Time for Ilhan

A Somali-American who arrived in the United States at the age of 12, self-described as “an extreme other” — black, Muslim, a woman and an immigrant – Ilhan Omar in 2016 sought to become the first Somali-American to win legislative office. Taking on a 43-year incumbent for a seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives, Ilhan ran on a platform to alleviate high unemployment and student debt in her central Minneapolis district, which includes large numbers of Somali immigrants and students at the University of Minnesota. “It’s a lot, trying to change the world,” a momentarily exhausted Ilhan tells director Norah Shapiro, whose Time for Ilhan is a virtual guide to how a grassroots campaign can further the restoration of American democracy, at least in a diversifying urban district.