00:00My name is Amara Haines. I am an African-American Muslim girl.
00:14Being a Muslim woman, a lot of people think that I'm just submissive.
00:23I hate that stereotype. I just love martial arts.
00:29I can kick butt, too.
00:36I love writing. I want my writing to expose the truth.
00:41I work hard to keep up my 3.9 in school.
00:46When I see people being discriminated against, I feel the need to step in and do something about it.
00:59Let's start at the beginning.
01:02My family recently moved from Farmington Hills, Michigan to Durham, North Carolina.
01:09In Farmington Hills, we were part of a large and active Muslim community.
01:14My neighborhood high school had a sizable Muslim population and even had an all-girls gym class.
01:23We came to take care of my grandmother, who was sick.
01:30Moving here to Durham, I felt kind of alone for a while.
01:36I wasn't with my familiar Muslim community.
01:42I didn't have any friends.
01:48My sister and I are the only girls who wear the traditional Muslim head covering, known as a hijab.
01:55People frequently stare at me because of how I dress.
02:05Soon after I started going to Hillside, I had a substitute teacher, and he told the class that Muslims are supposed to kill,
02:14and said that it was in the Quran, and then he proceeded to talk about ISIS.
02:21I said that was not true.
02:24After I confronted him with that, he said,
02:27Oh yeah, I know, but, you know, just some Muslims.
02:31But I did get the feeling that he wanted to attack Islam and Muslims in general.
02:51I pray five times a day.
03:07My teachers let me use empty classrooms.
03:13Islam is my faith in what helps me do right in the world.
03:26I want people to understand that.
03:40I want to speak with my grandmother, who was active in the civil rights movement when she was my age.
03:47On the days that I went were days that I didn't have a whole lot of homework.
03:55They did counter sit-ins.
03:58Black people sat down at the counters, and they were asked promptly to move.
04:05There was some spitting at you or kick in.
04:08The police were called.
04:10So we were all arrested and taken to jail.
04:15Even though we didn't stay there long because we were bailed out immediately.
04:22But you've got to remember, number one, to forgive.
04:30And that you are no better than, and they are no better than.
04:39And that's the best solution.
04:43Three, four.
04:45One, two.
04:46Three, four.
04:48One, two.
04:49Martial arts helps me remember who I am.
04:52Three, four.
04:54When I feel weak, it encourages me.
05:00My grandmother inspired me to have these discussions about Islam at school.
05:07Everybody knew who I am, so people would just assume, like, you know, you're black.
05:11You're not going to be Muslim.
05:12I had one person I knew, and I knew he wasn't serious, but he did call me a terrorist.
05:18So I was kind of like, um.
05:21A lot of people in society take the information from the media.
05:25I feel like if I can learn something, that's always a good thing.
05:28And I can always use my new knowledge to, you know, help other people stop stereotyping.
05:35I'm excited about shining a light on Islam and addressing the negative stereotypes.
05:41It's not easy being a Muslim teenager in America.
05:59It's taken some time to find other students who want to make a difference like I do.
06:04We are learning how to educate other people so that everyone can be treated equally.
06:20The experiences I have had since moving to Durham has helped me grow as a person.
06:46I have found ways to stay true to myself.
06:50And I've realized that is what is most important.
07:16You're looking at a different I振million doll.
07:21So that's all right.
07:23And chrome has been experiential.
07:24And I don't learn how to educateçu in the environment.
07:25So that's all right.
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