Book Chamber | May 28

Tuesday, May 28, 2024 — 6:30 pm

No need to add leggings or long sleeves to a fencing uniform. Fencing! In Maplewood, New Jersey, Ibtihaj’s mom found the perfect sport that provided modest covering required for a young Muslim girl, including wearing hijab (head scarf).  Not foil or epée, but the fastest and more aggressive saber became her weapon.  She crossed the Hudson to the second floor of 20 West 33^rd Street where she joined underprivileged kids mastering fencing at the Peter Westbrook Foundation, which helped her make her game so good that she won a scholarship to Duke… and went on to the Olympics. Today, an activist, we will discuss her story on May 28 in Proud: My Fight for an Unlikely American Dream.