“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,…
Black Lives Matter
What Have We Learned Since Nelson Mandela’s Arrest 58 Years Ago?
By Zainab KhanThe 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
By Mariam TanvirContent 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.
By MG StaffYou 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
By nadamousaGeorge 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
By MG StaffDo 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
By MG StaffAccording 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
By MG StaffSocial 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
By MG StaffIt’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
By Maliya NazIslam 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
By Amani SalahudeenImam 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
By sarahmohr#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…
Here’s Why Ava DuVernay’s ‘When They See Us’ Should Devastate You
By fazilanaeemiWarning: This article may contain mild spoilers Ava DuVernay’s “When They See Us” is a flashlight for the generation that has never heard of the injustice five boys from Harlem faced; it sheds light on a group of young boys of color, who lost five to fifteen years of their lives to the prison system….
Why the ‘Greensboro Four’ Will Always Be Remembered
By Noha AlgahimiOn the 1st of February,1960, four Black college students sat, nervous but determined, at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, patiently requesting service. As the “Greensboro Four” expected, they were largely ignored. But the next day they came back, supporters in tow. For six months they staged the same protest, drawing a larger crowd…
Here’s Why Racism Endures, but so Does My Black Girl Magic
By kawtherinuwaShackled, beaten, and starved. This was how my ancestors were ripped from their homes, crammed onto vessels, and transported like goods to a life of tribulation and bondage. What is left of their bodies lay at the bottom of the ocean, or on land that is not home, but I pray that their souls have…