Bangladeshi-American teenager’s fight against discrimination

Sixteen-year-old Ziad Ahmed is a Bangladeshi-American social justice activist whose mission is to help teenagers fight against racial, gender or any type of discrimination in the United States.

"We cannot continue to paint a people with one brush, whether it be Muslims, whether it be the LGBQT+ community, whether it be any community," said Ziad in an interview with CCTV America.

Shortly after the terror attack on September 11, 2001, Ziad saw firsthand the misconceptions and prejudice people had about Islam.

So, Ziad founded an online teen organization redefy, (www.redefy.org) two years ago, which is a place for young people to share their stories, online, in order to help others defy stereotypes and embrace acceptance.

"There are just so many people discriminated against in this world for things that they can't control," explained Ahmed. "That's why I do this work. It's not just because of anti-Muslimism bigotry."

His activism became so renowned and popular that he was recognized by the White House and his efforts earned him a seat at President Barack Obama's dinner table this past summer. He has also been named MTV's one of the top nine teens changing the world. 

"We are more than the labels society gives us and I will keep saying it until the day I die," Zaid said in the interview.