Troubles Over Loud Music in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota

For quite a while, the City of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, has been in the news over loud music in its parks. The Brooklyn Park City Council banned loud music from all but one park, following complaints by residents living near those parks. The Minneapolis Star Tribune, for example, published this report about the issue.

The ban has prompted much opposition from those who feel victimized by it. African residents of Brooklyn Park have been quite vocal in this regard, as reported here.

I have been following the issue on Facebook as well, where the Africans have been voicing their views and sentiments, generally opposing the ban, describing it as unilateral, discriminatory, and insensitive to the cultural values of the immigrants. The photo above, from Abdullah Kiatamba's Facebook page, shows a meeting between City authorities and residents.

I am a cultural consultant, specializing in the cultural issues Africans and Americans face when they interact. Several years ago, I was invited to Faribault, another Minnesota city, to participate in a dialogue about problems that were brewing between long time business owners and Somali immigrants. The core issue was the habit of Somali men congregating in the downtown area, blocking sidewalks and, according to the business owners, scaring away customers. I discussed the issue as stemming from cultural differences, to the satisfaction of all.

Reading about what is happening in Brooklyn Park, I keep thinking about what I wrote in my book Africans and Americans: Embracing Cultural Differences whose opening paragraph mentions loud music:

This booklet deals with differences between African and American culture. I noted these differences during my graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1980-86. I used to spend much time with fellow African students joking about American ways. We wondered why, for example, the police often arrived at parties, to report complaints by neighbours that the music was too loud. What was the purpose of a party, we wondered, if not to have a good time, and how could anyone have a good time if the music was not loud? Compared to African parties, American parties seemed like funerals. (p. 1)

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, with people moving and settling everywhere, every community must find ways to deal with changing realities, including cultural differences. Loud music is only one issue, but there are many others, such as food, dress, religion, modes of communication and behavior.

There is no escape from these realities. All we can do is educate ourselves, learning from and about one another, understanding our differences and learning to accommodate them in our lives, so that we can live and work together in harmony.
 

My Daughters in a Fund-raising Event for ThreeSixty Journalism

Today, two of daughters participated in a run to raise funds for ThreeSixty Journalism. The event was held in Minneapolis.

In 2009, one these girls, seen in the photos wearing a headband, was selected to join ThreeSixty Journalism's summer course. This is a competitive program for high school students interested in journalism and the media. The students learn about writing and creating programs for the media. It is a great opportunity to gain journalistic knowledge and also meet leading reporters and other media people.

As part of her field training, my daughter went to a Somali community in Minneapolis, to carry out interviews. Based on this work, she published this article. Her work was also published in Twin Cities Daily Planet and Star Tribune.

I am happy to see my daughters involving themselves in such worthy causes as today's fundraising event.

Immigrants in Faribault

Today I attended a special event in Faribault, Minnesota. Political Science students from St. Olaf College presented research they have been doing under Professor Katherine Tegtmeyer Pak on issues facing immigrants and social service providers in Faribault.

These students had interviewed many individuals, and organizations, from representatives of immigrants, social service providers, religious leaders, law enforcement staff, and public officials. Two of them interviewed me, on the basis of my years of experience with the Faribault Diversity Coalition.

Apart from addressing their questions about challenges facing immigrants and the services available to them, I talked about the dynamics and ethics of field research involving human subjects. I shared with the students my own experience as well as my little paper, "Ethics in Folklore Research," published in Storied Inquiries, pp. 187-188.

It was wonderful to hear their presentations, covering a number of key areas, including the economic, social, cultural, and educational. The students knew what they were talking about, and this became particularly clear when they answered questions about their respective topics.

There are many challenges facing the immigrants, including language and cultural differences. The students highlighted these very well. From the side of social service providers, one of the main challenges is shortage of funds.





These students have gained valuable knowledge of real life issues facing a small town, which is, indeed, a microcosm of the world. I felt they have gained much more than they would have by merely doing research in a library.







I know that they have not only broadened their own horizons, but they have put together information that will be useful for various agencies, refugee organizations, and future researchers.

A report on the event appears in the Faribault Daily News.