This Day in History: 2017-11-16
November 8, 2016 – “Minnesota Elects Country’s First Muslim American Woman Legislator”
Ilhan Omar became the first Muslim American woman elected to any legislative body in the country’s history. Omar, a Somali-American, is a former refugee and was elected to serve in Minnesota’s state legislature. In order to win her party’s nomination in Minneapolis, where she serves, she had to defeat a 44-year incumbent. She is an advocate for affordable college, criminal justice reform, economic equality and clean energy.
May 26, 2009 - "Sonia Sotomayor Nominated for U.S. Supreme Court" President Barack Obama, the nation's first African-American President, nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the U.S. Supreme Court. Once her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she became the first Latinx to be appointed to the Supreme Court. Sotomayor is the third woman to serve on the high court. She graduated from Princeton University summa cum laude and went to Yale Law School. At Yale, she served as an editor at the Yale Law Journal.