ABOVE PHOTO: The nation’s Black Muslim Leadership Council, the first Black American Muslim-led organization, holds their first press conference in the city of Philadelphia on Friday, March 8 at City Hall Mayor’s Reception Room to discuss the agenda of Black Muslims across the United States, and the need for their voices during the election cycle of 2024. At the podium is Philadelphia City Commissioner Omar Sabir (D-Philadelphia), surrounded by local and national Black Muslims, elected officials, business, and civic leaders including the organization’s founder and chief executive Salima Suswell, Ryan Boyer, business manager for the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, and State Sen. Sharif Street (D-3rd Dist.).
(Photo courtesy Devon Allen)
A new national organization called the Black Muslim Leadership Council, the first Black American Muslim-led organization of its kind in the nation, held a press conference in the city of Philadelphia on March 8 at City Hall Mayor’s Reception Room to discuss the agenda of Black Muslims across the United States, and the need for their voices to be heard and addressed during the election cycle of 2024 and beyond.
Salima Suswell, the organization’s founder and chief executive, was joined by local and national Black Muslims, elected officials, business, and civic leaders to discuss the organization’s efforts on turning out voters in three swing states — Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
More importantly, the group will have both a political action wing that will be endorsing candidates, as well as a nonprofit arm for nonpartisan activities such as voter turnout drive and election education classes.
The group will also focus both on the thousands of civilians killed in Gaza during the war between Israel and Hamas, and on domestic issues such as mobilizing voters in swing states and pushing lawmakers to lay out policies to improve the lives of Black Muslims living across the United States.
“I’m calling on President Biden to listen to the concerns of Black American Muslim voters who are deeply impacted by the war in Gaza, and want to see a permanent ceasefire, and that we also want to uplift domestic policy issues that impact the urban communities we reside,” Suswell said. “I believe that we need to continue to have open dialogue and conversations, because this is how democracy works. And so, my duty first is to my community, and it is my job to fight for my community to ensure that the government is working for us. And so, Biden, along with every other political leader at home and globally, needs to hear what we need as a community right now,” Black Muslims have been in America since the Transatlantic Slave Trade. They now make up the largest percentage of the American Muslim population at 28%.
This community wields enormous social, economic, and political influence. However, Black American Muslims are impacted by the same issues as all Black Americans and Muslim Americans, as well as a variety of issues specific to the Black Muslim community.
“We don’t have the luxury of just caring about one thing,” said Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a vocal supporter of Biden and of the Black Muslim Leadership Council. “We must care about a lot of things, and those things have got to be weighed out carefully.”
Ellison is the first African American and the first Muslim American elected to statewide office in Minnesota.
“I feel like there are people who want to restore Jim Crow, and that their representative is Donald Trump,” Ellison added.
“Today, the influence of Muslims and the influence of Black people are greater than they have ever been before in this country, and the Black Muslim Leadership Council is fortunate be to standing right in that intersection,” said Mi’kail Stewart Saadiq, assistant imam of the Muslim Center Detroit.
“As a council member deeply committed to inclusivity and justice, I stand firmly behind the Black Muslim Leadership Council’s vital mission,” said New York City Councilman Yusef Salaam. “It’s imperative that we amplify the voices of Black Muslims and address their concerns with urgency, especially during pivotal election cycles. This historic initiative not only empowers our community, but also propels us towards a future of equity and progress.”
Joining in the announcement was State Sen. Sharif Street (D-3rd Dist.); Philadelphia City Commissioner Omar Sabir (D-Philadelphia); Honorable Former Councilman Basheer Jones (D-Cleveland), Ryan Boyer, business manager for the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, and elected officials. Those present at the announcement hope that the group’s formation will lead Biden and other political leaders to engage more with Black Muslim voters and hear about their concerns over issues such as affordable housing, disparities in black maternal health, economic opportunities, and education policies for young people.
“Black Muslims stand at the crossroads of racism and Islamophobia, and are torn between what’s happening in the United States and abroad,” Sabir said. “This is why voting in this upcoming election is imperative. It’s to ensure your voices are heard. Congratulations to the Black Muslim Leadership Council on its inception and continuing the legacy of Black Muslims historically being drivers of elections through mobilizing interfaith and interethnic Black communities to exercise their right to vote.”
“As a proud member of the Black Muslim Leadership Council and avid supporter of unions, it was imperative that I lend my voice, political prowess, and advocacy to further the cause and mission of Muslims in the Black community,” Boyer, the first African American to lead the Philadelphia Building & Construction Trades Council, said.
“Black Muslim Leadership Council is well positioned to help reflect the interests of the larger civil rights community,” Suswell added. “The larger Muslim community is decidedly prioritizing what’s happening in the Middle East; however, the Black Muslim community can say, ‘Yes, it needs to be prioritized, yet not exclusively.’”
To learn more about the Black Muslim Leadership Council, visit: www.blackmuslimleadership.org or follow us on X and Instagram @blackmuslimlead and Facebook @Black Muslim Leadership Council.
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