Running across Minnesota for outdoor inclusionWelcoming America is an organization that has been around since 2009. "And our work really focuses on communities, and helping leaders in communities to build places where everyone, including immigrants can thrive, belong, and prosper," said Rachel Peric, the executive director of Welcoming America. The organization supports a network of about 200 members in the U.S. and about a half dozen partners globally.
"We're at a kind of crossroads moment where we're deciding collectively what kind of country we want to be. Whether we want to be a place where all of us have the opportunity to be successful, to belong, to call ourselves American, regardless of where we were born, or the color of our skin, or religion, or whether we're going to let our fear of our neighbors really overtake us," Peric said. "It's been exciting to see over many years how in Minnesota, there have been so many people who really care deeply about this idea of being an inclusive community. And I think that is particularly important in a state like Minnesota. ... In a lot of places, particularly in small towns with declining populations, aging populations, it is really immigrants who are revitalizing the community, but that revitalization only works if people truly become neighbors and really see each other as Minnesotans as Americans."
The Southwest Initiative Foundation, based in Hurchinson, Minnesota got involved with Welcoming America equality and inclusion is integral to their work, explained Pablo Obregón, SWIF's community engagement officer. "I think the common denominator is arts expression," said Obregón. "In Worthington, there will be an artist helping work different expressions, and murals. The same in Granite Falls, there will be be a mural painting. In Willmar, there will be music and chalk board drawing."
Over the inviting rhythms of the community drum circle. The Welcoming Week event in Downtown Willmar, is in full swing. Walking around the small downtown park, there are muralists and drummers amidst tables with representatives from the Willmar Interfaith Network and the Willmar Area League of Women Voters. It's hard to tell, but the matching masks that the Willmar Area League of Women Voters representatives are wearing say "vote."
"[We] did some popup picketing today, and the great thing was young people telling us, 'I registered to vote, and this was the first time,'" said Jo Debryucker. "As we were standing there, what struck me was all ages, honking their horns, giving us the thumbs up, and we really want to engage everybody in the community."
Marv Calvin, the mayor of Willmar also made an appearance. He mentioned the welcoming resolution recently adopted by the city of Willmar. "It is very important for people to feel welcome within our community and the city of Willmar, the city council has adopted a welcoming resolution that says that all people are welcome here, no matter what their race, their creed, the sexual orientation, whatever the case is," he said. "Events like this just showcase what we have here, and the strengths we have here in Willmar. And it is so exciting to be a part of this process."
Justin Ask and Andres Albertsen were stationed at the Willmar Interfaith Network booth. The Willmar Interfaith Network has been active in Willmar for a couple of years as an organization that promotes interfaith dialogue, , Ask explains. "So we're people from all different kinds of faith: Christians and Muslims and Unitarians and Baha'i, and we come together regularly to increase our understanding of each other's traditions to learn from each other, to have conversations," he said. "We just believe that we're better together and so we try to interact with each other all for the benefit of the community."
Andres Albertsen moved to Willmar two weeks ago. "I am an immigrant here and I am in a city with lots of immigrants and this event is to show that everybody should be able to call Willmar home," he said. "We need, as immigrants to hear this a lot: 'You also belong here,' and this is what this event is about."
John Salgado Maldonado has been provided drum lessons in addition to the soundtrack for the entire evening. He helped to start Community Rhythms two years ago and had a circle of drums set up, what he called the community drum circle, right by the pedestrian sidewalk. "It's a ... community strategy to pull people together. And there is, a magical thing, I think, personally. People that probably, they wouldn't know each other, in life, they get together in this circle. So gathering and getting together through rhythms," Maldonado said.
He said the community drum circle usually started with exercises, some stretching, and learning some basic drum hits. "And then we start doing this exercise, which is call and response. So call and response is something that is a lot about communication and dialogue. So that's the same thing that happens in communities. If we don't have that, our songs are not gonna work," he said. "So the community circle for us represents also the community. So it's, everyone is invited and everyone is welcome."
Nicole Arnhold is also a member of the Community Rhythms. She sees the importance in having inclusive activities — recognizing what the barriers to an activity might be in order to avoid them. "So hence, why we do drumming. It's something that you don't need language for and people can catch on pretty quickly," Arnhold said. "We get kind of two different responses: Either people will jump in right away, or you've got people that are like, 'Oh no, I don't drum, or I don't have rhythm.' And that's kind of what drew me into drumming, was I felt really challenged by it. ... You can have people that are really good at drumming, or you could have someone that's totally new to it. And it draws people together.
Maldonado emphasized that everyone has rhythm. You walk; you have a heart beat; you have rhythm.
