Bushra Amiwala

Bushra Amiwala (born December 30, 1997)[1] is a Pakistani-American college student at DePaul University who, as of April 2019, is the first Gen Z elected official in the United States,[2] and the youngest Muslim elected official in the United States.[3][4] Amiwala was a Democratic candidate for the Cook County Board of Commissioners in the 2018 Illinois primary election. She lost to the then 16-year incumbent Larry Suffredin in the Democratic primary election on March 20, 2018.[5] Suffredin then encouraged Amiwala to run for public office shortly after she announced her candidacy for D73.5 Board of Education, and was elected in April 2019.[6][7] Amiwala also became the first Muslim person elected to the board of education seat in her district.[8] In February 2020, Bushra Amiwala was awarded the Asian American Coalition of Chicago (AACC) award for exemplary community service and youth excellence.[9] Bushra Amiwala is known for hosting annual Ramadan Iftar events, which have been attended by notable politicians, including J.B. Pritzker.[10][11]

Bushra Amiwala
Amiwala collecting petition signatures
Member of the
Cook County Board of Education
Assumed office
2019
ConstituencyD73.5
Personal details
Born (1997-12-30) December 30, 1997
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic

Biography

Amiwala was born in Chicago and lived in the Rogers Park area until she was 10. Her family then moved to Skokie, Illinois, where she graduated from Niles North High School.[12][13] She began her political career as an intern for Republican senator Mark Kirk, and was encouraged by her field office manager, Benjamin Polony, to run her own campaign for the Cook County Board of Commissioners as a college freshman.[14] She came in second in the Democratic primaries, earning 14,988 votes, a total of 30.6% of the vote in a three-person race.[15]

Amiwala began an annual service project on her birthday, and in 2018 made and distributed hundreds of care packages in the Chicago area with Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky, who endorsed her campaign.[16] Amiwala was named one of Glamour Magazine's 2018 College Women of the Year.[17]

In 2019, Amiwala was elected to the Cook County Board of Education from district 73.5 in Skokie.[6][7] She was reelected unopposed in 2023.[18][19]

Amiwala is a frequent public speaker and has spoken at events such as TEDxDePaul University and Harvard University.[20] She is one of the subjects of a documentary called And She Could Be Next on PBS.[21] She is also one the female candidates profiled and aided on Amazon Prime's RUN The Series.[22] She is currently the subject of a Hulu documentary called Our America: Women Forward.[23]

References
  1. Blumberg, Nick (2018-02-19). "Bushra Amiwala: Candidate for Cook County Commissioner, 13th District". WTTW News. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  2. Anya, Sen. "Meet Bushra Amiwala, the first Gen Z woman to hold public office in the U.S." malala.org. malala.org. Retrieved Aug 17, 2023.
  3. Burke, Sammi (2019-08-07). "How Bushra Amiwala Became the Youngest Muslim U.S. Elected Official & What She Hopes For Next". Her Campus. Archived from the original on 2020-07-22. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  4. "Bushra Amiwala Is One of The Youngest Muslim Elected Officials". NowThis News. Archived from the original on 2019-09-14. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
  5. "Bushra Amiwala", Ballotpedia. Retrieved on 5 December 2018.
  6. Davis, Susan; Parks, Miles; Elving, Ron (2019-11-29). "How To Run For Office". NPR. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  7. Meadows, Jonah (2019-04-01). "2019 Election Results: Skokie, Niles, Morton Grove, Lincolnwood". Skokie, Illinois Patch. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  8. Van Sickle, Dylan (2019-04-05). "Meet Bushra Amiwala: The DePaul Junior Newly Elected to the Skokie School Board". Fourteen East. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  9. Ullah, Syed Khalil (2021-02-22). "Bushra Amiwala receives Exemplary Community Service Award". Patch.com. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
  10. Dorfman, Dan. "Gov. Pritzker, other top officials attend Skokie iftar organized by local elected official". Chicago Tribune. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved Aug 17, 2023.
  11. Ullah, Syed Khalil (2021-02-22). "Bushra Amiwala receives Exemplary Community Service Award". ChicagoTribune.com. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
  12. Tucker, Grace (2017-11-08). "Niles North alumna running for Cook County Board". Bugle Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2018-11-26. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  13. Francis, Meredith (2020-06-29). "Meet Bushra Amiwala, the Youngest Muslim Holding Public Office in the Country". WTTW Chicago. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  14. Isaacs, Mike (2017-06-12). "Muslim teen from Skokie to run for Cook County Board seat". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  15. "Municipal elections in Cook County, Illinois (2018)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  16. Amiwala, Bushra (2019-02-05). "Bushra Amiwala, Birthday Service Project" (video). youtube.com.
  17. Militare, Jessica (2018-06-04). "Meet the 'Glamour' 2018 College Women of the Year". Glamour. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  18. Schmidt, Corey (2023-02-06). "Skokie voters will face these candidates on April 4 ballots". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  19. Dorfman, Daniel I. (2023-04-17). "Gov. Pritzker, other top officials attend Skokie iftar organized by local elected official". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  20. "TEDxDePaulUniversity | TED". www.ted.com. Retrieved 2021-02-14.
  21. "And She Could Be Next: Discussion Guide". PBS. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  22. "HOME". Runtheseries. Retrieved 2023-08-05.
  23. Baca, Stacey (2021-03-09). "Skokie's Bushra Amiwala is the youngest Muslim elected official in US". ABC7 Chicago. Retrieved 2021-03-12.
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