Calling on the 10,000 | Noor Tagouri | TEDxFoggyBottom

After launching an internationally-recognized social media campaign, Noor is determined to achieve her dream of becoming the first hijabi anchor on commercial television in the United States. As she breaks down barriers, Noor Tagouri inspires others to do the same so that they can let their own light shine.

Since launching the viral #LetNoorShine campaign in 2012, Noor Tagouri has gained international attention as one of the country’s most talked about young adults. She has become an associate journalist for CBS Radio in Washington D.C, graduated from a top journalism school at 20, become a reporter in the DC metro area for CTV News and has traveled the globe as a motivational speaker. Noor has gained support for her efforts to break stereotypes and encouraging others to tackle their own potential. As a first generation Libyan-American, her passion for storytelling stems from the desire to expose cultural injustices and combat the challenges facing women. Tagouri’s extraordinary rise as a young journalist and budding cultural figure is proof of what can happen if we dare to ask the right questions.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

My name is Noor Tagouri

and on most occasions I'm used
to being the elephant in the room:

an Arab woman

who is a hijabi,

who wants to be
a news anchor talk show host,

who probably has enough scarves

to keep you warm for 17 arctic winters.

(Laughter)

But today, I am honored
to be in this room filled with people

who believe in unleashing
the rebellious spirit within each of us.

My story starts in the first grade.

I walked into my first grade class room

and I noticed there was only one
other girl with dark hair.

I sat next to her and I whispered,

"Are you Muslim too?"

(Laughter)

And she looked at me a little funny

and responded, "Am I what??"

And from that day on,
for the next ten years,

I would go through this
paralyzing identity crisis.

When we had to turn in
forms for school that asked

if we spoke any other
languages at home,

I would put mine
at the bottom of the pile,

and no one would know I spoke Arabic.

When my friends asked why my mom
wore that thing on her head,

I'd say, "I don't know."

And when the Muslim holiday
of Eid came around,

I would wait until after
Christmas break to use my gifts,

because I wanted my friends to think

I got gifts for Christmas too.

And any time I think about this,

I want to go back and shake myself

and say, "What were you thinking?"

But I wasn't thinking,

not for myself, at least.

I was following.

Because I was still understanding

what it meant to wage
a personal rebellion.

Now, when most of us
think of rebellion,

we think, some are rebellious by nature

and others live passive
lives of conformity.

We often think of rebellion
as a resistance,

an opposition:

dyeing your hair green and
burning your bras on a stick. (Laughter)

But that's not entirely true.

I believe in rebellion
as a form of honesty.

To be our most authentic self

is to be rebellious.

Now I want you to take a moment

and think of the best version
of yourself possible.

Your dream self.

Your truest self.

We call this 'your personal legend',

and we've all been familiar
with our legends for quite some time now.

This is who you've always wanted to be,

what you've always wanted to accomplish.

And we know that living
our personal legend

is the only means by which you can live

a satisfying life.

Now, hold on, we're going
to do this together.

Look to the person next to you

and take a couple of seconds --

literally, because I'm on a time crunch --

but a couple of seconds
to share your personal legend with them.

Allright, go!

(Audience buzzing)

Allright -- allright, guys --

personal legend sharing time.

(Audience buzzing)

So my personal legend showed up

when I was about 8 years old.

I would come home from school,

toss my book bag on the floor

and rush to the living room
to watch Oprah with my mom,

4 PM sharp, every single day.

Audience member: Go girl!

(NT and audience laugh)

Now I know everybody loves Oprah,

like you,

but I really loved Oprah:

how she asked questions,

how she prompted people
to share their most vulnerable stories,

and how she made everybody
so comfortable in their chair.

I wanted to do that.

I wanted to be her.

I had this fiery passion for
asking questions and telling stories.

And luckily, my parents noticed.

My mom would take me
to writing camps and internships,

my dad would sit and
explain the news to me,

and take me to visit journalists
that I really admired.

Now when I was living in that small town,

I never ever in a million years

thought that I would wear the hijab.

But when I was about 15,
we moved out of that small town,

and just outside of Washington DC,

I impulsively put on the hijab,

determined to deal
with my identity crisis.

Now I'd done my research
and I learned that in the US

there had never been a women
who wore the hijab

who is a reporter on the commercial
television market.

So I was determined to make that happen.

I wanted to get a headstart,

so I got a job at a local newspaper,

homeschooled the rest of my high school,

started college at 16,

became a regular guest on Huff Post Live

and then a Huffington Post blogger.

And then in college something
really great happened.

I found this passion
for spoken word poetry

through one of my best friends
and mentor, Jenahi.

And a few days after I turned 18,

I prayed what we call in Islam istikhara,

guidance prayer,

and I asked God for guidance
in the career path that I had chosen.

Now the next morning
after I prayed that prayer,

I had a poetry performance
for World Aids Day

and after my performance
a woman came up on stage,

took the mic out of my hands
and in front of everybody, she said,

"Noor, you're a broadcast
journalism major?"

"Yes?"

"Well, my name is Justine Love,

I'm the Director for Community
and Public Affairs,

and I want you to come intern for us
at CBS Radio in Washington."

(Applause)

Yeah, I cannot even explain
the feelings I had that day.

But anyway -- so that turned into
a life changing internship,

which quickly became
a job as a board op

and then an associate journalist.

Then I started journalism school
at the University of Maryland.

And during this time, I obsessively
shadowed and met with journalists.

And at the end of every meet,
I would ask them,

"Do you truly think I have a chance
of making this happen?"

And some would say,

"Yeah, sure."

Some would say,

"No, not really. Is the headscarf
really that important to you?"

And then some said,

"Damn right, it will happen!
It needs to happen!"

(Applause)

And so, one day, I shadowed a local
news reporter, Jummy Olabanji,

who is a really really good friend for
the woman I interned for at CBS, Sunny,

and while I was shadowing her,
I sat in the anchor seat,

just to see what it would feel like.

She took out her iPhone
and snapped a photo.

And now I'm all about
the law of attraction,

and I believe that if you put out
in the Universe good intentions,

the Universe will conspire
to help you become your personal legend.

So I combined this profound belief

with a Facebook post.

(Laughter)

And I captioned it "This is
what my dream looks like",

and I was determined to make
that vision happen.

Now one morning I woke up,
and that photo had gone absolutely viral.

Tens of thousands of people
were sharing it, all over the world.

And I remember -- me and my mom
were just talking about this --

and we would refresh the page,

and the numbers would just fly up,

and we were like, "What's going on??"

So it was really incredible.

This was when I really realized

the power of living in a singular
pursuit of a dream,

a goal,

a personal legend.

So I sat down with my family

and we wanted to get others involved.

My cousin Danya came up with

'Let Noor Shine'.

Now my name, Noor, means 'light',

and we were determined
to get others' lights to shine.

Let Noor Shine grew tremendously.

People were sharing their dreams,

their journeys and their struggles

all over the world.

We became a community

of vulnerable spirits

and bundles of passion.

And we thrived,

on a global scale.

This is really when I understood

the power of social media

and how connecting with people
all over the world,

and holding hands, virtual hands,

was a power and a movement on its own.

This story took me to travel
all over the world,

and I shared it with people
that I never thought I would meet,

and I was learning and sharing stories
that I never dreamed of telling.

I took my camera and gear in hand,
and worked on my reporting skills,

per the request of
my incredible mentor Manny,

and I started covering
these incredible stories.

I was able to cover

the Pope's first mass
at the Vatican in Italy,

the expansion of Mecca in Saudi Arabia,

the mosque controversy
in Murfreesboro, Tennessee,

the struggle of indigenous
people in Indonesia,

and sex trafficking in Washington DC.

Now shortly after graduating
from the University of Maryland,

I got a job as a local reporter
at a cable television station in Maryland.

And I really understood, with this job
and the job at the radio station,

that my job and duty
as a Muslim-Arab American journalist,

goes far beyond correcting the
pronunciations of Middle Eastern names.

(Laughter)

I am the voice that explains my religion,

that clarifies the context
of cultural nuances,

and that makes sure that when we
are reporting stories regarding

terrorist groups like ISIS,

that we are reporting it in a way
that does not generalize

the Muslim population

and put them in any association
with these awful groups,

and that especially,
that this scarf on my head

does not mean that I am submissive,

or that I'm being oppressed,

in fact, it empowers me
in demystifying the stigma

that surrounds Muslim women.

(Applause) (Cheers)

Now that background brings diversity

that is so desperately needed
in newsrooms today.

We live in a country that is filled
with every racial and ethnic background

you can possibly think of.

But unfortunately, that is not
shown as much in the media,

especially when it
comes to news reporting.

But here's the thing:

we are storytellers.

And how can we allow the narrative
to constantly be told by people

who do not understand the cultures
and the background of the people

whose stories they are telling?

And yes, I might be a small voice
in a couple of local newsrooms,

but that -- that is my job.

In an interview Oprah had
at Stanford University,

she quoted Maya Angelou, and said,

"I stand as one, but I come as 10,000."

And upon first hearing that,
I actually teared up,

because I finally understood what it meant

to be more than a body,

to be more than one woman,

to be more than just Muslim, or Arab,

to be more than a single storyteller.

I understood that each of us
had the moral responsibility

for living for more than just ourselves.

(Applause)

We are one among the 10,000.

(Applause)

We are one among the 10,000

and we have to be,

for our bloodlines,

for our homelands,

for our genders

and for our racial identities.

And today, I ask you all
to call on that 10,000.

Call on the legends that came before you.

Call on your ancestors.

Call on the women
who forged the path for us.

I ask that each of us
use that strength and bask in it

and remain authentic.

And I pray that whenever each of you guys

step foot out of this room today,

that you are able to use that strength

and continue on your personal legend

and are that much closer to it.

(Applause)

And inch'allah, God willing,
we all rebel bravely.

Thank you.

(Applause)