Watch Video
Overview
This event was a collaborative effort, born of a diverse range of voices and situated at the crossroads of gender, race, faith and activism. She’s Malcolm X, will shine a spotlight on the often ignored history of Black Muslim women and their contributions to social change.
We sought to recognize and acknowledge the teachings, knowledge and experience of the many Black Muslim women who played a critical role in shaping the multi-faceted life of Malcolm X. We asked about the ways in which Black Muslim women are silenced and their excellence measured only in relation to the success of male figures.
How does anti-Black racism work to further marginalize the stories of these women? Using a critical lens to understand the important histories of Black Muslim women, we explored current realities and future possibilities for Black advocacy and social justice.
Special Guests
-
Guest Student ModeratorHabon Ali
Graduate Student and Youth Advocate
Habon Ali recently graduated as valedictorian from the University of Toronto Mississauga. She completed a double major in biology and environmental sciences and is currently completing an MSc in Global Health at McMaster University. She is passionate about removing systemic barriers for marginalized and vulnerable youth, community building and health equity. Currently, Habon is an intern at MaRS Discovery District where she is working towards improving NEET (not in education, employment or training) youth employment opportunities. As a member of the Prime Minister’s Youth Council, Habon was actively involved in the creation of Canada’s first National Youth Policy and the development of Canada’s Service Corps.
-
Mustafa Briggs
Speaker, Scholar, Educator
Mustafa Briggs, is a graduate of Arabic and International Relations from the University of Westminster whose dissertation focused on Arabic Literature and Literacy in West Africa. Mustafa started an MA in Translation at SOAS, University of London with a specialisation in Arabic and Islamic Texts, before going onto al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt where he is currently doing another degree in Islamic Studies and Arabic.
Mustafa rose to international acclaim for his ‘Beyond Bilal: Black History in Islam’ lecture series which saw him explore and uncover the deep routed relationship between Islam and Black History; and the legacy of contemporary African Islamic Scholarship and its role in the International Relations of the Muslim World as well as the vital role Female Scholarship plays in the West African Islamic Tradition, which he presented at over 30 Universities across 3 continents, including Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Yale.
Mustafa has also been featured on international media such as AlJazeera and Islam Channel to discuss themes such as Islamic History and Blackness and Islam and is currently working on forthcoming translations of Traditional West African Islamic Texts.
-
Rania El Mugammar
Artist, Anti-Oppression Consultant, Liberation Educator
Rania El Mugammar is a Sudanese Artist, Liberation Educator, Anti-oppression Consultant , multidisciplinary performer, speaker and published writer.
As a writer, Rania's work explores themes of identity, womanhood, Blackness, flight, exile, migration, belonging, gender, sexuality and beyond. Rania's primary mediums are poetry, spoken word and oral storytelling.
She is a published poet, storyteller and playwright. Rania is deeply interested in poetic form and the auditory texture of words as well as the visual/aesthetic impact of language and form.
She is co-chair of the St. Jamestown Collective Impact Steering Committee, a member of the Leaders Panel for the Economic Development and Culture Strategic Plan at the city of Toronto.
Rania is the also the lead anti-oppression consultant for RECENTRE, Program director of B Inc at Bcurrent Performing Arts and co-founder of the How to be an Ally Series at the Centre for Social Innovation.
Rania is an experienced anti-oppression, equity, inclusion and liberation educator and consultant who is unflinchingly committed to decolonization and freedom as the ultimate goals of her work. She has worked extensively with contemporary arts institutions, STEM based enterprises, media organization, educational institutions and community/grassroots spaces.
Rania has worked with hundreds of organizations, collectives and institutions including VIBE Arts, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Ministry of Canadian Heritage, Daniels Spectrum, Trinity Square Video, Ebay, Facebook Canada, Toronto Cultural Music Lab, Canadian Art Magazine, Bcurrent, Toronto Arts Council, WattPad, Women’s College Hospital, the University of Michigan, Canadian Art Magazine, TPW Gallery, Peel Dufferin Catholic District School Board, Regent Park Focus and beyond.
Website -
Ikran Jama
U of T Student, Rhodes Scholar, President of the Arts and Science Students’ Union.
Ikran is completing a double major in Criminology & Socio-legal Studies and International Relations with a minor in African Studies at Victoria College. Ikran is the two-term President of the Arts and Science Students’ Union, where she advocates on behalf of over 27,000 students. A current mentor for Somali youth and previous fellow at the Mosaic Institute, Ikran is passionate about amplifying the voices of marginalized and underrepresented communities. A proud Somali-Canadian, Ikran is interested in researching how the law affects the lives of immigrant and refugee youth. She hopes to one day apply her studies to advance criminal justice reforms at home and abroad.
Supporting Partners
