The presence of my four African American Muslim friends was in and of itself an act of protest against the ongoing and incessant erasure of black Muslim bodies from high-stakes conversations, institutions of power, and very simply, demonstrations of existence. After the meeting, Asha Noor asked one of the organizers of the event, "Why were no black Muslims, who make up one-fourth of the Muslim population, included in this event?" Her question was met with a blank stare and promises to do better in the future.

XREF: Connects to broader discussions of representation and erasure of marginalized subgroups within already-marginalized communities.

Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Unde…, loc. 449