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Environmental Activist Isra Hirsi Shows Us Around Minneapolis
All clothing Isra’s Own. New hijab courtesy of Grandmother.
The Barnard student, environmental activist, and daughter of Representative Ilhan Omar, Isra Hirsi, revisits the Minneapolis spots that made her.
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PINEDA TACOS
“I’ve been coming here since ninth grade and getting their signature size, the Tiger Burrito. I get mine with rice, beans, lettuce, tomato, corn, and cheese. It’s simple but it’s just right. I also get a Mango Jumex to drink.”
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RIVERSIDE MALL
“My grandmother has a store here called Al Huda where she sells clothes and products that are culturally familiar to the Somali community. Ever since I was a kid, I remember coming and visiting her there and playing hide-and-seek with my siblings. And every Eid, when I need to get a new dress or a new hijab, I come to see her here. It reminds me of home.”
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MINNEAPOLIS CENTRAL LIBRARY
“I spent a lot of time here during high school to study and relax. It’s massive and beautiful and there’s a million places to sit. Whenever I wanted to escape the chaos of home and school, I’d come here to focus on my organizing. It’s where I wrote my speech for the first Climate Strike I organized.”
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REWIND VINTAGE
“One of my favorite spots to get secondhand clothing, but also to find really cool jewelry from local artists. I got my first pair of cowboy boots here that I still wear daily. I don’t shop often because I value the pieces I own and sustainability is important to me, but all the items I got from Rewind I still own and wear.”
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CODE BLU
“Code Blu is one of those coffee shops that I frequented a lot as a kid. It’s just so cute and so
small, but has some of the best drinks like smoothies and hot chocolate, and just a very,
very good study environment. The windows facing Franklin Avenue making it prime for
people watching, its small quarters helps force me to focus. So I find myself going back a lot.”
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RIVERSIDE PARK
“I spent most of my childhood in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood, just across from the park. The greenery extends to a wooded area with a path leading to the Mississippi River, which was one of my first encounters with nature. The meadow within the park is named after Annie Young, a local environmentalist who advocated for green spaces citywide during her tenure on the park board. This park holds so much sentimental value for me because of its role in my upbringing and its significance for environmentalists.”
