Photo of Riham Osman, communications coordinator for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington, D.C.
In honor of Black History Month, The West Virginia University Muslim Student Association and the WVU Center for Black Culture and Research will co-sponsor a forum on navigating race, religion and gender in America on Tuesday (Feb. 28) at 7 p.m. in Rhododendron Room of the Mountainlair.
The event, free and open to the public, will feature special guest speaker Riham Osman, communications coordinator for the Muslim Public Affairs Council in Washington, D.C. Osman specializes in digital media, manages the organization’s online presence and works to ensure the media accurately portrays Muslim Americans.
“As many continue to portray all Muslims as being 'foreign' to this nation, it’s necessary to mention that historians say that up to 30 percent of African slaves brought to this country were Muslims - meaning that since the dawn of our nation, Muslims have served as part of the American fabric,” Sara Berzingi, president of the WVU Muslim Student Association, said.
In 2014, Osman participated in the first presidential Google+ Hangout Road Trip with President Obama and is featured in the National Center for Civil and Human Rights exhibition titled "Who Like Me Is Threatened.”
Prior to joining the MPAC, she was involved in civil rights work that impacts the American Muslim community. She has appeared on multiple media outlets and has also commented on issues such as countering violent extremism and Islamophobia in the Washington Post, Bloomberg, the Huffington Post, and the International Business Times.
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