Negotiating Transnational Identity: An Oral History of Second-Generation Somali Diaspora Communities in Minneapolis and London

This comparative oral history study examines how second-generation Somali diaspora youth in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and London, United Kingdom, negotiate transnational identity, civic engagement, and cultural belonging. Drawing on forty in-depth life-history interviews with individuals aged 18 to 32, this article explores how distinct national citizenship regimes, urban landscapes, and socio-political opportunity structures shape the lived experiences of second-generation Somalis. While prior literature predominantly focuses on the initial trauma and forced displacement of the first generation following the 1991 collapse of the Somali state, this research illuminates the agency of young adults born or raised in host countries. Findings reveal that second-generation identity is characterized by dynamic 'dual anchoring'—a simultaneous grounding in local civic life and participation in a globalized, digital Somali social field. In Minneapolis, identity construction is heavily mediated by formal political participation and civil rights discourses, whereas in London, youth navigate postcolonial urban spatialities through creative arts, grassroots advocacy, and hybrid subcultures. Across both sites, participants strategically deploy religion, language, and digital media to resist racialized marginalization and Islamophobia while renegotiating intergenerational expectations. This study advances theories of second-generation transnationalism by demonstrating how localized urban conditions reconfigure global diasporic affiliations.