Celebration of Minnesota’s African immigrant communities 

Despite a momentary downpour, members of the African diaspora gathered for the ninth annual Little Africa Festival on Sunday at Hamline Park in St. Paul. The event was marked by cultural dances, musical performances, and vendors sharing goods and food from the African continent and the Caribbean. 

The festival was launched by African Economic Development Solutions (AEDS), a St. Paul-based organization created to assist African immigrants with financing and services to help in their entrepreneurial journey. 

Sunday’s festival was preceded by a groundbreaking ceremony a few blocks away from the park at 678 Snelling Ave. N. where the new Little Africa Plaza will be located. The project was supported financially by several different groups including foundation support, private lending, and funds appropriated through the legislature to help foster economic development in diverse communities. 

Dr. Gene Gelgelu, the CEO and founder of AEDS, opened the event with some remarks and acknowledged and thanked those parties involved in bringing the plaza to life.  “Today is a big deal for us,” he said, “a big milestone for African Economic Development Solutions and the Little Africa Cultural Business and Cultural District. Our communities have been supported by philanthropy and government and individuals, and they were the key in reaching this milestone.” 

Among the financial contributors to the plaza are BMO Harris Bank, Bigelow, the Minnesota Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, as well as other financial institutions and foundations. Gelgelu also thanked the officials at St. Paul’s Department of Planning and Economic Development for their coordination, as well as the elected officials who supported the project.  

Mitra Jalali of Ward 4 spoke at the groundbreaking and referred to a conversation she had with a developer of color. Although they acknowledged that development of the plaza is a challenge, it would be worth the effort given the impact it would have in the community. 

“That is what I think Little Africa Plaza has come to embody,” said Jalali. “It is really just looking at the old light and fan building on Snelling Avenue in the Midway, which is changing the neighborhood and imposing pressure in a lot of different ways, and saying, ‘We want to turn this into a community space, not just whatever the top dollar’s going to get us.”

Senator Clare Oumou Verbeten also spoke about how important it was for her to see such a resource in the community she grew up in. Coming from a Senegalese background, Verbeten’s mother immigrated to the Twin Cities in the 1980s and would bring her to the area as a child. 

“We always knew that coming to this area—Hamline Midway and Snelling—that this was a place where you could get your hair done, or get the spices that you needed for your food, or just be around people who looked like us and who spoke the same languages that we did,” she said. 

“That’s the community that we have here in Little Africa. We need a dedicated space, and now we finally have that. I’m just so happy personally to have that and for our community to have that as well.”

Food trucks and tables were lined around Snelling and Lafond Avenues. Festival-goers had their choice of enjoying food and cultural attire from across the diaspora, offering a flavor of all the diverse African cultures in Minnesota. 

Monica Habia sat behind a booth covered with books and children’s toys representing Planting People Growing Justice (PPGJ), a nonprofit organization aimed at promoting education and literacy for children, as she discussed the importance of the festival for the community. 

“I’ve been here every year maybe the past five years,” she said. “I see that every year the numbers grow, which shows that there is the need for this.” 

Originally from Ghana, Habia has lived in the state for 12 years. She joined the board of PPGJ to help give children the representation they need in their educational development. She sees the festival as doing similar work to put African Minnesotans on the map. 

“It’s very important. Representation matters, especially when you live in a state like Minnesota. We have to make sure that we showcase not just our culture, but what we have as a people,” she said. 

Dressed in a white suit with an Oromo flag sash, Girma Hassen, better known as Girma Oromo by his friends and colleagues, arrived at the festival with a spirit of cultural pride. He called the day’s events a chance for communities to interact with each other and build a bond. For Hassen, there is little standing in the way of a united African diaspora in Minnesota if people come together. 

“We haven’t realized it yet. Once we realize that, our power is in our hands,” he explained. “The only thing that we have been missing is we are not working for ourselves. The more we’re divided, the less power we have.”

Hassen created the National American Sports Association of Africans (NASAA), a program that connects the diaspora across the country through soccer matches. He hopes that different gatherings through sports and festivals can help create familiarity among different cultures. 

Having gone to several of the Little Africa festivals in the past, Hassan Shahid said that he’s seen improvements with each passing year. From the food to the performances, Shahid said the intentionality behind the event has helped elevate the experience. As a father, he said the event was a great chance for his son and others to be introduced to their culture in another way. 

“I think we need to double down on our different cultures, because maintaining our culture and our tradition is a great way for us to maintain who we are and what we want our children to reflect in the future,” he said. “I’m African American, but being able to see African culture is beautiful, whether people just show up and show out and wear the traditional garments or just come in their shorts and their t-shirts.”

In Dr. Gelgelu’s view, the sense of belonging is integral to the success of the community overall. “When people fit into the fabric of society, they succeed in education. They succeed in work. They succeed in business. They invest because they see themselves with the fabric of society,” he said. 

“When you don’t have that space, when our kids don’t have that space, it’s socially isolating. It’s dangerous.”