Since George Floyd's murder, I've been thinking a lot about courage.
I see so many people marching in the streets, facing down the sting of tear gas and the pain of the baton. I still hear the voices of the protesters, filled with the kind of power that can only ever come from the people, calling out for justice: "Black Lives Matter," "I Can't Breathe," "No Justice, No Peace."
The people of this city give me hope. Hope that change is possible. Hope that the next generation can still have a better future. Hope that we can still build the world we all deserve.
And when I think of this hope, and the courage it requires to be hopeful in a world like ours, I think about my dear sister U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, a public servant who knows exactly what it means to be the target of this country's institutionalized racism and the violence of that system.
It takes courage to be a Black woman in America. It takes even more courage to be a Black woman, and a Muslim, and an immigrant in public service in America.
But that's who Ilhan is.
People like me and Ilhan know how antagonistic, how dangerous, how outright violent it can be to simply exist — let alone run for public office! — in a world so enmeshed in white supremacy, transmisogyny and xenophobia. It takes courage to put yourself in the public spotlight, knowing exactly how much some folks would rather see you disappear.
And if there's one thing Ilhan's got, it's courage.