Ilhan Omar: American power derived from racism and history ‘built on the oppression of black bodies’

Omar, the first Somali refugee elected to Congress, also expressed the belief that in a “racist society,” it is simply not enough to not be racist. “We must be anti-racist,” she said, quoting Angela Davis.

“In a racist society, it is not enough to be nonracist,” Omar said. “We must be anti-racist.”

Omar has previously spoken critically of the U.S., including in early February, when she blamed the U.S. for catastrophic flooding in other countries.

Omar told Americans that they need to ask themselves what the U.S. did wrong overseas to cause refugees to flock to this country.

“When you see a Somali refugee or an Iraqi refugee or a Libyan refugee, we often are like, ‘this is my neighbor — they must have survived some struggle.’ We don’t ever pause to think, ‘What American policy made them come over here?'” she said.

The Minnesota congresswoman described herself on Twitter recently using six words.

The tweet prompted a response from her Republican challenger, Dalia al Aqidi, who is also a refugee.