MINNEAPOLIS—As a spoken word artist, Abdirizak Mohamed Warsame liked to talk to other young Somalis about following their dreams. In a video posted online in 2011, the teenager stands at a microphone and encourages teens to stay focused on their goals in life.
“You guys are tomorrow. And all you have to have, to get anywhere you want, is determination,” said Warsame, who was active in a local arts group, was a regular at a neighborhood center, and whose mother and cousin were leading voices against radical recruitment in Minneapolis’ large Somali community.
Warsame's case, rather than a positive example, has become a cautionary tale.
