“No, we’re not a monolith, but that sameness is what gives us our power … .that belonging is our love, it’s our grace…the essence of who we are, that is what I think about when I think about belonging.” –Dr. Ryan Ross
On the first Saturday of Black History Month, ALG hosted a Breaking Barriers & Building Bridges event, a gathering designed to confront and heal the divide between the Black community and the African community.
Though separated by an ocean, the distance between our two communities has often felt much wider. Misunderstanding often goes unspoken because of what has shaped our differing histories and lived experiences.
As someone who resonates deeply with both communities, I walked into the space expecting difficult conversations and tensions too thick to cut with a knife. But instead, there was something far more powerful, collective healing. Not tension, but tenderness. Not defensiveness, but dialogue; open and honest dialogue.
ALG Founder and Executive Director Papa Dia grounded the event with a simple yet powerful reminder: “ We are here as human beings.” Titles were set aside as the goal was not hierarchy but humanity. The space was framed as one of shared celebration and shared responsibility to commemorate Black History Month.
Through grounding and healing activities led by LaTerrell Bradford, we were invited to place empathy and forgiveness in our “toolbox,” to listen to understand not respond and to honor one another’s humanity. These principles shaped the atmosphere of healing and belonging the entire day.
Keynote speaker, Dr. Ibrahima Seck, Director of Research at the Whitney Plantation Slavery Museum, brought a critical historical depth to the conversation. He challenged us to remember a history beyond slaverly emphasizing how our histories are shared and carry on even when we are oceans apart.
He challenged us to remember more than trauma and recognize education as a bridge to a healed diaspora. A healthy Black diaspora can only come about when we realize the power within us and activate it with historical clarity. Without understanding the full scope of our shared and distinct histories, our unity cannot stand.
Throughout the panel and table conversations, recurring themes emerged from leadership beyond titles, to healing as a collective responsibility, and youth observing what we model to the importance of unity without erasure. We collectively recognized that we are not a monolith, as Dr. Ross said, but our power lies in the undeniable sameness. Recognizing it and claiming it for what it is, is what forms the foundations of belonging not within our individual communities but with one another.
I had the opportunity to join the table conversation with the topic “First-Generation, Pressure & Possibility.” I heard the topic and expected my peers, the children of immigrants, to flock to the table as I did.
To my surprise, I saw parents at the table, I was taken aback not realizing that they are first generation too. I took a moment to listen, hearing them share the difficulties in their experience being the first in their family to come to America. The pressures and expectations they carry to send money back home, to offer guidance, and help others find their way.
I had been so fixated on my experience as a child of immigrants, the difficulties of living between two worlds, that I overlooked the struggle in the experience that they had. In that moment, perspective shifted. I began to understand that for many, the decision to come here wasn’t one of free and open choice but one of survival, full of pressures and responsibilities.
One of the most powerful moments of the day was the launch of ALG’s Cultural Passport initiative.
Rather than leaving unity to chance, ALG’s Cultural Passport formalizes connection. Featuring 24 partner organizations across Colorado that span culture, business, advocacy, health and the arts, the passport encourages community members to attend one another’s signature events, collect stamps, and actively participate across organizations.
As ALG advisor Jason Gaulden said when introducing the passport, “Instead of being in a mindset of ‘we gotta help ourselves,’ we’re bringing this in as a collective community and saying let’s all help each other. Everybody promotes and supports each other.”
Historically, organizations serving similar communities can operate in isolation, sometimes leading to quiet competition. The Cultural Passport disrupts that isolation completely, replacing competition with collaboration allowing us all to belong to the broader community, not just one organization, but them all.
Supported in part by Belonging Colorado, this pilot year of the Cultural Passport aims not only to increase attendance across events, but to deepen relationships across communities.
The most surprising element of the day was the absence of conflict. In conversations about the diaspora, tension is expected. But instead, everyone approached one another with curiosity, openness, and understanding. They asked before assuming, listened before speaking, allowing the thick wall between Black American and African Immigrant communities to feel thinner than ever.
This gathering demonstrated clearly that the divide between us is just one sincere conversation away from breaking. Though an ocean separates us, our histories, cultures, values, and aspirations are deeply intertwined.
Breaking Barriers & Building Bridges is not simply an initiative or an event. It is a reminder that belonging is not automatic, it is intentional. When we choose to build together, the bridge becomes stronger than any barrier that once stood.
