By Rowida“I just wanted to be free.” ‘Muhammad Ali’ is a name you can say in any country in the entire world, and people will recognize it, respect it, and acknowledge its greatness. While being at the intersection of arguably the two most oppressed groups in America–African-Americans and Muslims–he fought hate, discrimination, and oppression for liberation. Muhammad…
By RowidaSeconds ticked down in the massive University of Illinois at Chicago Pavillion packed with thousands of people waiting for Donald Trump to emerge onto the stage. UIC Students, faculty, and community members constituted the majority of the crowd, but Trump supporters were still easily spotted waving their blue “Trump” signs that contrasted sharply with the…
By RowidaIn November 2014, a 12-year-old boy named Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun outside of a recreational center in Cleveland, Ohio. He was fatally shot by police that saw him pull the pellet gun from his waist band despite the 911 caller saying that the gun was “probably fake” and that the boy…
By RowidaSaudi Arabia carried out at least 157 executions in 2015, with the highest number of beheadings in two decades. The government then began the year 2016 by executing 47 more prisoners in what is looking to be an even more violent year. Many are outraged the executions seem to target those who push for social…
By RowidaOn Oct. 20, 2014, 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was fatally shot 16 times by Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke. McDonald was a ward of the state who had been removed from his mother’s care when he was three due to neglect — and again when he was five because his mother’s boyfriend had beaten him….
By RowidaOn April 15, 2013 at 2:49 P.M., a bomb goes off during the Boston Marathon. Screams erupt from the crowd as people fall to the ground. The fear is almost tangible as people run, trying to find a safe place or locate their loved ones. 12 seconds later, another bomb goes off. People are sprawled…
By RowidaDid you know that freedom of speech in American is only applicable if one is speaking “American?” Me neither. A Muslim woman in Coon Rapids, Minnesota was dining with her husband at a local Applebee’s when a worker overheard her speaking Swahili and smashed a beer mug across her face. “Because of people like you.”…
By RowidaTahrir Square always drew a crowd but on that day, Tahrir held more people than ever, spilling many onto the surrounding streets, creating traffic — creating history. Their chants were louder than the fireworks; “Egypt is free!” they cried as the colors flickered across their faces. “Hold your heads high, you’re Egyptian!” Many bent over…
