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BMPC2025:
CALL FOR PROPOSALS
SelebeYoon: The Crossroads | 10th Anniversary Celebration

SelebeYoon

BMPC2025: SelebeYoon: The Crossraods | 10th Anniversary Celebration

For the past decade, the Black Muslim Psychology Conference (BMPC) has been a transformative gathering space for Black Muslims to explore mental health, spirituality, identity, and liberation. Founded by the Muslim Wellness Foundation (MWF), what began in 2015 as a response to racial injustice, Islamophobia, and the urgent need for culturally relevant mental health frameworks has evolved into the only conference of its kind - the premier Black Muslim wellness gathering in the nation. In 2025, BMPC celebrates its 10th anniversary with a landmark convening in Chicago under the theme “SelebeYoon: The Crossroads”. Rooted in the Wolof word SelebeYoon, meaning “crossroads”, this theme acknowledges the pivotal moments in our collective and individual journeys—spaces where paths intersect, choices are made, and transformation begins. For ten years, BMPC has tilled the soil—breaking ground, planting seeds of growth, and cultivating a space where Black Muslims can heal and thrive. Now, we stand at the crossroads. In alignment with MWF’s 2025 focus, “Till the Soil, Nurture the Soul,” we are inviting the community to stand at the crossroads with us—to honor our roots, reflect on our past milestones and achievements, and imagine a thriving future for Black Muslim wellness. It is time to harvest the lessons and step boldly into our collective future.

WE WANT YOU TO JOIN US AS A PRESENTER!

This is a CALL FOR PROPOSALS for scholarly presentations, interactive workshops, panel discussions, or artistic/creative performances that engage this theme.

At BMPC, we use and understand the term "psychology" in a broad sense - a term that includes overall mental health, emotional wellness, and spiritual fortitude. Therefore, we welcome and encourage submissions from participants with a range of backgrounds: psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and other mental health clinicians, but also artists, writers, historians, sociologists, Imams, chaplains and spiritual leaders, community workers and activists. We are particularly interested in proposals which fall in one (1) of four (4) broad categories:

Religious Leadership and Development
Youth and Emerging Adulthood
Health and Healing
Art, Culture & Activism

Proposals must include a 500-word abstract or summary of the content you would like to present, and must directly address at least one aspect of the conference theme in order to be eligible for inclusion in the program. Please review the PROPOSAL SUBMISSION GUIDE for detailed suggestions on how to submit a winning proposal. Questions, requests for additional information, and other inquiries should be sent to info@blackmuslimpsychology.org.

DEADLINE: APRIL 28, 2025

2024 Call for Proposals

CONFERENCE OVERVIEW

"By the token of time, verily humanity is in loss—except for those who believe, do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of truth, patience and perseverance."

Holy Quran | 103:1-3

2025 Call for Proposals

BY THE TOKEN OF TIME...

For 10 years, the Black Muslim Psychology Conference (BMPC) has been a sacred space for healing, truth-telling, and transformation. It has brought together mental health professionals, faith leaders, scholars, activists, and community members to engage in critical conversations on Black Muslim mental health, identity, and liberation. Now, in 2025, we arrive at a pivotal moment. Under the theme SelebeYoon – The Crossroads, BMPC2025 is both a reflection on where we’ve been and a vision for where we are going. Surah Asr offers a profound framework for understanding time, transformation, and the Creator’s mercy.

Each year, BMPC has grown in depth and impact. In 2024, BMPC’s theme “Longing for Home: A Place Where a Soul Can Rest” invited attendees to reflect on the meaning of belonging, the resilience of Black Muslim communities in the face of systemic displacement, and the need for spaces of rest and renewal. With the powerful presence of poet Warsan Shire, BMPC2024 was a testament to the power of storytelling and communal healing.

Now, BMPC2025 invites us to the crossroads - a moment of transition, a moment of choice. At this historic 10th-anniversary gathering we will ask:

What lessons from the past decade of BMPC do we carry forward?

What new directions must we take to nurture the soul of our communities?
How do we navigate our identities, histories, and aspirations in an ever-changing world?
How do we strengthen our mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being to build a future where Black Muslims thrive?

2024 Call for Proposals

CONFERENCE THEME & POTENTIAL TOPICS

2024 Call for Proposals

Black Muslim Psychology’s approach is informed by the model of Appreciative Inquiry (AI), which is rooted in positive psychology. It is premised on the underlying assumption that people, communities and organizations are full of assets, capabilities, resources, and strengths that can be located, affirmed, leveraged, and encouraged. The Appreciative Inquiry model is structured on four stages or processes:

1) Discovery: What gives life? Appreciating the best of what is

2) Dream: What might be? Envisioning what the world is calling for

3) Design: What should be? Co-creating the ideal strategies and pathways to build the dream

4) Destiny: What will be? Collective purpose to sustain the vision for the future

Why is Appreciative Inquiry Relevant For Black Muslims?

Traditional models of [western] psychology and social change often focus on trauma, oppression, and deficit-based frameworks. While addressing harm is necessary, solely focusing on struggle can limit our ability to envision a future rooted in healing, joy, and agency.

Using Appreciative Inquiry in Black Muslim Psychology allows us to:

Shift the focus from pathology to possibility – Instead of just addressing mental health struggles, we uplift Black Muslim resilience, spirituality, and community support systems.
Reclaim agency over narratives – Black Muslims are often defined by marginalization and erasure; Appreciative Inquiry helps us reclaim our stories of strength, innovation, and thriving.
Foster sustainable healing & growth – Appreciative InquiryI asks, What’s working? What do we need more of? rather than focusing only on what’s wrong.
Strengthen intergenerational healing – By honoring historical wisdom and imagining future possibilities, we create continuous cycles of empowerment.

2024 Call for Proposals

2024 Call for Proposals

While all ideas are welcome at BMPC, we in particular seek proposals on topics guided by a BLACK MUSLIM Appreciative Inquiry perspective, and fall under one (1) of four (4) broad categories:

Religious Leadership and Development
Youth and Emerging Adulthood
Health and Healing
Art, Culture & Activism

Potential Topics:

Guided by the Black Muslim appreciative inquiry approach, potential presenters may consider submitting a proposal addressing one or more of the questions (though not limited to) below:

2024 Call for Proposals

How have Black Muslims historically navigated crossroads—moments of change, displacement, and transition—while maintaining a sense of self and belonging?
What are the cultural, spiritual, and communal practices that have sustained us at life’s intersections?
How do Black Muslim communities cultivate “sacred crossroads”—spaces of healing, resilience, and self-determination amid social, political, and economic challenges?
What historical crossroads have shaped our present realities, and how do we ensure that their lessons are not forgotten?

Standing at this crossroads, what new paths must we imagine for Black Muslim well-being, identity, and collective flourishing?
What models of healing, leadership, and community-building do we need to navigate the challenges of today’s crossroads?
How can we design institutions, organizations, and initiatives that prepare Black Muslims for the next decade of growth, resilience, and advocacy?
What can we learn from Black Muslim creatives, educators, and faith leaders who have already forged new pathways at the crossroads of faith, identity, and activism?
What role can technology, media, and storytelling play in reshaping the narratives that guide us at our communal crossroads?

Spotlighting existing artistic expressions, organizations, communities, and individuals who are engaged in "freedom dreams" and identifying their paths for success
Organizational models that encourage creativity and imagination
Exploring the role of technology in realizing aspirations for individual and communal uplift
Each one, teach one: crafting systems of mentorship, apprenticeship, and intergenerational growth

What commitments must we make at this critical crossroads to ensure that Black Muslim communities not only survive but thrive in the coming generations?
What structures do we need to build so that future generations do not have to struggle at the same crossroads we face today?
How do we ensure that the work of mental health advocacy, spiritual well-being, and community resilience is sustainable for the long term?
How can Black Muslims across the diaspora create crossroads of solidarity that allow for transnational healing, learning, and support?

2024 Call for Proposals

2025 Call for Proposals

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION GUIDE

Before you submit a proposal, PLEASE REVIEW THE PROPOSAL SUBMISSION GUIDE for detailed suggestions on how to submit a winning proposal. This comprehensive guide explains the types of proposals we are seeking, what should be included in the abstract (including learning objectives) and other pertinent details.

APRIL 28, 2025 - ABSTRACT/PROPOSAL DEADLINE

Please complete the required information on the submission form and submit no later than April 28, 2025 | 11:59PM CST, to be considered for this year's conference. Abstracts will be reviewed on a rolling basis so we encourage you to submit your proposal as early as possible. You will be notified via email if your proposal has been accepted or not. Please make sure the email address you provide is correct and up-to-date.

MAY 5, 2025 - ACCEPTANCE NOTIFICATION

You will be notified via email if your proposal has been accepted or not. Please make sure the email address you provide is correct and up-to-date.
Please note: honoraria or stipends are not offered for selected presenters; all presenters must pay for [reduced] registration and will be responsible for their own travel and hotel expenses.

MAY 19, 2025 - CONFIRMATION & EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION

All presenters are expected to confirm attendance at the conference and register by this date. Accepted presenters will receive a 15% discount off the registration fee.

JUNE 2, 2025 - REGULAR REGISTRATION