It can be challenging for a public library to address the topic of faith, as well as controversial political topics that inevitably accompany the conversation around refugees. However, refugee and immigrant (R&I) issues are extra relevant to our community: the first Syrian refugee family was resettled into the area in April and over 11,000 legal permanent residents are eligible to naturalize in Kansas City. Our city is vibrant and diverse, and we aim to reflect this diversity in our programming and to engage our patrons in the critical discourse that arises as a result.

KCPL creates events that bring awareness to and celebrate Immigrant Heritage. Typically, attendees are like-minded community partners already allied with the R&I community. This event changed things, challenging opinions and exposing patrons to new perspectives. Audience members represented various faith communities and cultural backgrounds and shared diverse opinions on topics such as immigration policies and U.S. intervention in foreign conflict. Tables filled with community co-sponsors shared their activities and ways attendees could get involved. The Library has long been the doorway to knowledge. We hope to also give patrons the keys to do something active and informed with this knowledge.

Over 360 highly engaged community members came together on May 19 to listen, learn, and discuss, and they are hungry for more events like this focusing on R&I conversations. KCPL will utilize the more than ten volunteers recruited at this event alone to plan additional events that launch off from this initial community forum. The Library has long sought out ways to engage faith-based communities in Kansas City…and this event hit home. The panel discussion ended with an unprecedented 45 minutes of high quality Q&A, with a hefty stack of unanswered questions on index cards saved for future events!