About Rashida

Rashida Tlaib is the mother of two boys and the oldest of 14 children. Born and raised in Detroit, she’s a proud graduate of Detroit Public Schools and the daughter of Palestinian immigrant parents. Rashida made history in 2008 by winning her race for state representative and becoming the first Muslim woman ever to serve in the Michigan Legislature.

Rashida served three terms, rising to the Democratic Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, where she restored and secured millions of dollars for free health clinics, lead abatement, Meals on Wheels programs for seniors, before and after-school programs, and education funding.

Rashida took on the Koch brothers and forced them to remove pollutants from Detroit’s riverfront, and she led a We Have the Right to Breathe campaign that led to a comprehensive cancer study in the shadow of Marathon Oil’s refinery expansion. Rashida fought back against Matty Moroun when his Ambassador Bridge Company was illegally routing polluting semitrucks onto neighborhood streets and forced his company to follow the law.