Jamilah Nasheed

Jamilah Nasheed (born Jenise Williams; October 17, 1972)[2] is an American politician from the state of Missouri. Nasheed represents the fifth district in the Missouri Senate, and formerly served in the Missouri House of Representatives. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Jamilah Nasheed
Member of the Missouri Senate
from the 5th district
Assumed office
January 2013
Preceded byRobin Wright-Jones
Member of the Missouri House of Representatives
from the 60th district
In office
January 2007 – January 2013
Personal details
Born
Jenise Williams

October 17, 1972 (1972-10-17) (age 48)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Fahim Nasheed[1]
OccupationSmall business owner (Sankofa Books and Gifts),[1] Real Estate Investor

Early life and education

Born Jenise Williams, she was raised with her three brothers by their grandmother in a St. Louis housing project. Her father was killed in a drive-by shooting several months before she was born.[3]

She attended Roosevelt High School in St. Louis.[4] She later took classes at Florissant Valley Community College in 2012.[5] As an adolescent, Nasheed began visiting a mosque on Grand Boulevard. After two years of studying Islam, she converted to the religion.[6]

Political career

Nasheed served as a member of the Missouri House of Representatives from the 60th district from January 2007 until January 2013. She was the first Muslim woman to serve in a state legislature.[7]

Nasheed ran for the Missouri Senate in the 2012 elections. A St. Louis Circuit Court judge ordered she be removed from the ballot because she did not live in the boundaries of the district at the time of the election, although district boundaries were to change through redistricting.[8] She appealed the decision to the Missouri Supreme Court, which allowed her to remain on the ballot. She defeated incumbent Robin Wright-Jones and fellow State Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford in the Democratic primary,[9] and won the general election. In December, she was chosen to chair the Missouri Black Legislative Caucus.[10][11]

During the Ferguson unrest, Nasheed was taken into police custody on October 20, 2014, in front of the Ferguson, Missouri police station. News reports indicated she was in possession of a firearm at the time of her arrest.[12] Another protester said Nasheed refused to get off the street even after police gave instructions to the protesters to do so.[13]

In September 2016, Nasheed sat while her colleagues recited the Pledge of Allegiance in the Missouri Capitol. She said she acted in solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in protest of police brutality and racial oppression, although many of her colleagues saw this as unpatriotic.[14]

Nasheed was a declared candidate for Mayor of St. Louis in the 2017 election, but she dropped out of the race in January 2017.[15][16] She ran in the March 2019 election to be the president of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen.[17]

Personal life

On November 22, 2014, Nasheed was the victim of a carjacking attempt.[18]

References
  1. Profile, votesmart.org; accessed November 25, 2014.
  2. "Profile: Sen. Jamilah Nasheed (D-MO)". cqrcengage.com. Retrieved January 30, 2019.
  3. Jamilah Nasheed profile, riverfronttimes.com; accessed November 25, 2014.
  4. Profile, aopavotes.org; accessed November 25, 2014.
  5. Profile, kre8tiveinspired.com; accessed November 25, 2014.
  6. Nasheed's conversion to Islam, themissouritimes.com; accessed November 25, 2014.
  7. "Rashida Tlaib, First Muslim Woman to Become a Michigan State Representative". Findingdulcinea.com. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
  8. Jake Wagman (May 16, 2012). "Judge orders Jamilah Nasheed removed from state Senate ballot". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  9. Kevin Killeen (August 7, 2012). "Jamilah Nasheed Wins State Senate Contest". CBS St. Louis.
  10. "Jamilah Nasheed elected Caucus Chairman". St. Louis American. November 21, 2012.
  11. Virginia Young (November 8, 2012). "Nasheed to head Legislative Black Caucus". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  12. "Protester: 'All Hell is Going to Break Loose' if Darren Wilson Isn't Indicted". CBS News. October 21, 2014.
  13. Lee Enterprises (October 21, 2014). "State Sen. Nasheed freed from jail, explains her 'symbolic' arrest". St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
  14. September 14, 2016, by Kevin S. Held (September 14, 2016). "Missouri senator sits during Pledge of Allegiance in protest". Fox2now.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. "Nasheed files campaign committee to run for STL mayor - The Missouri Times". themissouritimes.com.
  16. Zimpfer, Travis (January 6, 2017). "Nasheed drops out of St. Louis mayoral election". The Missouri Times. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
  17. Rivas, Rebecca (January 25, 2018). "Jamilah Nasheed enters the race for Board of Aldermen president | Local News". stlamerican.com. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  18. State Senator Nasheed alleges armed man tried to carjack her, fox2now.com, November 25, 2014.
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