Mis-Education of the Black Muslim
Re-Imagining Timbuktu
“When you control a man's thinking you do not have to worry about his actions. You do not have to tell him not to stand here or go yonder. He will find his 'proper place' and will stay in it. You do not need to send him to the back door. He will go without being told. In fact, if there is no back door, he will cut one for his special benefit. His education makes it necessary.”
-Carter G Woodson, The Mis-Education of the Negro
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The dialogue at the 2019 Black Muslim Psychology Conference will explore the impact of internalized oppression, notions of Black inferiority and assumptions of Islamic inauthenticity on identity, well-being and development of Black/African Muslims in the United States. We will celebrate the storied legacy and influence of Black/African Muslim educational institutions, from the world renown University of Sankore, of Mali West Africa to Muhammad University of Islam, Chicago, IL. In the footsteps of educators like Clara Muhammad, Anna Julia Cooper, Nana Asma’u, Carter G. Woodson and many of our illustrious African Muslim scholars, we will challenge each individual to consider the most effective strategies to nurture a positive sense of self and promote health, resilience and community.
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How do we understand the importance of “knowledge of self”, amidst marginalization and erasure of Black Muslim narratives?
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What does a holistic, integrated, deeply rooted education and learning process look like for the Black Muslim in today’s society?
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What is the role of faith, history, and identity in spiritual and mental liberation?
We will engage in conversation with spiritual leaders and religious scholars, children’s authors, sociologists, psychologists, lawyers, curriculum designers and homeschoolers, anthropologists, educators and principals to wrestle with the question of race and religion in education, scholarship, identity, socialization, and psychological well-being. We will ask you to Re-Imagine Timbuktu. University of Sankore. Here in America. In 2019. We hope you will join us on this journey of self-discovery and empowerment.
Keynote & Featured Speakers
Dr. Yusef Salaam
Exonerated Five - "When They See US"
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We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Salaam will be joining us at BMPC2019 for the opening keynote address on Friday July 19!
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On April 19, 1989, a young woman in the prime of her life was brutally raped and left for dead in New York City’s Central Park. Five boys—four black and one Latino—were tried and convicted of the crime in a frenzied case that rocked the city. They became known collectively as “The Central Park Five.” Their convictions were vacated in 2002 after spending between seven (7) and thirteen (13) years of their lives behind bars. The unidentified DNA in the Central Park Jogger Case, unlinked to any of the five, had finally met its owner, a convicted murderer and serial rapist who confessed. The convictions of the boys, now men, were overturned and they were exonerated. One of those boys, Yusef Salaam, was just 15 years old when his life was upended and changed forever. Since his release, Yusef has committed himself to advocating and educating people on the issues of false confessions, police brutality and misconduct, press ethics and bias, race and law, and the disparities in America’s criminal justice system. In 2013, documentarians Ken and Sarah Burns released the documentary “The Central Park Five,” which told of this travesty from the perspective of Yusef and his cohorts.
In 2014, The Central Park Five received a multi-million dollar settlement from the city of New York for its grievous injustice against them. Yusef was awarded an Honorary Doctorate that same year and received the President's Life Time Achievement Award in 2016 from President Barack Obama. He was appointed to the board of the Innocence Project in 2018, and has released a Netflix Feature limited series called “When They See Us” based on the true story of the “Central Park Five” with Ava DuVernay, Oprah Winfrey and Robert Dinero, in May of 2019.
Listen as Yusef Salaam shares about his harrowing yet inspiring journey:
Featured Speakers:
Nimo Abdi, PhD & Muhammad Khalifa, PhD | University of Minnesota
"Centering Ancestral Knowledge: Muslim Epistemology and the Power to Contest Racial Hierarchies"
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Nimo Mohamed Abdi, Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. Her research focuses on immigrant and refugee education, particularly as it relates to cultural, racial, and religious diversity. Her primary methodological approaches are phenomenology, decolonization theory/methodologies, and discourse analysis. Her work examines Somali educational experiences in urban United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, and The Netherlands.
Dr. Muhammad Khalifa is the Robert Beck Endowed Professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. His research examines how urban school leaders enact culturally responsive leadership and anti-oppressive schooling practices. He has written extensively on minoritized student identities in school, and how schools can become more liberatory spaces for Black, Brown and minoritized youth. In addition to his previous work as an urban school educator and leader in Detroit, he has worked with education ministeries and organizations in Africa and Asia and has helped them craft educational goals and reforms.
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Read this thought-provoking article co-authored by Dr, Abdi, Dr. Khalifa, James Wright and Imam Omar Suleiman entitled:
Ancestral Knowledge and American Muslims: Rooting Cultural Resistance in Islam
Program Overview & Agenda
We are thrilled to share the complete overview for the upcoming 2019 Black Muslim Psychology Conference. This weekend is jam-packed full of exciting offerings! We have 30+ workshops, 2 film screenings, historic Imam Roundtable, Awards & Recognition Banquet and special men/women only healing sessions. There's still time to register for the conference: day passes are also available!
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Awards & Recognition Banquet
SATURDAY JULY 20, 2019 | 7:30PM
Each year, we strive to recognize the Emerging Leaders, Trailblazers and Pioneers in our community who are committed to pouring their passion, creativity and faith into healing, educating and nurturing Black Muslim children, youth and families. BMPC 2019 Awards & Recognition Banquet is our opportunity to honor these brave individuals. Join us for this evening filled with laughter and celebration!
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Please note: Ticket for the banquet are $75/per person and are not included in the cost of registration. Purchase your ticket here.
Keynote Speaker:
Ubaydullah Evans
Master of Ceremonies:
Moses the Comic
BMPC2019 AWARDEES
PIONEER: Quba Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies + Aisha El-Mekki
TRAILBLAZER: Kayla Wheeler, PhD + Sharif El-Mekki
EMERGING LEADER: Mohamud A. Mohamed + Hannah El-Amin, RD, CDE
Click each photo to learn more about the awardee!
QUBA INSTITUTE Of ARABIC AND ISLAMIC STUDIES
BMPC2019 PIONEER AWARD
Hafiz (Qu'ran Memorization) Program- For 30 years of service to the Philadelphia Muslim Community
SHARIF EL-MEKKI
BMPC2019 TRAILBLAZER AWARD
Founder & Executive Director, Center for Black Educator Development; Founder, The Fellowship: Black Male Educators for Social Justice
AISHA EL-MEKKI
BMPC2019 PIONEER AWARD
Educator, Community Activist,
Black Panther Party of Philadelphia
MOHAMUD A. MOHAMED
BMPC2019 EMERGING LEADER AWARD
Resident Research Fellow at Dar Al-Hadith Al-Hassania in Rabat, Morocco; Graduate Student - Hamad Bin Khalifa University, Qatar
KAYLA WHEELER , PHD
BMPC2019 TRAILBLAZER AWARD
Assistant Professor
Grand Valley State University Creator, #BlackIslamSyllabus
HANNAH EL-AMIN, RD, CDE
BMPC2019 EMERGING LEADER AWARD
Founder & Director,
nationally recognized nutritionist, dietitian, and diabetes educator.
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Film Screenings
BMPC2019 Film screenings are included in the cost of conference registration!
ZAHRA AND THE OIL MAN
A Film About An African American Muslim Family
produced, written, and directed by Yucef Mayes
The story shows an intimate relationship between a father and daughter from Newark who are experiencing an economic disadvantage. It is a hardship that puts this father and daughter’s relationship to the test. Zahra and her dad, Hafeez, have an opportunity to help each other grow. Hafeez learns that he needs his daughter’s help just as much as his daughter needs him.
Screening: Friday July 19 | 10:30am
THE HONEST STRUGGLE
director: Justin Mashouf
After over 25 years of incarceration, a Muslim convert, Sadiq Davis re-enters society in the Southside of Chicago to face the same streets that ruined his life. The film is a raw portrait of a man struggling with his past as a gang chief while trying to survive an honest life in a world in which he feels no belonging.
Screening: Friday July 19 | 7:30pm
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Our Sponsors
Due to the generosity of our sponsors and grantors, we are able to offer impactful, high-quality programming and events to all. We are overwhelmed with gratitude for those who believe in and contribute to our mission of promoting healing and well-being in the American Muslim community! Would YOU like to become a BMPC Sponsor and/or place an ad in our program booklet? Click here for more information.
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Why We Need A Black Muslim Psychology Conference
by BMPC Founder Kameelah Mu'Min Rashad
"To have honest conversations about our wellness in the face of what Calvin Warren calls “ontological terror,” Black Muslims need and deserve a safe space to process their past, the present and the future. We need a space that is unencumbered by the weight of white fragility, and from micro-aggressions from non-Black coreligionists. 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".
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