Dear John,

Today we learned that the federal officers who inexplicably gunned down a young Iranian-American man at point blank range will not be held accountable. Bijan Ghaisar's parents and family have sought answers for over two years and have been stonewalled by their own government. Bijan's murder is just one part of a larger trend of state-sanctioned violence being carried out by American police forces against primarily black but increasingly also against brown men. For Iranian Americans who looked on as other men of color were killed by police officers and thought it would never happen to us, Bijan’s death is a wakeup call.

Today’s despairing announcement came on the heels of another official release concerning a civil servant, Sahar Nowruzzadeh, who was targeted by her bosses at the State Department and ultimately demoted because of her Iranian heritage. The department’s inspector general released its findings from an investigation into the matter and found conclusively that Brian Hook—the lead official charged with formulating Iran policy under Trump and Pompeo—discriminated against Sahar because he believed she was born in Iran.

As Americans, we entrust authorities with powers on the promise that they will not be abused—and if they are, we the people hold the ultimate authority to take that power back. In looking at just the above two examples, Iranian Americans can connect the dots as to a whole host of trends underscoring how the authorities who we have elected into office and paid for with our tax dollars are abusing those powers. 

Iranian Americans are being targeted, but we also are a community of immense privilege and we owe it not just to ourselves, but also to our compatriots facing similar challenges, to put that privilege to use in service of justice. If we organize—pull together our political giving, organize our communities to hold our elected officials accountable, and educate ourselves and the public about political engagement—Iranian Americans can make a major impact in restoring justice and accountability. 

With 2020 around the corner, we must not simply internalize the outrage of Bijan’s murder or the scandal of the targeting of Iranian American civil servants. We need to fight back. 

To better days ahead,

Jamal Abdi
President, NIAC

PS - Read my latest piece in The Iranian to learn more about how Iranian Americans are increasingly at the center of systematic discrimination across the U.S. and the importance of fighting back.