A U.S-based Nigerian lady, Zulfat Suara, has become the first Muslim elected to a Metro seat in Nashville history
The certified public accountant faced Islamophobic comments and threats on the campaign trail, but she also built a broad coalition of support.
She burst into tears as she received a hug from her daughter, Safiyah, before her speech at her watch party, on Thursday, in Nashville, Tennessee.
He path started in Nigeria and led to Tennessee in 1993 when her husband was offered a fellowship at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. .
It quickly became her home, with Zulfat founding an accounting firm in 1998 which worked with several counties.
With a full-time job, a daughter and a husband, Suara had a full plate, but she decided she wanted to run for one of the at-large seats because not only is her expertise right for the gig, she knows the city well and wants to serve. ?: Wade Payne/TheTennessean
