First Muslim Congressman?

Minnesota candidate Keith Ellison discusses his campaign and possibly becoming the first Muslim to serve in Congress.

Tavis: So, tell me honestly how sick and tired you are, (laugh) just between the two of us, of answering all these Black and all these Muslim questions.

Keith Ellison: Well just between the two of us, Tavis, (laugh) if it were not for these "first" issues, I wouldn't have the opportunity to speak to an audience about the importance of peace being the guiding principle of our country, about the importance of fighting for universal healthcare coverage, and about this really terrible middle class squeeze that so many Americans are facing right now.

We haven't seen an increase in the minimum wage since 1997. So yeah, this stuff about the "first" definitely is getting to be an old subject for me personally; but if it's the avenue to talk about the things I'm truly passionate about, we have to take the good and the bad.

Tavis: All right, so I'm gonna try to be real smooth about this, and I'm sure that I will ultimately be about as slick as sandpaper. (Laugh) You will see right through this, but instead of asking you about the Muslim factor, instead of asking you about the Black factor, maybe I'll ask you what you have been saying about the Muslim issue, and what you've been saying about the Black issue.

Ellison: Well, I'm proud to be who I am, certainly. My parents raised me to be a proud person, and I am that. But what I've been saying is that all of us have a personal profile. All of us have a race, a religion, a culture. I have one, and I'm proud of it. But really, it's really about what we all have in common. This is the time in our country I believe we have to focus on what we share.

We have to break down the walls and build bridges between people. So that's what I'm talking about, and have been talking about consistently. Now, it is a good thing to have people who have felt like they've been out of the political, body politic, that they now feel welcome because of my candidacy. That's a positive. But that's really about the end of it for me. But if people in the Muslim or African American community feel like, "Hey, we can be in politics, too," I'd say that's good. But we can't stop there. We have to go past there.

Read the full transcript