Linda Sarsour
Executive Director, Arab American Association of New York
Twitter:
@lsarsour
Activist
Key Topics: Immigrant rights and immigration reform, Police reform and accountability in the context
of ending racial and religious profiling, Arab-American and Arab immigrant experience,
Coalition building, Utilizing social media to amplify advocacy campaigns.
Bio:
Linda Sarsour is a working woman, community activist, and mother of three. Ambitious, outspoken and independent, Linda shatters stereotypes of Muslim women while also treasuring her religious and ethnic heritage. She is a Palestinian Muslim American and a self-proclaimed 鈥減ure New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn!鈥
Sarsour is the former executive director of the Arab American Association of New York and co-chair of the Women鈥檚 March on Washington, which advocated for just legislation and policies regarding human rights and other issues in the largest single-day demonstration in U.S. history. Linda is most notably recognized for her focus on intersectional movement building.
Linda has been at the forefront of the debate around the New York Police Department's unwarranted surveillance of the American Muslim community. She continues to work with city officials and allies to push legislation and policies that respect the dignity and civil rights of New York residents while maintaining safety and order. Linda was recently named American Muslim of the Year by the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United
States, honored by the White House in 2011 as a 鈥淐hampion of Change鈥, and received the 2010 Brooklyn Do-Gooder Award from the Brooklyn Community Foundation. Linda is also a board member of the New York Immigration Coalition, a coalition of over 200 nonprofit agencies serving the diverse immigrant communities of New York State and the Network of Arab American Professionals-NY Chapter. She has been profiled by PBS, Yahoo News, NY1鈥檚 One on One With Budd Mishkin, and the Guardian. She has been featured in local, national, and international media speaking on topics ranging from women鈥檚 issues, Islam, domestic policy, and political discussions on the Middle East conflict. Linda鈥檚 strengths are in the areas of civil rights in the context of national security, community organizing, civic engagement, and immigrants鈥 rights advocacy.