Prof. Williams Selected as Crossroads Fellow to Research the Islamic Architectural Impact on U.S. Cities
The 1960s and 70s saw a renaissance in urban environments shaped by African American Muslims. To better understand this social and political impact, Prof. Darien Alexander Williams from BU School of Social Work (BUSSW) will study Islamic architecture in the United States with a new fellowship from The Crossroads Project at Princeton University’s Center for Culture, Society, and Religion. As a 2024-2025 Crossroads Fellow, Williams will travel to Detroit and Chicago as an extension of his previous research in Boston.
“Through archival research, geographic information system (GIS) mapping, and site visits, I aim to map and contextualize the built environments shaped by African American Muslim practice,” says Williams. His research will focus on mosques, which he explains were “hubs for local economic development, adaptive reuse, and the proliferation of small business ownership.”
Crossroad Project fellows receive small grants for innovative projects related to Black religious histories, communities, and cultures not traditionally featured in white historical accounts. This grant supports Williams’s travel to visit archives and field sites in the Midwest. At the conclusion of his research, his work will be featured on the Crossroad Project website, Spirit House.
Prof. Williams is an assistant professor of the BUSSW Macro Practice Department. In addition to Black and Muslim urban planning history, he is an expert on environmental and climate justice with a focus on hurricane disaster recovery, climate change, and community organizing.