Zarifeh Shalabi, a high school senior in Fontana, California, was recently elected to be the prom queen at her high school. Ms. Shalabi, a Muslim, wears a hijab. Her home is a few miles away from the attack site in San Bernardino, and after that attack, she worried that people might hurt her in the anti-Muslim backlash.
Her friends had other ideas. During the balloting for prom, queen, they passed out scarves and held balloons that said, “Don’t be a baddie, vote for the hijabi.” Of the 2000 students at the school, approximately four girls wear the hajab.
On the night of the prom, Zarifeh and a large group of female friends rode a bus to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in L.A. And there she was, on stage with the court, Summit High’s prom queen. (It took some convincing for her mother to let her go to the prom, but people in her mosque were proud.)
There are times when I look at the vote for Donald Trump, and I am in despair. And then I read about Zarifeh Shalabi, and I am so proud to live in America.
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