Dr. Osman Umarji and Dr. Husain Lateef discuss their recent publication on identity and the well-being of Black Muslims in America.
Read the full publication “Being Black and Muslim in America” to learn more.
Dr. Husain Lateef
Dr. Husain Lateef is an assistant professor at the George Warren Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. As a youth, Dr. Lateef studied the Qur’an and Islamic Studies at the Islamic Center of Tempe (ICC Tempe) located in Tempe, Arizona. He completed his undergraduate education in Psychology at Morehouse College and later completed his master's and doctoral education in Social Work from the University of Michigan and Arizona State University. Dr. Lateef's research explores cultural and community-based factors influencing violence among high-risk male Black youth. His research focuses on how culture and positive ethnic identity socialization may contribute to bolstering Positive Youth Development (PYD) in this population. After years of working to support juvenile lifers who had been serving life-without-parole sentences in prison, his research is also aimed at improving the outcomes of former system-involved youth.
Dr. Osman Umarji
Director of Survey Research and Evaluation | Dr. Osman Umarji holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical Engineering and a Master’s and Ph.D in Educational Psychology from UC Irvine. He has studied Islam at al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt. His research interests include the development of human motivation, religious socialization, spirituality, and Islamic legal theory. Dr. Umarji is also an Adjunct Professor in the School of Education at UC Irvine. He has previously taught child development, adolescent development, and statistics. His expertise in both psychological and Islamic sciences allows him to conduct empirical research on contemporary issues facing Muslims.
