By now, you are all aware of the unrest taking place in the United States over the killing of Mr. George Floyd, an African American man, at the hands of the police.
It is a story far too common. Protests in solidarity with Black Americans have now spread globally, and alhamdulillah, people are finally starting to believe that black lives matter too! Allahul musta’aan.
After 400+ years of dehumanization and oppression, people are beginning to understand the intentional and systemic crimes committed against black people, specifically in America.
In the following video, I want to talk to you about this important topic, and offer you some tips and resources to help you become a better Muslim educator, bi-ithnillah.
I want to speak specifically about anti-black racism and how you can address it as an educator of young children. At another time I’ll speak more about anti-racist pedagogy in general. But, today, I’m focusing on tackling anti-blackness, because I know many of you are trying to make sense of everything that’s happening surrounding the George Floyd case.
Whether you homeschool or teach other children – if you are responsible for the tarbiya of a child, this video will be helpful to you.
WATCH HERE
8 Tips towards an anti-racist approach to teaching & how to undo anti-black racism
- Learn and then unlearn
- Watch the language you use
- Expose yourself to black Muslim communities
- Seek out black literature and have a diverse set of books with black characters
- When studying a subject select topics that represent black societies or personalities
- Know black Islamic history
- Get into the habit of listening
- Learn about different pedagogical approaches & use them in your teaching
Resources mentioned in the video
- Book: Beyond Heroes And Holidays – A Practical Guide to K-12 Anti-Racist, Multicultural Education and Staff Development
- Book: Rethinking Globalization – Teaching for Justice in An Unjust World
- Muslim Anti-Racist Collaborative (ARC)
- Teachingforchange.org
- Rethinkingschools.org
- Yaqeen Institute
- Muslimmatters.org
- Beyond Muslim diversity to racial equity –Margari Hill
- Taqwa through Anti-bias Education – Margari Hill
- YOUTUBE: Black Muslim History – collection of videos on Islamic history featuring Black Muslims
- George Floyd, Islam against oppression, and racism – An interview with Shaykh Tahir Wyatt
Your turn
In the comments, I’d love to hear one thing you’ve learned during this current ordeal or from this video, and one thing you’ll start doing differently to be more intentional in your tarbiya as it relates to racial justice.
Subhanallah, what an inspirational lesson for anyone who listens. I love the point you made about recognizing, pointing out, and unlearning the racial biases that are so prevalent in everything we do. The microagressions towards minorities are so common and we don’t even often realize that we’re perpetuating stereotypes. For me, I hope to be more aware in what I’m teaching. I hope that I will get the opportunity to use more outside resources next year to include black characters in stories who are just regular people, bring in examples of blacks and other minority scientists and inventors in science class, etc. Jazakallah khair for your thorough explanation of how to bring these important lessons into our classrooms.
Jazakillahu khairan Sandy for sharing your thoughts. There’s so much unlearning for us to do. What I found, is that once you start doing this work, it mashallah becomes part of your character, and you begin to be more observant of how you deal/think about all other racial/ethnic groups. May Allaah grant us wisdom and purify our hearts.