Khizr Khan

Khizr Khan first read the Declaration of Independence as a university student, and it changed how he viewed the world and his place in it. This son of Pakistani farmers realized his future was in the U.S., and he worked hard to get here. But Khan's work didn't stop once he arrived — he had a young family to support and an unshakeable belief in the American dream, which meant if he kept working nothing was out of his reach. He put himself through Harvard Law School while holding down two jobs, always looking toward that brighter future. Khizr and his wife Ghazala taught their three sons to believe in that same dream. Their middle son Humayun became an officer in the U.S. Army, doing his part to better the country that took in his family; he died in Iraq, the victim of a suicide bomber. When Donald Trump denigrated immigrants and Muslims on the presidential campaign trail, Khizr and Ghazala Khan stood up at the Democratic National Convention to argue that it was immigration that made America great. Khizr Khan recounts the story of how he came to embrace the American dream and build his life and family around it in his book An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice. Khan discusses his memoir at 7 p.m. tonight at St. Louis County Library Headquarters (1640 South Lindbergh Boulevard, Frontenac; www.slcl.org). Tickets are $30 to $35, and include a pre-signed copy of the book.