Monarch Training and Development, LLC is a consulting firm based in Ames, Iowa, that provides critical race theory-aligned “antiracism” workshops, consulting, and speeches on diversity, equity, and inclusion. The firm’s founder and principal consultant is Black Lives Matter activist Abdul Muhammad.

Background

Monarch Training and Development was founded as a limited liability company in Ames, Iowa, by Abdul Muhammad, a Black Lives Matter activist and former human resources consultant. ¹ Primarily, the firm’s services, which are aimed at helping clients attain critical race theory-aligned “antiracism” objectives, include consulting, speaking, “equity audits”, and signature workshops such as the “Dismantling Race WORKshop,” and “Implicit Bias WORKshop.” ²

According to Monarch Training and Development’s “consultant report card” published by the right leaning Parents Defending Education, the firm has done at least $3,500 worth of business. ³

Activities

According to Iowa State Daily, Abdul Muhammad, the firm’s founder and lead consultant, helped to a host a march and demonstration on March 25, 2017, in Ames, Iowa, along with local activist Sean Carlton-Appleton representing the Black Lives Matter movement. ^{4 5}

On January 20, 2020, Ames High School, in Ames Community School District in Iowa, hired Monarch Training and Development to conduct a multi-hour workshop. The workshop, advertised as the “Understanding Implicit Bias WORKshop,” was led by Abdullah Muhammad at a cost of $15.56 per hour per participant, including time spent preparing the event, planning meetings, and debriefing staff after the event proper had ended. However, according to an invoice cited by Parents Defending Education, Muhammad waived a $700 fee for an additional half-hour extension. Among other things, the firm’s contract stipulated that the event would feature things including “experience-sharing” and “individual reflection.” ⁶

On January 26, 2021, the right-leaning Iowa Standard published a report discussing a controversial Facebook post by Muhammad’s wife, Jean Lynott Muhammad, a student and family advocate for Ames School District, which reads in full, “Want a quick glimpse into *our* interracial marriage? / Me-Going to give Abdullah a kiss goodnight, ‘Okay, I’m going to bed…’ / Abdul- singing in his reggae voice, ‘I say we kill da white people…’ / Me-Laughing hysterically, ‘Okay, love you.’” According to the report, just prior to the publication of the post, Muhammad spoke at an Ames Community School District Board meeting in support of a “Black Lives Matter Week of Action.” ⁷

Abdul Muhammad

Abdul Muhammad is the founder and principal facilitator of Monarch Training and Development. He is the firm’s only listed staff member. According to the firm’s website, before transitioning to critical race theory-aligned consulting, Muhammad was previously a chief operating officer in the private sector, as well as a human resources-focused consultant. ⁸ A 2017 article in the Iowa State Daily described him as a “co-founder” of the Ames, Iowa Black Lives Matter movement. ^{9 10}

1. “Abdul Muhammad.” Monarch Training and Development. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://www.monarchtd.com/bio
2. “Monarch Training and Development LLC.” Parents Defending Education: Consultant Report Card. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://defendinged.org/report/monarch-training-and-development-llc/
3. “Monarch Training and Development LLC.” Parents Defending Education: Consultant Report Card. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://defendinged.org/report/monarch-training-and-development-llc/
4. Mason, Whitney. “Local Black Lives Matter movement hosts first march.” Iowa State Daily. March 25, 2017. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/student_life/local-black-lives-matter-movement-hosts-first-march/article_4501c4f8-11ac-11e7-a248-83ede8b51e1c.html
5. Sidner, Sara. “The rise of Black Lives Matter.” CNN. December 28, 2015. Accessed December 6, 2021. http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/28/us/black-lives-matter-evolution/index.html.
6. “Monarch Training and Development LLC.” Parents Defending Education: Consultant Report Card. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://defendinged.org/report/monarch-training-and-development-llc/
7.  Hall, Jacob. “BREAKING: Ames school district Student and Family Advocate says she laughs hysterically when her husband sings ‘I say we kill da white people.’” Iowa Standard. January 26, 2021. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://theiowastandard.com/breaking-ames-school-district-student-and-family-advocate-says-she-laughs-hysterically-when-her-husband-sings-i-say-we-kill-da-white-people/
8. “Abdul Muhammad.” Monarch Training and Development. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://www.monarchtd.com/bio
9. Mason, Whitney. “Local Black Lives Matter movement hosts first march.” Iowa State Daily. March 25, 2017. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/student_life/local-black-lives-matter-movement-hosts-first-march/article_4501c4f8-11ac-11e7-a248-83ede8b51e1c.html
10. “Abdul Muhammad.” Monarch Training and Development. Accessed December 6, 2021. https://www.monarchtd.com/bio