MINNEAPOLIS — This comment from Minneapolis City Council Member Michael Rainville is now making its rounds online.
"Today at 1:30, I'm going off to a mosque in the northeast to meet with Somali elders to tell them that their children can no longer have that type of behavior down at the Stone Arch Bridge and Boom Island Park."
It was apparently made this past weekend as the councilman met with Ward 3 constituents, addressing recent crime over the July Fourth holiday. While the sounds of cheers followed the council member's remark at the event, his words are now sparking outrage from some city leaders and community members in the Twin Cities.
"I mean, it's hurtful. You always want to see where people are coming from, but initially you have this knee-jerk reaction," said Mohamed Ibrahim, with CAIR-MN. "That's when we spoke to a couple of people to make sure what we were hearing is correct."
Ibrahim says the comments also came during one of the holiest weekends in Islam, when Muslims across the state gathered to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday.
"We've seen it for decades now where you have the scapegoating of Somali communities with acts of violence with little to no proof, but it's the attacks that we've seen — fear mongering," he said. "We've seen things as recent as rice bags in Lino Lakes with hateful messages, so to see an elected official perpetuate these stereotypes, tropes, doesn't only put the Somali community in danger, but other communities of color in danger as well," he said.
Rainville is the council member for Ward 3, which spans parts of Minneapolis' downtown neighborhoods. It was there, over the July Fourth holiday weekend, that video was captured showing people shooting fireworks at pedestrians and into balconies and condos. Several people were also injured in a shooting at Boom Island Park.
In response to Rainville's statement, fellow council members Jeremiah Ellison, Aisha Forward and Jamal Osman issued a response saying, in part:
"When discussing the uptick in crime over the 4th of July weekend, he made incorrect, inappropriate, and disturbing comments that Somali youth overwhelmingly perpetuated crime."
Council Member Rainville issued this statement online:
"I was trying to convey that we need more support for our youth. But the fact is that what I said and the way I said it was not appropriate and I wrongly singled out Somali youth. I recognize and acknowledge the hurt and anger my statement caused. I am sorry."
Ibrahim says while he's glad there's an apology, he wants Rainville to meet with members of the Somali community for a better understanding.
"We understand that there is a public safety issue, but you can't conflate public safety issue alongside scapegoating the Somali-Muslim community," he said. "We know that there is a disconnection and there's still hurt he caused in the Somali community."
Rainville went on to say, "I look forward to meeting with community members and continuing our shared work to make Minneapolis a safer city for everyone."
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