Café en Comunidad: How coffee is helping neighbors and leaders connect in Tulsa

Whether you’re the mayor or an average Joe, a simple conversation can go a long way. One event is using coffee to help people connect.

Growing Together is a nonprofit that meets with people in the Kendall Whittier neighborhood to hear what’s important to them. One way they do this is through Coffee and Community. A cup of coffee can do more than just start your day; it can create connections.

"It's important for us to recognize that there is someone beyond a title or a job title that we cannot forget," said Alfredo Marcelo with Growing Together.

That’s the idea behind Café en Comunidad—Coffee and Community—by the nonprofit Growing Together. It’s not just for networking; it’s for neighbors to share who they are and what they care about.

"We have thought through and heard from our community that one thing they would love to know more about is who the real leaders of the community are," said Kaitlin Williams, Executive Director of Growing Together.

This month’s guest: Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols.

"For I think fifteen years, I lived in the neighborhood," he said. "If you are trying to meet with me after 2 o'clock on a Friday during my son's football season, good luck."

It’s moments like these that Marcelo says open the door to understanding a person beyond their title.

"We cannot support as a community other community members if we only think of them as sources of resources or as people who hold power that we have to access through them," he said.

No one asked hard-hitting questions about the economy or crime—the people here just wanted to get to know the mayor.

Whether it’s a mayor or a neighbor, these cups of coffee keep the focus where it belongs: on connection. Café en Comunidad is held on the second Tuesday of most months. It’s free and open to anyone.