We provide public education, legal services, and advocacy to fight bigotry and hate against Muslims, immigrants, and refugees in order to build inclusive, civically engaged, and informed communities.

In January 2017, a friend of mine called to tell me she was seeing racist, bigoted bills in our state capital of Pierre, South Dakota. I had not been involved in state or local politics since moving to South Dakota in 2012, but I knew I had to put my advocacy hat back on. I did what I know how to do—organize people. I organized Muslims, refugees, and immigrants to take the six-hour round-trip drive in January to show our legislators we are South Dakotans and are not leaving. Since then, we have uncovered the Islamophobic network in South Dakota; educated over 6,000 individuals on myths and facts about immigration laws and policies, Islam and Muslims, and immigrants and refugees; and launched legal services for children in immigration court.

Providing factual information to every corner of our expansive, rural, conservative state.

Muslim activists across the country. I am truly inspired by the courage of our two Muslim congresswomen. I never believed politicians could be so bold. But their courage inspires me to act boldly and courageously. I look mostly to organizations and their leaders doing impactful work—especially models used by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and Muslim Advocates; regional organizations such as Greencard Voices; and Reviving Islamic Sisterhood through Empowerment (RISE).

The Prize provides us a platform to share our story and our work. It enables us to show that it is possible in rural, conservative America to change the hearts and minds of legislators and neighbors to fight bigotry and hate against Muslims, immigrants, and refugees. My hope with this Prize is to build a blueprint/toolkit for similarly situated rural states so that we can stop the rural momentum of bigotry and legislated hate.