A Story of Family, Loss, and Redemption in 1980s Brooklyn
Brooklyn, 1980s. In the heart of Bedford-Stuyvesant, young Abdul Rahman Muhammad is just 12 years old—already nearly six feet tall, but still just a boy growing up in a working-class African American family. His father, Bilal, a New York transit worker, and his mother, Jamila, a daycare teacher, work hard to give their children a better life. His best friends, Nadir and Hassana, children of a Pakistani immigrant family, live next door, sharing in the struggles and joys of growing up in Bed-Stuy.
But one fateful night changes everything. Bilal steps in to protect a woman from an armed attacker, only to have his act of heroism twisted against him. The woman, manipulated by a corrupt lawyer, claims she was never in danger, and Bilal loses everything—his job, his reputation, and ultimately his life to a fatal heart attack brought on by stress.
Now alone, Jamila takes on three jobs just to survive, leaving Abdul and his sister Sarah to fend for themselves. When Abdul stands up to a gang threatening Nadir, he ends up locked away in juvenile prison, his life derailed before it could even begin.
Ten years later, Abdul returns home at 22 years old, a towering 6’6”, 250-pound police officer, determined to reclaim his neighborhood from the very violence that tore his family apart. Sarah and Hassana are now nurses, dedicated to healing their community, while Nadir has become an engineer, building a better future.
But for Abdul, it’s personal. With his badge and his unwavering sense of justice, he sets out to protect the people of Bed-Stuy—not just from crime, but from the system that failed his father. Will he succeed, or will the ghosts of his past catch up to him?
A gripping tale of loss, resilience, and the fight for justice, Big Abdul Homecoming: Do or Die Bed-Stuy is a raw, emotional look at the struggles of a Black working-class family in Brooklyn during the 1980s and '90s—and one man’s mission to make things right.