0:00:11.392,0:00:13.665
Whenever I travel,

0:00:13.665,0:00:17.585
I carry a little metal box[br]of Altoids mints

0:00:17.585,0:00:23.463
because after a four-hour,[br]7 AM flight, everyone has bad breath,

0:00:23.463,0:00:28.164
so almost anyone[br]is willing to take the mint

0:00:28.164,0:00:30.895
from the Muslim on the airplane.

0:00:30.895,0:00:32.734
(Laughter)

0:00:33.174,0:00:37.915
And I know I've been successful[br]when my neighbor turns and asks,

0:00:38.285,0:00:40.715
"So, what's your name?"

0:00:41.365,0:00:45.615
You see, even if there was[br]an elephant in the room,

0:00:46.205,0:00:48.835
I'm still the elephant in the room.

0:00:48.835,0:00:49.955
(Cheer) Yeah!

0:00:49.955,0:00:53.546
When an elephant[br]offers you mints on an airplane,

0:00:53.546,0:00:56.386
I'm fully aware that[br]it's not always easy to accept,

0:00:56.386,0:01:00.296
so when the courageously curious[br]do pop the what's-your-name question,

0:01:00.296,0:01:02.377
I try to make it worth their while.

0:01:02.847,0:01:03.847
(Laughter)

0:01:03.847,0:01:06.407
My name is Amal.

0:01:07.407,0:01:10.048
It means 'hope' in Arabic.

0:01:11.118,0:01:15.668
Most days my name is waitress[br]at my family's Damascus restaurant,

0:01:16.018,0:01:18.958
full-time university student[br]and then some,

0:01:19.208,0:01:23.099
pre-law, world traveler, 11 countries.

0:01:23.099,0:01:27.899
My name is I've performed poetry[br]in eight of those countries.

0:01:27.899,0:01:31.079
(Cheers) (Applause)

0:01:31.079,0:01:37.291
International spoken word poet,[br]unapologetic Muslim woman.

0:01:37.291,0:01:42.510
Syrian, American, hijabi,[br]activist, social justice advocate.

0:01:42.510,0:01:49.332
My name is writer, teacher,[br]Colorado-born Mile High baby!

0:01:49.332,0:01:50.762
(Laughter)

0:01:50.762,0:01:52.492
(Applause)

0:01:52.492,0:01:57.063
But at the airport,[br]my name is random search.

0:01:57.413,0:01:58.832
(Laughter)

0:01:58.832,0:02:03.445
And on the street, it's terrorist,

0:02:03.985,0:02:07.635
sand nigger, raghead, oppressed,

0:02:07.635,0:02:10.685
and on the news, it's ISIS,

0:02:11.095,0:02:12.285
jihadi,

0:02:12.745,0:02:14.005
suspect,

0:02:14.305,0:02:15.305
radical.

0:02:15.305,0:02:18.801
My name is, "Could your Muslim[br]neighbor be an extremist?"

0:02:19.991,0:02:24.842
My mama, who wears the hijab,[br]the Islamic headdress,

0:02:24.842,0:02:28.254
is often referred to as[br]"Go back to you country,"

0:02:29.054,0:02:31.854
but she's from Iowa!

0:02:31.854,0:02:33.545
(Laughter)

0:02:33.545,0:02:37.174
And her nickname is Lisa Pizza.

0:02:37.174,0:02:38.198
(Laughter)

0:02:38.198,0:02:41.805
And it does not take more[br]than a couple questions

0:02:41.805,0:02:47.057
to figure out that her country[br]is the Council Bluffs cornfields.

0:02:47.057,0:02:48.247
(Laughter)

0:02:48.247,0:02:52.248
But, how would someone[br]know this without asking?

0:02:53.199,0:02:57.769
They say the shortest distance[br]between two people is a story.

0:02:58.369,0:03:03.119
Well, I elaborate on that to say[br]that the greatest distance you can travel

0:03:03.119,0:03:07.720
in the shortest amount of time,[br]is by asking someone their name.

0:03:08.550,0:03:13.471
The way we name ourselves[br]is a reflection of who we are,

0:03:13.471,0:03:18.041
our declarations, family histories,[br]the things we believe,

0:03:18.041,0:03:22.869
the morals we abide by,[br]our homes, cultures, transformations.

0:03:23.269,0:03:29.092
Like a Mohammed turned Mo,[br]or a Lisa Pizza turned Iman.

0:03:29.892,0:03:36.514
And how we name others, and how,[br]if, we allow others to name themselves

0:03:36.514,0:03:39.664
is a reflection of our own declarations,

0:03:40.214,0:03:44.024
of our courage, and our fear.

0:03:44.894,0:03:50.156
The malleability of a person's story[br]must be self-determined,

0:03:50.496,0:03:52.994
coming from the lips of the storyteller,

0:03:52.994,0:03:56.095
not the anchorman, not the megaphone,

0:03:56.095,0:04:00.146
not even the scarf on her head[br]or the melanin in his skin,

0:04:00.146,0:04:05.865
because no one can speak[br]the names of billions in one breath,

0:04:05.865,0:04:07.476
unless it's in prayer,

0:04:08.146,0:04:13.545
and oftentimes when we generalize,[br]it isn't because we're praying.

0:04:14.515,0:04:20.207
And when we don't ask someone their name,[br]we're not asking for their story.

0:04:21.557,0:04:27.159
In the world of mass media[br]and rampant misinformation,

0:04:27.739,0:04:30.898
it is hard for anyone, including myself,

0:04:30.898,0:04:35.578
to deconstruct all these[br]terrifying stories that we hear.

0:04:36.248,0:04:41.758
Sometimes, instead of isolating them,[br]individualizing them,

0:04:41.758,0:04:45.760
we tend to paint a group of people[br]with a broad brush,

0:04:46.180,0:04:52.729
until suddenly, everyone with a hijab on[br]is a raghead that needs liberating,

0:04:53.449,0:04:57.060
or everyone with white skin[br]is a racist cracker,

0:04:57.510,0:05:00.861
or everyone with black skin[br]is a fatherless nigger,

0:05:00.861,0:05:04.201
or everybody who looks like my father[br]is going to blow up the airplane,

0:05:04.201,0:05:08.912
or if the killer had a light complexion,[br]he's just a mentally fragile lone wolf.

0:05:08.912,0:05:10.293
And we come to this point

0:05:10.293,0:05:14.022
where we feel like we don't even need[br]to ask people their names

0:05:14.562,0:05:17.216
because we already gave it to them.

0:05:18.554,0:05:23.103
In Europe right now,[br]a monumental name change is taking place

0:05:23.103,0:05:28.493
that has completely transformed[br]a humanitarian responsibility.

0:05:29.293,0:05:32.653
Countries are deporting refugees,

0:05:33.603,0:05:35.904
but when you watch news coverage,

0:05:35.904,0:05:40.016
these refugees[br]are being referred to as migrants.

0:05:40.606,0:05:45.685
Because let's face it, deporting migrants[br]sounds way more reasonable

0:05:45.685,0:05:50.590
than deporting individuals[br]who have been forced to flee their country

0:05:50.590,0:05:54.522
because of persecution,[br]war, and violence -

0:05:54.522,0:05:58.282
the United Nations definition of refugee.

0:05:58.282,0:06:00.702
(Applause)

0:06:05.172,0:06:07.902
And in naming these people this way,

0:06:08.702,0:06:12.493
we've attributed to them a choice[br]instead of a circumstance,

0:06:12.493,0:06:17.984
some economic gain instead[br]of a desperation to flee a war zone.

0:06:19.494,0:06:24.184
These little ones[br]are refugees, not migrants.

0:06:24.954,0:06:27.681
I took this photo last year[br]at a refugee camp

0:06:27.681,0:06:33.112
on the Syrian-Turkish border,[br]and contrary to popular belief,

0:06:34.202,0:06:36.333
they aren't poisons.

0:06:37.683,0:06:43.154
They're not here to steal our democracy [br]or to take over our neighborhoods.

0:06:43.494,0:06:44.660
They're people,

0:06:45.620,0:06:49.573
families who wish that they could go home

0:06:50.103,0:06:54.215
but have had to make[br]that home somewhere else.

0:06:57.095,0:06:59.993
And we've come to this point,[br]where the word 'migrant'

0:06:59.993,0:07:04.785
essentially means piles of brown,[br]foreign-speaking people,

0:07:04.785,0:07:09.956
and we end up forgetting[br]that there was a point where some people

0:07:11.116,0:07:13.946
would've considered[br]those who looked like this

0:07:14.356,0:07:16.177
to be migrants as well.

0:07:17.487,0:07:18.487
(Applause)

0:07:18.487,0:07:19.734
Right, though?

0:07:19.734,0:07:21.447
(Applause)

0:07:24.888,0:07:29.268
And it is in this forgetfulness[br]that we assume,

0:07:29.808,0:07:34.428
monopolize on people's stories,[br]attribute their race, social class,

0:07:34.428,0:07:38.448
religions, clothing to the names[br]that we chose for them.

0:07:39.398,0:07:44.520
Terrorism is a fine[br]modern-day example, unfortunately.

0:07:45.140,0:07:47.101
In the past few years,

0:07:47.601,0:07:53.111
so much violence[br]has just spread across our country,

0:07:54.171,0:07:58.260
but when you watch the news,[br]there's always a specification

0:07:58.260,0:08:01.060
as to whether or not[br]terrorism was involved,

0:08:01.060,0:08:05.341
which I think we all know[br]means the killer looked like this.

0:08:05.341,0:08:06.071
[Arab dude]

0:08:06.071,0:08:07.230
Which...

0:08:07.230,0:08:08.552
(Laughter)

0:08:08.552,0:08:09.716
He's a babe!

0:08:09.716,0:08:11.458
Which must mean...

0:08:11.458,0:08:13.010
(Laughter)

0:08:13.850,0:08:18.644
Which must mean that the killer,[br]of course, pledges his allegiance to this.

0:08:18.644,0:08:19.354
[ISIS]

0:08:19.354,0:08:20.063
Right?

0:08:20.063,0:08:25.685
But correct me if I'm wrong, news coverage[br]does in fact tend to be a little different

0:08:26.195,0:08:28.514
when the terrorist looks like this.

0:08:28.514,0:08:31.514
[Robert Dear, Planned Parenthood Shooter]

0:08:31.514,0:08:33.684
(Applause)

0:08:38.665,0:08:42.315
And it ultimately[br]has us forgetting that terrorism,

0:08:42.315,0:08:44.745
by definition of terrorism,[br]

0:08:44.745,0:08:47.695
has always come in all shapes

0:08:47.695,0:08:48.586
[Ku Klux Klan]

0:08:48.586,0:08:49.786
and colors.

0:08:49.786,0:08:52.066
[Timothy McVeigh, Oklahoma City Bomber]

0:08:52.066,0:08:53.567
(Cheers) (Applause)

0:08:55.737,0:09:01.027
And what happens when we confine[br]certain names with certain depictions,

0:09:01.027,0:09:04.777
wrongfully excluding some[br]and including others,

0:09:05.237,0:09:10.758
we end up caging masses of people[br]under a name that says 'dangerous,'

0:09:10.758,0:09:12.588
even if they're nowhere near it.

0:09:12.898,0:09:17.349
Like when we say 'thug'[br]instead of 17-year-old black child.

0:09:17.349,0:09:18.159
[Trayvon Martin]

0:09:18.159,0:09:21.308
When we say 'alien'[br]instead of 'immigrant.'

0:09:21.748,0:09:26.159
When we say 'lazy poor people'[br]instead of 'unequal wealth distribution.'

0:09:26.159,0:09:29.039
When we say 'bomb' instead of 'clock.'

0:09:29.039,0:09:30.790
[Ahmed Mohammad, clock inventor]

0:09:30.790,0:09:32.130
(Applause) (Cheers)

0:09:39.011,0:09:42.841
This man's name is Craig Hicks.

0:09:44.381,0:09:46.821
He's often referred to[br]as a parking dispute,

0:09:46.821,0:09:53.262
but his real name is a man who shot[br]and killed three Americans in their homes,

0:09:53.262,0:09:58.261
in their heads, execution style[br]because they were Muslim.

0:09:58.922,0:10:01.572
His name is hate crime.

0:10:02.792,0:10:06.054
Their names are Deah, Yusor, and Razan,

0:10:06.494,0:10:11.004
a 23 year old, 21, and 19.

0:10:11.884,0:10:17.844
Deah and Yusor were just named[br]husband and wife, newlyweds,

0:10:18.294,0:10:20.544
and the three were known[br]by their loved ones

0:10:20.544,0:10:24.885
as sons and daughters, brothers,[br]sisters, students, activists,

0:10:24.885,0:10:28.106
Instagrammers, tax payers, Americans.

0:10:28.906,0:10:35.358
But now, their names[br]are too young to have been taken,

0:10:36.278,0:10:40.006
their names are rest in peace,[br]Allah Yerhamo.

0:10:41.206,0:10:44.898
Hicks did not ask them their name.

0:10:45.918,0:10:49.457
He assigned it to them[br]when he assigned them each a bullet,

0:10:49.457,0:10:55.209
named them a threat to his America,[br]and as a result, took their lives.

0:10:57.777,0:11:01.008
This is a photo[br]on Dia and Yusor's wedding day.

0:11:01.868,0:11:03.539
It's so beautiful.

0:11:05.219,0:11:08.549
They were killed[br]before they could even see this.

0:11:10.439,0:11:14.189
Studies show that during[br]breaking news coverage,

0:11:14.189,0:11:18.050
the first story is the one[br]that sticks, even if it isn't true.

0:11:18.790,0:11:20.611
Like during the Paris attacks,

0:11:20.611,0:11:22.860
when there was talk[br]that refugees were dangerous

0:11:22.860,0:11:24.631
because they found a passport,

0:11:24.631,0:11:29.531
only to later confirm that there were[br]no Syrians or refugees involved.

0:11:30.541,0:11:33.981
But when we have such[br]a huge habit of misnaming people,

0:11:33.981,0:11:37.412
it's easy to overlook[br]these kinds of mistakes.

0:11:37.412,0:11:42.052
And this is exemplary[br]of what happens in a culture of fear.

0:11:42.912,0:11:46.312
In a society that doesn't ask[br]one another their names,

0:11:46.682,0:11:48.653
you end up with the mouth of an anchorman

0:11:48.653,0:11:51.304
or the mouth of a gun[br]doing all the talking.

0:11:52.724,0:11:55.304
On September 11th, 2001,

0:11:55.984,0:12:00.494
I attended a private K-8 Islamic school,

0:12:01.744,0:12:04.364
and within the first hours of the tragedy,

0:12:04.364,0:12:07.124
my school received two bomb threats.

0:12:07.944,0:12:11.886
The word 'terrorist'[br]was not on my spelling list,

0:12:12.546,0:12:16.336
but all of us kids picked it up[br]pretty soon after.

0:12:16.936,0:12:20.462
And in naming us terrorists[br]amidst this mass tragedy

0:12:20.462,0:12:23.907
that affected us as Americans too,

0:12:23.907,0:12:25.518
in the words of Dalia Mogahed,

0:12:25.518,0:12:29.008
we were not just mourners,[br]but we were suspects as well.

0:12:29.588,0:12:32.669
But, a few months ago,

0:12:32.669,0:12:36.939
me and my very handsome,[br]white-boy-looking brother named Usama

0:12:37.869,0:12:42.566
were at the museum[br]buying planetarium tickets,

0:12:42.566,0:12:45.811
and an elderly white man[br]walked up to me and said,

0:12:47.001,0:12:50.428
"I'm sorry about everything[br]you must be going through right now.

0:12:51.248,0:12:56.652
I want you to know that not all Americans[br]believe what these buffoons are saying."

0:12:57.122,0:12:58.151
(Applause)

0:12:58.151,0:13:00.480
"Yeah, he used the word 'buffoons!'"

0:13:00.480,0:13:02.129
(Applause)

0:13:03.952,0:13:08.150
And he said, "I want you to know[br]that we stand by you."

0:13:09.250,0:13:13.691
Now, had I not been wearing[br]a little piece of my identity on my head,

0:13:14.271,0:13:16.423
he wouldn't have known to tell me this.

0:13:16.863,0:13:19.685
And even though he didn't ask me[br]what my name was,

0:13:19.685,0:13:21.803
he instead told me his.

0:13:22.513,0:13:28.934
I have learned from experience[br]that when someone really wants to know,

0:13:28.934,0:13:33.045
they will be willing to cross[br]that threshold of fear

0:13:33.045,0:13:35.544
and find out that my name means hope.

0:13:35.944,0:13:41.586
And then, they'll have the courage[br]to ask the much more important questions

0:13:41.586,0:13:45.516
that probably only I can answer, like,

0:13:45.926,0:13:48.116
"What's that thing on your head?

0:13:49.006,0:13:50.897
Were you forced to wear it?

0:13:51.627,0:13:54.236
Are all Muslims really violent people?

0:13:54.236,0:13:57.437
Does the Quran[br]really say to kill all of us?

0:13:57.437,0:14:00.769
Can you please tell me[br]what's up with ISIS?"

0:14:01.069,0:14:04.488
And these questions,[br]though seemingly uncomfortable,

0:14:05.148,0:14:09.169
are how I know that I have been humanized,

0:14:09.629,0:14:13.529
and are how the courageously curious[br]know that really,

0:14:13.529,0:14:17.289
I'm only as scary[br]as the silence fear festers in.

0:14:18.329,0:14:23.059
Upon meeting someone new,[br]we ask their names.

0:14:23.439,0:14:25.161
We do not assign it to them.

0:14:25.911,0:14:29.351
And with that name, we are given ancestry,

0:14:29.351,0:14:32.211
bloodlines and dialects, books and poems,

0:14:32.211,0:14:36.332
perspectives, wars, struggles,[br]and survival stories.

0:14:36.952,0:14:40.852
"What's your name?"[br]is such a short distance to cross,

0:14:41.212,0:14:43.503
but when you ask me, oh, buddy!

0:14:43.503,0:14:48.252
I will take you from Kuala Lumpur[br]to Barcelona to Beirut.

0:14:48.252,0:14:52.522
We're going to go to Damascus,[br]to Sydney, to Trinidad and Tobago.

0:14:52.522,0:14:54.424
I will show you Mecca,

0:14:54.424,0:14:57.803
my closet with 70-plus[br]international scarves,

0:14:57.803,0:15:02.303
the graves of my 31 family members[br]who've been killed in Syria,

0:15:02.303,0:15:05.884
the coffee shop that I hang out at[br]and do my homework.

0:15:06.694,0:15:13.664
But we must have the courage[br]to claim our curiosity,

0:15:14.914,0:15:20.576
to go beyond anything we ever knew,[br]anything we ever feared.

0:15:21.236,0:15:22.806
But it takes two:

0:15:24.146,0:15:26.666
the elephant who offers the mint

0:15:28.426,0:15:30.366
and the one who takes it.

0:15:31.356,0:15:33.628
(Applause)

0:15:33.628,0:15:35.756
(Cheers)