Jamilah Nasheed (born Jenise Williams; October 17, 1972) is an American politician from the state of

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Nasheed formerly represented the fifth district in the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

, and formerly served in the

Missouri House of Representatives The Missouri House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 163 members, representing districts with an average size of 37,000 residents. House members are elected for two-year terms during general elections ...

. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Early life and education

Born Jenise Williams, she was raised with her three brothers by their grandmother in a St. Louis housing project. Her father was killed in a drive-by shooting several months before she was born. She attended Roosevelt High School in St. Louis. She later took classes at

Florissant Valley Community College Florissant may refer to: * Florissant, Colorado, a census-designated place * Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, a United States National Monument, Colorado * Florissant, Missouri, a city * Florissant Township, St. Louis County, Missouri Se ...

in 2012. As an adolescent, Nasheed began visiting a mosque on Grand Boulevard. After two years of studying

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, she converted to the religion.

Political career

Nasheed served as a member of the

from the 60th district from January 2007 until January 2013. She was the first Muslim woman to serve in a state legislature. Nasheed ran for the

in the 2012 elections. A St. Louis Circuit Court judge ordered she be removed from the ballot because she did not live in the boundaries of the district at the time of the election, although district boundaries were to change through

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

. She appealed the decision to the

Missouri Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Missouri (SCOMO) is the highest court in the state of Missouri. It was established in 1820 and is located at 207 West High Street in Jefferson City, Missouri. Missouri voters have approved changes in the state's constitutio ...

, which allowed her to remain on the ballot. She defeated

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Robin Wright-Jones and fellow State Representative Jeanette Mott Oxford in the

Democratic primary This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Un ...

, and won the general election. In December, she was chosen to chair the Missouri Black Legislative Caucus. During the

Ferguson unrest The Ferguson unrest (sometimes called the Ferguson uprising, Ferguson protests, or the Ferguson riots) was a series of protests and riots which began in Ferguson, Missouri on August 10, 2014, the day after the fatal Killing of Michael Brown, ...

, Nasheed was taken into police custody on October 20, 2014, in front of the

Ferguson, Missouri Ferguson is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Per the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 18,527, and is predominantly Bla ...

police station. News reports indicated she was in possession of a firearm and drunk at the time of her arrest. Another protester said Nasheed refused to get off the street even after police gave instructions to the protesters to do so. In September 2016, Nasheed sat while her colleagues recited the

Pledge of Allegiance The U.S Pledge of Allegiance is a patriotic recited verse that promises allegiance to the flag of the United States and the republic of the United States. The first version was written in 1885 by Captain George Thatcher Balch, a Union Army o ...

in the Missouri Capitol. She said she acted in solidarity with San Francisco 49ers quarterback

Colin Kaepernick Colin Rand Kaepernick ( ; born November 3, 1987) is an American civil rights activist and former professional football quarterback. He played six seasons for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL). In 2016, he gained na ...

protest A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

of police brutality and racial oppression, although many of her colleagues saw this as unpatriotic. Nasheed was a declared candidate for

Mayor of St. Louis The mayor of St. Louis is the chief executive officer of St. Louis's city government. The mayor has a duty to enforce city ordinances and the power to either approve or veto city ordinances passed by the Board of Aldermen. The current mayo ...

in the 2017 election, but she dropped out of the race in January 2017. She ran in the March 2019 election to be the president of the

St. Louis Board of Aldermen The St. Louis Board of Aldermen is the lawmaking body of St. Louis, an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. The Board consists of 14 alderpersons, one elected by each of the city's 14 wards. The President of the Board is a separate po ...

Personal life

On November 22, 2014, Jamilah Nasheed reported in a tweet she stated: "Someone just put a gun to my head while I was getting out of my car in front of my house! " 6The event drew attention from media outlets, including **Fox2Now**, reporting "State Senator Nasheed alleges armed man tried to carjack her," and **The Missouri Times**, reporting: "Nasheed victim in attempted carjacking." On May 16, 2024, Missouri Parole Board member and former state senator Jamilah Nasheed was arrested in St. Charles County on suspicion of driving while intoxicated (DWI).

References

External links

Jamilah Nasheed at Missouri State Senate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nasheed, Jamilah Living people Democratic Party members of the Missouri House of Representatives Democratic Party Missouri state senators African-American state legislators in Missouri 21st-century African-American women politicians 1972 births Converts to Islam 21st-century American women politicians African-American Muslims 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women politicians 20th-century American women politicians Women state legislators in Missouri Muslims from Missouri 21st-century members of the Missouri General Assembly