Fisto Ndayishimiye doesn’t like to use the term New American. 

For one, it’s not always accurate for those it is used to describe. 

“I’m a citizen of this country, and I’ve been here for — I think now it’s been eight years. But if I meet someone and they hear my accent, and they see how I look, I think they will call me a New American, right?” he said. “It's become an idea. It's become more like a concept that people use.”

More broadly, Ndayishimiye worries that the label reinforces divides between demographic groups, and between people who all live in the same city.

“For people who want to live here and and have a family here, I don’t think we need a term to identify someone,” he said. “We’re people.”

That desire to see all city residents as part of a single community is among the reasons Ndayishimiye formed One Concord, a coalition of individuals and organizations representing different marginalized communities in the city. The coalition includes groups that support queer people, people with disabilities, young people, seniors, people in the workforce, refugees and voices from different ethnic communities in the city. It has a broad mission of building unity and understanding among all residents, but it is also focused on promoting structural and policy changes at the local level as the city’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice and Belonging Committee begins its work.

“I wanted to be able to bring together all those groups and organizations and people who are working to promote diversity in our community,” he said, “with the purpose of bridging the gaps we have in Concord.”

After holding listening sessions in the middle of last year, and months of promising, the City of Concord formed the DEIJB committee. It is also hiring a consultant to work with the group on setting and meeting targets.  The committee’s purpose is to workshop and recommend changes that could be enacted by the city council.

There has been friction between the city and advocates: Residents unsuccessfully pushed for those on the committee to receive stipends to ensure they could afford to serve, have questioned the need for a consultant and been frustrated that, months after its members were named, the committee still has not met.

But Ndayishimiye emphasized that he wants to the committee to be effective, and sees One Concord as part of that. 

“We’re not a group that is attacking the city council or attacking the community in general,” he said. “We want to support our mayor so he can succeed in his position and the rest of the city council. ... Things have taken longer and are slow, but I think we all share the same values.”

A big part the supporting role One Concord wants to provide, Ndayishimiye said, is helping appointed and elected leaders to be more in touch with those least equipped to advocate for themselves and to engage with city government. 

“We have public officials who still don't have a better idea of how to do better community outreach to make sure that we can reach out to even those that have no clue of what's happening in our city,” he said. “There are people who do not use social media, there are people who do not read news articles, there are people who actually don't speak English or read English, right? All those people deserve to understand what's happening in our city and to have a voice, a right to an opinion.”

One Concord members have specific changes they hope the committee will endorse, including holding more city meetings at locations on the east side of the river, near public transportation and accessible to people with physical disabilities, changing zoning regulations to increase housing and reduce segregation, and making public spaces like the City Wide Community Center on the Heights easier and free to use.

Members of One Concord, including Jessica Livingston, director of the Concord Multicultural Festival, have also said they want officials to leverage and learn from those in the city who have already made it more inclusive and equitable.

The festival moved to Keach Park to be closer to where many of its vendors live. It has partnered with the New Hampshire Food Bank, which helps anyone selling food at the festival learn more about pursuing their own business or entering the food industry to get key certifications. It has partnered with other organizations to ensure people from diverse backgrounds in Concord are showcased at events year-round. 

“What we’re doing, it's not just about festivals and saying ‘Oh, look, we have diversity. Let's eat some yummy food, and let's be welcoming and be nice to people,’” Livingston said. “We’re leading by example.” 

More broadly, Ndayishimiye said, the city as a whole needs to change its culture to incorporate diverse needs and interests, rather than only expecting people to conform to an existing way of life. 

From the dominance of English-only speakers to the kinds of food served at community events, he said, “We’ve forgotten to learn about those differences. We've forgotten to learn about how others practice everything. We need everybody to learn about everybody, about each other.

“If our leaders and our community understand those different culture practices and identities, they would understand how to serve this community.”