Durham commissioner, first Muslim woman to hold office in NC announces run for Congress

“I think it’s really amazing, and it goes to show how progressive Durham really is and how much they care about the voices of people being heard,” said Allam at the time.

Allam said she was first inspired to get involved in politics after the murders of her three friends in Chapel Hill. Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha and Razan Abu-Salha were shot and killed in 2015 while Allam was a student at North Carolina State University.

“Realizing that I’ve experienced this pain and this trauma. Our entire community has. But, I still carry a great amount of privilege, and being able to find a balance of how can I use that privilege to actually support different communities who haven’t had their voices heard,” said Allam after her top-five finish. “It’s not gonna hold us back. We’re gonna take that tragedy and look at the bright side. We’re gonna look at the love that Deah, Yusor and Razan carried through their lives and the love that we’ve seen, an outpouring love after they passed, and continue to carry that forward.”