Mascuud Ali: ‘The true character of Minnesota is one of resilience.’
Mascuud Ali is a fourth-year student studying early childhood education at the University of Minnesota and has lived with his Somali family in the Minneapolis area all his life.
“I had been going to college for a few years now. I started at St. Thomas, at the Doherty Family College, and I took a break because I didn’t like the way that the system was set up, especially how much money they wanted me to pay. So I took a year and a half off, and I went to Normandale. I was there for a year as well, and I decided to go to the U of M because I liked the education program here.
“I am going for my elementary education degree. There was a time at St. Thomas, during our first year experience, where we were getting to meet new people and learn about different degree options. There was a guy, his name was Josh Spellman. He came up and said he was starting an organization called Black Men Teach. Statistically, Black men only make up 0.5% of teachers in Minnesota; that’s about 300 teachers, and 50 of them are elementary school teachers out of thousands of kids. When he was talking about that, I was really invested. He gave me an internship, and that made me realize I should do this for the rest of my life.
“I have been blessed to not have interactions with ICE. I’m Somali. It’s daunting and scary knowing that we went from being basically unknown outside of the city of Minneapolis to nearly every single person in the country knowing about us. It is very weird. I’ve noticed that they started going to our communities. I’ve been blessed to have a group of friends, families and co-workers that have allowed me to be safe and secure. I’ve also had to carry my passport at all times now, and I was born here.
“The closest interaction I’ve had with them was where I live in Hopkins. There is a big Somali population there. I went to the gym, and on my way back, there were police cars and ICE stationed along my entire city block. I couldn’t go into my house. So I had to stay with my friend for like seven hours. They are near the Chick-fil-A, at Target. They were at the Ridgedale Library, where I do my homework. It’s always terrifying to know that, at any point in time, I could just bump into them, and my whole life would be drastically altered.
“We have known this for a long time, especially after 2020. The way that Minneapolis comes together in times of stress is something I am very appreciative of. Because, although sometimes, there is discourse at the end of the day, when people need to come together, they come together, they do things, they do grocery shopping for their neighbors, they make sure that kids are able to go to school. They call out anything.
“I don’t think it’s changed the community. This is how the community has always been; it’s just that we haven’t had to show it. And in times of stress, people show their true character. And right now, the true character of Minnesota is one of resilience. And they’re fighting back.”
This interview has been edited for length and clarity
Interviewed by Hannah Reynolds
