The Pittsburgh Bantu:
History, Resettlement and Racialized Integration
Abstract:
The Somali Bantu’s unexpected arrival into the United States brought about many questions and made headlines in newspapers but throughout time we have seen that their story has seemed to be put under the rugs of history. The Somali Bantu are grouped under the identity of Somalis but their lived experiences challenge the notions of a homogenous Somali state. We wish to follow the story of the Somali Bantus who resettled in Pittsburgh around 2004. Their journey throughout history is minimized and understudied. When the Somali Bantu arrived in Pittsburgh; How did the city of Pittsburgh react and respond to the arrival of the Somali Bantu? How would a group who were deemed illiterate and a minority integrate into a country that deemed public education necessary for all? How would agricultural farmers who weren’t familiar with industrialization be able to navigate through the job world? How would the future generation of their children understand their history and identity? I ask these questions because they are not answered within the larger contexts of history. Through this comp one, would be hearing the voices of refugees as they share a platform among scholars, media headlines, and controlled narratives.