First Asian American woman sworn onto Cook County Board of Commissioners
(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Over the weekend Josina Morita was sworn in as the first Asian American to sit on the Cook County Board of Commissioners, where she will take over the 13th District seat vacated by Larry Suffredin.
The swearing-in ceremony in Evanston Township High School began with a land acknowledgment by Kim Vigue, the first native person to head the Mitchell Museum of the American Indian in Evanston.
“The land that Cook County occupies today is the ancestral homelands of the Council of Three Fires: the Ojibwe, the Odawa, and Potawatomi Nations,” she said.
Several cultural and religious performances, including a lion dance, highlighted Morita’s inauguration.
“I promised the most Asian inauguration in Illinois history, and I think we did it,” Morita said.
There were also performances from the Ho Etsu Taiko Japanese drumming tradition, which she grew up with, as well as the NaKapuno Hula Ukulele group, of which her great aunt and uncle were founding members..
“This moment is not about politics or policy,” Morita said. “If you know me, you know I love both, but they are my ‘how’, not my ‘why.’ For me, this moment is personal.”