But in the 16 years since, the world around them has radically changed, and not all for the better. Jama and his wife now have two daughters, and word-of-mouth — about good schools and steady jobs — has brought a wave of refugees fleeing war-torn east Africa, transforming the suburbs of Minneapolis.
That same jump in diversity ignited a firestorm when Jama and others in the Somali community publicly supported a school district bid to redraw boundary lines. The goal: to more equitably distribute low-income and minority students throughout the city's elementary schools and, in the process, eliminate a yawning achievement gap among the schools.
What followed was a wrenching series of public meetings, protests and online organizing campaigns whose ferocity shocked many longtime residents. In the end, the controversy upended the school board and prompted about two dozen administrators to flee the district, including Eden Prairie's long-serving superintendent.
