Scholars of Color- Hamad Alghareeb
What is Scholars of Color?
It is a platform in which scholars of color are purposefully celebrated. It’s a space where scholars of color are showcased front and center. It is a digital space where we feel empowered and resilient. Let us get to know each other. Let us cheer each other on AND show the world what we have to offer.
Let us now welcome Hamad Alghareeb to the Scholars of Color space!
Name: Hamad Alghareeb
Location: Albany, New York
Gender Pronouns: They/He
What's your current occupation? (i.e. Student, Scientist, Coach, In transition, etc.): Social Justice in Education Consultant
Without positions or titles, how would you describe yourself?: An intersectional constellation of imperfections
What are you passionate about?: Storytelling & authentic connections
What does the representation of Scholars of Color mean to you?: Increasing visibility, showcasing intersectionality, and breaking stereotypes
If people are interested in getting connected to you, how can they?: @heyhamad + www.heyhamad.com + email@heyhamad.com
Anything else you would like us to know?: I want to share my story on here rather than the traditional bio that many ask for. My name is Hamad Alghareeb حمد الغريب
I was born in Bahrain, where I learned my first language, Arabic. My first name means Thankful, and my last name means Stranger. That reflects my heritage as a nomad earth-child. Like many other places, Bahrain was colonized by the Greeks, Portuguese, Persians, Omanis, and the British. The past tense does not apply to the latter empire because a post-colonized world does not exist.
Therefore, my existence will always coincide with politics. In which we never escape unless all of us reach self-sovereignty. I was born in the closest health facility to my parents on Muharraq island, the British Royal Air Force base (RAF). I was delivered by Indian medical staff that was probably left over by the Brits and inherited by US imperialism.
In my third decade, I am still learning vocabulary to describe my authenticity in any of the three languages I practice. I grew up in a world that told me to focus on English more than other languages because it would enable me to compete for a better future by obtaining a university education. Yet, I am still looking for a future and language that is relevant and affirming to me.
I live in a system that intentionally made it harder for gender non-conforming/non-binary people like myself to meet each other and realize they exist. When colonizers arrived in new lands, they enforced their gendered rules on the ground, people, and language. I continue my quest to learn about linguistics and hope for humanity to achieve more gender-neutral languages and modes of communication. For now, I go by they/him as pronouns to represent my journey.
I identify as neurodivergent because some scientists decided to label brains for the way they process and normalized some over others based on a bell curve. I found belonging with outliers who are usually removed from peer-reviewed research. So you could say; I don’t exactly fit a mold, and I will always work for margins to be centered.
I continue to live in someone else’s imagined reality. For that, I have learned the colonizer’s ways through educational institutions, only to aid in dismantling them through their purpose—all hoping to share lived lessons and stories to inspire humanity for a future it needs.
If you are looking for a biography that lists institutions I have attended and impacted through a set of skills and experiences gained over time: go to www.heyhamad.com/bio
Thank you Hamad for sharing space with us!
Stay tuned everyone for more Scholars of Color profiles. Interested in being showcased yourself? Please email the Scholars of Color team at scholarsofcolor@reclaimingyourhappiness.com and we will get back to you shortly.
