Among universal challenges college freshmen face when they enter a new academic setting and a new stage in life, running for elected office against a long-time incumbent isn’t usually one of them.
Bushra Amiwala, 19, of Skokie, however, said she doesn’t mind diverting from the usual path of a college freshman. The DePaul University student announced she will challenge Commissioner Larry Suffredin next year in the Democratic Party primary for a seat on the Cook County Board, representing the 13th District.
In March, Amiwala announced her candidacy for Cook County commissioner through a news release on her Facebook page.
“She wants to offer a fresh perspective while giving a voice to her underrepresented generation and culture,” she wrote about herself in the release. “Amiwala believes in keeping the county financially responsible while increasing transparency, lowering unemployment, and giving low income people the opportunity to change their life.”
Amiwala, whose parents immigrated from Pakistan 20 years ago, said she grew up in Rogers Park and moved to Skokie before she was 10. Even at such a young age, she said, she noticed differences in the way people lived — especially in their schooling.
Also, the gap that often exists between haves and have-nots has always registered with Amiwala, she said. When visiting Pakistan, where she has family, she noticed the disparity in how people live.
The second of four children, Amiwala said her father used to tell her about having to sell eggs in Pakistan to make money.
One reason she said she is running for county commissioner is to change the mindset of some regarding Muslim women. For most of her life, she said, she has been outspoken about Islamaphobia and has tried to set an example.
“I was fortunate enough to grow up in Skokie, where everyone is so proud of their culture and everyone appreciates each other,” she said. “It’s different elsewhere. (But) even here, I want to change the stereotype of how some see Muslim women.”
In the summer before entering Niles North High School, Amiwala remembered standing in line at a store to purchase school supplies. A woman in front of her was wearing a hijab, a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women.
A man came up to the woman and asked, in a snarky way, whether she was hot wearing the hijab, Amiwala recalled. The woman didn’t say anything but gathered her belongings and left.
“She felt so hopeless in that moment, and I’m sitting there watching this,” Amiwala said. “I thought that if I had the hijab on, I would get that question asked of me. I figured I could not change the mindset of this one person who I will never see again, but what if the narrative changed and the woman had said, ‘yes I am hot in this.’ Then we would have had a new story.”
Amiwala said she wants to tell that new story through not only words but action.
The incident inspired her to start wearing a hijab in public, she said. Niles North was a welcoming community, but even there she said she recognized some bias.
After giving a competitive speech in high school, she remembered, one of the judges said she had never before met a Muslim woman who was so articulate.
“I was a sophomore in high school and I thought ‘that is so nice,'” she said. “When I was older, I thought back on it and realized that was not such a good thing because they think Muslim women aren’t articulate.”
The Feb. 28, 2018, primary is nearly nine months away. Amiwala said she filed initial paperwork this past March and will submit a petition with at least 500 signatures, as required by law, after summer.
“I’m going in with the mindset that regardless of whether I win or lose, I’m making an impact either way,” she said. “I want to mobilize young people to get involved in politics and to pay more attention. I hope I’ll inspire them to run for office or work on campaigns. That would be a victory.”
Last summer, Amiwala interned for then-U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Illinois, even though she said she did not share many of his political views.
But for her, the experience was an opportunity to reach out to others, to learn different perspectives and to respect each other, she said.
Amiwala said she chose the office of county commissioner because she believed she could connect with those less fortunate. She also opposed a county tax on sugary beverages that goes into effect July 1 because she said it disproportionately impacts poor and young people.
She said she is waging a grassroots campaign against an opponent she knows has many more resources available.
The teen has currently raised about $600 of the roughly $10,000 she’s looking to come up with for her campaign, she said.
She continues to seek individual donations through her crowd funding social media Fundly.com account and said she is planning a fundraising dinner some time in the future.
Amiwala has plans to reach out to political action committees although she is not necessarily targeting any specific endorsements, she said.
So grassroots is the campaign, Amiwala said, that she doesn’t know whether she will have a campaign office. She is searching for one this summer, a space where volunteers can be part of a phone bank.
The teenager would be facing off against a candidate almost five decades older than she is and who has held office since 2002.The incumbent commissioner, who has not yet officially announced his bid for reelection, would be seeking his fourth term in office.
Suffredin said he has not yet met or talked to Amiwala, but he has heard she is “impressive.”
Twitter @SKReview_Mike
