Black Girl Magic around the world just got a little bit stronger as Ilhan Omar has been named the first Somali-American legislator for the United States.
The 34-year-old made history as a Muslim-American winning in the state House race, according to the Star Tribune.
“It’s the beginning of something new,” Omar told the newspaper. “This district has a legacy of making history. I am excited for our progressive values and to be able to be on the ground at the Capitol representing the diverse people of my district and being a champion with them and for them.”
When she was 8, Omar and her family escaped the Somali civil war and spent four years in a refugee camp in Kenya before migrating to Minneapolis during her preteen years.
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Omar serves as the director of policy at Women Organizing Women Network, a group which dedicates its resources to providing civic leadership opportunities for East African women.
In a statement, the House Minority Leader Paul Thissen addressed Omar’s history making win stating, “It says something important about the future of Minnesota, and what it means to be a Minnesotan.”