This Muslim Teen Is the Epitome of Ally Goals After Writing #BlackLivesMatter 100 Times on His Successful Application to Stanford
18-year-old Ziad Ahmed is determined to be an influence for a better and more civil future; here he stands with Hillary Clinton, whose campaign he worked for
On an application for Stanford University, one question asked 'What matters to you,' and Ziad boldly responded #blacklivesmatter
Ahmed actually wrote #BlackLivesMatter on his application 100 times, to be exact. His choice to take a personal question like "What matters to you?" and answer it with a movement that should matter to everyone was an extremely progressive and daring move.
Recently, Ziad was notified that he had been accepted to the prestigious west coast University
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He then shared the incredible story of his response and acceptance
His brave response to advocate for #BlackLivesMatter quickly gained much attention
After posting, Ziad pointed out that this was only one question on his application and in no way does he think spreading a hashtag is equal to action
As a Muslim teen, Ahmed has been an ally for the Black community for quite sometime.
"To me, to be Muslim is to be a BLM ally, and I honestly can't imagine it being any other way for me," Ahmed told Mic. "Furthermore, it's critical to realize that one-fourth to one-third of the Muslim community in America are Black ... and to separate justice for Muslims from justices for the Black community is to erase the realities of the plurality of our community."
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Based on Ziad's resume, his #blacklivesmatter response was only one of many incredible reasons why he was accepted
Earlier in the year, Ahmed was invited to the White House Iftar dinner, where he was recognized as a Muslim-American change-maker by former President Barack Obama.
In 2016, he interned and worked for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign. He also led Martin O'Malley's youth presidential campaign. In November 2015, Ahmed gave a TedxTalk in Panama, wherein he discussed the impacts of Muslim stereotypes.
