"You're Black. You're From Africa. You Can't Be the Principal": Limited Leadership in Islamic Institutions

• In Event: Blackness in Schools: Surviving and Thriving in Hostile Environments

Abstract

Black men in school leadership often find their intellectual contributions minimized as they are relegated to disciplinarians. This qualitative ethnographic work focuses on the experiences of Black men in positions of leadership in one southwestern U.S. city’s Muslim community. While Islamic institutions serve as a “safe space” for many Muslims living in the U.S., they can be spaces of rejection for others. This paper examines how Black male leaders in some Islamic institutional settings experience leadership and challenge the roles meted out to them. The seeming universal tendency to underestimate the contributions of Black male leaders raises important questions about how anti-Black racism manifests. It also challenges the notions of “safe” space and belonging in community-based settings.

Author

• Shyla Dogan, Arizona State University