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Mediating Discrimination: Resisting Oppression among African-American Muslim WomenAuthor(s): Michelle D. ByngReviewed work(s):Source: Social Problems, Vol. 45, No. 4 (Nov., 1998), pp. 473-487Published by: University of California Press on behalf of the Society for the Study of Social ProblemsStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3097208 .

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Mediating Discrimination:ResistingOppression Among African-AmericanMuslim Women*MICHELLE D. BYNG, Temple niversity

Using ualitativeatafromnterviewsith wenty frican-Americanuslimwomen,his nalysis on-trasts heunderstandingf xperiencingiscriminationained rom eagin nd Sikes'LivingwithRacism(1994) with hat ainedfrom atriciaHillCollins'Black FeministThought 1991). I demonstrateollins'theory f matrixfdominationnd theboth/andonceptualtance hrough xamininghese espondents'experiencesith he ntersectionfrace, ender,nd religiousiscrimination.urthermore,argue hat hesewomen re able tomediate,rresist he ppressionf, iscriminationhroughhe elf-definitionnddetermina-tion, rovidedy humanistision f hemselvesndothers.inally,he espondents' embershipntheMus-limcommunityrovideshemwith safe ocial pace otransformheirife nd their onsciousness.hroughtheseultural ndsocial tructural eans, his roup frespondentsre able to ociallyonstructrealityhatallows hem omediatehe iscriminationheyxperience.

Much of our understandingf how blacks and othernon-whites xperiencediscrimina-tion is based on the apparent painfulness hat ies at the heart of these encounters Allport1979; Cose 1993; Feagin 1991; Feaginand Sikes 1994). Discrimination ictimizes ydenyingits intendedtarget ccess to resources and labelinghim or her as an outsider-one who ismarkedbyan essentialist law.Yet, s itpossiblefor hose who are targets f discriminationoconstruct socialrealitywherethey re activeagents n interpretinghemeaningof discrimi-nation n their ives (Guba and Lincoln1994; Nagel 1994; Schwandt1994; Stanfield1994)?Can AfricanAmericansdevelopin responseto theoppression fdiscrimination,s theyhavein reference o otherforms foppression, cultureof resistance Blauner 1972; Carmichaeland Hamilton1967; Collins1991; Cruse1967; DuBois 1989; Hodge 1990)?Racial discrimination,n moststudies, s viewed as such a pervasiveexperienceforAfri-can Americans hat t shrouds hecomplexity fdiscriminationnd itspotential o arise fromother sources ofdifference. dditionally, esearchershave not always taken account of theability f blacksto resist he oppressionofdiscriminationn ways that are empowering.Theresearch eported ere furthersurunderstandingf how blacksexperiencediscriminationypushingthe analysis beyond race. Also, by examiningblacks capacitiesforself-definition,determination,nd valuation, texposestheir bility omediatediscriminationnd todevelopa cultureofresistance. use Collins' 1991) black feministhought omodifyheunderstand-ingof blacks'experienceswitheveryday iscriminationrovidedbyFeaginand Sikes 1994).UnderstandingDiscriminatory xperiencesOne key approach nproviding micro nalysisofeveryday iscriminatoryxperiences sthe workbyFeaginand Sikes (1994). They present heoretical ropositionsbout encounter*I would like to thank AnnetteLareau,RobertKidder, herriGrasmuck, nd Howard Winantfor heir ommentson earlierversionsofthismanuscript.A TempleUniversity acultySummer ResearchFellowship supportedmyworkon it. The data for hismanuscriptwere collected as a partof a national researchprojectfundedbythe LillyEndow-ment, Inc., "Islam in the African-Americanxperience" (principal nvestigators, . Eric Lincoln and Lawrence H.Mamiya). Anyerrors re, ofcourse,the responsibilityf the author.An earlier versionwas presented t the annualmeeting f theEasternSociologicalSociety, hiladelphia,PA,March 19-22, 1998. Direct orrespondence o Michelle D.Byng,Department fSociology, 13 Gladfelter all,Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,19122. E-mail:[email protected]

SOCIALPROBLEMS,Vol. 5,No.4,November998 473

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474 BYNGingdiscrimination,nd theyoutlinepersonal coping strategieshatmiddle-class lacks use tocounterthediscriminatoryctions ofwhites.' Ofparticular oncern here is Feaginand Sikes'theoretical roposition bout the cumulativequalityof discriminations it is experienced nevery ectorof ife e.g.,atwork, t school,when going ntoanypublic place) and thecopingstrategies lacks use tomanage discrimination. ormiddle-classAfricanAmericanswho are"... venturingntohistorically hitespaces..." (21), Feaginand Sikesarguethatthe cumu-lative mpact f discrimination eans that heir ives re "regularlyisrupted.." by t;thatdis-crimination creates ". . . a series of life crises .. .", similar to ". .. the death of a loved one . . .",that are ". . . unforgettable" (16). They argue that ". . . middle-class black Americans havedevelopedbroaderpersonalphilosophies, oping tyles,nd protective efenses .. because oftheharshness, ntensity,nd prevalenceofmodernracism" 293). The conclusion s thatdis-crimination s unyielding nd blackscan onlyattempt o cope withand defend themselvesagainst t.Yet,whatofAfrican mericanswho areventuringnto "white paces"atwork,but not ntheirsocial life? s theirreality s disrupted y discriminations Feagin and Sikes' respon-dents?Mightsome AfricanAmericansputvoluntary oundaries on a partof their ocial life,thereby reating socialspace that srelativelyree rom xperiences fdiscrimination? ightthey, hroughtheir own choices,be able to mediate iscrimination, here mediationmeanshavingtheagencyto respondto discriminationn waysthat resist tspower and oppression?Additionally, hat of AfricanAmericanswho are notmiddle classbut are, instead,workingclass?Do they ee discriminationhrough he same lensesas theirmiddle-class ounterparts?Feagin and Sikes' propositionbout the mpactofpersistent iscriminationppearstobeuniversalbecause of the connectionbetween racial identitynd discriminatoryxperiences.As such,AfricanAmericanswhose sociallivesdo not ntersect ith whites nd those who arenotmiddle class are expectedto respondto experiencesofdiscriminations therespondentsofFeaginand Sikesdid.However, t sprobable hatFeaginand Sikes' focuson the black mid-dle class is too narrowto account for ll segments fthe blackcommunity.OthergroupsofAfricanAmericansmightmediatediscrimination,hereby reventingt from ecoming"..an energy-consuming,ife-consumingxperience" Feaginand Sikes 1994:23).This s not to saythat discriminations not an objectiverealityn the UnitedStates.Therespondents n thisresearch,African-Americanuslimwomen,are a unique segment ftheblackpopulation. t can be reasonably ssumed,giventheirrace,gender,and religion, hattheyhave been victims f discrimination. owever,thepurposehereis to examinehow theyconstructtheir own "definitions f reality"and how they "mediate" discrimination ydefiningnd constructingreality hat imitstspowerand oppression.PatriciaHill Collins 1991) offers n alternative heory or nalyzingdiscrimination.hearguesthatpeoples' identities nd experiences re shaped by a both/and, s opposed to aneither/or,eality. hus,discriminatoryxperiences an be shapedby multiple xes ofoppres-sion or a "matrix f domination." n theresearch presenthere, find hatforAfrican-Amer-ican Muslimwomen it is the intersectionfrace,gender,and religion hatstructuresheirencounterswith discrimination.n Collins'terms, heirposition longvarious axes (i.e., race,gender,religion)composes an interlockingystem foppressionwithinthe largermatrixofdomination.Since the both/and onceptualstance is not hierarchical r dichotomous,oneaxis ofoppression s notgivenprimacy veranother.Additionally,ppressionproduces dia-lectic. t is characterized ybothdomination nd resistance.Resisting ppressionempowersthe oppressed throughself-definition,elf-determination,nd self-valuation. hat is, they

1. Feagin and Sikes' (1994:12-18, 292-302) theoretical ropositions re: 1) discriminations a livedexperience;2) discriminations cumulative n its mpact;3) discriminationffects hebehaviorand perceptions fAfricanAmeri-cans; and 4) microexperiencesofdiscriminationre the elementsof nstitutionalizedacism.Theyarguethat theper-sonal coping strategies lacks use to counterdiscriminationre: 1) defensiveness; ) over-achieving; ) developingahealthy elf-concept; ) prayer; nd 5) humor and laughter.



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African-AmericanuslimWomen ndDiscrimination 475maintaintheability o definefor hemselves hemeaningof their ivedexperiences.Further,resistancedevelops fromwithin safe social spaces and allows the oppressedto maintainahumanistvision.Collins 1991:237) argues:

Black eministhought'smphasisnthe ngoingnterplayetween lackwomen's ppressionndBlackwomen's ctivismresentshematrix fdominations responsiveo human gency. uchthoughtiews heworld sa dynamiclacewhere hegoal snotmerelyosurvivertofitn ortocope;rathertbecomes placewherewefeel wnershipndaccountability.heexistencefAfro-centriceministhoughtuggestshat heresalways hoice,ndpower oact,no matterowbleakthe ituation ay ppear obe.Thus, human agencyis central to mediation;wnership, ccountability,elf-definition,elf-determination,nd self-valuationmean thateven inthe face ofpainfuldiscriminationeoplemaintain theirhumanity nd recognizethe humanity f others.People can decidewhat anexperiencemeans for hem.Moreover,followingCollins, fa personhas more than one characteristichat makesthem target ordiscriminationhenhe orshe will be uncertain s to whichone has triggeredthe action and maynotsee discriminations motivated yraceonly. ffaced withdiscrimina-tionpeoplewill, n somecases,define hoseexperiencesn a waythat llows themtomediatediscrimination.heywill socially onstruct reality hat llows themto resist he oppressionofdiscrimination.Thus,my analysisfocuses on the ability fAfrican-American uslimwomen to medi-ate the oppressionofdiscriminatoryxperiences.First, he data demonstrate he intersec-tion of race, gender, nd religiousdiscriminationthe matrixof domination)thatis expe-rienced by my respondents. These women are able to resist the oppression ofdiscrimination ymaintaining humanist vision thatviews discriminations triggered ydifference.Even though these women experience classic cases of discrimination, heymaintain the abilityfor self-definition,etermination, nd valuation. They define theimportanceof the experiencesforthemselves and to their ives, and thereby re able tomediatediscrimination. ereagain,theymaintain a humanistvisioneven though theydis-tance themselves fromdiscriminatoryxperiences.Finally, show thatthese women usetheirmembership n theMuslimcommunity s a self-definingnd safesocial space. Theirfaith, elief n God,and associationwith otherMuslimsgivesthem a social space that trans-forms heir ife nd their onsciousness.Collins 1991:144) arguesthatsafesocial spaces areessential forresisting ppression.

MethodsThis study is based on twenty in-depthinterviews with African-AmericanMuslimwomen who reside n a largenortheastern ity. conducted theinterviewsn thesummerof1996. Each interview asted approximately wo hours and was tape recorded. All of therespondentswere interviewedntheirhomes,exceptone who was interviewed nherdaugh-ter'shome.The interview cheduleincludedopen ended items about experiencesofdiscriminationbased on race and religion.2 he respondentswere asked iftheythoughtAfricanAmericansgenerally xperiencediscriminationn theUnited States and ifthey thoughtMuslimsgener-allyexperiencediscriminationn thiscountry. heywere also asked separatequestionsabout2. These questionswere included n a sectionofthe social,political, nd economic issuesfacingAfricanAmeri-cans. Otherquestionsfocusedon thereligious ackground ftherespondents,marriage nd thefamily,nd therolesofwomen in Islam.



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476 BYNGwhether they had experienceddiscrimination ecause they were AfricanAmericanandbecause theywereMuslim.3 fthey aidyes,theywere thenaskedto tell me about it.4The respondentswere members f the SunniorOrthodoxMuslimcommunity.5n accordwith Islamicprescriptions,ll ofthe women alwayswore the veils associatedwithMuslimwomen when in publicplaces.6Three of the women were raised Muslim while the otherschose to practice slam as adults. Theirages rangedfrom wenty-two o forty-nine.welvewere married, ive were divorced, nd three were single.While three had master'sdegreesand fourhad bachelor'sdegrees,four istedtheir evel of educationalattainment s a highschool diploma, nd nine saidthat heyhad twoyearsofcollegeor an associatedegree.Six ofthe women had occupationsthatrequireda college degree,eighthad occupationswhere afouryear degreewas notneeded,and six wereself-employed.hose who wereself-employedoperated extremelymallbusinesses hat erviced heMuslimcommunity.7Onlyone of therespondents ived n a home that ppearedto be solidlynthemid-rangeof the middle class. It was a large,threestory, tonehouse, with a well furnished nclosedporchoff f the iving oom, n a middle-class eighborhood hathad at one timebeen exclu-sivelywhite. Two lived in surroundingshat ndicatedextremepoverty: he neighborhoodsweredeterioratingnd theirhouses werein need ofstructuralepair.All of the others ived nhomes thatappearedtobe working lass or lower-middle lass.Five of thesewomen lived napartments: wo withtheir dolescentsons; two with roommates bothwere graduatestu-dents);and one withherhusband andyoungchildren. he other12women lived ntwostoryroworduplexhomes nworking olower-middle-classeighborhoods. he homesweremod-estlyfurnished, one oftheeveryday ppliancesweremissing, nd they ppeared to be wellkept.None ofthisgroupcould be described s living npovertyn thattheirbasicneeds weremet.However,theyhad none of the extraamenities ssociatedwithmiddle-class tatus.Fiveoftherespondentsived nneighborhoodshat were raciallymixed and the other15 lived npredominantlylack areas of thecity.

ResultsTheMultidimensionalarget:MaintainingheHumanistVisionIn recounting heirexperienceswith discrimination,much of what these women saysounds like theexperiences ecounted n otherresearch Cose 1993; Feagin 1991; Feaginand3. The questionsused theterm discrimination,"s opposedto racismorprejudice,because I wantedto focusonexperiencesor behaviors of exclusion based on race and religion.Although askingwhetherAfricanAmericansand

Muslimsgenerally xperiencediscriminationnthe UnitedStateshas implications or he nstitutionalizedtructuringfracial nequality i.e., racism),myconcern was whether hisphenomenonwas a livedexperienceformy respondents.Weretheir ocial interactionsnfluenced ybehaviorsof exclusion (i.e.,discrimination)? his s also thereasonwhytherespondentswere not asked whether hey houghtnon-blacksornon-Muslimshad negative ttitudes owardblacksorMuslims.Of course,racism,prejudice,and discrimination,re intricatelyelated.Like most non-social scientists,myrespondentsnterchangedheterms.4. Since there s some likelihood thatrespondentsmayhave spokenabout discriminationven when theywerenot asked about it, ll of thequestionnaire temswere coded for tatements bout discrimination.ollowingMiles andHuberman's 1994) method for nalyzing qualitativedata, I looked foroverarching hemes n the responses nd con-structed ata matrices hat llowed me to see convergentnd divergent atternsn them.5. The Sunni Muslimcommunitys definedby tsadherenceto the aws establishedbytheHolyQu'ran and theprescriptionsor iving hat were definedbytheProphetMuhammed. Islam is the third ranch ofthemonotheistic ra-ditionof Judaism nd Christianity.hesewomen are not affiliated iththe Nationof slam,sometimes alled the BlackMuslims.6. That s,theyworenon-revealing lothing nd coveredtheirhair when inpublic.Onlyone ofthe womenworea veilthatcoveredherface.7. Theyincludeda clothing pparelbusiness thattargetedMuslimwomen,a cardand stationary usinessfeatur-ing slamicdesigns, nd classeson Islam.



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African-AmericanuslimWomen nd Discrimination 477Sikes 1994). Theywere in somepublicplace and noted a blatantdifferencen how theyweretreated n comparison o others n the same situation.However, they give a more complexaccountthan s usuallyencountered n theliterature.t is notsimply hattheywould prefer,as Feagin and Sikes suggest, hatdiscriminatoryctionsnot be based on race; instead, naccordwithCollinstheyrecognize hattheyhave multiple haracteristicshatcan triggeris-criminatoryctions.One respondent,who has herown businessselling lothing o Muslimwomen, recalledan experience he had on a buying rip oNew YorkCity:

Just ecentlywent oNewYork. was ntheGarmentistrict. ow Koreansmanage usinessesthere. ouhave oringhedoor ell ndthey'lluzzyou norcome othedoor ndopen t.So thisCaucasianwoman uzzed ndthegentlemaname o thedoor ndopened tfor er o come n n.So Iwanted ostepnbehind er nd hesays No,no,no.We in'tgotnothingere. his swhole-sale,notretail." nd couldhavepassed ut,youknow,nd tookhimwithme.She recognized hat he was notbeingtreated ikethe otherpatron, o she beganto organizeherresponse:

I stoppednd collectedmyselfnd said Wait minute. etme tellyou omething.am a busi-nessperson. didn't ome herefor etail. ou looked tme andyousaw someone overed p,someone lack ndyou ust utomaticallyssumed hat waswhatever,ut twasn'tworthwhileforme to come hrough our oor."She thenexplainedto herdiscriminatorhyshe knew her nterpretationas correct:

So themanagerame outbecausehe heardhimyelling. t the sametime wasgoingntomyhandbagogivehim ne ofmybusinessards,o ethimknow. mean was soangry.. you ustdon'tknow.Afterhandedhimmybusinessard, hemanageraid"No,no,no. Hedidn'tmean tthatway.No,no,no.He didn'tmean t ike hat." said, Yeshedid,hedidmean t ike hat nd 'lltellyouwhy, ecause he ady",nd nevermentionedaucasian r nything.said, The ady hathe let nthedoorbeforeme, he ustwalked n n. Whenhe sawme,hestoppedme, ohemeantit."Youknow,nd gavehimmybusiness ard nd walked way, ut was soangry.Heranger t thesituation, eruse ofher businesscard as credential,nd herattempt o main-tainhercomposure "I stoppedand collectedmyself"),re thekindofresponses o discrimi-nation thatFeaginand Sikes have noted.However,she also notedthat the storeproprietorsnot onlysaw someone who was black but theyalso saw someone who was "covered" i.e.,wear clothing ssociatedwithMuslimwomen). She is hinting t a multidimensionalounda-tionfordiscrimination--thentersectingxes in the matrix fdomination Collins1991).Otherrespondents pokeaboutthemany dentitiesheybring oexperiences fdiscrimi-nation.These statementsndicated hat the reasons fordiscriminationmerge, reating mbi-guity nd confusion boutwhyyouhave been targeted. hey supportCollins'contention faboth/and onceptualrealitynthatwomen are unabletogiveone component ftheir dentityprimacy veranother.One respondent aid she never challengedanyone when she thoughtshe was beingtreatedunfairly.he said,"I just try o answerthequestionwithinmyself.What is itnow? Isitbecause I'm black or is it because I'm Muslim?"Another,who was raised as a Muslimandhad worn slamic dress incepuberty, emonstrated his uccinctly:

I have a lot offriends hosay, Well t'sprobablyacebutthen t'smore oyour eligion."utmean, lot of t hasto do withmyreligion.herewere obs haven't ottennd 'm sure twasbecause was [voice rails ff]. nd tmight avebeenbecause voice railsff].t's ohard o tellwhich ne t s. tmight avebeenbecause was Muslim ut t lsomayhavebeenbecause wasAfricanmerican. o I really everknow.All know s that 'mbeing iscriminatedgainstnddon'tquiteknowwhy. knowthat tcouldbe because 'm a woman.Maybebecause 'm allthree.



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478 BYNGOtherwomen also noted their nabilityo separate hecomponents ftheir dentity. ne,who lives n a multiracial/multiethnicorking lassneighborhood, escribed confrontationshe had with a whiteneighbor. heir oddlershad a problem haring oyson the schoolplay-

ground crossthe street rom heirhomes. The oldersister f thewhitetoddlerwent home toget her mother.When the woman came to the playground he confrontationnsued. Therespondent aid that her son simplywanted to share,so she asked her neighbor fshe hadtaughthersonhow to share:Shesaidtome, Youneed tostaywithyour wn kind." said, Excuseme, sthat hekind hatsMuslim r s that hekind hat sblack r s tbecause 'ma female, hich s t, etmeknow,pec-ify?" ut hedidn'tpecify,he ustwalked ver o herporch.

Thisrespondent ees herself s havingmore than one characteristichatmakesher a target ordiscrimination,ut shewas unable to getherdiscriminatoro explainherbehavior.However,anotherrespondent,who has a floral rrangementnd balloon business,wasable to getan explanation.She described xperiencing iscriminationontinuouslywhen shewent into a certainfloral hop. She was so botheredby it that she asked a whitefriend oexplainthe differentialreatment he was receiving:So I saidto a guy hat asthis lower usinessoo, Why an't get reated airn there." ndhesays, Youknowwhy."And said, Why?s itthis", ointingothekimarveil] nmyhead, or sit his",nd pointedomy kin.Hesaid, Youhavethedouble." oI said, Inotherwords,t's othofthe bove." o I saidfine, ouknow. o I wentback here thefloralhop]onemorningndwaited or he ongestime. inally said, This s t" nd just houtedtout. said, Whyreyoualltreating e ikeyoudo?" said, I'vebeenhere ll this ime ndnobodysworking.verybodyis ustwalkinground.Nobody as askedmecanthey elpme.Why an't get reatedairlyere?"Andhe [the hopowner] ays, Becauseyoudon't pend noughmoneyhere."This s whathesays.Hedidn't, e wasn't aying,ouknow,And hefact hat ou'reMuslim."

Thisrespondentwas givenmorethanone explanationfordiscriminatoryehavior.Her whitefriend ecognized he ntersectionfraceand religionnmakinghera target. et,according othe shop owner,he and his employeeswere ustified n ignoring er because her orders retoo small towarrant ttention. he anticipates hatraceand religion ould combinetopromptdiscriminatoryction,but theshop owneradded thesizeofherbusinesstothe ist.Each of the forgoing esponses ndicates hatthe respondents re aware thattheybringmany dentities o discriminatoryxperiences nd thattheycannotseparatethemwhen try-ingto decide what makes thema targetfordiscrimination.ome just accept the confusionthiscreates,but othersseek explanationsfromfriends r discriminatorss towhat triggersthe action. Given the possibility hatdiscriminatorycts can be linked to several triggers,how do these women sort out when discriminations actuallyhappening? One womenpointedto her own physical lues.Herresponse ndicated hatherexperienceswithdiscrim-ination are painful:

Youknow, couldnever aywhenyou get onfrontedith tthattdoesn't urt ou,because tcatches ouoff uard nd t lmost,ike,makesyou oseyour reathhere or minute. ike,yourheartkips beat ndthat etsyouknow hatwhatyou're eelings real.That'showyouknowwhere t'scoming rom ecauseother hanthat twouldbe the kindofencounterhatwouldbereally ard odescribe,nless ouhadthose igns hatwent longwith t.Because ll those hingstart appeningoyou ndthenyouknow hat ou're eally eing iolated.Everyime thappens ou till ave hose eelingso tnever ecomesomfortable.ounever et om-fortableitht, utyou earn hat eople re gnorantndthey on'tknow nybetter.oyou earnhow odealwitht ike hat sopposedowantingophysicallyttackhemrverballyttackhem.The physicalsensationthataccompanies the realizationof discrimination elps definetheexperience.This account demonstrates hat these women experience tangibleand painful



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African-AmericanuslimWomen nd Discrimination 479momentsof discrimination. his formof oppression, ike all others,has grafted nto theirlives' thenegative lementsofdomination.However, naccord withCollins, hesewomen resist ppression yestablishing human-istvision ofexperiencing iscrimination.heysee all discriminations deplorable nd all peo-ple as potential argets. heysaythatregardless fwhetherdiscriminations triggeredyraceor religion, t is always reprehensible. urthermore,heir tatements upportthe both/andconceptualframework hatdoes notgiveprimacy o one axis ofoppression veranother.

Awomanwhoworked s a teacher'sid and as a school rossinguard aid:Discriminationsoneandthe ameto me. There s no waythatyoucanseparate iscrimination.hey discriminationbasedonrace ndreligion]re notdifferentormebecausediscriminationssomethinghat justabhor. ustdon't ike t.Another espondentmade a similar tatement:

Discriminations discrimination,s discrimination.ou can be discriminatedgainst ecauseyoudyeyourhairblond, r fyouspeak certain ay, r dress certain ay.Peoplehaveall sorts fprejudiceshat omeunder he ameumbrella,ouknowwhat amsaying.What omes utof t shurt eelingsrgettingomethingrnotgettingomething.ure,weallget ffectedythepreju-diceofpeoplewhether ouareblack, rregardlessfwhat. fyouaredifferent,ouaregoing ohave omeprejudicegainst ou.Thisrespondent ooks at discrimination rom heperspective fexclusion and sees differ-ence as being at the heart of it. Another, computerprogrammer,ooks at discriminationfrom heperspective f nclusionbutreaches thesame conclusion. She arguedthat imilarityis the basis for nclusion nd whatmakespeople alike is the focusofattentionwhen choicesare made:Racism s not lways ut nd dried kin,t'smore o whereyouhavegone o school. here sdis-criminationmongwhite eople nterms f heir lumni rwhether ou're olish r rish r tal-ian.That'swhy like he pproachfmulticulturalismecause tgets ver,wellokayyou ustdon'tlikeblack eople.Becausemost eople, fyou ayto themyoudon't ikeblack eople, hey'llellyou, Oh that's ot rue." utthenfyou how hem heirhoices,most eoplewill hoose ome-body hat'sike hemselves.t'snot so much hat hey islike lack eople, t's ust f hey're otblack, hey on't know lacks].t's ike,youknow, eople re "down"with heir eighborhoodand "down"withwhoever ent o theirchool.

Forher,whitescan also be victims fdiscriminationecause it sbased on notknowing therswithdifferentacial/social ackgrounds.While thesewomen do not sortout when race,gender, r religionmakesthema targetfordiscrimination,hey ee discriminatoryargetings resulting rom ifferenceornotbeinglikethose who are makingthedecisions).Forthem,discriminations painful nd offensive.Still, heyresist heoppression fdiscriminationymaintaining humanistvision of t.Dif-ference s at the heart ofany encounterwithdiscrimination. heyview discrimination ssomething hat can happen to anyonewho is human. Thus,theymediatediscriminationymakingit a universalhuman experienceratherthan one that is unique to them. Theseresponsesdemonstrate hedialectic foppression; hey xpose a complexityndiscriminatorytargetingnd encounters hat snotreadily pparentfrom eaginand Sikes'analysis.

When t JustDoes Not Matter:ResistancePar ExcellenceFeaginand Sikes eave their eaderswith clearsense thatAfrican mericans xperiencediscriminationt every urn nd that tscumulative mpact s debilitating.n theirdiscussionofworkplacediscrimination,eaginand Sikes (1994:184) notethat t"... can varyfrom ut-rightexclusion, to discriminationn salaryand promotions, o unpleasant and restrictiveworking onditions," ll ofwhichcause their espondents umiliation, rustration,nd anger.



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480 BYNGThe respondents n this researchdescribe xperiencing he same typeofdiscrimination.orexample,the computer rogrammerited above who feels hat discriminations triggered ydifference,escribed n experienceofemployment iscrimination:

I guess,welloneinstancef t was inmyfirstrogrammingob.Wewere nthegraduatinglassfromurcomputerchool nd weallstartedtthe ntroductory,rientationlass or urcompanytogether.wastheonlyAfrican-Americanemale. herewasan African-Americanan, Euro-peanwoman, nda Europeanman.Ourorientationlasswas threeweeks ong ndat the ndof tthe nstructoroldme that was thebest tudentnthe lass.Whenwegot nto hework nviron-ment,wewereput ntogroups. fcourse hegolden oy,was thewhite oy,youknow. got hecrap ssignmentnd thehalfdead team hatwasabout o bephased utanywaynd hegot hegolden pportunityhated topromotionnd all of his ind f tuff.Anotherrespondent, n accountant,gave an example ofsalarydiscrimination.he saidthat he has actually een the evidence ofunequal pay:And t'snot nlyn theformf he nterviewrocess,think hatwe takeobsandget aid ess. 'vewitnessedhat ndsince 'm nfinanceseea lotof hepayrollssues. 've noticedomediscrimina-tion nthat.Onmypreviousob, washired or managerialosition, hichwasa director'sevel.When hey roughtnanotherersonfterme whowas a maleCaucasian,who didnotknow hecomputerechnologynd whodoes esswork han did when wasthere, e makesmore hantheyhiredmeat. So it edme to believe hatmaybe hey idthisbecause was a woman ndmaybetwasbecause wasblack ut neverwent ackon t.But ,youknow,'veexperiencedt,I'veexperiencedt ookingtthenumbers.Just ike Feagin and Sikes' respondents, hesewomen have concreteexperienceswithworkplacediscrimination. owever,for ome of therespondents avinga job allows themtothink that theyhave not experienceddiscrimination-sincetheyare employed.In accordwith Collins,throughtheir definition f meaning and theirconsciousness,theyuse self-definition, etermination,nd valuationto mediatediscrimination.heydefinediscrimina-tory xperiences s non-events, s not importantn their ives. Ifthispattern xistsbeyondthesample nthis tudy tsignificantlyodifies heviewwe getfrom eaginand Sikes.A respondentwho works n a medical aboratoryinkeddiscriminationo ob opportuni-ties.She said:I'venever eally xperienceddiscrimination],o t'skind fhard orme tosay hat wasn't ivenjobor wasn't iven nother ositionecause 'mblack.'venever xperiencedhat....Anotherrespondentwho has a similarmedicaloccupationthatrequirestraining utnota degree,wonderedaboutdiscriminationfter he becameMuslim:I'm actuallyworkingndI haven't oneout there ofind job.Will be discriminatedgainst?When goto a jobinterviewarbed, ill hey othroughheformalitiesf he nterviewndnothireme? Or onceyou gototheoffice,rwhatever,ndthey ee whoyouare,will hey ust aysomethingike, Oh, heposition asbeenfilled"?For her,also, discriminations about employment pportunities,o it is something hatshemight xperience f heseopportunitiesre limited.A respondent reparing or careerat the otherend of the occupationalspectrumshewas enrolled n law school) said essentiallyhe same thingwhen askedif he had experienceddiscrimination:If have, wouldn't now.Nobodyver ameupto meand saiduhm voice railsff].Maybe feelthatway, ut guess cannever ay mightothavegotten ob ustbecause wasAfricanmer-ican or because was Muslim. ou never now. guess cannever ay have beendiscriminatedagainst ecause ike said 'm employedndI've hadpriorob opportunities,venthough'venever pplied or corporateob. So, guess reallywouldn't nowwhetherwasbeing iscrimi-nated gainst.



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African-AmericanuslimWomen nd Discrimination 481Each of theserespondents uestionedwhether heyhave actually xperienceddiscriminationbecause theyare employed.So, while some respondentsdescribed lassiccases ofemploy-mentdiscrimination,thers aythatbecause theyhave obs theyhave not been discriminatedagainst. They maintain ownership of their lives and determine for themselveswhichresources, n thiscase jobs, are linked to experiencingdiscrimination. avinga job allowsthem tomediatediscriminationysaying hattheir ifehas not been influenced yit.Think-ingofdiscriminationnly nemployment erms eemstoimply omedegreeofpragmatismntheir evaluationsoftheir ives.Discrimination an takemay differentorms, ut theyhavefocusedon the one that is directly elatedto survival, nd have definedthemselves s notbeing nfluenced.Theirmediation f discriminations also evidentwhen they aythatdiscriminatoryxpe-riences do notreally ffect hem.This s resistanceparexcellence.n deciding hat discrimina-tion does not affect hem, they are decidingthat they will not be oppressed by theseencounters.Theseresponses hallenge Feaginand Sikes' contention hatdiscriminations anenergy consuming, ifeconsumingexperience.One respondent,who is self-employed,oldme about the poor service he received n a large department toreand how she used it toteach herdaughternottoaccept poortreatment. hen she said:

Like hatittlencidentn[departmenttore]nd thenyougetpeople ust taringtyou nd some-times reating oustandoffish.ut can't ay tsbeenreally latant, here treallyffected e,because hingsike hatustgo none ear nd outthe ther. don't et hingsike hat otherme.She experiencedpublic place discriminationnd paid enoughattention o it to use itas alesson forherdaughter.But then she asserted, I don't let things ike thatbotherme". Shedefined heexperience s notimportantrmeaningful. he determined orherself hepowerthatthisencounterwithdiscrimination illhave inher ife.The accountant ited bove,whowitnessedpayinequality irectlyelated o her ob, alsosaid that hedid not etdiscriminationotherher:I can't ay here as beenblatantiscriminationgainstme.No onereallyver aid nythingo me.Youknow, don't et lotof hingsothermeeasily.'mnot,my elf- steem sat a levelof om-fort.'mvery appynmy ife.... I don't et lotof hingsotherme....

Even thoughshe is thevictim fpay inequality, he still arves out a personalspacewhere itdoes not overwhelmher.Discriminationxists, he knows it,and she sees it,but she is stillable to saythat tdoes notbotherherbecause shemaintains wnership f her ife.Finally, heserespondentsmediate discriminationy interpretingtgloballyrather hanpersonally.Again, n accordwithCollins, herespondents xpressed humanistvision.Theyrecognize nd connectwiththe discriminationhat s experiencedbytheblack community,even though heydistance hemselves romnterpretinghisoppression ersonally. orexam-ple, therespondent ited above who is enrolled n law school and said she has notbeen dis-criminatedgainstbecause she has a job, described heglobalracialdiscriminationhe sees inherneighborhood:

I seeracismverydaynd astweekmyheartwas soheavy.mean twas ustoutrageous.wason[Name] treetnd sawwires omingutfrom frontoor.... Therewere hick ires omingutof frontoor, ttached oelectricalires nthemiddle f he treet.thought,f omebodyoes othat ord touchest] nd ts ainingrsomethinghey'reut.They'reut.AndL& I [LicensesndInspections]asrightown he treet,hey ad topassbytheplugwhentheywere here. heydidn't vencare,youknow. mean public ransportation]nthis rea s horrible,hebusesrunpastyou, here's oair conditioning],ouget n theregionalines suburban]ndyouwonder fthat'stillpublicransportationompany].o, t'snot voice railsff]. guess orme take very-thingersonally.o, f t'snot ndividuallyi.e.,directedther), still hinkt's acismowardsme.She claimedthatthisglobal discriminationoes not individually argether,yetit createsareality hatshe has to contendwith.She sees discriminations an objectivereality, ut she



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482 BYNGdoes not see herselfimitedby it as an individual.When she spokeabout herself pecificallyshenotedthatdiscrimination illhappentoher fher raceorreligionimitherability ogetajob (8). But a humanistvision allows her to see the oppression f the black communityndconnectwith t,whileat the same timeresistinghatoppression ecause she holdsa particularresource.Demonstratinghe experienceofdomination nd resistance t the same momentneeds additional ttentionn the iterature.Another espondent, he officemanager t a law firm, istancedherself romnterpretingdiscriminations personallyimiting hilenotingts nfluence n the arger lackcommunity:

I live n a kind fdiverse rea because neighborhood]s themeltingot. wasconsideringettinganother ome wner's olicy ecause thoughthat hey adgotten bithigh. ut hadmy nsur-anceagent ellmethatf canceledName]nsurance ompany asnot cceptingnymore oli-cies from his rea.Theydidn't omeoutand say t'sbecauseprimarilye aregettingfrican-Americans.. butmy nsurancegentedmeto believe t's ecause herere toomany lacksndthat hey on'twant nymore oliciesnthis rea.This snot ndividuallyaving een argetedutreal state edlinings an area ofdiscrimination.She describes classiccase ofhousingdiscriminationhat s commonforblack middle-class home owners (Cose 1993; Feagin and Sikes 1994; Massey and Denton 1993). Yet, shedoes not see herself s a specific arget--Thisis not individually avingbeen targeted. "She insteadnotes theglobalqualityofracialdiscrimination,.. "but real estateredliningsanarea ofdiscrimination." gain,oppression s recognized nd it s,also, resisted. hese respon-dents describetypical ases ofdiscrimination,ut oftenmediateor limit hepower oftheseexperiences. Again,theirresponsesmove us conceptuallybeyond the analysisthat we getfromFeagin and Sikes. While discrimination auses pain, throughhuman agency theserespondentsmaintainownershipof their ives;theydefineforthemselveswhat discrimina-tionwillmean for hem.Still,how couldthesewomen,who have so manycharacteristicshatmakethema targetfordiscrimination,ay that t did not bother hem?According o Collins 1991:95), a condi-tion forresisting ppression s a safe social space where the oppressedcan findtheirvoice.Safe social spaces provide a place forself-definition,etermination,nd valuation. Theyempowertheoppressed.The computerprogrammerited at thebeginning f this sectionprovidesa hintofthistypeofcommunitynher ife.She had gone to a job interviewn theattire ommontoMus-limwomen,I was told hat amvery ersonable,ery nowledgeableboutmy obfield ut he gencywasn'tsure hat heir lients ould cceptme because fthewaythat dressed. o,theyustdidn't ireme,but hatwasthefirstime hat omeoneustcameout ndtoldmethat.

She saidthat possibleresponseto this ncidentwould be tosue,butthenshe said:[I]t's ust ikeback ntheolddayswhenblack eopleusedtobe discriminatedgainst.heywouldturn oeachother nd dobusinesswith achother. o, think e [i.e.,Muslims] eedtodevelopmorenetworksmongsturselves....

Forher a potential emedy ordiscriminations toturn o the Muslimcommunity. he is say-ingthatfromwithin hiscommunity iscriminationan be mediated.Creating he Social Boundary:Making theSpace forResistanceFeagin and Sikes (1994:16-17, 302-307) note that blacksare very ikelyto share theirexperiences fdiscrimination ithfamilynd friends. hey arguethat ome ofthecumulativequalityof discriminations that t becomespartof the collectivememory fthecommunity.Consistentwith Collins'theory, utoffering differentmphasisfrom eaginand Sikes, amarguingthatintimate ssociationsamong family nd friends rovidemore than a place to



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African-AmericanuslimWomen ndDiscrimination 483sharediscrimination,heyalso providea space that s perceivedas relatively reefromdis-crimination. he larger hespace is (i.e.,themore ntimate nd importantheassociations refordefiningheself)thebetter ble blacks are tomediatethediscriminationsfsociety.

When questioning hewomen about theirreligiousbackground, asked themwhethermost of theirfriendships erewithMuslims ornon-Muslims nd what typesofsocialactivi-tiestheyparticipatedn. Althoughmy respondents id notdirectlyaythattheyretreatntotheMuslimcommunity o escape discrimination,heydescribe set ofassociationsthatareintimate,elf-defining,nd,concurrently,reefrom he racialhostilities f arger ociety.One respondent escribed rangeof social activities hat are community ased. Forher,the Muslim community s structured round family i.e., marriagesand birthsbring ittogether) nd twomajorreligiousholidays.She said:We doa lotof ocial hings.Wegoontrips.here rea lotof ocial ctivitiesnthe slamic ommu-nity. here re lwaysomethingalled ahleemsi.e., nstructionalectures)ndthere reopportu-nities ormen andwomen ogettogether here heynotonlyhave ectures ut there realsoactivitiesor hildren.o that oes n inthe ommunityllthe ime. icnics.Marriagesrealwaysa social ctivity-marriagesnd thebirth fbabies.Ourtwobig elebrationsrethe woEids i.e.,Islamic olidays). neat the end ofRamadan i.e.,month ffasting).. [a]ndthere'sne afterpeoplemake heir ilgrimagei.e., oMecca).Sothere replentyf ocial hings,amilyatherings.The officemanagerat a law firm poke about thepracticalreasons for ssociatingwithMuslims.Practicing erreligionmarks ff er ifefrom hose who are not Muslim:Themajorityfmy riendsreMuslimndthereasonsbecause nceyou're eally racticingourreligionikeyou hould on-Muslimsave wayof hyingff. f ourse,havefriendshat grewupwith or ears hat'lllways emy riends.... stillmaintain goodrelationshipithmynon-Muslim riends.nd have a lot ofnon-MuslimamilyndI love them nd it'sthesamethingthere, ut 'm ustmore omfortableithMuslims.When t's time opray don'thavetoworryboutsayingxcuseme I gottamakesalaat i.e.,prayer).eopleknowt's ime opray,o et's ray. don'thave oworrybout aying hat idyoucook hatwith. ometimesfeel ncomfortableecause don'twant o nsultnyone, ut lotofmy unts lavorfood]with tuffhat can't at.... I ustfeel omfortableithMuslims.

She is tellingus about a way of ife hat s not sharedwithnon-Muslims nd that s punctu-ated by remembering od (i.e., prayer).She is more comfortablemong Muslimsbecause,likeher, heir ives are structuredytheir eligion. heMuslimcommunity rovides hecon-textforher ntimate ocial nteractions.t is separate,distinct,nd effectively arkedoff romlarger ociety.The accountantcitedabove,who had seen pay inequality n her ob and thensaid thatdiscriminationid notbotherher,describedhersocialactivities:I goto ectures,odifferenteople's omes orunch rdinner rwhatever.gotoa lotofclassesbecauseAllah i.e.,God)tells s to seekknowledge,oI amconstantlyndifferentlasses,earningArabic,earningboutThawhidi.e.,the slamic elief ystem),earningbout slamicaw, ustlearningomethingewand tryostay ocusednthat ecause don'twant heblessinghat asbeenbestowed ponme toacquireknowledgend toretaint to be lost ... So as far s socially,most f he ime t stryingo earn omethingbout slam o bettermyselfecause slam s a wayof ife, otust religionorme, o dothat.And amconstantlyeadingomethingnaccountingbecause hat'smyprofessionhatAllahhaschosen orme to do.So I havetostay urrent ith hatinformationothat canbea betterrofessionalnd usthappen o beMuslim.

Hersocial life akesplace in herreligious ommunity ecause, as she says,"Islam s a way oflife."Yet,what smore mportantsthat he conceivesofeverythinghat hedoes through hefilter f herMuslim identity. he says specificallybout discrimination,I'm at peace withwhat Allahhas blessedme with.So as far s discriminationhings, don't see that".Whethershe is socializing,working s accountant,or experiencingdiscriminationt is connectedto



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484 BYNGIslam. Islam gives her a self-definingocial space and the ability o mediate,or resisttheoppression f,discrimination. he is "at peace" with what God has givenher.Another espondent, dentaltechnician, avea discerning escriptionf what t s like tosocialize as a Muslimwomen.8Hercomments llustrate hebounded, ntimate ssociationsofMuslimwomen,and they ymbolicallyllude to thetransformingowerof God and religiousassociation:

So in slam here's lotof ocializingmongwomen.Wegotoeachother's ouses ndwe wear urgarb ettinghere. nceweget herewe haveourregularlothesn. We take ff urkimarsveils]and we ustrelax round ach other.We istenomusic,we eata lot,youknow,nack oods ndwhatevernd we ust ntertainurselves. ndwehave lotoffun ogether.She describes processofmovingfrom publicworld ntoa private ne; from place whereshe concealsthemajority f herphysical ppearanceto one where she notonlyreveals t,butshe is able to relax. n thisprivate pace sheparticipatesnexactly he same activities hat ny-one would in a gathering f friends. he went on to saywhythisprivate ocial space is soimportant:

And fyouwork utside fyour ome,you remore ikelyobeworking ith lotofpeoplewhoare notMuslim. heway hey rethinkingnddoing hingss sodifferent,ouare ust ike hirstyand ongingo be inthe ompanyfyourMuslim isters ecauseyoudon'thear lotofthat ool-ishness. hethingshatwomengo through ith heir oyfriendsnd all thiskindof stuffhatwomen end o talk bout, ouknow.She longsfor he companyofpeople with whom she sharesa commonbond. These associa-tions helterherfrom heeveryday ncounters fworking utsideofher home inmainstreamAmerican ociety. he has founda way to handle the normalstresses f ife nd not be over-whelmedbythem. She noted:

It'srefreshingo notbe overwhelmedycircumstancesnd thingsndto notfeelhopeless ndhelplessbout t because n slam,youwouldknow hatAllahwouldhelpyouwith hese hingsbecauseyouknow hroughvery ifficultyhere'sn ease,so this ooshallpass.So,youarenotdespondent.otthatwe arenothuman nd we don'tgetkind foutof ortswith hingsutwedon't tay here. o Islam ssothorough. .,yourwhole ife s ust, t'sust pelled utfor ou.Youcannot e a Muslimnd notknowhow to ive, nd the ivingnd the truggle,slam eaches ouhow to do t, uccessfully.t's good ife eing Muslim.Thisrespondent s filteringhe eventsofher lifethroughher Muslimidentity lso. Forher,life'sdifficultiesre resolvedby slam.She does notbecomemired n them because Islampro-videsher with themeans to not "stay here."We can see in thisresponsethepoweroftrans-formation.t is symbolized n the changes in her physicalappearance as she moves frompublictoprivateplaces, nwhathappensin her nteractions ithMuslimsand non-Muslims,and in Islamhavingtaughther (a convert)how to live her ife uccessfullynd how to acceptherhumanqualities.Fromwithinthe safe social space of theMuslimcommunity hesewomen have foundresourceswith which to mediatediscrimination. n the one hand, theirbelief n God andtheirfaithhave triggeredn internal ransformationf theirconsciousness.Theirreligiousbelief has giventhema foundationfromwhichto createa definition f self.On the otherhand, theirreligiouscommunityhas providedthemwith social integration y structuringtheir ivesand dailyactivities. hus,their ssociationswithotherMuslimshave allowedthemto socially onstruct heir dentitynd their eality.According o Collins (1991:140), internal fforts t transformationre a formofresis-

8. Collins (1991) notes that sisterhoodfrequently haracterizes lack women's relationshipswith each other.These relationshipsre important or esistingppressionbecause theyprovideblackwomenwith a safe ocial space forself-expression.



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African-AmericanuslimWomen ndDiscrimination 485tance n combating acism.Renaming, edefining,earticulatinghe self nd thesocialcircum-stances of ones' life are empoweringbecause they engender a change in consciousness(Collins 1991:111). Additionally, ong (1997:30) argues thatin the African-Americaneli-gious experience: God has been more often transformerftheir onsciousness, he basisfora resourcewhich enabledthemto maintain hehumanimagewithout ompletely cquiescingto thenorms of themajority opulation."' Thus,thisgroupofwomen,who are largely on-vertsto Islam,have chosen to redefine hemselvesbased on theirbelief n God. PracticingIslam (e.g., fiveprayers day) structures heirdailylife,theirassociations, nd theircon-sciousness.Additionally,heQu'ran1'and theexampleprovidedbytheProphetMuhammad'slife stablisheshumanism s partof slamicpractice Mernissi1987).This research eveals a complexityn encounterswithdiscriminationhat s not found nFeagin and Sikes' analysis. Instead, it supportsCollins' understanding f black feministthought. hisgroupof women experience matrix fdomination hat s characterized ytheintersection frace,gender, nd religiousdiscrimination. ettheyhave mediated,or resistedtheoppression f,discriminationhrough elf-definition,etermination,nd valuation.Theyalso have mediateddiscriminationymaintaining humanistvision. From within the safesocialspace of theMuslimcommunity, heyhave transformedheir ivesand their onscious-ness. Theirmembershipn theMuslimcommunity as giventhemresourcesformediatingdiscrimination.

ConclusionFeaginand Sikes (1994) and Collins 1991) giveus differentisionsofhow people expe-riencediscrimination.eaginand Sikeshighlighthepain and pervasiveness fdiscriminatory

experiencesforAfricanAmericans.Theydemonstrate hetime, ffort,nd energy hatblacksexpend in copingwithwhite racismand the debilitatingmpactof discrimination n theirlives. Collins llows us tounderstand owblacks, nd otherswho aretargets,esist rmediatetheoppression fdiscrimination. hisform foppression,ikeanyother, reates dialectic fdomination nd empowerment. heboth/and onceptual tance,whichrecognizes heinter-sectingaxes of oppression,and the humanistvision of the oppressed empowers them.Throughself-definition,etermination,nd valuation,throughtransformingheir ifeandtheir onsciousness n safesocialspaces,theoppressed re empowered.In thismanuscript have shown thevalue ofCollins over Feagin and Sikesforunder-standing he experiencesofdiscriminationacedbytherespondentsn thisresearch.Collinsallows us to understand he intricacynd complexity fdiscriminatoryncountersfor hosewho have more than one characteristichatmightmake thema target fdiscrimination.orthewomen in thisresearch hematrix fdomination s formed longthe ntersectingxes ofrace,gender, nd religiousdiscrimination.till, hesewomen are able tomediatediscrimina-tionthrough elf-definition,etermination,nd valuation. n theface ofdiscriminatoryxpe-riences heymaintain heability o definefor hemselveswhattheir ivedexperiencesmean.This ncludes aying hat heyhave notexperienceddiscriminationecause theyhold a partic-ular resource, nd sayingthatdiscrimination oes notbotherthem.Theyalso mediate dis-crimination hroughmaintaining humanistvision.They see discrimination s somethingthatcan be experiencedby anyonewho is different.lso,theyconnectwiththeglobaldis-9. The safe social space that s createdbythe Muslimcommunitymight lso characterize therreligious ommu-nities.Thismight e especially rue for ertainChristian enominations e.g., Evangelicals)and for ertainJewish om-

munities e.g.,Hasidic)where a person's dentitynd socialactivities re tightlytructuredythereligion.10. Chapter or Sura) 21, verse92 oftheQu'ran establishes heMuslimcommunityorthecommunity fbeliev-ers) as a single"brotherhood"hat s notseparatedbyrace,nation,orgenderbut, nstead, s united n its service o God(Ali 1977).



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486 BYNGcriminationxperiencedbytheblackcommunityven when theydo not interprethis evelofdiscriminations personallyimiting. inally, heymediate discriminationromwithin hesafesocial space of the Muslimcommunity. hiscommunity llows them to transformheirlife, dentity,nd consciousness.Theirfaith nd beliefgivesthem a resourcefor nternal elf-definition. heir associationswithMuslimsgivethema resourcefor ociallyconstructingnidentitynd a reality. hus,Collinsallows us tomove beyondtheautomaticnegative onse-quences ofdiscriminationosed byFeaginand Sikes,to an understandingfdiscriminationthatexposes thecomplexityfthe domination nd resistance hat iesat theheartofanyformofoppression.Thediscriminatoryxperiences fthisgroupofAfrican-Americanuslim women are fullofcontradictions.heirresponsesreveal,on theone hand,thepainthat s associatedwith dis-criminationnd, on the other, heir mpoweredresistance fit.Although his researchhashighlightedheirmediationofdiscriminationt s reasonableto assume,as research ike Fea-gin and Sikes' indicates, hatmediationmightnot always happen. Additionally,while thisresearch ocuseson a unique segment f theblackcommunity, ollins'theory houldapplytoothersegmentsof the African-Americanommunity nd othergroupswho are oppressed.Furthermore,ust as the Islamic religious communityhas createda safe social space thatempowers its membersotherreligious ommunitiesmight mpower theirmembers, n thesameway.Thus,thisresearch evealsa promising irection or uture tudies.Thatoppressionis characterized yboth domination nd resistance aysthatotheroppressed ommunities realso mediating iscrimination.

ReferencesAll,A. YusufTrans.)1977 TheGlorious u'ran.TranslationndCommentary.nited tates: heMuslim tudentAssociationf heUnited tates.Allport,ordon1979 TheNaturefPrejudice. ewYork: ddisonWesley.Blauner, obert1972 RacialOppressionnAmerica. ewYork: arpernd Row.Carmichael,tokely,nd Charles .Hamilton1967 Black ower ndthePoliticsfLiberationnAmerica. ewYork: intageooks.Collins, atricia ill1991 Black eministhought: nowledge, onsciousness,nd thePoliticsfEmpowerment.NewYork: outledge.Cose,Ellis1993 TheRageof Privilegedlass.NewYork: arper ollins.Cruse, arold1967 TheCrisisf heNegrontellectual.ewYork:WilliamMarrow.DuBois,W.E.B.1989 The SoulsofBlack olk.NewYork: enguin.Feagin, oeR.1991 "The ontinuingignificancefrace:AntiBlackctionsnpublic laces."AmericanSociologicaleview 6:101-116.Feagin, oeR.andMelvin .Sikes1994 LivingWith acism: heBlackMiddle-Classxperience.oston: eaconPress.Guba, gonG., ndYvonna . Lincoln1994 "Competingaradigmsnqualitativeesearch."nHandbookfQualitative esearch,eds. Norman . Denzin ndYvonna . Lincoln, 05-117.Thousand akes,California:Sage.



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African-AmericanuslimWomen nd Discrimination 487Hodge, ohn .1990 "Equality eyond ualismndoppression."nAnatomyfRacism,d.DavidTheoGoldberg,9-107.Minneapolis:niversityfMinnesota ress.Long, harles .1997 "Perspectivesor studyfAfrican-AmericaneligionntheUnited tates."n African-Americaneligion:nterpretivessaysnHistoryndCulture,ds.Timothy. Fulop ndAlbert .Raboteau,3-35. NewYork: outledge.Massey, ouglas .,andNancyA.Denton1993 Americanpartheid:egregationndtheMaking f heUnderclass.ambridge:arvardUniversityress.Mernissi,atima1987 TheVeil ndtheMale Elite:AFeministnterpretationfWomen's ightsn slam.NewYork: ddisonWesley.Miles,Mathew .,andA.MichaelHuberman1994 QualitativeataAnalysis:nExpandedource ook.Thousand akes,California:age.Nagel, oane

1994 "Constructingthnicity:reatingndrecreatingthnicdentityndculture."ocialProblems1:152-176.Schwandt,homasA.1994 "Constructivist,nterpretivistpproachesohumannquiry."nHandbookfQualitativeResearch,ds.Norman .Denzin nd Yvonna . Lincoln, 18-137.California:age.Stanfield,ohn .1994 "Ethnicmodelingnqualitativeesearch".nHandbook fQualitativeesearch,ds.Norman . Denzin ndYvonna . Lincoln,75-188. housand akes,California:age.

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