Classification in Minneapolis

http://dinahlord.typepad.com/.a/6a00e008d9a3f98834010536f134df970b-pi
(I apologize for not being able to upload an image. This is a url that should link to the picture)

Throughout the last 20 years or so, the demographics of the Cedar-Riverside area of Minneapolis have been changing dramatically. The black population has increased by 25% while the white population has decreased by 41%. This large increase in black residents can be partly attributed to the mass exodus of Somali refugees due to the civil war that erupted in Somalia in 1991. The Somali refugees, like many others, likely chose Minnesota due to our strong job market, social services, and good health care system. How has the increase in population affected the Minneapolis community? If one were to use the local media as a measure, the conclusion would have to be that the Somali refugees have brought crime and violence to the city. But is that the truth, or is that the perception of a white dominated culture?

I thought I should try learn more so I conducted a Google search with the key word "Somali Man". The photo above was the result. The image appears to be a man posing for what appears to be a mug shot. Why would an image of a mug shot be one of the first to appear in the results? I believe it is because our media is directed by the notion of “white” culture, and this is the common white conception of a Somali man.

As a Carlson School student, I spend my entire week in the West-bank/Cedar-Riverside area and interact with people from a myriad of backgrounds and ethnicities. I know that if I showed that image to some of my colleagues, they would just shrug their shoulders and exclaim “Yeah that seems about right.” And who can fault them? Many of the students in this class will remember all of the crime reports from last year describing various “East-African male[s]...” involved in shootings, stabbings, and muggings across campus. While this seems “racist”, as Richard Dyer described, “[racist thought] is part of the cultural non-conscious that we all inhabit.” This again ties directly back to how our culture is dictated by what is “white.”

When I initially saw that image, it didn't immediately grab my attention. a small part of me, that white midwestern middle class part, accepted it as an accurate depiction of a "Somali man".
I thought about why I was so quick to accept the picture as true, and it pained me. The fact is, I interact with people from Somalia in many of my classes and not once have I ever been mugged or stabbed by them and I would bet my college tuition that the percentage of Somali people involved in crime in the Cedar-Riverside area is less that 10% and yet, I almost accepted the image a "true".

My further introspection yielded disgust and sadness that this stereotype of African males in Cedar-Riverside has developed. But when this is what people in the Minneapolis area are exposed to via mass media, what other conclusions are they supposed to draw besides “Oh, imagine that, another Somali man [insert violent crime here] someone.”? It’s time to change this negative stereotype. I am sick of hearing the remarks from people on West Bank linking Somalis to crime. We never hear about the positive happenings in Cedar-Riverside. When was the last time the African Development Center got a significant amount of positive press (besides the opening of their new restaurant)? When are we encouraging Somali participation in community events? Do Somali children see people who look like themselves in their classroom? When do the adults see Somali people in leadership roles? Do Somali people see themselves in pictures of successful, happy, and accepted individuals in our community? I hope so.

But, as we learned from Stuart Hall, “classification is human”, a “way of maintaining order in a system” whose meaning can be very difficult, if not impossible, to change. Hopefully, the Minneapolis community can continue to highlight developments like the A.D.C., so we can rid ourselves of this saddening stereotype.