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The DC Berkeley Alumni Club Proudly Presents
#CalTalks
My American Story: Race & Politics in the Age of Halal Taco Trucks
Featuring Guest Speaker
Wajahat Ali
Journalist, writer, lawyer, award-winning playwright, TV host, and US State Department consultant
6:30-7:15pm - Networking/Mingling
7:15-7:45pm - #CalTalk
7:45-8:00PM - Q&A
8:00-8:30pm - Networking
Speaker Bio
Wajahat Ali helped launch the Al Jazeera America network as co-host of The Stream, a daily news show that continued after its broadcast on social media. He was also a National Correspondent, Political Reporter, and Social Media Expert for Al Jazeera America. He focused on stories of communities and individuals often marginalized or under-reported in mainstream media.
Ali is also the author of The Domestic Crusaders—the first major play about Muslim Americans, post-9/11. Using wittiness and empathy, he portrayed the Muslim Americans experience as multifaceted, with an emphasis on an emergent generation of millennials poised for social change.
With Dave Eggers, Ali is currently writing a television show about a Muslim American cop in the Bay Area. He was also the lead author and researcher of Fear Inc., Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America, the seminal report from the Center for American Progress.
In 2012, Ali worked with the U.S. Department of State to design and implement the Generation Change leadership program to empower young social entrepreneurs. He initiated chapters in eight countries, including Pakistan and Singapore. He was honored as a "Generation Change Leader" by former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and as an “Emerging Muslim American Artist” by the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
Ali's The Stream was nominated for the 2014 Shorty Award for Best Use of Social Media for News. His play The Domestic Crusaders was published by McSweeney's and performed off-Broadway and at the Kennedy Center. He has given many presentations, from Google to the United Nations to Princeton to The Abu Dhabi Book Festival. Ali's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and Salon.