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BLACK MUSLIM WOMEN-ORGANIZING & BUILDING COMMUNITY:
This past week, I was blessed to participate in 3 Black Muslim events - 2 organized at UPenn by Penn Sapelo (the 1st Black Muslim student org on campus) & NYU’s Black Muslim Initiative (BMI) - 2nd Annual Black Muslim Symposium.
This past week, I was blessed to participate in 3 Black Muslim events - 2 organized at UPenn by Penn Sapelo (the 1st Black Muslim student org on campus) & NYU’s Black Muslim Initiative (BMI) - 2nd Annual Black Muslim Symposium.
I described these gatherings as basking in the warm brilliant rays of the sun. As a community navigating so many marginalized intersections (presently & historically), we need & deserve space to uplift and celebrate who we are, and affirm our right to dignity, respect and love.
My talk at NYU yesterday focused on healing & wellness in the Black Muslim community. Inspired by Natasha Marin’s ‘Black Imagination’, my central Q? was: “how & with WHOM do you heal yourself?”
To thrive in the face of oppression, deep/meaningful social connections are essential.
To thrive in the face of oppression, deep/meaningful social connections are essential.
Black Muslim women are at the forefront of establishing Black Muslim affinity spaces, orgs & initiatives that facilitate these social connections and create opportunities for learning, healing and resilience. Just a few examples:
@SapeloSquare founded by @DrSuad, Associate Professor; Director of the Arab and Muslim American Studies Program and Undergrad Advisor at @UMich, author of Muslim Cool: Race, Religion, and Hip Hop in the United States. Sapelo Square is an online resource on Black Muslims in the US
@Margari_Aziza is the co-founder of @MuslimARC. The org’s mission is “education for liberation” - to provide racial justice education & resources to advance racial justice. Margari is also a well-respected scholar, coining the term “Black Muslim Atlantic”. https://www.patheos.com/blogs/nbamuslims/2018/02/12/beingblackandmuslim-black-muslim-atlantic-african-american-muslims-single-story/
Vanessa Taylor ( @BaconTribe) is the Founder/Editor in Chief of @DrinkinGourdMag - a Black Muslim mag which “provides nuanced depictions of the Black Muslim Diaspora through various forms of media, including but not limited to: visual art, poems, non-fiction, and fiction.”
@BaconTribe is also a writer who has written extensively on antiBlack Islamophobia, Black womanhood, Afro-futurism, surveillance, technology and the carceral state. Check out her work: https://taylorv.contently.com
#BlackIftar was created by Texas native @SamiraImam_ in 2018 "w/the intention of celebrating a daily Ramadan ritual, w/Black Muslims & their friends” - designed to be a warm, joyful space to gather w/those who seek to enjoy the blessings of the holy month. http://Blackiftar.com
#BlackIftar started in Chicago & the next year, expanded to over 10 cities. @SamiraImam_ : “Black” Iftar has existed as long as Black Muslims have been breaking fast. The purpose of these are just to draw more attention to the way we practice...” https://www.buzzfeed.com/ikrd/this-woman-created-a-black-iftar-for-her-city-and-other
I am the founder/president of @MWFNational, a nonprofit org established in 2011 to Our core mission is to promote healing/well-being in the American Muslim community, recognizing the psychological impact of poverty, oppression, anti-Black racism, and anti-Muslim bigotry.
MWF is the only muslim mental heath org in the US to center the unique concerns/strengths of Black Muslims thru the #DeeplyRooted Project, a Black Muslim mental health & healing initiative. 2 major programs: Annual @BlackMuslimPsyc conf & #DREL fellowship for young Black Muslims.
@BlackMuslimPsyc was established in 2015, on the 150th anniv of #Juneteenth. “Black Muslims need/deserve a safe space to process their past, the present & future. We need a space that is unencumbered by the weight of white fragility & microaggressions from nonBlack Muslims.” -Me
“We need a space to gather in love and support to proactively reconcile and repair the tragedies endured and celebrate the ways in which Black folks have used faith and spirituality to ground and restore themselves.” https://sapelosquare.com/2019/04/02/the-deeply-rooted-project-exploring-the-psychology-of-black-muslims/
2020 Black Muslim Psychology Conference:
https://twitter.com/blackmuslimpsyc/status/1155573398308884481?s=21
#BMPC2020
https://twitter.com/blackmuslimpsyc/status/1155573398308884481?s=21
#BMPC2020
The Deeply Rooted Emerging Leaders (DREL) Fellowship is a 1 year program for Black Muslim young adults (18-25). The only prog of its kind focuses on identity, leadership & healing. Now in its 3rd year, this #DREL network includes 45 fellows across the US.
http://muslimwellness.com/fellowship
http://muslimwellness.com/fellowship
Our #DREL fellows are among the brightest, most creative, passionate, thoughtful, committed young people you’ll ever meet. #BlackMuslimExcellence
Angelica Lindsey-Ali, @villageauntie has established an international movement focused on empowerment; centering sexual health & intimacy from an Islamic & African perspective. Sis ain’t afraid to talk about the sensitive topics: sensuality, orgasm, libido, vulnerability...
@villageauntie is a certified sexual health educator (20+ years), author, sought after @TheMoth storyteller/host, w/degrees/certs in African studies & fiqh. The #VillageAuntieMovement is for women but Brothers we know you be following Auntie’s posts like 
The emergence of unapologetic and groundbreaking Black Muslim affinity spaces on college/univ campuses around the country is also being led by phenomenal young Black Muslimahs:
Penn Sapelo was founded at UPenn in 2017 by Maryam Alausa, Aisha Oshilaja, and Mona Hagmagid. It is the only Black Muslim student org on campus, and possibly one of the first in the country at a PWI. I proudly serve as the advisor for this dynamic org.
@nyuniversity Black Muslim Initiative (BMI) was established in 2018 “to create a sense of community for Black Muslim students on campus as well as shed light on their experiences...” BMI’s current Prez is Aesetou Hydara, senior majoring in Psych, History & Africana Studies.
In 2019, NYU’s BMI held the first Black Muslim Symposium. It was called a “landmark conference”, organized by amazing undergraduates.
“...the symposium titled "History, Legacies, and Experiences" was an attempt to reclaim the narrative about the role played by Black Muslims in the story of America.” https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/landmark-conference-people-dont-see-black-muslims-trailblazers-we-are-here-change
BMI’s 2nd Annual Black Muslim Symposium was amazing - Mashallah, deeply moving, impressive and so well-organized. I’m already looking forward to attending next year!
Muslim Afro Niyyah Student Association (MANSA) is @Columbia and @BarnardCollege 1st Black Muslim student org; the VP is Cesay Camara - a 2017 #DREL Fellow 
Texas Black Muslim Student Alliance (TexasBMA) was founded as a safe space and refuge for Black Muslims experiencing discrimination and marginalization within the Muslim community.
The current Prez and VP of Texas BMA are Black Muslimahs
Events hosted by Black Muslim student orgs: they are striving to understand themselves and to be understood in a world committed to erasing their personhood. I’m so inspired by these trailblazing young Black Muslims!
Black Muslim women are also organizing in the digital/virtual space as well. #BlackIslamSyllabus is a project curated by Dr. Kayla Wheeler ( @krw18) and provides resources on Black Muslims to promote a more inclusive approach to the study of Islam. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1avhgPrW30AFjegzV9X5aPqkZUA3uGd0-BZr9_zhArtQ/edit
The hashtag #BlackMuslimRamadan was created by anthropologist Donna Auston ( @TinyMuslimah) in 2015. https://religionnews.com/2015/07/16/blackmuslimramadan-way-making-hidden-visible-commentary/
#BlackOutEid was started by Aamina Mohamed in 2014 and is still going strong! Check out why in this piece written by 2018 #DREL Fellow Nena Beecham ( @nenamalikah): https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/blackouteid-celebrating-black-muslim-190604111910458.html
In response to racist remarks by a well-known American Muslim scholar in 2016, I launched the #BlackMuslimFamily hashtag. On the first day, it went viral, trending at #1 in the US. https://muslimmatters.org/2016/12/27/hashtag-blackmuslimfamily-is-virally-gorgeous/
There are so many more examples of Black Muslim women organizing, building, advocating, creating and holding space. But on this very first day of #WomensHistoryMonth I wanted to take the time to shout out my brilliant Sisters - the leaders who strive forward in spite of the odds.
The pivotal role of Black Muslim women in building and sustaining movements is not a contemporary phenomenon. Read a book (like, literally):
Black Muslim women’s leadership is significant and undeniable. Our collective accomplishments are unmatched. Yet I wonder (rhetorically) why this fact is not widely recognized, applauded and celebrated.
from: https://sapelosquare.com/2017/06/11/ramadan-14382017-black-muslims-reflect-on-the-quran-juz-16/
from: https://sapelosquare.com/2017/06/11/ramadan-14382017-black-muslims-reflect-on-the-quran-juz-16/
Dear Black Muslim brothers: when I imagine our #BlackMuslimFuture, I envision a world in which the women of this community are respected, honored, protected. When I look around, I see my sisters laboring tirelessly to build this world - faithfully, wholeheartedly, selflessly.
Dear Black Muslim brothers: in the spaces/orgs/initiatives/efforts I’ve highlighted, there are precious few of you working alongside us. Why does the #DREL program receive 3x as many women applicants (vs male)? Why do men number in the single digits in these gatherings?
Dear Black Muslim brothers: we need to ask & answer some hard questions about race, gender, power, privilege & leadership. My Sisters and I will continue to build, inshallah. We need *you* to do some self-reflection about how/whether y’all are prepared to build with us. 
I pray the Most High gives us the strength to dislodge the strangling grasp of sexism, patriarchy, internalized oppression & white supremacy. I pray he soothes our hearts, opens our minds, & grants us clarity so we may build in the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. Ameen.
