By Salima Suswell

The power of Black women voters has now become – rightfully – well known and widely celebrated. They are the Democratic Party’s most loyal voting bloc; approximately 90% voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 and 94% voted for candidate Hilary Clinton in 2016. More than ⅔ of Black women voted in 2020 – one of the highest percentages of any demographic group. These statistics indicate just how much influence these individuals have on electoral outcomes, and particularly how important they are to the Democratic Party.

Mobilization groups such as the New Georgia Project and Black Voters Matter, led by Stacey Abrams and LaTosha Brown, respectively, are a testament to the capacity Black women leaders have to inspire communities to take action, become engaged, and get out the vote. This work is spreading in every corner of the country: we have seen Black women rise up and form powerful coalitions to advocate for their communities on issues important to their identity, including healthcare, reproductive rights, maternal mortality, equal pay for equal work, combatting discrimination, and more. 

The might of Black women is all the more impressive – and more important to uplift – due to the injustices leveled against them throughout history. The 19th Amendment, ratified in 1920, which purportedly granted women the right to vote, didn’t apply equally to the Black population as it didn’t “eliminate the state laws that operated to keep Black Americans from the polls via poll taxes and literacy tests – nor did the 19th Amendment address violence or lynching,” says historian Martha S. Jones. Only with the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act were Black Americans’ right to vote protected, though we are now seeing growing efforts to suppress these votes again. This suppression has come in many forms, including (though not limited to) curbing access to voting by mail, targeting voter registration efforts, and increasing voter ID requirements. Systemic racism and sexism remain embedded throughout our society, attempting to hold this demographic back by setting up enormous barriers to civic participation. Nevertheless, Black women have continued striving for equality through courageous and dynamic acts of civic engagement and activism. 

 . . . Black Muslim women are not given the platform that they rightfully deserve by the greater political space.

When celebrating these accomplishments, however, we must ensure that we are also honoring and uplifting the role that Black Muslim women in particular hold as a core component within this bloc. Too often, due to widespread Islamophobia, including anti-Black Islamophobia, combined with the racism and patriarchal norms described above, Black Muslim women are not given the platform that they rightfully deserve by the greater political space. This comes despite the fact that Muslims have been in this country for centuries, and that Black Muslim women have long been a backbone of civil rights efforts and advocacy work. The strength of Black Muslim women is becoming increasingly visible: political leaders such as U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, Delaware State Representative Madinah Wilson-Anton, Oklahoma State Representative Mauree Turner, Ohio State Representative Munira Yasin Abdullahi, Nashville and Davidson County Councilwoman Zulfat Suara, and Judge Fatima El-Amin, Chief Justice of the DeKalb County Juvenile Court in Georgia, are outstanding public servants, and empower women across the country to establish policy change and to run for office. 

As we look ahead to the 2024 presidential election – likely one of the most consequential elections of our time – undoubtedly voter mobilization groups and politicians will be reaching out to and engaging with Black women in order to garner their significant vote. But it is critical that in this outreach, mobilizers do not leave out Black Muslim women.

Bringing in Black Muslim women, however, cannot be done without listening to them and taking their unique needs into account. My suggestion is to reach out to the Black Muslim women who are changemakers in the community: those who work at the intersection of race, gender, and advocacy. Some individuals to engage with include:

• • Aisha al-Adawiya, Founder and Chair of Women in Islam, Inc., an organization of Muslim women which focuses on human rights and social justice. 
  • Ayesha K. Mustafaa, Editor of the Muslim Journal and Assistant Professor of Journalism at Tougaloo College in Mississippi
  • Dr. Kameelah Mu’Min Oseguera, Founder and President of the Muslim Wellness Foundation and Black Muslim Psychology Conference; a healer and pioneer who is working to create a community centered on the intersectional lived experiences that make up Black Islam in America
  • Margari Hill, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative who is working to address the intersection of anti-Black racism and Islamophobia in communities nationwide
  • Tahirah Amatul-Wadud, Esq., a respected attorney based in Springfield, Massachusetts with over sixteen years of experience in corporate, family, and civil rights law. Tahirah serves as Executive Director and Chief Legal Officer of CAIR Massachusetts
  • Precious Rasheeda Muhammad, a prominent scholar who has quickly established herself as an authority on the history of Islam in America, especially with regard to the African American community
  • Dr. Jamillah Karim, an award-winning author, lecturer, and blogger who specializes in race, gender, and Islam in America 
  • Dr. Su’ad Abdul Khabeer, an influential scholar, artist, and author who examines the intersections of official history and the untold stories of Black women and Black Muslims; also the founder of Sapelo Square

This list is by no means exhaustive; the number of exceptional Black Muslim women is vast and impossible to quantify in one article. I followed my own advice and reached out to two Muslim women leaders to get their insight.

Ayesha K. Mustafaa emphasized Black women’s legacy and the importance of being fully informed: “Muslim women of the African American communities did not emerge from or grow up in a vacuum. While affirmed in faith by Al Islam, the women of our ‘black experiences’ join the ranks of the freedom movements, with the goal to be treated equally in the country we helped to build and with the right to qualify and rise to leadership roles.

That legacy is sacred; we Muslim African American women follow the standard bearers – Sojourner Truth, Harriett Tubman, Rosa Parks, Fannie Lou Hamer who delivered her 1964 ‘I’m Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired’ speech in the presence of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz.  

The core objective is to have the right to choose and be properly informed. As editor of the weekly newspaper, Muslim Journal, which is the successor to the newspaper started by Malcolm X (El-Hajj El-Shabazz) in 1961, our public – Muslim, Christian and others – deserves to be properly informed, so we all can make the best of choices within our freewill. Be informed of our past, present and future – as Muslim women based on Al Haqq – The Truth.”

 . . . Our communities are not in isolation and our views and influence shape our families and neighbors of all races and faiths. Yet the disparities we face are attenuated because we are affected by the systemic nature of Islamophobia, racism, and sexism. When you address the needs of women like us, who face overlapping systems of oppression, you can be more effective at creating a more just society. 

Margari Hill advised, “The concerns of Black Muslim women are critical in this election as our identities connect us to so many communities. As part of the African Diaspora, we are connected with 13% of the United States population. While comprising 1% of the United States population, Muslims make up 1/4 of the global population. As women, we are 1/2 the population.  Our communities are not in isolation and our views and influence shape our families and neighbors of all races and faiths. Yet the disparities we face are attenuated because we are affected by the systemic nature of Islamophobia, racism, and sexism. When you address the needs of women like us, who face overlapping systems of oppression, you can be more effective at creating a more just society.”

It is crucial to continue engaging with Black Muslim women in a variety of fields, from health to advocacy to academia and beyond, voter groups and politicians will interact with an ever-larger segment of Black women, bringing in valuable perspectives that are often overlooked in mainstream political discourse. 

By showing up and listening to leaders in the community, and taking their needs and wants into account, voter groups and politicians will be demonstrating their commitment to this group.

And this, in short, is the way to win elections.

 

 

Featured image: Salima Suswell attending the White House Eid al-Fitr Celebration in May 2023.

Salima Suswell serves as National Senior Advisor and Pennsylvania Executive Director for Emgage, the nation’s largest Muslim American civic engagement organization. Salima also serves as CEO & President of Evolve Solutions, an award-winning management consulting firm which provides from the ground floor up, political and policy development that positively impacts community engagement outcomes. Salima is considered one of the nation’s emerging leaders and top strategic thinkers on the local, state and national level. In 2020 Salima was appointed by Mayor James Kenney to the Mayor’s Commission for Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs; in 2023 Salima was appointed to the Governor’s Advisory Commission on Women by Governor Josh Shapiro. 

Full bio: https://emgageusa.org/staff-member/salima-suswell/