Juneteenth, also known as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, is an annual holiday celebrated on June 19th in the United States. The holiday commemorates the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and marks the day when the news of their freedom reached Galveston, Texas, in 1865. Juneteenth serves as a significant reminder of the end of…
Black Lives Matter
We Need To Remember the Victims of the Bronx Fire by Taking Action
On Sunday, January 9, 2022, families in the 19-story Twin Parks North West Building in the Bronx, New York City, woke up to flames. An electric space heater had caught fire in a duplex; the doors of the apartment and the stairwell were open, even though the doors were supposed to close automatically. The smoke spread quickly to other floors. The building turned into an inferno…
HOW AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSLIMS PAVED THE WAY TO JUNETEENTH
President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act this June 17th. This makes Juneteenth, the day that commemorates the emancipation of the last enslaved African Americans in Texas on June 19, 1865, a federal holiday. While Juneteenth marks “footsteps away from where President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation,” and while it is a…
It’s Time To End Anti-Black Sentiment Plaguing Our Muslim Communities
“The mosques in New Jersey are finally opening!” I eagerly texted my friend Khadija. “Oh, that’s good to hear,” she replied, “but I don’t go to the masjid anymore.” Seeing as though the masjid is at least a 45 minute ride from Khadija’s house I naively assumed that the distance was keeping her from attending,…
What Have We Learned Since Nelson Mandela’s Arrest 58 Years Ago?
The recent tragic event with George Floyd has surely spurred an endless debate on racism. “Black Lives Matter” continues to be a discussion needed in every community. And as we look at the present day, one cannot forget about the history of the Black struggle and the leaders who sacrificed their own freedom for the…
“I Can’t Breathe”: It’s Been Three Years, and Still No Justice for Muhammad Muhaymin
Content warning: This article provides graphic details about the murder of an unarmed Black man struggling with mental illness, who was murdered by law enforcement. So far 2020 has not been a kind year to us. It began with Kobe Bryant’s death in January, then spiraled into the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic. It quickly reached the…
What Is Juneteenth? Here’s What You Need to Know.
You may have today off because it’s Juneteenth, but do you know what Juneteenth is? Juneteenth marks the day when many of the remaining enslaved peoples learned about the Emancipation Proclaimation, thus learning they were free. Juneteenth has already been celebrated by the Black community for years. Watch this video from The Guardian’s Kenya Evelyn,…
The U.S. Is Built on Racial Privilege
George Floyd died at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. His last words, “I can’t breathe” has now entered all of our breaths as we try to take in air that he was neglected. His death ignited a slew of protests across the U.S., from major west coast cities, to the east coast, peoples’ cries…
Watch: How Racism Makes Us Sick
Do you think race has an impact on health? David R. Williams developed a scale that measures the impact of discrimination and racism on well-being. Traditional measures such as the impacts of systemic racism on income and education are known; the scale Williams developed exlores how factors like negative stereotypes, implicit bias, and resedential segregation…
Watch: The Trauma of Systematic Racism Is Killing Black Women
According to TED Talk’s homepage, “T. Morgan Dixon and Vanessa Garrison, founders of the health nonprofit GirlTrek, are on a mission to reduce the leading causes of preventable death among Black women — and build communities in the process. How? By getting one million women and girls to prioritize their self-care, lacing up their shoes…
15 People to Follow on Twitter to Keep Up With the #BlackLivesMatter Movement
Social media is one of the best sources for information right now. Here are 15 people you should follow on Twitter (if you aren’t already!) so you can stay up to date on the latest news regarding the #BlackLivesMatter movement. 1. Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give 2. Nic Stone, author of Shuri:…
This Is Our Staff Writer Binta’s Advice on How You Can Be an Ally to the #Blacklivesmatter Movement
It’s not enough to just post one thing on Instagram. It needs to be an effort that everyone does even after it stops trending. How can the youth get involved in helping to support the movement? Our Black staff writer Binta said, “I would like to state that these are my own opinions and I…
The Islamic Attitude Towards Race and Racism
Islam established racial equality, declaring all people to be equal in the sight of God. At the end of Prophet (saw) farewell sermon he stated, “All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab, nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority…
How to Be an Ally to the #BlackLivesMatter Movement: Advice From Imam Qareeb Bashir
Imam Qareeb Bashir is The Imam of the Islamic Center of Ewing, and the president of the Islamic Council of Greater Trenton. How can the youth get involved in helping to support the movement? Imam Bashir said,“Contact not only Black Lives Matter chapters but also other civil rights groups, including NAACP, etc.” What is something…
Justice for George Floyd Starts With Us
#JusticeforFloyd “You must struggle to remember this past in all its nuance, error, and humanity. You must resist the common urge toward the comforting narrative of divine law, toward fairy tales that imply some irrepressible justice. The enslaved were not bricks in your road, and their lives were not chapters in your redemptive history. They…