There are a number of Somali community organizations in Colum-bus. In 1996, Somali Community Association of Ohio (SCAO), the first Somali community organization, was created. However, pin-pointing the precise number of groups in existence today is somewhat difficult, because not all are registered as 501(c)(3) organizations, and some that were formerly active no longer exist. The city currently has ten registered organizations and informal Somali groups. One scholar who has researched Somalis in Columbus explained:
Several of the Somali community organizations emerged and fell apart. This was partly due to competition and partly due to inadequate funding opportunities. (Columbus academic inter-view, February 27, 2014)
The Columbus mayor’s New American Initiative Office continues to try to find solutions to the organizational saturation in an attempt to support a stronger and more unified Somali group. One New Ameri-can Initiative bureaucrat noted:
We’ve tried to talk to all of them to convince them to unite in one center, to create one umbrella to help all people. We don’t want the community to be divisive and chaotic. The leaders have not been willing to compromise. We try to get them to work together. We use Minneapolis’s community center as an example of what could happen in Columbus, but it hasn’t worked. We explain that if there are ten groups, the funds from the county and state will be too small to help anyone.
(Columbus city bureaucrat interview, July 26, 2013)
Since the late 1990s, several Somali women’s organizations have emerged to empower women socially and economically, although
they have encountered challenges. One Somali woman who runs one of the strongest women’s groups explained that first and foremost, funding remains a major challenge to running a successful nonprof-it. As a result of such challenges, a number of the Somali women’s groups have failed. One non-Somali scholar who has researched the Somali community explained:
There have been at least three different Somali women’s orga-nizations that have dissolved or have been significantly reor-ganized due to ideological differences between the founding members. Disagreements included disputes over the purpose/
mission of the NGO and the populations that the NGO should serve. (Columbus academic interview, February 27, 2014)
These factors, combined with general tensions between interethnic organizations, have caused serious difficulties for Somali women’s groups.
Even without a central organization, several important Somali community organizations exist and provide important services to members, including English-language instruction, employment assis-tance, educational training, translation services, health assisassis-tance, housing support, and sensitivity training for public-sector employees.
At the same time, there is room for more collaboration among these organizations to maximize returns. Some Somali community leaders interviewed for this study were open to the idea of collaboration, while others remained highly skeptical of the motivation for doing so.9
Religion
Ohio’s strong Christian roots make the Islamic traditions of Somalis stand out more prominently. Historically, midwestern states like Ohio have reflected the religious traditions of nineteenth-century
immi-9. Although some might assume that the inability to collaborate stems from interclan conflict (Chemelecki 2003), the research I conducted for this project sug-gests otherwise. Many of the organizations are led by members of the same clan, in some cases cousins (Columbus community leader interview, October 15, 2015);
community leaders identified a lack of resources as the root of the tensions.
grants who came from Germany, Ireland, Scandinavia, and eastern and southern European countries (Silk and Walsh 2008, 182). Catho-lics and Protestants remain the largest religious groups in Ohio and in the city of Columbus.10 More recent immigration has resulted in what Mark Silk and Andrew Walsh call “global” religions, including Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism (2008, 182). This is especially relevant when considering the Bhutanese Nepali refugee community, which is large-ly Buddhist, and Somalis, who are predominatelarge-ly Sunni Muslim.
There are seven Somali mosques in Columbus, each with its own imam, or religious leader. Services in these mosques are conducted in Somali. The other mosques in Columbus hold services in English, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
For Somalis with limited English-language skills, these services are impractical. One non-Somali Muslim explained:
Language barriers set Somalis apart from the American Muslim community. It limits their ability to collaborate with others who share many of the same beliefs. (Columbus CAIR representative interview, March 11, 2015)
Beyond the separation Somalis experience from other Muslims in Columbus, the Somali imams are seen as powerful within the munity, but they are not very involved in helping mobilize the com-munity beyond religious issues (Columbus comcom-munity member interview, March 9, 2015).
Education
Respondents in this study routinely mentioned that the public educa-tion system is failing the youth of Columbus, claims that are reflected in test results for the 2013–2014 academic year. Columbus’s schools lag significantly behind state averages in all areas, including gradu-ation rates, general achievement, literacy, and progress.11 As in cities across the United States, charter schools have emerged in Ohio as
10. See http//ssrs.com.
11. See http://reportcard.education.ohio.gov/.
an alternative to the traditional public schools. Although they are publicly funded, charter schools have greater autonomy in terms of curriculum, employees, and overall governance. Approximately seventy charter schools are operating in Franklin County, although several have recently closed, and new charters are being issued by the state regularly. Of these, several have Islamic themes that appeal to some Somali families. Although the charters are nondenominational in accordance with the First Amendment, the schools often include Islamic-sensitive curricula, making it easier for Muslim students to attend schools that simultaneously support their religious tradi-tions. For example, these schools often restrict pork products from the lunch menu and might go out of their way to create a space for students to pray during the school day. Arabic- or Somali-language instruction is also offered in some of these schools. Finally, several have after-school programs with Islamic themes.
Although the exact number of Somali children attending charter schools is unavailable, a few schools enroll a significant number of students. These include Sunrise Academy, Westside Academy, Inter-national Academy of Columbus, Focus Learning Academy of North-ern Columbus, Horizon Science Academy, Midnimo Cross Cultural Community School, and Zenith Academy. Of these schools, only Sunrise Academy is located in a suburb of Columbus (in Hilliard).
During interviews, I spoke with parents who send their children to traditional public schools and to charter schools. While the focus of this study is not educational options for Somalis, it was clear that some families appreciated having these choices for their children.