Christopher Fabor Muhammad is a Paterson native who overcame the challenging environment of an upbringing in an urban city housing development, growing up in the city’s Christopher Columbus housing projects of the 1st Ward. After graduating from Rutgers-New Brunswick he started teaching art in schools winning Teacher of the Year and Who’s Who in America’s Teachers twice. His initial intent was to become a guidance counselor but fell in love with teaching students in the classroom! After several years of teaching art, the Paterson-born Christopher asked himself why his own art work shouldn’t be up in galleries and on art lovers’ walls, and once he took that step there was no turning back!
Muhammad attended Rutgers’ Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Brunswick and New Jersey Institute of Technology, where he studied architecture, however, his commitment to making a difference back in his community made him more desirous of building people than buildings! In 2001, his teaching career started at Paterson’s International High School. In 2008, he moved to John F. Kennedy High School and then to P.S. # 5 in 2010. He currently has returned full circle back to International High School. He obtained a Masters in Education from Caldwell University in 2008 and started teaching as a professor at William Paterson University in 2018.
His company, Creative Force, Inc. also produces After-School Programs, Paint & Sip parties, and a Single Panel Cartoon (SPC) called the Amerikids, which addresses illiteracy and miseducation through self-knowledge with whimsical humor and imagery. It is now a fast-growing SEL tool for educators and parents alike. His commitment to community building sees him also leading annual small Black-owned Business Bazaars, Youth Entrepreneurship Contests and a Specialized museum for the history & culture of Black Patersonians . He is also the director of a nonprofit “Arts Reforming Communities” that focuses on creative placemaking via beautification projects such as wall murals and gardens!
Already well recognized in Paterson, and across New Jersey, he has now also achieved nationwide attention with projects such as murals for educational institutions in Los Angeles, California. Muhammad hopes to continue his global Creative Placemaking mission and expanding the Amerikids brand into other areas of media, culture and merchandise.