SEPTEMBER 2022

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Credits
This project is supported by the following grants:

Wherewithal Project Grant (2023), Washington Project for the Arts/Andy Warhol Foundation,Washington, D.C.

Wherewithal Research Grant (2022), Washington Project for the Arts/Andy Warhol Foundation, Washington, D.C.

Summer Research Grant (2021), Center for Religion and Cities, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD

A Washington Project for the Arts (WPA) Wherewithal Research Grant video essay investigating the sudden and short-lived mass conversion to Islam amongst Black youth in the DC-metro area between 2009-2012, with research partner Hope Willis.

The driving question of this multimedia research project was, “What influences drove a significant portion of DC’s Black youth to practice Islam and self-identify as Muslims?” Five-hundred tweets, two MuslimLink and one Medium article later, we define the role of Islam in the lives of those affected youth.



This research was conducted with 4th generation native-Washingtonian, Hope Willis, a multidisciplinary artist, historian of the Middle East/North Africa region, and player of various roles in her local D.C. community. 


The following are some images that stand out from the full presentation (above).