|
Home
> Courage Awards > Profiles
> Ali Abbas
 Courage in the Face of Discrimination
ALI ABBAS, 19, born and raised in rural Illinois, the son of Muslim, Lebanese parents. Ali experienced anti-Arab harassment throughout his childhood, which intensified after 9/11. When Ali came out during his senior year in high school, he was rejected by his friends and came under the scrutiny of his parents. He quickly forgave all for hurting him, even his parents, knowing their backgrounds of having suffered prejudice first hand. Ali now works to put himself through DePaul University, where he is involved in Students for Justice in Palestine, in coalition with Students of Islam, Feminists in Action and the campus LGBT organization. His goal is to increase acceptance of LGBTQ youth of color and Middle Eastern descent in the mainstream community, as well as to carry a gay liberation movement to the Middle East, so that all communities "are accepting of racial and gender diversity."
|
