US Category
One Year Ago
Posted on June 27, 2019 Leave a Comment
One year ago today, I stood before the U.S. Supreme Court and gave a speech hours after SCOTUS ruled to uphold the Muslim Ban. It was one of the hardest days both personally and professionally, though I wasn’t supposed to be surprised about the decision. Just a couple days before the ruling was announced, I […]
“We Are Tired.”
Posted on October 18, 2017 Leave a Comment
Yesterday afternoon I spoke at a press conference minutes after our hearing about an injunction to block Muslim Ban 3.0. This week has been one of the toughest in my professional career. I began the week receiving dozens of emails from people around the world who were afraid of what the ban would do to […]
Solidarity in the Face of the Ban
Posted on January 25, 2017 Leave a Comment

We await news of Trump’s series of anti-immigration Executive Orders, which will likely include plans to build a wall and place a ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries, including my country of origin Iran. Trump’s ban will target individuals from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. As Moustafa Bayoumi explains, author of How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being […]
Why “Persian of Color”
Posted on August 18, 2016 Leave a Comment
Welcome to Persian of Color, an online platform where I will share my concerns with race and identity, primarily within the Iranian-American community, but also within a global perspective. I self-identify as a person of color, an opinion not always shared by other Iranians.”Person of color” refers to someone who does not identify as white and […]