(soft music)
- I'm from small West African country, Liberia.
And because of the civil war,
my wife and I fled Liberia.
We had no intentions of leaving.
But when the war came, we decided we had to survive.
And that's how we started that process
to come to this country.
I'm Wilmot Collins, and I'm the mayor
of the city of Helena, Montana.
(soft music)
- [Narrator] When Wilmot Collins gained refugee status
and moved to the United States in 1994,
he came to Helena, Montana, a town of about 30,000 people
that doesn't see a lot of change.
More than two decades later,
he decided to run for mayor of Helena,
challenging a popular 16-year incumbent. When I became
- American, I said, "I wanted run for office."
But as time will come closer and closer,
I got scared 'cause I didn't know the processes.
I wasn't trained to be a mayor.
Come on, guys, let's eat.
Last year, my son came home and said,
"Dad, we need to talk."
"Your time is now."
"You have to run."
He pushed me and pushed me,
and finally I said, "OK, I'm going to run."
And I didn't run on a refugee platform.
I ran on a platform that would serve my community.
Hi, how are you?
I met with people, I participated in every
political public forum that was held.
I didn't shy away because I knew
the hard questions had to be answered.
- [Narrator] In Helena, Montana,
a first time candidate beat a 16-year incumbent.
- [Female Reporter] The first African-American mayor
in Montana history.
- [Male Reporter] An unlikely leader in a state
where only half a percent of the population looks like him.
- When I got elected, it immediately became overwhelming,
I have to tell you.
Within the first nine days, we had 30 plus interviews
from everywhere.
So when Huffington Post called and said,
"How does it feel to make history?"
I said what history?
I was just running in a small town election.
They said, "No, are you aware you're the first
"African-American mayor in the history
"of the state of Montana."
I said, "No, I didn't think about it."
They said, and to crown it off, you're a former refugee.
As time went on, I realized it was more than just me.
If I, Wilmot Collins, could do that here in Helena,
others can see and say, hey, we can emulate him.
I had opened up the door.
(door opening)
(light switch clicking)
The day-to-day is busy, no doubt.
But,
it's rewarding.
And I think the city's doing well.
Interacting with the community is very important.
That's why the first Wednesday of the month
I meet with the community, I say, hey, talk to me.
What's going on?
How can we make this place a better place?
How can we continue to work together?
I'm pleased to say that my community
is one of the most accepting community
you can think about in this country.
A lot of people have their own interpretation
of who a refugee is.
It's not fun fleeing your country, fleeing what you know.
Going into a totally strange environment
that you know nothing about.
Coming into this country, when I got in,
the first thing I started hearing was people say,
"Oh, the immigrants, the refugees,
"they're gonna suck up our resources."
They're not gonna contribute to this community.
It's not true.
We wanna give back to our host country.
We wanna give back to the country
that gave us that second chance.
This is our country, and we will do the best for it.
Thanks for having me.
(applause)
(soft music)
(electronic tones)