Opinion | Somali American roots go back more than 100 years

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America has always been shaped by immigration. Scandinavians settled the Upper Midwest, Italians and Irish built cities along the East Coast, and Asian Americans transformed the West. Each group arrived facing suspicion, economic hardship and questions about belonging — yet over time became recognized as part of the American fabric.

With renewed national attention on Somali Americans, it is worth asking a simple question: How long have Somalis been part of the American story? The answer challenges common assumptions. Somali American roots stretch back more than a century, long before the refugee resettlement of the 1990s that many people mistakenly view as the beginning of Somali presence in the United States.

Like other immigrant groups before them — including Scandinavians, Italians, Irish and Asians — Somalis arrived through labor, education and opportunity, building lives and communities in America over generations.

Somalis have a long maritime history rooted in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. For centuries, Somali sailors navigated global trade routes. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many young Somali men worked as seafarers aboard British and international steamships, often referred to as “lascars.”

Some of these ships docked at U.S. East Coast ports such as New York and Boston. While many sailors were expected to return home, some remained, finding work along the docks, in service industries, or aboard ships traveling domestically. These men represent the earliest documented Somali presence in the U.S., dating to the early 1900s.

Among them was Mumin Hersi, who arrived in New York in 1925. As documented by his granddaughter, Hassan, Hersi built a life in Harlem, forming relationships within the city’s Black community. His story reflects a broader pattern: Early Somali arrivals were not isolated outsiders, but participants in America’s urban and working-class life.

Somali American history did not end with maritime labor.

A second wave of Somali migration occurred between the 1950s and 1980s, when Somali international students came to the U.S. to study medicine, engineering, law and education. Many of these students stayed, contributing their professional skills to American institutions during a period when the U.S. actively recruited global talent.

This path mirrors the experience of many Scandinavian immigrants earlier in the 20th century, who came first as workers and students, gradually establishing professional and civic roots. Somali Americans followed a similar trajectory — investing in education, work and long-term settlement.

The most visible Somali migration occurred in the 1990s and early 2000s, following Somalia’s civil war. Families resettled across the country, including in Minnesota, Ohio, Washington and New England. They built businesses, mosques, nonprofits and community institutions, contributing to local economies and public life.

Understanding Somali American history as more than 100 years old reframes current conversations about immigration and belonging. Somali Americans are not a new presence, nor an exception to the American story. They are part of the same historical pattern that brought Scandinavians to the Midwest, Italians and Irish to industrial cities, and Asian immigrants to the West Coast.

As Hassan argues in her doctoral work “Ciyaal Baraf,” Somali diasporic identity is shaped not only by displacement but by labor, creativity and self-making across generations. This lens helps us see Somali Americans not simply as refugees, but as workers, students, neighbors and contributors — past and present.

Recognizing that Somali American roots extend back more than a century does more than correct the historical record. It reminds us that American identity has always been built by those who arrived, worked, stayed and helped shape the nation over time.

Somali Americans, like Scandinavians, Italians, Irish and Asians before them, are part of America’s ongoing story — not newcomers to it.