A City Divided: Lewiston’s Acceptance and Resistance to the Somali Refugees in Lewiston, Maine from 2000 To 2011

This article depicts the nature of the resettlement, acculturation, and reception of the Somali refugees in the city of Lewiston, Maine from their arrival in 2000 until 2011. As refugees from their war-torn country, Somalis faced a mixed welcome in their new home. Racial and religious tensions rose as the black, Muslim Somalis moved into the predominately white and Christian Lewiston community. In opposition to the cold reception, as this article argues, the vast majority of the Lewiston community greeted the Somalis with tolerance, adaptability, and embracement. This article chronicles the historical contexts of Lewiston and Somalis before and during the immigration, explicit episodes of aggression and acceptance of the Somalis in Lewiston, and the nature of their integration in schools, workplaces, and the community as a whole. The author studied history at Bates College. She recently earned a Master of Social work degree from the Smith College School for Social Work