The day Ilhan Omar, a 37-year old Somali-American from Minnesota was sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, she tweeted, “23 years ago, from a refugee camp in Kenya, my father and I arrived at an airport in Washington DC. Today, we return to that same airport on the eve of my swearing in as the first Somali-American in Congress. #hope #Ilhan”

It was hard not to find her inspiring and her tweet moving. In a time where it often feels like America is moving backward, her presence on the Congressional floor does inspire hope. She is one of a number of women who have made the House of Representatives, more truly representative. Omar is also a woman that knows about persecution. She knows what it is like to be judged by your religion, by your last name.