Amal Mohamed grew up watching her father work to build the life he created for his family after immigrating to the United States from Somalia in 1990. Mohamed, who was born and raised in Minneapolis’ Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, now works at the Somali Museum of Minnesota as its communications and marketing manager. Her father is a […] More

One of the organizers of the second annual Columbus Somali Culture Festival believes that now, more than ever, events that help people bridge their differences are important. “Given everything that’s going on, there couldn’t have been a better time for such events that break stereotypes and showcase the diversity and beauty of central Ohio,” said […] More

From the gender revolution to designing for disability and female empowerment, the Business of Fashion’s latest gathering for big thinkers explored the fashion industry’s shift towards inclusivity. Over the course of the morning talks at VOICES, we heard insights and calls to action fromTeen Vogue’s digital director Phillip Picardi, trans model activist Laith Ashley, Intersex activist Hanne […] More

Meet Cherrie, a singer-songwriter from Sweden whose music video “163 För Evigt” may have popped up in your timeline recently. People have fallen in love with the song, which translates as “163 Forever”, even though many have no idea what Cherrie is saying because, hello, it’s in Swedish. Still, people are really feeling it, and one […] More

At Hoyo’s Kitchen, Angie Sharkey says she likes a little of everything. Sharkey, who came with two colleagues from the Columbus Metropolitan Library, says they’re regulars here. When owner Abdilahi Hassan comes around to take her order, she tells him, “Surprise me.” Tucked into a nondescript Cleveland Avenue strip mall, between an Irish pub and “Waterbeds and Stuff,” […] More

Husky Energy is investigating after three Edmonton residents who were fired from a maintenance project in Lloydminster launched a human rights complaint against a contractor over incidents of alleged Islamophobia. Amino Rashid, 24, and two former colleagues who are also Muslim, say they were dismissed after reporting two separate incidents, just days apart. Rashid said […] More

In the nineteen-nineties, the late, great writer Denis Johnson once followed a group of Somalis across the border from Ethiopia and into the heart of their turbulent country. One of the images that endures from the piece he wrote afterward is of Somali food—“chunks of goat and spaghetti”—and of his narrator being taught “how to […] More

Vik Sohonie, founder of Ostinato Records, sheds light and gives us some background on his upcoming compilation ‘Sweet As Broken Dates: Lost Somali Tapes from the Horn of Africa.’ It’s 7 AM in Hargeisa, in self-declared Somaliland, just to the east of Djibouti. The city gets moving early. The cool nighttime breeze of the desert climate still […] More