Somali American
Encyclopedia
Somali Americans are American citizens
and residents born in, or with ancestors from Somalia
.
The first Somalis
to arrive in the United States
were sailors
who came in the 1920s and settled in New York
. In the late 1970s, more Somali immigrants followed suit. However, it was not until the 1990s when the Somali Civil War
broke out that the majority of Somalis first arrived in the US.
The Somali community in the United States is the seventh largest in the world behind those of Somalia, Ethiopia
, Yemen
, Kenya
, Djibouti
, the Middle East
, the United Kingdom
and Canada
, respectively.
. Ohio
, Washington and California
have the next largest Somali communities, albeit much smaller in overall size.
Arizona
has seen notable Somali migration in recent years, mostly to Phoenix
and Tucson. Other states with significant Somali communities include Georgia
, Texas
, Massachusetts
, Maryland
, Virginia
, Illinois
, Colorado
and Florida
.
In terms of cities, the heaviest concentrations of Somalis in the US are found in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul
), followed by Washington, D.C.
, Columbus, Ohio
, New York City
, Syracuse, New York
, Buffalo, New York
, Kansas City
, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Maine
and Seattle metro areas.
The Twin Cities now harbor the largest population of Somalis in North America, with the city of Minneapolis hosting hundreds of Somali-owned and operated businesses. Colorful stalls inside several shopping mall
s offer everything from halal
meat, to stylish leather shoes, to the latest fashion for men and women, as well as gold jewelry, money transfer or hawala
offices, banners advertising the latest Somali films, video stores
fully stocked with nostalgic love songs not found in the mainstream supermarkets, groceries and boutiques.
, housing discrimination, and harassment
at school. In Minnesota
, controversy arose after six Somali women filed a religious discrimination
complaint with the EEOC over Mission Foods
' uniform policy. The women, who asserted that the uniform were immodest by religious standards, were, according to a statement, "relieved of their responsibilities for the time being, and may ultimately lose their jobs if they don’t wear uniforms."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and residents born in, or with ancestors from Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
.
The first Somalis
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
to arrive in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
were sailors
Somali maritime history
Maritime history of Somalia refers to the seafaring tradition of the Somali people. It includes various stages of Somali navigational technology, shipbuilding and design, as well as the history of the Somali port cities...
who came in the 1920s and settled in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In the late 1970s, more Somali immigrants followed suit. However, it was not until the 1990s when the Somali Civil War
Somali Civil War
The Somali Civil War is an ongoing civil war taking place in Somalia. The conflict, which began in 1991, has caused destabilisation throughout the country, with the current phase of the conflict seeing the Somali government losing substantial control of the state to rebel forces...
broke out that the majority of Somalis first arrived in the US.
The Somali community in the United States is the seventh largest in the world behind those of Somalia, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, respectively.
Distribution
Current estimates of the number of Somali immigrants living in the United States vary widely, ranging from 35,760 (U.S. Census Bureau, 2000) to 150,000 persons. According to 2010 American Community Survey data, there are approximately 85,700 people with Somali ancestry in the US. Of those, about 25,000 or one third live in MinnesotaMinnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, Washington and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
have the next largest Somali communities, albeit much smaller in overall size.
Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
has seen notable Somali migration in recent years, mostly to Phoenix
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
and Tucson. Other states with significant Somali communities include Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
In terms of cities, the heaviest concentrations of Somalis in the US are found in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and Saint Paul
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Saint Paul is the capital and second-most populous city of the U.S. state of Minnesota. The city lies mostly on the east bank of the Mississippi River in the area surrounding its point of confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Minneapolis, the state's largest city...
), followed by Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
, Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, Maine
Somali and Bantu migration to Maine
Somali and Bantu migration to Maine refers to the migration of ethnic Somalis as well as people from the Bantu minority ethnic group to the American state of Maine.-Somalis:...
and Seattle metro areas.
The Twin Cities now harbor the largest population of Somalis in North America, with the city of Minneapolis hosting hundreds of Somali-owned and operated businesses. Colorful stalls inside several shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
s offer everything from halal
Halal
Halal is a term designating any object or an action which is permissible to use or engage in, according to Islamic law. The term is used to designate food seen as permissible according to Islamic law...
meat, to stylish leather shoes, to the latest fashion for men and women, as well as gold jewelry, money transfer or hawala
Hawala
Hawala is an informal value transfer system based on the performance and honor of a huge network of money brokers, which are primarily located in the Middle East, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, and South Asia...
offices, banners advertising the latest Somali films, video stores
Rental shop
A rental shop, also known as a video library, is a business that allows a consumer to temporarily obtain a reusable good or product for a specified period of time in exchange for payment, a process known as renting...
fully stocked with nostalgic love songs not found in the mainstream supermarkets, groceries and boutiques.
Discrimination
Because of their Islamic faith, Somalis have suffered various forms of discrimination, including employment discriminationEmployment discrimination
Employment discrimination is discrimination in hiring, promotion, job assignment, termination, and compensation. It includes various types of harassment....
, housing discrimination, and harassment
Harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of an offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behaviour intended to disturb or upset, and it is characteristically repetitive. In the legal sense, it is intentional behaviour which is found threatening or disturbing...
at school. In Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, controversy arose after six Somali women filed a religious discrimination
Religious discrimination
Religious discrimination is valuing or treating a person or group differently because of what they do or do not believe.A concept like that of 'religious discrimination' is necessary to take into account ambiguities of the term religious persecution. The infamous cases in which people have been...
complaint with the EEOC over Mission Foods
Mission Foods
Mission Foods, a subsidiary of Gruma Corporation, is an American manufacturer of tortillas and tortilla-related products based in Irving, Texas.-History:...
' uniform policy. The women, who asserted that the uniform were immodest by religious standards, were, according to a statement, "relieved of their responsibilities for the time being, and may ultimately lose their jobs if they don’t wear uniforms."