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“I think a lot about who gets to ask questions and what questions are asked.”
Amna Nawaz understands that representation matters.
But the rise of a Brown American woman, A Pakistani American woman, A Muslim American woman, to news anchor, is still an unusual story. Unfortunately.
And like so many others, Anna Nawaz’s voice wasn’t always heard. Time and again, the microphone was passed to male reporters, while she was repeatedly overlooked.
She was also a brown woman, reporting on brown countries. It just “made sense”. Nawaz was ready to do more, and knew that she could. But her leadership didn’t yet know what that could look like – because no one like her had done it before.
Leadership “lacked imagination”, as Nawaz puts it.
"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
Amna Nawaz found a way to land news anchor… along with many other accomplishments.
In 2019, Nawaz became the first Asian American and the first Muslim American to moderate a presidential debate.
How was she able to break through?
Nawaz points to 3 things: Imagination. Creativity. Risk.
𝗜𝗺𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.
You have to have the imagination to see yourself in roles and places where no one that looks like you have been before. And you have to help leadership to imagine this too, by rallying allies who also share your mission.
𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆.
Instead of pushing through the crowded door up the ladder, Nawaz built a side window. She created a series of short digital docs that captured her passion & showcased her capability, which also aligned with the network’s interests. This created an opportunity to be seen and heard.
𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸.
She didn’t know if that project would be successful. There was no previous path to follow… But she believed in herself, her team, and the idea.
In the end, it led to Nawaz helping to create NBC Asian America, the 1st English language platform at a major news network dedicated to telling stories of Asian Americans.
Amna Nawaz helped others to see her in a new and different way. But she didn’t do it just by talking about it. And she didn’t wait until an opportunity was presented.
She literally showed them, using Imagination, Creativity, and Risk.
“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”
– Ralph Waldo Emerson
American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet
