Oral History Interview with Stacey Salimah-Bell: Muslims in Brooklyn oral histories: NYU Special Collections Finding Aids

Scope and Contents

In this interview, Stacey Salimah-Bell discusses her family, particularly regarding their relocation to New York City during the Great Migration; her memories of her grandmother; and her relationship with her husband. She speaks at length about her tenure in the New York City Department of Correction, including the successful class action lawsuit she joined over sexual harassment; her efforts to secure accommodations for religious clothing; being a founding members of the American Muslim Law Enforcement Officers Association and Muslims Employed in City Corrections Association, Inc.; and being at Ground Zero during the September 11 terrorist attack in 2001. She expands on converting to Islam as a young woman; attending Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah; and changes in the her religious beliefs and practices over time. She also talks about her work with the Girl Scouts. Interview conducted by Liz H. Strong.

Biographical / Historical

Stacey Salimah-Bell was born in 1963 in Brooklyn. She was raised in the Bensonhurst neighborhood of Brooklyn. She spent more than twenty years working for the New York City Department of Correction, eventually rising to the rank of Captain. She was involved in a successful class action lawsuit against the New York City Department of Corrections for sexual harassment. She was a founding member of the American Muslim Law Enforcement Officers Association in 2001 and Muslims Employed in City Corrections Association, Inc. in 2006. She also served as Vice President for the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Jean Sampson Scott Greater New York Chapter.

Conditions Governing Access

This interview can be accessed onsite at the Center for Brooklyn History's Othmer Library and online at the Oral History Portal.

Subjects

Organizations

Girl Scouts of the United States of America; Masjid Abdul Muhsi Khalifah (Brooklyn, New York, N.Y.)

Topics

Places

Bedford-Stuyvesant (New York, N.Y.); Bensonhurst (New York, N.Y.); Brooklyn (New York, N.Y.); Manhattan (New York, N.Y.)