Somalis to Ask Lawmakers for Help Reducing Violence

The Cedar Cultural Center recently held an event in which Somalis and other members of the traditional African American community came together to celebrate similarities and promote unity.

The effort to become closer comes after the cultures have experienced shootings and a brawl between Somali and African American students at South High in Minneapolis earlier this year.

The event at the Cedar Cultural Center was an opportunity to bring the groups together and identify similar issues members of each culture are dealing with like poverty, unemployment, and educational disparities.

Lawmakers attended the event and took notice of the group effort.

Now community advocates say they’ll lobby lawmakers during the upcoming session for money to help pay for programs aimed at curbing violence between the groups.

http://kstp.com