingha were born. While in Chicago, he also maintained an art studio in the South Shore neighborhood, and created his first major sculpture, an ode to the deity Oshun. As his work matured, it earned him national recognition: in 1988, Artforum magazine published critic James Yood's review of his solo exhibition at Chicago's pioneering Isobel Neal Gallery, placing him in conversation with the major Black American artists of his generation, Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Charles White, cad Norman Lewis among them. In 1990, Muneer and his family made their way to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the city that would become the canvas of his life's work. He began working at the University School of Milwaukee teaching middle and high school art until 1999. During this time, he also taught at Cardinal Stritch University, Marquette University, and Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD). Muneer dedicated more than four decades of service as a community based ceramic sculptor, public artist, and educator. His work drew from Yoruba religion and mythology, West African Adinkra traditions, and the long memory of the Black American experience. He partnered with Milwaukee's Arts @ Large for over thirteen consecutive years, leading residencies within Milwaukee Public Schools, and worked with the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Buildings - Landscapes-Cultures Field School beginning in 2014. He led ceramic art workshops with the Benedict Center, Lake Valley Camp, and st. Charles, where he taught youth and community members the dignity of working with their hands. His public artwork lives across Milwaukee at the Anna F. Doerfler School, Tiefenthaler Park, Foundation Park, the YMCA on North Avenue, Froedtert Hospital, Alice's Garden, Amaranth Bakery, along Lisbon Avenue, and in Reedsburg, Baraboo, Bali, and Uganda. His signature Peace Posts, cedar columns embedded with community- made tiles and sealed with the written hopes of his neighbors, stand as living monuments throughout the city. During his life, Muneer was an exemplar of art as a healing practice. He was a generous man who played a major role in so many people's lives, beyond his family. If there was anything that his neighbors, students, or fellow artists needed, he would help faithfully. Muneer loved his community and always encouraged his children, his students, and his neighbors to know their own story. He raised his children with the same conviction he brought to his work, and constantly reinforced the power of creativity, the importance of giving to others, and the wisdom of one's ancestors. Muneer was preceded in death by his: parents, James Lee Blassingame Sr. and Rebecca Susan Blassingame; uncle, Herbert Hames Jr.: and brother, John Lee Blassingame Jr. He leaves to cherish in memory: son, Nazeer Bahauddeen; daughter, Nzingha Thompson; former wife, Dr. Phyllis Thompson; siblings, Mr. James William Blassingame of Chicago, IL and Mrs. Myra Lynn Jordan of St. Louis, MO; sister-in- law, Mrs. LaWanda Blassingame of Aurora, IL; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins, fellow artists, students, and community of friends, neighbors, and admirers across Milwaukee, Chicago, and beyond.

Mr. Muneer Hafiz Bahauddeen

March 21, 1949 - April 29, 2026