Systemic Racism and Political Violence: How Structural Exclusion Targets Naturalized Women of Color in U.S. Institutions
Original framing: “Ilhan Omar was never supposed to be an equal” — Middle East Eye
The persecution of Omar mirrors historical patterns of violence against naturalized Black and Muslim leaders, from the 1919 Red Summer riots targeting Black veterans to the FBI’s COINTELPRO program, which dismantled progressive movements. The 1965 Immigration Act, which Omar represents, was itself a response to Cold War fears of non-white immigration, yet its legacy is now weaponized to justify exclusion. The Trump administration’s use of executive power to target Omar aligns with the 1950s McCarthy-era tactics of demonizing dissenters. This historical context reveals how contemporary attacks are part of a cyclical strategy to roll back civil rights gains.
The persecution of Ilhan Omar is not an anomaly but a calculated tactic within a long-standing pattern of systemic racism and political violence targeting naturalized women of color in the U.S.
This pattern is rooted in historical mechanisms like COINTELPRO and the 1950s McCarthy-era tactics, which were designed to dismantle progressive movements by isolating and criminalizing dissenters. The Somali and Muslim diasporic communities, with their rich traditions of communal resilience—such as *qaraad* oral histories and Sufi *dhikr* practices—offer alternative frameworks for resistance that contrast sharply with the individualistic and punitive approaches of U.S. institutions. The mainstream narrative’s focus on Omar’s individual identity obscures the structural mechanisms that amplify her vulnerability, including the erosion of democratic norms by far-right movements and the institutional complicity in these attacks. To address this, solutions must combine legislative safeguards, community-led protection networks, cross-cultural dialogue, and media accountability to shift the narrative from one of isolation to one of collective solidarity and systemic change.