An Historic Meeting between Kalamazoo City Manager and African Community

It would be an understatement to say I wasn’t terrified about the prospects of no one showing up for a scheduled African Kalamazoo Community historical meeting with the newly appointed Kalamazoo City Manager, Mr. Malcolm Hankins. I had spent the last two months making phone calls, knocking on doors, visiting churches and practically talking to anyone and everyone who knows an African in Kalamazoo to get in touch. The date was May 6, a Wednesday and as it approached, fast, and with practically all the groundwork done, venue, food etc there still was no guarantee anyone would show up since it was midweek and at the odd hour of 2pm.

Finally, the day arrived. One by one, they entered the small community hall. Some came from Kenya, Ruanda, Malawi, Zambia, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo/DRC, Zimbabwe. Many have lived in the city for years if not decades without ever gathering in one room for a common purpose. Their first impression was all gratitude and surprise that such a gathering did finally take place.

At the front sat the newly appointed city manager, the first black person appointed to City Manager position in 42 years. His presence carried quite gravity. For some in the room, it felt symbolic, for others it was long overdue. Others still just wanted an opportunity to vent, and they got it all.

The meeting began awkwardly. People spoke in fragments at first – about housing, about jobs, about children and parents’ difficulty with English as a second language, children losing their language and culture, but grateful to belong. Some mentioned the difficulty of finding mentors. Yet others spoke about the loneliness of arriving in America and discovering that survival left little room for community, navigating resources and just being there for each other.

With each passing moment, the room grew louder, the mood a little somber, something shifted.

Pastors in the room one after another detailed the challenges their congregates are facing. Once strangers only a few minutes ago began to finish each other’s sentence, nodding in unison and wondering what a united community can achieve with intent. Meanwhile the City Manager listened, copiously taking down notes, his presence an assurance and hope for a people who have lived on the margins of the city and obscure for a long time.

The roundtable that followed left everyone wondering why such a meeting had not taken place earlier. The depth of knowledge, skills and expertise in the room was breathtaking.

Strangers interrupted each other, not with anger but recognition. Heads nodded, phone numbers and emails were exchanged. Plans were mentioned cautiously at first, then with growing confidence – youth programs, cultural events, support for new immigrant families and a united voice at City Meetings.

For the first time, many of them realized they were not simply individual Africans living in Kalamazoo, they were becoming a community.

The takeaway from the meeting was that we shared challenges which need collective response. It was an emotional meeting, not just that we have a new listening manager who is a minority but that we discovered a collective identity, and we should jealously regard May 6, 2026, as the coming-of-age day for Africans in Kalamazoo.

The meeting would not have succeeded without the help from the manager’s office that helped with scheduling, Interfaith Strategy for Advocacy and Action in Community/ISAAC who provided food and paid for the venue and the NAACP President who helped with organizing. Thank you Dr. Charlae Davis and Wendy Fields for your support and encouragement, and yes Tobi Hanna-Davies for planting the idea.

Thank you to my African community for heeding the call and more important, your commitment to continue organizing for the betterment of our community and the City we all now call home. My initial anxiety turned to optimism, gratitude and commitment for continued working together and standing for each other. With much gratitude to our City Manager who found time in his busy schedule to meet with our community members. Thank you.

Andrew Chaponda
Community Member and Event Organizer