DETROIT – As part of the 12th Annual “New American Dreams” National Immigrant Integration Conference (NIIC 2019) the Detroit’s renowned Concert of Colors world music festival will offer NIIC attendees and the greater Detroit community a free night of performances by a variety of acclaimed artists.

Following the ‘New American Dreams’ conference theme, this event, which is open to the public, will focus on the stories of those who have helped break down barriers, and in their place built cultural bridges for those around them.

The concert will be held at 8 p.m. Monday, October 21, at the TCF Center (formerly known as the Cobo Center). Featured artists include Los Angeles-based Chicano band, Las Cafeteras, renowned Marvel comic author, Saladin Ahmed, and the electrifying Pathe Jassi and Sean Blackman trio.

Now in its 12th year, the NIIC is the largest gathering on immigration in the U.S., convening policymakers, academics, community leaders, and more to champion for immigrant and refugee rights. The Concert of Colors, which just celebrated its 27th year, is one of the largest world music festivals in the Midwest and is part of metro Detroit’s annual diversity festival that takes place each summer.

“Hosting the NIIC in this region will help shine a much needed, affirming spotlight on immigrant and refugee communities which are so much in the cross-hairs of national political vitriol and hate-mongering,” said Nadia El-Zein Tonova, Director of National Partnerships at ACCESS.  “Detroit’s diverse communities and our rich history of struggling for social justice has a lot of learnings to share with the rest of the country.”

Detroit is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans in the country as well as one of the nation’s largest refugee communities. The NIIC will be hosted by the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) with co-host Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS), among others.

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The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) leads the annual National Immigrant Integration Conference. In the past two years, NPNA partners have assisted over 50,000 immigrants to become U.S. citizens and pursue legal status. NPNA harnesses the collective power and resources of the country’s 35 largest regional immigrant rights organizations in 37 states. It aims to achieve a vibrant, just and welcoming democracy for all.