Laura Murvartian has built her campaign for Georgia State Representative, House District 48, on values defined by her family history of immigration and survival.
Murvartian has made it her lifelong mission to piece together her family history. Her paternal grandfather, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide, found refuge in France, then in Mexico, where Murvartian and her parents were born. At eight years old in 1976, Murvartian and her family moved to St. James, Minnesota. In college, she visited her Armenian relatives in Mexico and the Armenian community in Argentina in search of information about her heritage. The Argentine Armenians shared the meaning of her last name, which she has cherished since — dark rose.
Three years ago, Murvartian came across an article by George Aghjayan in the Weekly about the Armenian history of the village Pazmashen. She left a comment on the article asking for information about her grandfather’s family. Aghjayan responded with a request for a DNA sample from her father. The DNA test definitively traced Murvartian’s lineage to Pazmashen to the late 1600s and early 1700s.
“I’m surprised I’m so emotional about this, but I cried. I was so excited,” Murvartian shared through tears. “My grandfather had to leave his homeland. My dad left Mexico and took me with him. So three generations of my family, we’ve left our homeland. The idea that part of our family was from this area for such a long time, where there were real roots in history…I felt much more connected.”
She chose to honor her grandfather’s legacy by passing on her surname to her children, Claudia Murvartian-Rhim and Nicolas Murvartian-Rhim. “I don’t want my kids or nieces and nephews to forget about our history,” Murvartian said. Now on the campaign trail, she is always eager to answer questions about her name, as an opening to spread awareness about Armenian history and the Genocide.
“I think about home a lot,” she reflected. “As an immigrant, this idea of home, of a place where you have created history for generations, is something that I’m very aware is lacking in our family.”
Denied a home where she can set long-lasting roots, Murvartian has sought to create her own sense of belonging. This April, she found an artist to create a family crest incorporating visual symbols of Armenia, Mexico and Minnesota.
The crest is adorned with a black rose inspired by the Armenian Sun Cross. It includes the colors of the Armenian flag, shaped as mountains and the letter “M” for Murvartian, geometric designs representing Aztec heritage, and the native grass of Minnesota and blue of its lakes.
After immigrating from Mexico, Murvartian’s family found an adopted home in St. James, where they were welcomed with open arms. Two years ago as a gift of thanks, Murvartian launched a project to design an enormous mural in the center of the town. The mural features portraits of community members past and present, along with vignettes of life in the small town of several thousand people.
“I wanted a visual representation of the fact that immigrants give back. We are a product of what our communities pour into us. I wanted to thank this community for supporting us, and because of their support, we were able to thrive in this country,” Murvartian said.
Indeed, Murvartian is the exemplar of the American Dream. After immigrating from Mexico to the United States, she grew up on food stamps working alongside her parents at chicken and corn processing plants. She was the first in her family to graduate from college, completing a bachelor’s degree in political science at Hamline University and a master’s degree in public policy at the University of Michigan.
Murvartian has worked at the Federal Reserve and as a corporate executive at multiple Fortune 500 companies. She started a small business as a Georgia Area Developer for a national wine franchise, as well as two nonprofits supporting Latino professional creatives and running a community library. Now she sees the American Dream of socioeconomic mobility for all becoming more distant for Americans, especially in Georgia.
“When I think about what this country means to me, it’s about the fact that civil rights are protected and respected. It’s about feeling that you can be safe from political unrest, that it is a stable democracy. The country has the resources to take care of its population in an emergency, whether it’s a natural disaster or international conflict,” Murvartian said. “These three areas have become vulnerable.”
Murvartian’s policy priorities are centered on supporting immigrants, women and other communities whose rights and protections are under attack. As a Georgia State Representative, she says she will work to cut healthcare costs, restore reproductive freedoms, strengthen Georgia’s economy and support gun safety laws.
“I do believe that silence means acceptance, so I am going to speak up,” Murvartian said.
Lillian Avedian
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