Humble warrioress: Women in the Nation of Islam. A comparative study 1930--1975 and 1978--2000

This Project Demonstrating Excellence (dissertation) presents the results of an historical comparative study on the women in the Nation of Islam (NOI). As such, it examines two periods of their history---from 1930 to 1975, termed "The First," founded by Master Wallace Fard Muhammad and established under the leadership of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and his wife, Mother Clara Muhammad, subsequently comparing The First to 1978-2000 period, termed "The Re-formation," the NOI under the guidance of Minister Louis Farrakhan. The study examined information on the lifestyles of the women in the Nation of Islam, and focused on their roles as leaders and/or "nation builders." The study attempts to answer the following: (1) How women in the Nation of Islam perceive themselves within a 67-year history of the Nation; (2) How women in the Nation of Islam view the quality and nature of the NOI lifestyle; and (3) How the careers and community activism of the women in the Nation of Islam impact their communities and families. The study's design and process of analysis allowed the researcher to give the women in the Nation of Islam a presence and a voice. In using qualitative ethnography research methods, which consisted of an interview and personal observation as well as primary and secondary information, the researcher discovered women in the Nation of Islam in both periods were involved in activities to sustain and expand the organization. Also, the culture and tenets are rather similar in both periods. However, the Re-formation period emerged in a different political and economic climate, and during a highly technological age. The careers and social activism for women in the Nation of Islam in both periods continued a tradition of reaffirming support of communities and families characteristic of Africana American cultural heritage. The researcher was able to identify those contributions and connect them with Africana Womanist Theory. The study incorporates an Africana Womanist perspective building mainly on the theoretical contributions of Clenora Hudson-Weems, Cynthia S'thembile West and Molefi Asante.