Does anyone here have any information about the history of Somali Americans in the early 1900s

[Kurobecky]

I know that the first Somali Americans came over as culture exhibitions in zoo, then as sailors and missionaries, like my great grandpa.These are some of my observations about this.
1. While how caadans treated the Somalis were demeaning, it was no where as bad as how other black/brown zoo exhibits and deformed people in freak shows were treated. If a regular maadow, poor white and any other immigrant fought back and as cocky like the Somalis were in the 1915, they Would’ve been lynched.
2. I find it odd that Americans still let Somalis come over, after the zoo incident. On top of that, give them jobs that weren’t manual labor.
According to my maadow uncle, there’s a lot of beef between the pro blacks and Somali Americans here in Chicongo. My dad said that they tried, but there’s a huge culture clash and conflict of interests

 

[Observer.]

Was your great grandfather Issa?

Anyway you must be talking about this -

[Group of Somali women and girls at the Clark Street police

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They were the first of the people to be included in the Zoo exhibits in America in the 1900s. All the info I could find about the Somali Zoo exhibits in America talks about the Issa

 

[Kurobecky]

Was your great grandfather Issa?

Anyway you must be talking about this -

[Group of Somali women and girls at the Clark Street police

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They were the first of the people to be included in the Zoo exhibits in America in the 1900s. All the info I could find about the Somali Zoo exhibits in America talks about the Issa

I’m not sure which qabil my great grandpa came, but what I do know/remember: 1. His family originated from the territory known as British Somaliland and the Ogaden region. 2. Their trades were missionaries, mercenaries and fishermen. 3. They were nomadic. 4. They have very good relations with Arabs. Our original surname was Arabic and spoke it

 

[Observer.]

I’m not sure which qabil my great grandpa came, but what I do know/remember: 1. His family originated from the territory known as British Somaliland and the Ogaden region. 2. Their trades were missionaries, mercenaries and fishermen. 3. They were nomadic. 4. They have very good relations with Arabs. Our original surname was Arabic and spoke it

Highly likely he was Issa then or probably Isaaq. On the matter of how they were treated as you described in the OP, who told you this?

 

[DalsanJubiland]

Was your great grandfather Issa?

Anyway you must be talking about this -

[Group of Somali women and girls at the Clark Street police

Discover the history and culture of Chicago with Explore Chicago Collections. Here you can find Chicago-centric archival collections and images for research, for school, or for your own enjoyment, pulled from the city's great libraries, archives and museums.

explore.chicagocollections.org

They were the first of the people to be included in the Zoo exhibits in America in the 1900s. All the info I could find about the Somali Zoo exhibits in America talks about the Issa

The article says they were refugees, escaped from Dervish war .

 

[Kurobecky]

Interesting ways how we incorporated traditional Somali culture with American:
1. We converted to Catholicism that’s heavily influenced by Sunni Muslim and Waaqism. It’s a similar situation as how Haitians and African Americans used Christianity as cover to worship the pagan gods.
2. Even though our names are Anglicized, we still use the traditional Somali naming system. My father’s and uncle’s middle name is my grandpa’s given name . Me and my sister have a middle name that was my mum’s family given name.
3. Our dialect is very distinct and different from AAVE aka Ebonics. There’s two variations: North and South. Both have strong Mid-Atlantic or Transatlantic and African pidgin influences. The southern one a mixture of Dixie, pidgin and Central Virginian aka good ol’ boy dialect. My dad sounded like a cross between Foghorn Leghorn and Hank Hill, but with a Midwesterner influence . The Northern accents is a mixture of midwestern, valley girl, and posh.