"Doc, I I want to explore my black mommy kink with you," Ahmed Khalib said slyly. The six-foot-tall, dark-skinned African Muslim man felt good about finally unburdening himself. Confession is indeed good for the soul. The son of African Muslim immigrants from Mauritania, Ahmed is a wild man. The American criminal justice system almost got a piece of Ahmed but he got lucky in his latest legal kerfuffle. The judge chose treatment and rehabilitation over incarceration.
"Please continue," said Dr. Khadija Rahman as Ahmed Khalib paced back and forth. The office of Spelman College-educated psychiatrist Dr. Khadija Rahman, located in downtown Atlanta, seemed like a safe space for this brother. For the past few months, Ahmed had been attending court-mandated therapy sessions. The good doctor, a mature black Muslim woman, listened attentively as Ahmed spoke his truth. This is a safe space for black male self-expression.
Dr. Khadija Rahman took notes as Ahmed Khalib unburdened himself. A seasoned psychiatrist with decades of experience, the older black Muslim woman could see the truth behind Ahmed's faΓ§ade of toughness. A lot of young black Muslim men who get in trouble with the law got a tough guy swagger and an attitude problem. Those are just covering insecurity, of course. The tougher the front, the greater the vulnerability. As Ahmed spoke, Dr. Khadija Rahman took his measure like a snake sizing up a bird of prey. This was going to be interesting...
What is Ahmed Khalib doing in the psychiatrist office in the first place? Ahmed isn't exactly happy to be in the good doctor's office. Circumstances outside his control brought him there. Ahmed is there because he got into it with a motherfucker named Dwayne Collins and his girlfriend Kiana Valeros during a barroom brawl. The couple pressed charges after Ahmed kicked their asses. Ahmed also put Rudolph the bouncer in the hospital. The thing was eventually ruled to be self-defence. Charges were dropped but with a condition. Ahmed needed to complete 100 hours of court-mandated therapy, which brought him in touch with Dr. Khadija Rahman.