The house I was born in in Somalia was right next to a big market. A lot of beggars or panhandlers would be in front of our house constantly, and my grandfather and grandmother would always invite them in to have food with us and have them take whatever was left over.

Insinuations that Ahmed Nur Said Elmi is my brother are absurd and offensive.

This country gave us hope. This country allowed for us to develop our own identity and to create our own home. And we should not look down on the next person that is trying to do that.

I find hope in knowing that I belong to a state that has a lot of people who are champions of change and progress; that we will rise up and fight for justice and equality; that, ultimately, love will trump hate.

One night, militia tried to break into our home, and the exterior was riddled with bullets.

When people were selling the politics of fear and division and destruction, we were talking about hope. We were talking about the politics of joy.

The one percent must pay their fair share.

There are a few things that we can do. One of them is that we can increase the taxes that people are paying who are the extremely wealthy in our communities. So, 70 percent, 80 percent, we've had it as high as 90 percent.

I know that when we interact with those we fear and hate, we will find commonality.

No Minnesotan should ever experience preventable health risks from breathing polluted air or from drinking unsafe water.

Many in the Somali community are excited to vote and support candidates who have shown an ability to lead with integrity and not use props and gatekeepers to get their votes.

I'm going from the state House to the opportunity to serve in Congress and serve the people in the Fifth, which is a great honor and a great opportunity... It is something that is exciting to a few people, but, you know, often times it is important for us to own the moment, celebrate it, and then move on.

We need to recognize that racism has never been subtle, though it has gone underreported.

American hate is not new - and it is not scarce.

Minnesota's diversity should be its greatest strength, but our neglect of nonwhite students has stifled our progress toward growth and equity.

I talk a lot about the men in my family because my mother died when I was little, and my grandmother died when my aunts were little, so we didn't have those kinds of heads of household. But all the members of our household who were female were sort of living as equal and as wise as the male figures in our family.

I am committed to growing participation in the political process and doing it the right way.

Some suggest that, as a woman, I meddle in political affairs and need to be 'put in my place.'

I look forward to being a voice of reason in fighting for transparent and accountable budgets.

I had a lot of challenges starting school, and my dad says I would come home every day crying and feeling bad about the problems I was having with some of the kids. And he would tell me to work hard on learning the language.

For me, as an immigrant who didn't speak the language, when I would have struggles as a kid, my dad would say, 'Once you are able to communicate with people, they're able to connect with you beyond your otherness.' That is really the message I've carried throughout my life.

I was a teenager when 9/11 happened. And I really was uncomfortable with many members of our community feeling like they had to strip themselves of their identity in order to mitigate the violence and the fears that they were feeling.

We say this is a land of immigrants, and we forget that this was a land that belonged to people. And those of us who are new immigrants and those of us who come from generations of immigrants have to realize we are not that much different from one another.

I have been very fortunate to have a partner who really stepped up and have wonderful children who do a lot of things that make it easy for Mommy to do this work.