For the first time in North Carolina’s history, a Muslim woman was elected to public office.

Democrat Nida Allam made history last Tuesday night when she won a seat on the Durham County Board of Commissioners, reports CNN. When her campaign aides checked election data, they discovered she was a trailblazer. There were five seats available, and Allam finished in fourth place with 39,523 votes. The other four seats were filled by women, all Democrats, according to CBS 17.

“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,” Allam told the news station.

Last week’s election marks the second time Allam broke a glass ceiling. In 2017, she was elected vice chair of North Carolina’s Democratic Party, which made her the first Muslim to secure a spot on the party’s Executive Council.

Allam thanked her supporters on Twitter following her victory.

"People of Durham you made history last night by electing me as the FIRST Muslim Woman to serve the state of North Carolina," Allam wrote. "I can't even express how grateful I am to have earned your trust and support."

A hate-driven tragedy motivated Allam to enter politics. She was friends with Razan Abu-Salha, Yusor Abu-Salha and Deah Barakat, three Muslims who were killed in Chapel Hill in 2015. The friends were fatally shot by Craig Hicks, who was angry about a traffic dispute, according to BuzzFeed. Hicks was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the crime. Allam believed a position on the commissioner board was appropriate because it is largely responsible for school funding.  

“This type of hatred and bigotry that my friends were lost to, I feel like there’s a lack of education, that also leads to that type of environment,” she told CBS 17.

Allam used her campaign to promote Muslim representation by including her hijab in her campaign logo.

“My silhouette on my campaign logo is of my hijab because I wanted to be very unapologetic about that. These little girls were so excited. They said, ‘That’s you? Is that really a hijab? Is that a hijab that you use?’ They were so excited to see that kind of representation,” Allam said. “And it really solidified for me how important it was for me to be running for office.”

Allam and the other commissioners will take office in November.

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