"How American Am I?": Comparing American Identity among US Black Muslims

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorHoward Ecklund, Elaineen_US
dc.creatorFerguson, Jauharaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-21T15:07:25Zen_US
dc.date.available2021-10-21T15:07:25Zen_US
dc.date.created2021-05en_US
dc.date.issued2021-10-21en_US
dc.date.submittedMay 2021en_US
dc.date.updated2021-10-21T15:07:25Zen_US
dc.description.abstractMuch sociological attention has focused on Black identity within the United States. Less attention, however, has been given to understanding how immigrant and native-born streams of US Black Muslims articulate American identity, a particularly important empirical gap given the connections among race, religion, and national identity. In this study I ask: how do second-generation American Black Muslims and indigenous Black American Muslims compare in the ways they narrate connections among race, American identity, and Islam? Using data from 31 in-depth interviews with Black Muslims living in Houston, I find that racial double-consciousness complicates American identity for US Black Muslims regardless of immigrant status. While indigenous Black American respondents critique racist US histories and structural inequities, I argue that in certain spaces Muslim identity has the potential to reinforce American identity for indigenous Black American Muslims. For second-generation respondents, however, American identity is reinforced through immigrant status. Second-generation respondents compare their own experiences living in the United States with that of their immigrant parents. This study makes a case for “triple-consciousness” to explain the way Black Muslims perceive their racial, religious, and national identities within the context of the United States and the Muslim American community. More broadly, I demonstrate how intersecting identities can fuel micro and macro processes that can shift the way American identity is understood.en_US
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen_US
dc.identifier.citationFerguson, Jauhara. ""How American Am I?": Comparing American Identity among US Black Muslims." (2021) Master’s Thesis, Rice University. <a href="https://hdl.handle.net/1911/111583">https://hdl.handle.net/1911/111583</a>.en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/111583en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.rightsCopyright is held by the author, unless otherwise indicated. Permission to reuse, publish, or reproduce the work beyond the bounds of fair use or other exemptions to copyright law must be obtained from the copyright holder.en_US
dc.subjectAmerican identityen_US
dc.subjectBlack identityen_US
dc.subjectBlack immigrantsen_US
dc.subjectIndigeneityen_US
dc.subjectMuslimsen_US
dc.title"How American Am I?": Comparing American Identity among US Black Muslimsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.materialTexten_US
thesis.degree.departmentSociologyen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineSocial Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorRice Universityen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
FERGUSON-DOCUMENT-2021.pdf
Size:
500.48 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
PROQUEST_LICENSE.txt
Size:
5.85 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
No Thumbnail Available
Name:
LICENSE.txt
Size:
2.61 KB
Format:
Plain Text
Description:
Download
Collections
Rice University Theses and Dissertations