Cedar Riverside Seward

I sat down with Hussein Samatar on a sunny Sunday afternoon at Mapps Coffee, across the street from the African Development Center in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. Samatar is the director of the African Development Center (ADC), which he founded to help new immigrants adjust to Minneapolis and gain financial success. Samatar emigrated to Minneapolis 17 years ago from Somalia and is active in the Cedar-Riverside community. He was just elected to the Minneapolis Board of Education. 

From trash talk on Facebook to national news, talk about Cedar-Riverside leaves many believing that this Minneapolis neighborhood is among the most dangerous neighborhoods in the United States. The facts? Not even close. While it is true that the neighborhood has suffered several tragedies in the recent past, crime statistics tell a different story. 

Middlebrook Hall, located on 22nd and Riverside Avenue, is the only West Bank University of Minnesota student housing. When new students arrive, they find themselves in a rich but unfamiliar cultural milieu, a densely urban and multi-cultural neighborhood that sometimes seems dangerous. 

There are 984 youth living in Riverside Plaza, according to property manager Mimi Gibson.  To serve the enormous number of children, many from immigrant communities, a number of organizations provide programming for children from birth  through high school.  Some organizations, such as Brian Coyle Community Center, have offered  programs for a long time (although they have recently restructured their programming), while others have recently begun.