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

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dc.contributor.advisorHoward Ecklund, Elaine
dc.creatorFerguson, Jauhara
dc.date.accessioned2021-10-21T15:07:25Z
dc.date.available2021-10-21T15:07:25Z
dc.date.created2021-05
dc.date.issued2021-10-21
dc.date.submittedMay 2021
dc.date.updated2021-10-21T15:07:25Z
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.
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
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>.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/111583
dc.language.isoeng
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.
dc.subjectAmerican identity
dc.subjectBlack identity
dc.subjectBlack immigrants
dc.subjectIndigeneity
dc.subjectMuslims
dc.title"How American Am I?": Comparing American Identity among US Black Muslims
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.materialText
thesis.degree.departmentSociology
thesis.degree.disciplineSocial Sciences
thesis.degree.grantorRice University
thesis.degree.levelMasters
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts
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