Vote for El Hottie - Snap Classic

In sweet home Alabama, from the heart of Libya, comes a renegade candidate with a boombox and a head scarf. The cheerleaders, the geeks, the dweebs and the freaks are about to send a message the country needs right after 9/11. A very big thank you to Yasmin! Yasmin is a comedian and storyteller. You can follow her on Instagram @yasminelhahahady or TikTok @yasmin_elhady. She first told a version of this story https://vimeo.com/515798993 at Story District in Washington, DC. Produced by Justin Kramon, original score by Renzo Gorrio, artwork by Teo Ducot. Snap Classic - Season 17 – Episode 40 Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices https://dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

• 0:07Speaker 00

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• 0:38Speaker 01

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• 1:14Speaker 02

  Okay, so I'm gonna break the first rule of book club, which of course is whatever happens in the book club stays in the book club. I'm gonna do this to tell you that we, the members of my book club, have been members now for the majority of our adult lives. Before marriages, before children, before divorces. And that's what makes it special. When reading books, it's about the tiniest portion of what this club is about. Almost an afterthought, first there's the food. The host really goes all out. The drinks,

• 1:55Speaker 02

  the overnight trips together, the histories, the breakoff groups, the holidays. But all of it, all of it, is just trappings for the big show. Because after the discussion of the book, we pick which book we're going to read next. One person, one vote. Get to advocate for your selection. Whoever garners the most votes, their book is chosen. A pure democracy. And here emerges the ever-evolving coalitions, the factions, the threats, the

• 2:32Speaker 02

  coercion, the favors, and treachery. Often, I will throw a thoughtful, readable selection into the voting pool, only to be foiled by Amanda Brown Stevens, who will enter a lesser book into voting just to mess with me. Then, but then she advocates with such passion, such verve, such antagonistic glee, and hurtful, personal infective that many times the gullible are swayed into choosing her suggestion instead of mine. Fine, Amanda. Amanda, I get that

• 3:17Speaker 02

  Tommy Orange is a claimed new book is actually based in our neighborhood, Amanda, but that still doesn't mean anyone who picks a science fiction space opera is three kinds of stupid. How dare you?

• 3:32Speaker 02

  Our prize, the pride, honor, and distinction of having your book chosen. A life-changing event, to be sure. But what if you decide to enter an election for much higher stakes? In fact, in spite of the vitriol, the name-calling, the accusations, you determine the time is now for you to take a stand and run for president of your high school. Today on Snap Judgment, we proudly present Vote for Al-Hadi. My name is from Washington, and book clubs and high

• 4:12Speaker 02

  schools have a lot in common when you're listening to Snap Judgment.

• 4:35Speaker 02

  Yes. Yes, today's story takes us all the way back to cafeterias, lockers, homerooms, back to high school, where there are the chosen ones, the cheerleaders and the jocks on whom the sun never sets. They're the ones just hanging on. At the other end of the high school totem pole, there are the nerds. One nerd snappers has a plan. Snap Judgment.

• 5:16Speaker 03

  I was born in Cairo in 1985, and my mom is Egyptian, but my dad isn't. My father is Libyan. And my father was in the Gaddafi regime. He saw how bad it was, and he morally abstained against that government. He sought asylum in Egypt. And he meets my mom, and she's super hot. They fell in love, and after a year, they got married. And they had my brother, and then they had me. Everything seemed to be fine. But the 1989 Lockerbie bombings changed everything.

• 5:56Speaker 03

  I was just four years old. Libyans became pariah. They became a problem that every country wanted to get rid of. So one night, my dad wakes me up in the middle of the night, and he's like, "We're going on a vacation." I'm like, "Where are we going?" He's like, "I'll meet you there." I'm like, "What do you mean? We're not going together?" He's like, "Yeah, yeah, we're gonna go separate, but together. But separate. It's gonna be fun." I'm like, "What?" He's like, "Yes, it's gonna be a journey of a lifetime."

• 6:25Speaker 03

  My dad went to Germany. We ended up going to Jordan. We like split up, and then we started country hopping. Morocco, Saudi Arabia, London, just trying to find a place to seek asylum. And everyone's like, "No, no, can't have you here." So we ended up in JFK. We got asylum on the spot. And then my dad took us to a place where it made sense if you're Libyan and Egyptian: Alabama. Not realizing anything about Alabama. My dad is like the biggest hippie. He was like, "There's lots of Green Mountain and lots of farm animal. Okay, let's go."

• 7:07Speaker 03

  Huntsville is a beautiful town. It sits between what they call the Green Mountains, which are the Appalachians, but they call them the Green Mountains in Alabama. It's got a valley. It's got lakes. It's got the Mississippi River running through it. It's a very calming, peaceful place. So I show up to school, and I am one of two Muslims in the entire school. This is a school of about 500 kids at that time. It would feed into a very large high school of over 3,000 students. And I remember a young girl that was there who was the only other Muslim, and her name was Asma, but they called her Asma. So then I immediately became Yasma. That's not my name. My name is Yasmin. You

• 7:51Speaker 03

  know, the Englishized version of my name is Yasmin, but I just became her, like, "Oh my God, there's Asma." Then there's her like ugly little sister Yasma. Look at them. They're so weird.

• 8:05Speaker 03

  So one of the reasons that I didn't exactly fit in in Alabama, and people looked at me funny, was because I wear a headscarf, much to the chagrin of my mother and father. They did not want me to wear a headscarf. They were like, "What are you doing? You're losing your entire childhood." I was eight years old. I viewed the headscarf and covering and modesty as beautiful. The people that I looked up to and wanted to be like and role model myself after all wore headscarves. And I was committed. Like, I never took it off.

• 8:41Speaker 03

  So there was a kid in school, and he was very popular, so much taller than everybody else. And he had a beautiful girlfriend. She was the captain of the cheerleading squad. This is in eighth grade. And this kid, I think, he thought it would be really funny if he like pinched my butt in front of people because I was kind of untouchable. But this was like, this was like red line. And so the minute he pinched me, I like flipped around very quickly, and I slapped him, full force with my entire hand. I had never even talked to him. And he was shocked. He immediately just, like, you could tell, like jaw drop. It was not funny. No one laughed. And I just turned around and left him standing there

• 9:26Speaker 03

  in disbelief.

• 9:29Speaker 03

  So as I moved into high school, I think I was tough, and people knew that I was tough. I had stood up to bullies. I'm totally content with being one of the geeks. I had been in Alabama at that point for almost six years. I was 15. So one day in high school, I'm sitting in our AP English class, and the principal came on the intercom, "Please, teachers, stop your lessons. America's under attack. Please turn on your televisions." And so we go, "What?" Everyone turned it on to CNN. It was like billowing smoke that were coming from the buildings, the Twin Towers. I remember our teacher just like immediately bursting out into tears. And then, yeah, then I had that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

• 10:14Speaker 03

  I said, "If this is not the end of the world, then man, I hope that Muslims didn't do this. Please, God, don't make it Muslim. Don't make these people Muslim."

• 10:25Speaker 03

  So I get home that day and my parents are both sitting at the kitchen table. They both have really a sad, sad look on their face. They're like, oh, today is a sad day, not just for the entire country, but for you in particular. Could you please just take off your headscarf? I'm like, what are you doing? Why are you saying this? He really asked me to take off my headscarf? He's like, yes, please, we're very serious. It's very dangerous. It was such a shattering for me because I'm 15 and I'm seeing the hero of my life. My father is the hero, the man who risks his life for what he believed in.

• 11:06Speaker 03

  And so he's very big about coming to your own conclusions and being true to yourself. And for Muslims, we call that the Fitra, which is like the natural state that you were born in. The way I saw him was this person who did not compromise doing what was right. And it's why he stood up against Gaddafi. It's why he lost everything. And now he was telling me to go against my faith. And he's so vulnerable in this moment. He's saying things that I know he doesn't even believe in. It felt like such a deeply compromised moment for him. It broke my heart. I was like, I gotta fix this. I don't like seeing my dad like this. This is unnatural. This is weird. So I was like, what are you talking about, Dad?

• 11:51Speaker 03

  There's no way I'm gonna take it off. Who's speaking up for Muslim women? If I don't wear my headscarf proudly, who's gonna talk for me? Who's gonna speak for me? Who's gonna defend me? I was very adamant. It was like a light went on in his eyes. It was like a strange light went on for him. He was nodding his head. It was like I was saying something profound or remarkable and heavy. And he just looked off into the distance. You could see he went from feeling like I couldn't wear a headscarf or hold my own to being like, no, she is actually going to the top. And he was like, perfect. I knew you were my daughter. And that's when my mom cut in.

• 12:34Speaker 03

  And she's like, no, I raised her too, not just you. You're not the only one. You weren't even here. He's like, yes, I was. How dare you? She's my daughter too. And they instantly go into this beast competition mode. And you see my dad, his head is just turning and he's concocting something. He's like, no, no, she's my daughter and she will run for president. And I go, uh, Dad, there's a constitution. You know, I was born in Cairo, it won't work. He's like, of your class, you will run for president of your class, yes? He's now signing me up for my class election. My mom was like, what are you doing? What are you saying?

• 13:18Speaker 03

  She's gonna run for president. And I'm like, if I do this, then it's gonna be social suicide. But I can't let my dad down. I can't let him down. My brother was in the other room listening to us and I walk in and he's like, are you insane? I'm like, I know. And he was like, man, I've seen people up there. Once they go up there and they say anything, people are like, you suck. No one likes you. Not even your mom likes you. And he was like, how are you going to do this? And I'm like, I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. He's like, do you have an opponent? Like, does any, do you know who's going against you? I'm like, there's this one guy who's been saying he's a senior class president since August, Mike Green. This kid played three sports.

• 14:01Speaker 03

  He would later get early decision into Duke because he aced the ACT. He was like 6'2". All the girls wanted to date him, all the guys wanted to be him. And my brother was like, this guy is everything that you're not. What were you thinking, promising Baba this thing like, it's gonna be a bloodbath, dude? It's gonna be a bloodbath. I knew I was gonna run, my name was gonna be on the ballot, but like, was I actually gonna do a campaign? So I was trying to think, how in the world do I get these people on my side? How do I navigate a post 9/11 reality, knowing very well that there are some people in the

• 14:42Speaker 03

  school, a lot of people in this over 3,300 student school, that see me as personally responsible for the biggest tragedy on American soil? There's two ways. You can either really run away from who you are, or you can really lean in 100% into who you are. And I was like, yep, I'm doing it. So I started making posters like, vote for El Hadi. And it sounds like El Hadi in English. And I put flames on there. The promises of my campaign are that I'm fun, that I'm reliable, that I am really smart, that I will give voice to people who have maybe been ignored.

• 15:25Speaker 03

  I wanted people to feel like they had access and I wanted them to feel encouraged to participate. So I had made a poster that said, vote for the rising Muslim star, Yasmin Al-Hadi. And it was in between a stairwell and it was right there in the center. And I remember walking up the stairs in like anticipation to see my poster and my whole heart just sank. It was torn down the middle and thrown on the ground, face up. I mean, it was really painful to see it on the ground, but it was, it was almost as though it was, it was like my insecurity being confirmed, which is really hard for

• 16:10Speaker 03

  one of your insecurities to be like, well, I told you so. Not just that I would lose, but I would lose in a spectacular fashion, or I would lose in a way where Muslims were hated even more.

• 16:29Speaker 02

  When we return, with Yasmin's campaign strategy, to lean into who she is, a proud Muslim teenager in hijab, will it ultimately cost her? Stay tuned. Welcome back to Snap Judgment. The vote for El Hadi episode, when last we left, Yasmin decided to run for president of her high school despite all the odds. 9/11 just happened and she's a hijab-wearing Muslim teenager in Alabama.

• 17:13Speaker 02

  The campaign is off to a rocky start. One day at school, she sees her poster, torn in half and tossed on the ground. It read, "Vote for the rising Muslim star." Snap Judgment.

• 17:30Speaker 03

  So I like picked it up off the ground and as I walked over to my locker, my head was hanging pretty low. And then a student came by, a young man, and he kind of stopped beside me. And then he looked at me, he's like, hey. And I was like, oh, hey. He's like, um, yeah, I heard you were running. He was a white guy, a pretty strong conservative. I was like, yeah, I'm, it's a long shot. And he was like, um, I wanted you to know that I'm, I'm actually the one who tore down the poster and I'm like, really sorry about that. I was like, oh, whoa, okay.

• 18:13Speaker 03

  And he's like, I just, I felt bad. I felt like I had to tell you. I know that it probably took a lot for you to put up the poster. And I'm like, why did you tear it down? Like, why would you do that? He's like, I just think it's like a little bit sacrilegious to put up a poster and using your religion in this way. Like, why do you have to make it about religion? Why do you have to say that? I was like, well, other people have used my religion in ways that I don't sanction. And he was like, okay. He's like, I get it, I get it. Well, you know, I, I wanna help you like put it back up. Like, let's just put it back up. And I was like, I don't know. And he was like, no, like, let's put it back up. So we put it back up. I didn't know how to feel, whether good or bad about it.

• 18:56Speaker 03

  I kind of felt sad. So I come home that night after the poster got torn down and I'm looking pretty sullen. My dad's like, hey, what happened? What's wrong? I'm like, well, this kid tore down my poster. And he's like, look, people are gonna try to tear you down because you're doing something. If you're a nobody, nobody cares. But you're a somebody. Get back up! And I was like, thanks, Dad. And I knew I was gonna do something, but I think that something was fail miserably. I went and talked to my brother. My brother is lounging on his bed in his bedroom. He was like, what are you going to do? And I was like, I was hoping that we could talk about it.

• 19:41Speaker 03

  And he was like, this is the most unpopular time probably in history to be Muslim. Like, yeah, I know, I know, but like, what else do I got? He's like, you just gotta like, do the thing that you're good at, that no one else is good at. I was like, all right, uh, wear a headscarf? And he's like, no, no, you need to just like, you're gonna rap your election speech. That's what you're gonna do. And I was like, what? Okay, we're gonna rap, like it's a one-way rap battle, but you're the only one waging war. And my brother's name was Hussein, okay? So do you think he was bullied a little bit in school? And I'm like, I don't think we should be talking about waging war, Hussein. He's like, look, it's gonna be all like these really cool songs, it's gonna be fast, you gotta diss your opponent in the first 30 seconds, that's the key. And you gotta move it along. Every 30 seconds, you cut to a new song.

• 20:26Speaker 03

  I can't. He's like, you gotta hit every demographic, like, there has to be some alternative, there has to be some classic rock, there has to be some rap, there has to be some pop. So my brother is like, I believe in you. You gotta just try to be cool. And I'm like, you and I both know I'm not cool. He's like, you gotta two-minute pretend and then get offstage as quick as possible.

• 20:49Speaker 03

  I was thinking about my election campaign and I like really started believing that maybe this was the right thing for me to do. Maybe I really should rap my election speech. As wild as it may have seemed, maybe I could do the thing that was unique. This is something I've been doing for years and I think it's going to come out of left field for people because no one knows that I do this. So I was like, you know what? I'm going to lean into what my brother said.

• 21:16Speaker 03

  So I tutored a guy named Mark and he happened to be Mike Green's best friend. Mark is terrible at math and he's like two years behind where he needs to be. Mark's on the football team. He's one of the only jocks that actually talks to me because I've helped him and he just happens to be great at music. I didn't know anyone else that used Napster more than this guy. So I'm like, this is the guy that has to cut me this music for my rap. He is so close to the enemy that it is a problem if he leaks this. And I remember walking into the public library where we usually do our tutoring sessions. I kind of told him, I'm like, can I tell you something like super secret? He's like, yeah, girl, he's talking to me. Right. If you could please just not tell anyone that I'm going to be rapping my election speech. He's like, what did you just say? And I'm like, I'm going to rap

• 22:01Speaker 03

  my election speech. And he was like, oh, that's going to be funny. I said, well, you're going to, you're going to help me make it happen, Mark. And he's like, well, how, how so? Like, well, I've got this music that needs to be cut. And look, I've been helping you now for a year, man. I helped you throughout senior year. I'll throw in some free tutoring sessions. If you could just please cut this music. And he's like, girl, for you, anything. I got you.

• 22:27Speaker 03

  Mike Green had no campaign. He had posters that said, vote for Mike. I mean, that was all it was. He did not make shirts or buttons or stickers or basically none of the election campaigning that any other regular human beings would do. I had very little interaction with him outside of AP courses. He was very dismissive. Just like, oh, I heard you were running. Good luck with that. All the people like on the football team and the track team and the basketball team, they would not talk to me. Jocks would also give me dirty looks. They kind of gave me like side eye when they'd walk by me in the hallways. And I think it's because they were like, who is this loser who thinks she's going to win against Mike Green? Okay. So I'm thinking, how do I make hijab cool? All right. How do I make it ubiquitous?

• 23:12Speaker 03

  How do I make it a symbol of leadership or power or goodness? Who is the most powerful influencer in our school? Like, who is the most powerful voting block? Who does everyone want to be? I was like, wait a second. The cheerleaders. Do cheerleaders run our school? Okay. They get automatic bids into our high school sorority. And yes, we had high school sororities in Huntsville, Alabama. Okay. I think it was insane that I thought they were going to listen to me. But I did have one in. Back in the day, it was the captain's boyfriend that I had slapped across the face, who had tried to pinch my butt and make me

• 23:57Speaker 03

  a joke, when instead I made him look like the biggest jackass in the room. So I'm thinking, okay, women support women. I'm going to go in here and lead with that foot.

• 24:14Speaker 03

  So I go up to the cheerleaders while they're practicing in the gym and I'm hoping, praying that they just give me an audience. You know, because these girls, first of all, they're beautiful. They like wake up two hours before school. They go to sleep in rollers. Like, they're always wearing the most beautiful clothing. They're rich. They were the goddesses of our school. And I walk up to them and I'm like, hey, guys. Hey. And they're like, oh, my God. Hey, Yasmin. What's up? How are you? Oh, my God. I heard you're running. I'm like, yeah, yeah. I can't believe it either. I'm running for seat. And they're like, it's going to be hard. You run against Mike. I mean, everybody likes Mike. Don't

• 24:56Speaker 03

  you think? And I'm like, well, yeah, I know they do. But you know, I am a woman like you. Okay. I've got your back. I've shown that, haven't I? Like, well, yep, you have actually. That's actually true. And I'm like, yeah. And I'm not going to let some guy disrespect women. And I'm not going to be busy with sports and all these other things. I'm going to be available, okay, to listen to what you need. Yeah. I mean, we can do this together, don't you think? Like, women should be supporting women. Don't you think it would be really interesting if y'all like came to school, you know, looking like me one day? Wouldn't that be weird? What do you mean? You know, like wearing like a headscarf, like a hijab, like me. They're like, oh, my

• 25:41Speaker 03

  God. Could we wear one of those? And I'm like, mm hmm. Yep. And you'd be like, like, kind of weird, I know, but like Muslim-y. Would you do that? And they're like, well, how long would we do it? Just for the morning, really, just until homeroom. I need you at homeroom with those on. And they're like, looking like you all, like wrapped up like a little present? I'm like, yeah, like a little Muslim present. They were like, hmm, I'm not, let's see. And wait a second. Can we just really wear whatever color we want? And I'm like, whatever color you want. And they were like, that is so like, interesting. They were like, okay, we'll do it.

• 26:24Speaker 03

  In that morning, I got them all the hijabs in a box and I came to school and I had a safety pin piece of paper to them. They said funny slogans like can't scarf this, scarf girl to the rescue is getting hot in here. So put on a scarf, scarf it down. And I safety pinned them to the backs of their heads and said they'd put it on and they were like, oh, my God, this is so cute. This is adorable. There were 10 cheerleaders who wore the headscarves. And then everybody showed up in homeroom with them on. They're wearing their sleeveless cheerleading tops and their mini skirts and they were wearing a hijab on their head. Like, people gasped when they saw them and they were like, oh, my God. They're like, well, we just, we just want you to know that like we support Yasmin and we really think that

• 27:05Speaker 03

  she should win and she'll really listen to y'all. And I think she's just kind of cool. She's kind of funny. I was like, did you say I'm cool? It was weird that they said I was cool. But I think it's because the hijab was a novelty cool thing. I felt excited that I had convinced these very powerful women to support me. And I realize that some people may see it as disrespectful or sacrilegious or offensive in some way, but this was high school. And the women who chose to show up for me in that way were doing it out of love and support. It was one more step to normalizing wearing a headscarf. Afterwards, they thanked

• 27:47Speaker 03

  me, gave me back my headscarves. And honestly, I felt like maybe I have a chance. But I knew that the election speech was where I was going to make it or break it.

• 28:04Speaker 02

  In return, will Yasmin make it or break it? Stay tuned.

• 28:17Speaker 02

  Welcome back to Snap Judgment, the Vote for El Hadi episode. My name is Glenn Washington and when last we left, Yasmin had pulled out all the stops in her campaign for high school president. Who else could have convinced 10 cheerleaders to wear headscarves and proclaim their support for the rising Muslim star? But now election day is right around the corner. The question is, it just means battle rap, ready. Snap Judgment.

• 28:50Speaker 03

  So I've been practicing the rap to my friends, to my cat, in the shower, at night. I was performing the battle rap everywhere I went for a solid two weeks. That included a dentist appointment or a doctor appointment or a grocery run. So it's election day and I'm thinking, I can't mess up. I can't screw this up. I am nervous beyond belief. And I prepped all of my outfits the night before. So I pick up my dress. It's like a shirt dress that has an Oxford collar and I wanted to look like a business minded rap mogul. I was wearing a ski cap that had taped a little piece of paper on there and it said

• 29:34Speaker 03

  MC Yasmin. The night before, I'd made tinfoil chains. So just like chains made out of tinfoil with a medallion at the bottom and it said, yo, yo, Yasmin.

• 29:46Speaker 03

  I am feeling like I'm dressed for success, but I don't know how it's going to go. So each candidate has to run their election speech and it's in front of the entire school in our huge auditorium. Then we have a voting that occurs and the results come in the next day. I was sweating through my clothing. I had pit stains from my pit all the way to my rib cage. It was embarrassing and I just kept my arms really close, really tight, close to me. This was the moment of truth. It comes down to whether you sink or swim on this morning.

• 30:27Speaker 03

  So I get to school. I'm already looking kind of crazy because I'm wearing a ski cap over my hijab and I'm holding a huge boombox on my shoulder and everyone is intrigued. Entrepreneur is full of kids and it's me and Mike Green up on the stage and the principal and the current senior class president is also there. Although I was sweating, I was kind of feeling swaggy a little bit. The boombox is on my lap at this point and it feels heavy. Like the boombox feels heavy on my lap. So I like take it off and like I put it next to me. Everyone is staring at the boombox because they want to know what is going to come out of that boombox.

• 31:13Speaker 03

  So the principal goes up there and is like,

• 31:14Speaker 04

  Hey Tigers! We're really excited about what's gonna happen today. You know, win or lose, what matters is our spirit. We're gonna be respectful. You know what I mean by that?

• 31:24Speaker 03

  Because people were not usually respectful. People would cry. There was always complaints. He's like,

• 31:29Speaker 04

  We've got a big reelection here. We've got a president for this senior class who's here to represent how important this position will be. It's about the future of school. And I just want you all to know that everybody here, win or lose, is still gonna win. But it is kind of a big deal.

• 31:47Speaker 03

  He kept contradicting himself.

• 31:49Speaker 04

  Look at these Tigers up here competing here for your vote.

• 31:54Speaker 03

  I got lucky to be first. Do you understand this? Because of the alphabet. So he's like,

• 31:58Speaker 04

  All right, Tigers, we've got this young lady over here. Bless her heart. Miss Yashman Elhadi going up here and tried to do her thing.

• 32:10Speaker 03

  So I go up there. I'm walking with a limp with the boombox on my shoulder because I want to look kind of swaggy.

• 32:20Speaker 03

  So I turn on the music and it goes straight into Vanilla Ice. Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun. Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun. Ding!

• 32:29Speaker 05

  Yasmin Yasmin, baby.

• 32:30Speaker 03

  Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun. I want you to stop, collaborate, and listen. Grissom's back with a brand new election this school. He's gotta hold on me tight, ask me questions. I won't bite. White. Is the color of my scarf green? Is the color one you barfed? And then I pointed to Mike Green.

• 32:48Speaker 03

  And you could see, he goes, his mouth is gaping open. What? Like as if I really heard him. And then it went into, um, Welcome to Atlanta.

• 33:00Speaker 03

  Welcome to Grissom. What do students say? And we go out to the flagpole. If we want to pray, we want to skip ticket beat because the guards are roaming and the gates be closed after eight in the morning. And then all three black students just get up erupting. They get up off their chairs and that just changes the dynamic in the room because they just feel seen and they feel excited. And everyone's like, oh, man, this is actually cool.

• 33:25Speaker 03

  And then it goes into a Linnner Skinnerd.

• 33:32Speaker 03

  Sweet home Grissom High School.

• 33:37Speaker 03

  Where the ceilings are greenish blue.

• 33:42Speaker 03

  Sweet home Grissom High School.

• 33:47Speaker 03

  Lord, I'm coming home with the flu thanks to you.

• 33:52Speaker 03

  People loved it. No one knew that I was gonna do this. The only person in the crowd who knows this is Mark. Mark is the only one, and you could just see him. He was not just happy for me. He was jumping up and down. It was so great to see Mark, who's a bigger man, you know, a bigger football guy, just jumping up and down like, yes! But it was like, he was risking it all doing that because that's his friend up there and he's cheering for me. I'm hitting every single demographic and then I'm coming right now for the cheerleaders. Ah, wanna win? So you better get the voting started. Get the voting started. Ah, wanna win? So you better get the voting started.

• 34:37Speaker 03

  Get this voting started on a Tuesday. If it was Principal Drake, we'd be here all day. He talks way too slow on the intercom. Every word he says just comes out all wrong. And then he's like, oh! On stage, you could see his mouth drop and he was like, oh, my God. And he like, he like claps his hand, his knee goes up and he slaps his knee.

• 35:02Speaker 03

  Breaking up into laughter. He can't believe that he's been inserted into the song. And the cheerleader was like, oh, my God! You know, they loved it. Huntsville City knows how to party. Grissom and Huntsville know how to party. In the Huntsville City, the city of angels. Huntsville City, the city of rockets.

• 35:31Speaker 03

  Then I hear, Na na na, na na na na na na na na na na na. I just can't get this present see out of my head. No, it's just what I've always been waiting for. I just can't get the scarf off of my head. No, it's just baby what I stand for. And then I remove my ski cap and underneath is a short blonde wig from Kylie Minogue's video. And people lose their minds. They lose it, but like, oh, my God! They don't know if I'm gonna take on my job. They don't know what's going on. That was the big reveal.

• 36:15Speaker 03

  Came off the stage to roaring applause. Everyone starts standing up. It's a standing ovation. Every single auditorium seat is empty because people are standing up. It is the most fabulous experience, like the biggest dopamine rush of my life. You could see Mike Green melting in that moment.

• 36:37Speaker 03

  And, you know, the principal goes up after me and he was like,

• 36:40Speaker 04

  Well, well, well! That was unexpected. I'll tell you what. All right, we're ready for our next candidate, Mr. Mike Green.

• 36:51Speaker 03

  And so Mike goes up there. I could see that he was teary. And then when he went up to do his election speech, he was shaky. And he's like,

• 37:00Speaker 04

  I don't know, I don't know why you should vote for me. I'm gonna vote for her.

• 37:05Speaker 03

  That was his entire election speech. He just folded and then he just gets offstage. And I look at him, I'm like shocked. And I'm like, hey, man, I'm gonna vote for you. He's like, well, I'm gonna vote for you. I was serious. You know, Mike didn't have to do that. Like, I feel like he, in his heart of hearts, actually felt like I maybe deserved to win, which was huge and unexpected. And very big-hearted of him. You know, it's like in your defeat, when you concede to the other person, it shows your lack of arrogance. It shows your ability to put down your ego. It shows your humility even in the defeat. And that, to me, is like good sportsmanship.

• 37:49Speaker 03

  It's like good humanness. There's something really beautiful about that.

• 37:56Speaker 03

  It made me really see him as fully human and complicated and layered and made me respect him so much more. He wasn't a villain in my story.

• 38:11Speaker 03

  But I was still nervous about whether that actually was gonna translate into votes. Just entertaining people should not mean that they should vote for you to lead them. And so I wasn't secure that I had it in the bag. I went home that night. My dad was like on edge, like, so when do you know if you won or not? And I'm like, that, we'll find out tomorrow. He's like, okay, no big deal. All right, that's fine. And next morning, everyone that sees me walking into school is like, hey, hey, great speech. Hey, great speech. Oh, my God, that speech was so much fun.

• 38:48Speaker 03

  So I was like sitting and waiting and the intercom goes off. It was Principal Drake and here he is like,

• 38:54Speaker 04

  Good morning Tigers! Oh, Grissom Tigers, we have a beautiful day. The day look outside, it's got a nice sun and we've got a lot to talk about today because we have our election results. But I just want you to know that no matter what, we're all in the spirit together and we're all students here.

• 39:14Speaker 03

  And everyone's like, come on, come on, Principal Drake! And he's like,

• 39:18Speaker 04

  I've got a couple other announcements. Listen, parking lot C's gotta be emptied because we're gonna do renovations.

• 39:23Speaker 03

  We're like, shut up! Shut up about parking lot C! And then finally, he's like,

• 39:28Speaker 04

  All right, the moment you've been waiting for. Here are your senior class results.

• 39:32Speaker 03

  And he starts with, you know, the secretary, treasurer, vice president. He's like,

• 39:37Speaker 04

  And your president for your senior class is,

• 39:44Speaker 04

  Yasmin Elhadi!

• 39:48Speaker 03

  He didn't pronounce my name correctly and it was amazing. And the entire homeroom is like erupting. They kept saying, you deserve it. You deserve it! And I was like, do I, I don't, okay, thank you. I don't, do we, are we, anyone really deserve anything? But okay, thank you. And I won in like a landslide victory. It was like one of the largest voting turnouts in the history of the school. Mike sees me in the hallway afterwards, right after homeroom, and he gives me a very firm handshake. And he's like, congratulations. So I go home and my dad was like, so what'd they say? And I'm like, I won! You know, and he's like, oh, my God! That was like feeling all the warmth in the world cast on my heart.

• 40:31Speaker 03

  It was really important to make my dad proud. I felt like it was the only way to make up for what happened on 9/11. Everybody's lives got turned upside down. And I think that he felt guilty about bringing me to the United States. I don't really tell this part, but like the next day after September 11th, on September 12th, me and my mom were booed out of a Walmart. We walked in and literally the cash register was like, get out of here, boo! Go back to your countries, boo! And then the customer started booing us out of that Walmart. And it was so traumatic. It was so bad. And I won two months after September 11th. He's like so happy.

• 41:16Speaker 03

  He gave me the biggest hug. He kissed me on the cheek. He's like, first of all, it's confirmed, you are my daughter. My mom was like, rolls her eyes. And she's like, no way you won? I'm like, I know, I can't even believe it. I don't know what they were thinking, voting for me. And then my dad said, but also, second of all, I want you to know, you, my dear daughter, are worth a thousand sons.

• 41:51Speaker 02

  A very, very big thank you. Thank you, Yasmeen Alhadi. Yasmeen is a comedian and storyteller. We're gonna have her socials at snapjudgment.org. She first told this story, a version of it, at Story District in Washington DC. Big thanks to them as well. And now, I'm gonna hand the mic over real quick to the producer of this story, Justin Kramon, and a very special guest.

• 42:20Speaker 06

  So first, just tell me who I'm talking to.

• 42:23Speaker 07

  My name is Mohammed Adwak, father of Yasmeen. She's my baby. She's the youngest of my children.

• 42:35Speaker 06

  Do you remember when she ran for the election?

• 42:39Speaker 07

  I told her, "Of course, go ahead. I know you will do it, Yasmeen."

• 42:43Speaker 03

  And I'm, "Thank you for supporting me."

• 42:46Speaker 07

  Of course, because I believe in you, Allah.

• 42:49Speaker 06

  Do you remember anything about the campaign that she ran?

• 42:54Speaker 07

  I told her, "This would be an excellent idea. Scarf it, scarf it, make it, you know, as your motto."

• 43:01Speaker 03

  He gave me that motto, "Scarf it, scarf it." I had it down. Did you ever want me to take off my hijab?

• 43:08Speaker 07

  Maybe, just for hesitation, you know. But after I came to my senses, I said, "No, we shouldn't. We should be proud of what we are and we should be proud of our heritage."

• 43:27Speaker 07

  You know, we came as strangers to this country. This land is a land of chances. And it takes time to believe in yourself and to have confidence in yourself and that you can believe that you will do and achieve. I remember once I decided to defect. This is true, this is honestly. When I tried to step inside the airplane that will take me away, it's just like I'm climbing, like I'm climbing a mountain, like something, you know, heavy in my feet. Because I know this is the moment where my life would be completely different.

• 44:09Speaker 07

  And I know always who do the right thing, they have to pay price. And I paid the price. But now I'm happy that my children, that they did what I couldn't do.

• 44:24Speaker 03

  No, we didn't, no. You did amazing things and I'm proud of you. Thanks, Dad.

• 44:32Speaker 07

  Always, always. I look deep inside her. I know she is so much grateful to me. I really, I feel her, regardless if she talk or not, I can feel it.

• 44:48Speaker 02

  Thanks again. The original score for this piece was by Renzo Goryeo. It was produced by Justin Kramon.

• 45:04Speaker 02

  Believe it or not, that story was produced by Stephanie Foo. The recently released paperback edition of her bestselling memoir, What My Bones Know, is available in stores everywhere. Oh, yes. Another adventure in sound. And Snap is, it's not fair to keep it all to yourself. If you dig it, spread the word, let somebody know. And if you need more, know that more Snap journeys await wherever you get your podcasts. Snap Judgment. Snap is brought to you by the team that was never part of the cheerleading squad, except for the Uber user, Mr. Mark Ristich.

• 45:49Speaker 02

  I mean, he wasn't part of the squad either, but he brought snacks and did whatever other chores they told him to do. There's Nancy Lopez, Pat Massey Miller, Anna Sussman, Renzo Goryeo, John Facil, Shayna Shealy, Taylor Decot, Flo Wiley, Bo Walsh, Marissa Dodge, David Exman, and Regina Bettiaco. And this, this is not the news. No way is this the news. In fact, you could drive a DeLorean back in time to high school and jeopardize your very existence by having your own mother fall in love with you instead of your father. What? What? And you could then turn this twisted notion into a blockbuster Hollywood film

• 46:34Speaker 02

  and you would still, still not be as far away from the news as this is. But this is PRX.