(MULTIMEDIA) Somali Caucus Training is All-American Story

The language was Somali. The food was Somali. Most of the people were native Somalis. But the event in this Westside Apartments party room Sunday night couldn’t have been more American.

About three dozen people—some who gained their citizenship less than two weeks ago—gathered in the living room-sized Blake Road space to learn more about Minnesota’s caucus process. English speakers may not have been able to understand the entire message, but it was easy to hear key words sprinkled into the presentations. Residents learned words like “delegate” and “caucus,” and leaders of the meeting emphasized one phrase in Somali and English: “You have to show up.”

Senate District 44 DFL leaders hosted Sunday’s event to reach out to Somalis in the district. The idea was born during a meeting of party leaders at the home of St. Louis Park resident Mike Hindin.

The group originally considered a cultural event but decided to host a training session that could help the Somali community understand the upcoming caucuses, Hindin said. The training included a training video produced in Somali by Somali activists, with help from Senate District 44 DFL and a grant from the State DFL Affirmative Action Commission. 

“We’re trying to be just more friendly and accommodating by doing the training first,” he said.

Fartun Weli was one of the activists in the video—and a conduit between the party and Somali community who helped put the event together and invite the attendees. She’s also executive director of a Somali women’s health program called The Isuroon Project, and a graduate student.

Weli—who’s been in the United States 12 years and received her citizenship in August—said new citizens don’t always know the exact details of Minnesota’s caucus process or the terms that get thrown around with that process.

The training was geared to address those challenges. The eight-minute video shows people signing in, discussing resolutions and voting on party business.

(Click the video above to watch the presentation.)

Of course, the event is also a way to bolster to the DFL’s base in the district. Attendees filled out precinct-finder forms so party leaders could tell them where to go on caucus night.

“We’re hoping after this meeting that we’ll maybe see you in other ways getting involved with our senate district DFL,” one of the local party leaders told the group.

But for Weli, it’s a way for Somalis to address issues that are important to them. Many in the community dismiss politics because they feel they’re only listened to when people come calling during election season, she said. Teaching them how to become involved in political processes allows them to start working toward solutions at all levels.

“Instead of being isolated, I want them to voice (their concerns)—say it is my issue and I’m going to voice (my concerns),” Weli said.

That’s why Shafeho Elmi attended the training. She became a citizen Jan. 18 and traveled from her home in Minneapolis to find out how to participate. The presentation taught her the specifics of voting in the caucus—something she’s looking forward to now that she has her citizenship, she said.

“I want to vote in this election,” Elmi said.

Hindin may not speak Elmi’s native language, but it’s a story he understands. His grandfathers were Jewish immigrants from Russia. They came over in the 1910s, saved up and then paid for their wives and children to come over. For Hindin, helping the Somali community get involved in the political process is just continuing that all-American circle.

“When you start talking about immigrants, you’re talking about me,” he said.