When a mentally ill Somali man was shot and killed by police in March 2002, Omar Jamal was there. When a 66-year-old Somali was beaten to death at a bus stop in Oct. 2001 and the FBI was hesitating to investigate it as a hate crime, Omar Jamal was there. When brawls were breaking out between African-American students and Somalis at a large high school in Sept. 2001, Omar Jamal was there. And when the FBI began investigating Somali charities and currency transfer businesses after Sept. 11, he was there as well.