Politics

Fellow Muslims keep asking me why I support Kamala Harris. Here’s what I say.

Published

2 years ago

November 12, 2024

Fellow Muslims keep asking me why I support Kamala Harris. Here’s what I say.

The first Muslims to arrive in what became the United States of America were Black like me. They were brought here via the trans-Atlantic slave trade. These enslaved Africans were faithful Muslims praying in the U.S. colonies before Thomas Jefferson was even born. And they suffered, as all enslaved Africans suffered, through genocide and brutal and deadly oppression. Although there’s a mistaken belief that Muslims first arrived en masse in the United States with an influx of Arab and Pakistani immigrants in the 1960s, the history of Black Muslims, who were here before there was a country, is a reminder that while we may share the same faith as Muslims from the Middle East and South Asiawe have a different experience of America.

While we may share the same faith as Muslims from the Middle East and South Asia, we have a different experience of America.

These Black Muslim ancestors left rich histories and a legacy of fighting for what’s right. I am proud to have carried on this legacy throughout my career, most recently by founding the Black Muslim Leadership Council — a first-of-its-kind nonprofit dedicated to advancing justice and equity for Black American Muslims through policy advocacy, civic education, voter mobilization and leadership development. Our advocacy wing, the Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund, has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaignand I, in my personal capacity, am doing the same.

Despite my consistent calls for a cease-fire in Gazaand despite my history of working with the Palestinian community in my native Philadelphia, my support of the vice president’s candidacy has led to accusations that I am ignoring the human rights catastrophe in Gaza and undermining the Palestinian cause. Despite my leadership in the Uncommitted Pennsylvania campaignwhich led to more than 60,000 voters using the write-in vote to protest President Joe Biden’s leadership; and despite my directly telling President Biden about the history of solidarity between Black Americans and Palestinians and the moral dilemma his candidacy presented, I have been repeatedly asked by other Muslims to defend my vote for Harris.

My parents converted to Islam in the early 1970s, finding a safe haven and a home alongside other Black American Muslims in a country that so often tried to reject them. This community is now my haven. My Pennsylvanian Muslim family is my foundation, and serving them is my way of life. Every day, I see the struggles facing my people, and I see the courage and resolve it takes to overcome and thrive.

Despite so many advancements, my community still suffers significant oppression. I have been harassed, targeted and doxxed by people throughout the country — including by other Muslims. My support of Vice President Harris has been attacked, as many have chosen not to support Harris, seeing her as an extension of President Biden, who has been widely criticized for his handling of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. My goal in my career is to advance policy for the American Muslim community at large, but with a focus on Black American Muslims.

I will continue to focus on the nuanced needs of my specific community because, in large part, no one else is focusing on us. This is how I honor the legacy of my father, a prominent imam who devoted his life to serving this same community. While I share many of the same goals and concerns as other American Muslims, I also am specifically dedicated to uplifting the needs of the Black American Muslim community.

My community cares deeply about the crisis in Gaza, as well as the suffering of Muslims in Sudan and its Darfur region Congo Yemen Syria Kashmir and China. We care about reproductive rights, particularly for people who have experienced sexual abuse, and for women who have died during childbirth — especially Black women, who die at much higher rates than other women in the United States. We care about economic opportunity, including the paths to establish generational wealth, which have for so long been denied to Black people, including Black Muslims. We care about public safety and ending the rampant gun violence that has led to the deaths of so many people, especially Black men.

Harris is the candidate who has most effectively supported the causes that are important to my community. Her opponent, former President Donald Trump, has shown in his track record and on the campaign trail that he will not support these causes.

I am specifically dedicated to uplifting the needs of the Black American Muslim community.

I have heard from many who say they’ll vote third-party to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the major party candidates, or who say they will not vote at all. As tantalizing as some of these third-party candidates may be, they are not a viable option. Other third-party candidates have deeply problematic and even dangerous stances on international relations, health care and immigration.

Not voting is not an option either. The threat that faces our country, and our world, is too great not to use the greatest gift of democracy: our vote. In its purest essence, politics is about strategy. This sometimes means having to make tough choices to achieve the best possible outcome for ourselves and our community. It would be nice to agree with each and every one of our chosen candidate’s decisions and platforms. But we do not have to do this to keep our democracy alive.

We have, on one hand, a candidate who fights for voter rights, reproductive rights and public safety. On the other, we have a candidate who seeks to consolidate power, threaten our constitutional freedoms and implement policies reminiscent of the Jim Crow era. We have a candidate who, as a Black and South Asian woman, understands personally the oppression faced by the most neglected of us and has overcome adversity to rise to a position of power, and we have a candidate who moved to ban Muslims from entering the country, has called majority Black nations, many of them with large Muslim populations, “s—hole countries,” and who bases his campaign on sowing division and hatred.

As I have already done, I will continue to advocate for the innocent people who are being killed in Gaza, as well as advocate for the other domestic needs of my community. I will also continue to tell Muslims asking me to defend my vote for Harris that I see her as not only the best chance for a cease-fire, but also the best chance we have to protect fundamental freedoms — for every one of us.

In this decision, and in my personal and professional career, I stand on the shoulders of the great Black American Muslim women and men who came before me — who fought through unspeakable traumas to build a better life for their descendants. I am proud to be part of this legacy. The fight continues now, as it has for centuries — and it will take each one of us committing to defending our freedoms to ensure that we will not go back.

The views represented in this article are the author’s own, given in her individual capacity and do not represent the positions of her associated institutions.

Salima Suswell

Salima Suswell is an award-winning community organizer and coalition builder. She is the founder and CEO of the Black Muslim Leadership Councila national nonprofit dedicated to uplifting the unique needs of Black American Muslims, and its 501(c)(4) advocacy wing, the Black Muslim Leadership Council Fund. She is also the CEO of Evolve Solutionsa government relations and community engagement firm based in Philadelphia.

Politics

Inside FIFA’s plans to commemorate Juneteenth

Published

17 minutes ago

June 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

FIFA rang in Juneteenth, the country’s newest federal holiday, with a video that played in Seattle ahead of the U.S. team’s pivotal showdown with Australia.

It stars Seattle Supersonics legend and NBA Hall of Famer Gary Payton and features iconic Seattle locations.

“Some remember, some reflect, while many others celebrate,” Payton says in the video, which highlights landmarks including the Northwest African American Museum and Pike Place Market. “This day means freedom, black liberation, joy, jubilation and celebration. And today, we are definitely celebrating.”

Leonardo Santiago, head of media relations for FIFA26 Inc., said the organization plans to commemorate the holiday marking the end of slavery at each World Cup match taking place on Friday. Separate videos personalized to Foxborough, Massachusetts, which hosts Scotland and Morocco, and Philadelphia, where Brazil and Haiti will face off, and Santa Clara, California, are also dropping to mark the holiday.

“FIFA worked with each Host City to ensure the video is personalized for each stadium, featuring imagery specific to that city while recognizing the nationwide holiday and its importance,” Santiago said. “As the video plays, the stadium will also have complementary graphics on the ribbon boards as well.”

Politics

Where Massachusetts wants to take its Scottish love affair next

Published

47 minutes ago

June 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — Boston is bouncing and the Massachusetts governor wants to thank thousands of kilted Scottish soccer fans who have taken over the city between Scotland’s first match against Haiti last weekend and its second, against Morocco, today.

The tournament’s shock love affair is sparking delight in Gov. Maura Healey’s office as the supporters plow cash into the local economy, star in feel-good viral videos and drink copious quantities of Sam Adams Boston Lager.

Earlier this week, the governor — who’s seeking what stands to be an easy reelection this year — spoke with Blue Light News about which of Massachusetts’ World Cup wins can be made permanent, including extended hours for bars and service along mass-transit networks.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Were you expecting this?

Oh, yeah, what do they say? No Scotland, no party? [Author’s note: This is, indeed, what they say.] I would say the Tartan Army’s reputation precedes them in the best of ways. So we knew that they would bring a ton of energy and joy and the noise. The bagpipes, the partying in our restaurants and bars, it’s just been great, and to think — it’s very warm here, of course — half of them are doing it in kilts. It’s really amazing to see.

What has stood out to you?

In just a matter of days, the Tartan Army has become part of the Massachusetts family. We have seen them become regulars at our local restaurants and our pubs. We’ve seen them take over Fenway Park. 5,000 fans marching with bagpipes into the games. We loved the viral videos of them trying hot dogs […] inside Fenway. The videos of them taking over the cruise ships in Boston Harbor. We even had a Boston police officer kicking a soccer ball with them at the fanfest. So it’s just been really wonderful for us in Massachusetts, and we’re thrilled to have them here.

Do you have plans to capitalize on this beyond the World Cup?

Given that Scotland-Haiti was our first match, we were really thrilled. Massachusetts has a huge Haitian population. And then, of course, a lot of people in Massachusetts have ties with Scotland because many, many families here have ancestors who came from Scotland. And I have to say, I think Scotland just set the tone from the day the fans got into town. There was concern leading up to the World Cup, you know, how’s this all gonna work? And the media was covering a lot about security and transportation, and all these things about what could go wrong. And as soon as the Scottish fans arrived, they just laid the whole vibe for the World Cup. It’s gonna be about joy, energy, fun and bringing people together from all around the world. And I really credit them with establishing the vibe for our World Cup experience right at the outset.

Have the ticket prices charged by FIFA had an impact on that?

Well, one thing that I was really determined to do was to make sure that we were able to secure tickets for young people here in Massachusetts, which we did. 1,100 tickets that we distributed through Boys and Girls Clubs, so the kids who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to see the game, were able to see the game — and for free. We’ve tried as a state to help out where we can, making $10 million available to communities around Massachusetts to host watch parties, because we know not everybody can afford to go to the game.

And as the governor of a blue state, how were your interactions with the Trump administration on planning for the tournament?

Well, when it comes to public safety that is something that it’s so imperative that local, state and federal authorities work together on. We did around transportation funding, security funding, that’s the way it should be. There should be that kind of work and coordination.

At the local level, would you support either a pilot program or a permanent extension of later last call and public drinking districts after the end of July? And would you encourage the legislature to start working on a bill about this?

We wanted to do that to create a welcoming environment, and I know that extension is helping our restaurants and bars and helping local businesses, and helping fans enjoy this experience. I’m certainly open to making some things more permanent, and I think this gives us a great opportunity to pilot it right now and see how it goes.

Do you see it as a runway for allowing happy-hour discounts, which have been banned in Massachusetts for decades, to become legal again? Because you’ve previously expressed problems with the concept.

I expressed support for happy hour the other day. We’ll see, we’ll have more conversations with the legislature.

And in terms of the transport would you consider keeping extended service hours on the MBTA?

I’ve always been for extended service hours. For us, it’s just a matter of budgeting and the labor costs associated with that. Also, you need a little bit of downtime so that trains can get repaired and maintained. We extended hours well before the World Cup on weekends, and it’s certainly something that I’d like to see us do across the system. But again, it’s just a matter of what we can do in terms of budget. But so far, transportation has been working really well. Trains have been made available, and selling out, and people have really enjoyed that experience; it’s been super easy, you know, getting to and from the match.

I think some Scotland fans would maybe dispute that it was easy getting back from the [Haiti] match, but I guess it’s all relative when the stadium is far away from the city.

I know. You can only run so many trains at once. But, hey, they won, so …

I understand it’s a challenge to keep young people in state. Are these measures you approved for a summer of intense tourism part of a longer-term solution?

I think that they’re really important to making sure that people know that we’ve got a great culture here and a great vibe for young people. That’s why I’m building homes […] so we can look at housing costs. Massachusetts is a place where people come to study from all around the world, and it’s a place that’s filled with young people, filled with opportunity. We’ve got an innovative economy, and doing so much in life sciences and robotics and AI, and cutting-edge industries. And it’s a very safe state and safe city. We’ve got the best schools in the country, best health care in the country. We got a lot going for us. And we’ve got great sports teams, too. So it’s a great vibe for young people, and we’re working always to try to make sure the message is out there around the globe. This is a great place to come and study, and start a business or raise a family.

Lisa Kashinsky contributed to this report.

Politics

Kennedy and Wright cheer on US

Published

1 hour ago

June 19, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

The U.S. delegation in Seattle includes HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Energy Secretary Chris Wright, according to a FIFA official, along with White House FIFA World Cup Task Force czar Andrew Giuliani. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy were among those who attended the U.S.’ first match, against Paraguay.