Linda Sarsour

Linda Sarsour is an author, award-winning racial justice and civil rights activist, seasoned community organizer and mother of three. Ambitious, outspoken and independent, Sarsour shatters stereotypes of Muslim women while also treasuring her religious and ethnic heritage. She is a Palestinian Muslim American and a self-proclaimed “pure New Yorker, born and raised in Brooklyn!”

Sarsour is the former Executive Director of the Arab American Association of New York and co-founder of the first Muslim online organizing platform, MPOWER Change. She has been at the forefront of major civil rights campaigns including calling for an end to unwarranted surveillance of New York’s Muslim communities and ending police policies like stop and frisk. In wake of the police murder of Mike Brown, she co-founded Muslims for Ferguson to build solidarity amongst American Muslim communities and encourage work against police brutality. She is a member of the Justice League NYC, a leading NYC force of activists, formerly incarcerated individuals, and artists working to reform the New York Police Department and the criminal justice system. Sarsour was the National Co-Chair of the 2017 Women’s March on Washington, dubbed the largest single day protest in US history. She served on the executive board of Women’s March, Inc. where she focused on fundraising and direct action planning.

Sarsour co-chaired the March2Justice, a 250-mile journey on foot to deliver a justice package to end racial profiling, demilitarize police and demand the government invest in young people and communities. She is also the co-founder of Until Freedom alongside Tamika D. Mallory, Mysonne Linen and Angelo Pinto, esq. Until Freedom is most recognized for its organizing work around the Breonna Taylor police murder case. Sarsour was instrumental in the Coalition for Muslim School Holidays to push New York City to incorporate two Muslim high holy holidays in to the NYC public school calendar. New York City is now the largest school system in the country to officially recognize these holidays.

Sarsour is also a Senior Fellow at Auburn Seminary along leading social justice faith leaders and serves on the W.K. Kellogg Foundations Solidarity Council on Racial Equity.

She has received numerous awards and honors including “Champion of Change” from the Obama Administration, YWCA USA’s Women of Distinction Award for Advocacy and Civic Engagement, the Inaugural American Muslim of the Year from the Council on American Islamic Relations, the Hala Maksoud Leadership Award from the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Radical Leadership Award from the Center for Constitutional Rights, Changemaker Award from Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Angela Davis Award from New York Communities for Change, the Eleanor Roosevelt Award from the Universalist Unitarian Service Committee, the Gloria Award from Ms. Foundation for Women, 2017 Webby Awards, the Andrew Young Foundation’s Annual International Leaders Award, the Shirley Chisholm Award by the New York City Council and recognized by the NAACP New York State Conference amongst others. Sarsour was named among 500 of the most influential Muslims in the world, 50 of the world’s greatest leaders by Fortune Magazine, Essence Magazine’s WOKE 100, and featured on the TIME 100’s list of the world’s most influential people. Sarsour was profiled on the front page of the New York Times Metro Section and dubbed “Brooklyn Homegirl in a Hijab” and they introduced her to their readership as “Mixing street smarts, activism and her Muslim identity, Linda Sarsour has become a political force”.

She has written for, and has been featured in, local, national, and international media discussing impact of domestic policies that target Arab and Muslim American communities, criminal justice issues, immigration and Middle East affairs. Well-respected among diverse communities in both New York City and nationally, Sarsour is most recognized for her transformative intersectional organizing work and movement building.

Sarsour is the author of “We Are Not Here To Be Bystanders: A Memoir of Love and Resistance,” with a forward by the legendary Harry Belafonte. Her new book, “We’re In This Together” is a love letter to young people to inspire them to be changemakers.