IMMIGRATION
As a teenager, Zaynab Abdi got a visa to move to the United States. Her younger sister Sabreen didn’t. The Trump ‘Muslim ban’ has kept them apart for seven years.
EDUCATION
‘Almost like getting permission to be a kid’: Even through the pandemic winter, Eden Prairie teacher helps first graders connect with nature
Maria Villavicencio grew up trapping tadpoles, tending a cousin’s pet monkey and nursing an injured hummingbird. Minnesota’s different, but she’s learned to love it.
covid-19 vaccine project
Introducing Sahan Journal’s COVID-19 vaccine video series: All the information you need in Spanish, Somali, Hmong, and English.
Sahan Journal is launching a video series to help make COVID-19 vaccine information more accessible for immigrant communities.
BECOME A SAHAN SUSTAINER NOW
We rely on reader support, and your donation to Sahan Journal will help us shine a light on immigrants and people of color in Minnesota. Join over a thousand supporters now and become a Sahan Sustainer with your monthly donation. Thank you.
Xcel’s 15-year energy plan offers opportunities to address environmental racism in Minnesota. Immigrant activists are determined to make it happen.
Remembering Minnesotans lost to COVID-19
St. Charles father remembered as ‘silent leader,’ dedicated to his high school sweetheart.
SEIU Local 26 member remembered for his humor and hard work
Superfan and inventor of “Whacker Clapper” remembered for dedication to family—and sports.
‘A huge death event in our nation’s history’: COVID-19 drives up mortality rates in Minnesota—especially for people of color.
Letter to the Editor: Vaccinate people of color.
Electric vehicles have a reputation for appealing to ‘fancy,’ ‘privileged’ drivers. A new program seeks to boost access in diverse neighborhoods.
Everyone agrees people of color aren’t getting the COVID-19 vaccine fast enough. How bad the problem is, and what to do about it are less clear.
State officials say they’re working on getting solid data and finding solutions to the problem. An advisory group says its recommendations were ignored.
‘I won’t be the last Black woman to leave the college’: At St. Olaf College, resignations of Black faculty and diverse staff leave students seeking answers
Elite Minnesota liberal arts college has quickly diversified staff and students. But departures suggest its campus climate continues to alienate and stifle Black professors and diverse staff.
Could Minnesota suffer a Texas-size energy grid failure?
During catastrophic climate events, blackouts often hit neighborhoods occupied by people of color. The Minnesota energy grid is more resilient against cold weather, but a few blackouts have occurred around Moorhead, and risks exist.
LATEST NEWS
Amran Farah is likely the first Somali American to make partner at a high-power Minnesota law firm. Now she’s helping to pick the next U.S. Attorney.
Co-founder of the Somali American Bar Association. President of the Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers. Amran has used her professional success to create opportunities for other Somali attorneys—and the people they serve.
DFL virtual caucus debate raises a thorny issue: How best to include immigrant communities.
Some candidates regard a last-minute effort to halt online political meetings as an effort to protect incumbents. Others say their constituents wouldn’t, or couldn’t, log in.
Out in the cold: Pandemic leaves more people in need of energy assistance, but also harder to reach.
Many undocumented households are ineligible for federal-funded state program and need to seek out locally run efforts
Getting to ‘yes’: Voices from inside immigrant communities are crucial to overcoming misinformation on COVID-19 vaccine.
Even though her daughter got sick enough to go on a ventilator, Rosa Herrera didn’t want the vaccine. Here’s what changed her mind.
Summer school in the park: Walz administration proposes expanded programs and more flexible venues to ready kids for the next academic year.
This is about more than reading and math. Proposed summer offerings include focus on child care, mental health and field trips
The Survivor
Emilio Gonzalez didn’t die from COVID-19. Now he wants his life back. After 76 days in the hospital with COVID-19, what does recovery look like?
After long process of collecting public input, community coalition will gather petition signatures to replace Minneapolis Police Department
Drive led by Yes4Minneapolis will run parallel to a proposal by City Council members to amend the city charter
The pandemic compelled one Somali American educator to become something else: a full-time artist.
“As a Muslim actor, I accept that America will never accept me”: Mohammed Hajji Ahmed on being Muslim, Black, and an immigrant trying “to make it” in Minnesota arts.
Chef Soleil Ramirez left Venezuela after an armed militia man broke a chair over her back, and threatened to kill her. She recently launched her own Minneapolis restaurant.
Arepa Bar offers a taste of Venezuela in the Midtown Global Market. Besides the food, Ramirez wants it to showcase the culture of the country she had to flee.
As Minneapolis classrooms reopen, white students most likely to return to in-person learning
Data show fewer Asian students are returning to in-person schooling, echoing numbers from St. Paul and around the country.
Leaving the Twin Cities rat race, and looking forward to the zoo in Uganda. Somali American says he’s packing up and planning a cheaper, more relaxed life in East Africa.
Osman Hassan came to the U.S. 30 years ago as a child fleeing civil war in Somalia. His modest nest egg is worth a lot more in East Africa, and he doesn’t think he’ll need to work again.
We toured a Minneapolis school to see new COVID safety measures. Then we asked an expert how well they’d work. Here’s what we found.
Minneapolis schools are installing plexiglass barriers and air filtration systems to reopen elementary buildings next week. Will the precautions be enough to keep students and staff safe?
A glimmer of hope for some Minnesota immigrant families: Biden dramatically raises cap on refugee admissions.
Starting October 1, Biden sets a target of 125,000 refugee admissions, boosting chances for some long-awaited family reunions.
Minnesota’s communities of color are suffering the most from COVID-19. Clinics that serve them are trying to get vaccines in arms—fast.
Federally qualified health centers didn’t know when they’d be able to offer COVID-19 vaccines. Many of their immigrant and new American patients express hesitancy. Here’s how they’re getting patients vaccinated.
Oromia 11 creates new TV network for Oromo community in Minnesota—and beyond.
Media startup plans slate of youth-focused talk shows, comedy, and politics—produced from new studios in downtown Minneapolis.
MORE STORIES
Marie Myung-Ok Lee’s YA reissue, ‘Finding My Voice,’ finds new teen readers.
Coming-of-age novel puts spotlight on racism, family, identity.
As Minnesota elementary schools reopen, teachers say they hope to hear students giggle again. They’re also preparing their wills.
“If I go back, my mind is not going to be on teaching”: Teachers are struggling to balance what’s best for their students with concerns about their health.
Liberians in Minnesota have until December to start pursuing permanent U.S. citizenship. Some can’t believe the opportunity is real.
After decades of temporary fixes, the Liberian Refugee Immigration Fairness Act could help some of the state’s 30,000 Liberians to become American citizens. So far, applications are lagging behind.
A large COVID outbreak among ICE detainees appears to be over in Kandiyohi County. Advocates say other Minnesota jails are equally vulnerable.
While no one died, a doctor who reviewed medical records says detainees received substandard care. Critics are pushing for increased state oversight.
Everyone wants to close Minnesota’s achievement gap. Students say it starts with hiring more teachers of color.
‘Undo the systemic racism in education’: Teenagers tell legislators they need teachers who look like them.
As a health reporter, I should be able to tell you where and when to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The chaotic vaccine rollout has left everyone confused—including me.
Should you call your health provider or will your clinic call you? Who’s in category 1A and who’s in 1B? Are there vaccines going to waste that you could get today? You have questions about getting the vaccine in Minnesota and we have (some) answers.
I got my first job in the U.S. at an Amazon fulfillment center in Minnesota. The work was dehumanizing and awful.
After just a few days of training, in a new language, the Somali “stowers” at MSP1 sort packages 10 hours a day. A computer tracks and rates your every move. The pressure to perform is physically and mentally exhausting.
Sahan Journal is hiring an advertising and sponsorship manager to join its staff.
The successful candidate for this job will have demonstrated experience in digital sales, experience with digital publishing platforms, and the ability to help create our back office traffic management systems.
In D.C., a mob tried to overturn multiracial democracy. In St. Paul, the most diverse Minnesota legislature ever is just getting started.
Esther Agbaje, from Minneapolis, just started her first term at the state House of Representatives. Kaohly Her, from St. Paul, just became majority whip in her second term. They’re both figuring out how to wield political power—and how to share it.
A violent white mob and a Black woman vice president: In tumultuous two weeks, Twin Cities educators teach history in real time
With insurrection as one bookend and Biden inauguration as the other, teachers’ lessons are no longer just in books. They’re live on TV – and students have a lot to say about them
