We saw our mothers as leaders: Second and third wave black Muslim women discuss faith, activism, and the meaning of motherhood

This project centers the lived experiences of Black Muslim women within the intersecting frameworks of racial and religious diasporas, challenging dominant narratives of Muslim women's oppression and repositioning Black Muslim women as agents of spiritual and social transformation. Grounded in Debra Majeed’s theory of female social activism, the work highlights how spiritually guided agency shapes the religious identities and communal roles of Black Muslim women. Writing from an insider's perspective, the author draws upon her personal history and intergenerational memory, tracing her roots to the original Nation of Islam and her formative education in the Clara Muhammad Schools. These experiences serve as both historical evidence and an interpretive lens, illustrating how Black Muslim women, particularly educators and spiritual leaders, cultivated leadership, self-determination, and community uplift. This autobiographical and scholarly reflection adds a necessary corrective to scholarship, which has too often excluded Black Muslim women’s voices and contributions. Ultimately, the project reclaims historical space for Black Muslim women within the broader narratives of Black feminist thought and African American religious history.