Taking on hate: Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence celebrates 10 years

SOURCE: Sun Journal. 3/28/10

There were times Mustaf Sharif thought everyone hated him.

At least everyone at Edward Little High School.

He was a black, Muslim, Somali student in a largely white, Christian-centric town, and classmates didn’t hesitate to point that out to him and his friends. Loudly. And with fists.

Sharif, a budding doctor, was more focused on his schoolwork than school fights, but he couldn’t help being dragged into some of them. In 2004 and 2005, Edward Little’s halls were, at best, uncomfortable. At worst, hostile and dangerous.

During one incident, a student mistakenly struck a popular school administrator as she tried to break up a fight. For Sharif, that was the last straw.

“It was somebody who was really liked and really respected,” Sharif said. “It was somebody I really respect to this day. When she got hit, I was like, ‘Wow, this is ridiculous.'”

Read the full article: http://www.sunjournal.com/node/818070