• Advertise
  • Donate
  • Subscribe
    • Become a print subscriber
    • Sign up for e-Newsletter
    • e-Editions
Wednesday, October 4, 2023
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
  • News & Features
    • National
    • Local
    • Special Editions
      • MLK Legacy
      • Black History Month
      • The MSR Celebrates Women’s History Month
  • All Sections
    • Opinion
      • Mellaneous by Mel Reeves
      • Word on the Street
      • Reaching Out From Within
    • Health + Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • Minnesota Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Sports
      • Timberwolves/NBA
      • Lynx/WNBA
        • 20 in 20
      • Twins/MLB
      • MN Wild/NHL
      • Vikings/NFL
    • Business
      • Small Business Month Celebration
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
    • Arts + Culture
    • Photo Galleries
      • Photo of the Week
    • MSR Forefront Digital Roundtable Series
      • MSR Forefront Highlights
    • Go Green
    • Education
    • Bulletin
    • Jobs & Notices
      • Legals
      • Announcements
  • Events
    • Submit an event!
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • e-Editions
No Result
View All Result
Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder
No Result
View All Result

South High food fight gives voice to Somali student’s frustrations

by MSR News Online
February 27, 2013
23
SHARES
465
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on LinkedIn

One student response to turmoil is to “mix it up” culturally

 

By Mel Reeves

Contributing Writer

 

“We don’t feel safe,” said 16-year-old Kowsar Mohamed, a Somali student at South High, during a recent press conference addressing the reasons for a Feb. 14 fight in the cafeteria of the school involving Somali, other African Americans, and Native American students. Her classmates surprisingly pointed out that their sense of insecurity extends to the Minneapolis police stationed at the school.

- ADVERTISEMENT -
Hussein Samatar stands with Somali high school students.
Hussein Samatar stands with Somali high school students.

“We were mishandled by the police,” said student Halima Abumunye. “I felt disrespected by the police. I was kicked and maced.” Other students who spoke insisted that one of the officers called them “animals.”

Previous news reports have described a melee between African American and Somali students involving a few hundred students, but students insisted that it was a food fight that got out of hand. The students and Minneapolis School Board Member Hussein Samatar seemed to downplay the tensions between the Black students and focused on the need for the South High administration and “all” the students to become more familiar with Somali culture and the needs of the African immigrants.

According to Mohamed and some of her fellow students, tensions have been brewing for a few years. “We don’t have a voice in the building,” explained sophomore Anisar Ahmed, who pointed out that there are only two Somali staff at the school, and the school has never gone out of its way to make them feel comfortable.

Approximately eight percent of South High’s population of 1,700 students is Somali. Samatar, who is Somali American, said that while the numbers [of Somali students] have gone up, the cultural competency has gone down.” Concerns were raised by Somali parents and activists about how the students involved in the food fight would be disciplined.

Ralph Crowder III, a community activist and parent of a Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) student, asked MPS spokesperson Stan Alleyne how the district planned on handling the discipline, especially in light of the way of the district handled the discipline of Washburn students who were responsible for the mock hanging of a Black doll recently.

- ADVERTISEMENT -

Alleyne, while pointing out that privacy concerns kept him from speaking on specifics, assured parents and students and community members that MPS would look into the situation. When pressed, he assured the audience that the district would be fair.

Macalester College Professor Emeritus Mahmoud El-Kati may have summed up the perceived conflict best when he said in a Star Tribune interview that it “was laden with mutual ignorance.” El-Kati indicated that Black students may have resentment about not being respected by society in general, including the newly arrived Somalis.

“Black people are already here. They’ve seen everybody come here and everybody seems to get a break,” El-Kati said. “They see how other people are celebrated when they do the slightest good thing. Black people have done many good things in this country for which they’ve never been saluted,” he said, noting especially the forced labor that helped build America’s material success.

Students from an on-campus group called Students Together as Allies for Racial Trust (START) last Wednesday opened dialogue among their fellow students. They held a forum in which students were encouraged to come up with ideas and solutions that would help dissolve tensions and create more unity at the school.

The students in attendance courageously implemented one of the ideas, which was to sit in the cafeteria with people of cultures outside their own on what they were calling “Mix-it-up Mondays.”

- ADVERTISEMENT -

 

Mel Reeves welcomes reader responses to mreeves@spokesman-recorder.com.

 

 

 

- ADVERTISEMENT -

 

Support Black local news

Help amplify Black voices by donating to the MSR. Your contribution enables critical coverage of issues affecting the community and empowers authentic storytelling.

Donate Now!

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

How is Dred Scott connected to MN history?

Next Post

Local youth join international poets to hone Brave New Voices

MSR News Online

Reach the MSR staff at msrnewsonline@spokesman-recorder.com.

You Might Also Like

McCarthy’s downfall: Rogue Republicans remove House speaker in unprecedented vote
National

McCarthy’s downfall: Rogue Republicans remove House speaker in unprecedented vote

Facing criticism, feds award first maternal health grant to a predominantly Black rural area
National

Facing criticism, feds award first maternal health grant to a predominantly Black rural area

Upcoming Black Business Ball gives Black-owned businesses a night to shine
Local

Upcoming Black Business Ball gives Black-owned businesses a night to shine

Minneapolis police officers head to Alabama for HBCU recruiting trip
Local

Minneapolis police officers head to Alabama for HBCU recruiting trip

Ampersand Families
Employment

Human Resources Manager, ampersand families

Program Coordinator
Employment

Office Coordinator

Next Post

Local youth join international poets to hone Brave New Voices

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
ADVERTISEMENT

Upcoming Events

Sep 12
September 12 @ 6:30 pm-December 18 @ 9:30 pm Recurring

Vic Volare Presents MUSIC FOR MARTINIS ft: Vic’s Fabulous Nightclub Academy

Oct 3
October 3 @ 8:30 am-October 4 @ 5:30 pm

Insects: Little Body, Big Impact | Nobel Conference 59 | Virtual or In-Person

Oct 4
6:00 pm-8:00 pm

An Evening with Liz Cheney

Oct 5
7:00 pm-9:00 pm

The Bombing of Cubana Flight 455: Why it Matters

View Calendar
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Read our latest e-Edition!

PHOTO: Barbie back-to-school party

A Barbie back to school party.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Subscribe

  • Home/Office Delivery
  • Weekly e-newsletter
  • e-Editions

Support

  • Donate
  • Subscribe
  • MSR Newsstand Locations

Connect

  • About
    • MSR Staff
  • Contact
  • Send a news tip
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

No Result
View All Result
  • News & Features
    • Local
    • National
  • All Sections
    • Arts & Culture
    • Health & Wellness
      • Women’s Wellness
      • Parenting Today
      • MN Cancer Alliance Breast Cancer Gaps Project
    • Business
      • Black Business Spotlight
      • Finances FYI
      • Small Business Month Celebration
    • Opinion
    • Sports
  • Events
  • Obits
  • Sister Spokesman
  • Donate
  • Subscribe

© 2023 Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder

 

Loading Comments...
 

    %d bloggers like this: