Bilal (Bill) Hamid is a professional soccer player born and raised in the Washington Metropolitan Area. He is a star goalkeeper for the United States Men's National Team and a recent addition to Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland. Signing his first professional contract at the age of 18, Bill worked his way up from DC United's youth academy to cement a place in MLS history as an all-time legend, winning the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award in 2014.

While soccer has been a constant in Bill's life since he was 5 years old, he manages to stay balanced by focusing on two other factors that define him - faith and family. Bill is a proud Muslim who prays before every match and does his best to fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. He's also very proud of his Sierra-Leonean roots. He shares stories of his experience as a first-generation American growing up in a strict immigrant household, where staying connected to his roots was of the utmost importance.

At 27 years old, it seems like Bill has everything figured out. He has an unrelenting commitment to leave a legacy of greatness in this world, and it can be felt with every word he speaks.

Tune into this episode of Culture Study to hear Bill share his life journey, one that expands way beyond the soccer pitch.

Culture Study

Culture Study Podcast — Episode 02 (Bill Hamid)

You might know Dena Takruri for her role as a senior presenter and producer at AJ Plus, Al-Jazeera’s Digital News platform. The videos she produces/hosts often garner millions of views on Facebook, YouTube, and other social platforms. And for good reason.

*Dena has reported internationally on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, tensions on the Korean Peninsula, and on Europe’s refugee crisis, where she was one of the first journalists to ever broadcast using Facebook Live. Among the domestic stories she’s covered are the 2016 presidential race, Flint’s water crisis, the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, and ICE’s crackdown on undocumented people under Trump. She has extensively covered the #BlackLivesMatter movement and issues related to Arab and Muslim communities in the U.S.*

So in other words, Dena is an amazing human being with a talent for storytelling. While you’re able to watch Dena tell stories online, you may not have heard about Dena’s backstory - and that’s what we discuss in this episode of Culture Study. She’s a first-generation American with strong Palestinian roots, and she touches on her constant search for balance between those two cultures. We talk about everything from the negative depiction of Arabs in Hollywood and the mainstream media to the horrific attacks on September 11th, 2001 and how that terrible moment in history has put a target on the backs of the American-Muslim community to this day. She also discusses her journey as a woman of color and how she navigated from her college days at UC Berkeley to her present-day role at AJ Plus. 

Dena really embodies the Tailored Heritage motto that we are “More Alike Than Different” and she’s on the front lines of the fight for equality and justice for all. She often uses her platforms to give a voice to those who are unheard, and she has a relentless commitment to “speaking truth to those in Power”. 

So with all of this being said, I hope you enjoy this episode of Culture Study. If you enjoy this episode, please me a huge favor and share it with one other person who would enjoy it as well. My only hope is to use this platform to inspire people to pursue their dreams by hearing about the amazing journeys of people such as Dena. 

*via denatakruri.com

Audio: https://soundcloud.com/arif-omari/menina-w-frankliin-jlz

Episode 04 — Dena Takruri (Journalist, AJ+ & Al-Jazeera)

Justino is the co-founder of UndocuMedia, a non-profit organization which leverages social media to empower the undocumented immigrant community. UndocuMedia has only been around for 4 years but already boasts over 400,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 300,000 on Facebook.

Justino himself is an undocumented immigrant, and throughout this podcast conversation, he shares with us the struggles his family faced to find refuge from extreme poverty and domestic violence in Mexico. He defied the odds by becoming the first member in his family to graduate from high school with and attend college. Justino was kind enough to share some intimate moments of his childhood as well as some life lessons he realized along his journey.*

Justino’s work has not gone unnoticed. In May of 2013, he was one of seven immigrant rights activists who were invited to share their story and discuss immigration reform with former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden. He’s also shared his story and ideas on how to use technology to push for immigration reform with several Silicon Valley leaders including Mark Zuckerberg, Reid Hoffman, and Drew Houston.* What inspires us most about this conversation with Justino is his unrelenting determination. He’s so motivated to defeat injustice in every form of the word, and he doesn’t waste a second of his time waiting around.

If you enjoy this episode, please share it with one other person who would enjoy it as well. Thank you, and peace!

*via undocumedia.org

Audio: https://soundcloud.com/arif-omari/menina-w-frankliin-jlz

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