Spring 1999
Vol 7 Issue 2

IN THIS ISSUE...

Sharing Identities

"We must not forget"

Addressing Diversity

What Students Wish

Celebrating Diversity

Renewing Our Commitment to Understanding and Faith

Learning Through Community

Developing Instruction that Promotes Diverse Perspectives

SEE ALSO...
The Labyrinth

Assidere

Discussion

Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction

Renewing Our Commitment to Understanding and Faith
Cori Wright, SMCC

On December 31, 1969, I wept because the decade of change and transformation in the United States was ending. Martin, Jack, Malcolm, and Bobby were dead, and our hope for liberal leadership perished with them. Many of the college freshmen were apathetic and "me-oriented." I feared that the triumphs of the '60's would be eradicated by the conservative forces who wanted to return to the simple life of the '50's. To African Americans, that simple life equated to de facto and Jim Crow segregation, lack of money for a college education, limited job opportunities, disrespect of our abilities, legal injustices, political "benign neglect," and the end to "Black is beautiful."

We, the children of civil rights, redirected our energies to counseling, social work, teaching, and mentoring a new generation. A young Maulana Karenga captured the essence of the Black liberation movement, outlined a pathway for community strength and development, and Nguzo Saba (The 7 Principles) was born. Although most only speak of it during Kwanzaa every December, it has become a standard for cultural celebration and community progress for African Americans.

But progress does not come without challenges. Although the civil rights movement seems barely more than a memory of an historical period of struggle, it produced a new challenge for future generations of Americans in defining and embracing cultural diversity. Children of civil rights must now focus attention on accepting and nurturing a broad diverse community of many colors, cultures, religions, and languages without disregarding traditional American values. Holding the government accountable for "one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL" was the true goal of the civil rights movement. Now that the marching and protesting had gotten the attention of the American people, how could we avoid regression and a climate of intolerance? It seems the new goal for a cultural diversity movement would be positive awareness of diverse cultures, their histories, traditions, and beliefs. How we expose and educate without intimidation or threat is a challenge in itself. It's nearly impossible to force people to learn and appreciate something against their will. It takes commitment on the part of parents, schools, churches, the media, and civic leaders to educate the public about various ethnic and cultural groups.

In attendance at Arizona's Juneteenth celebration, the audience is largely African American. The Japanese and Chinese cultural festivals find few African Americans present. Although our neighborhoods are integrated, the vast majority of us still know little about other cultural groups. No one has really picked up the banner and begun to promote a more unified America. Instead we've become more intolerant and disinterested because embracing another culture is often equated with dismissing one's own.

Now facing the 21st century, the nation continues to wrestle with the idea of ethnic and cultural diversity. It seems the paths of our Caucasian brothers and sisters didn't always parallel our own. School children are often less tolerant of cultural and physical differences than they were in 1969. The corporate world that reluctantly accepted affirmative action is now scrambling to make their executives more tolerant of a rapidly changing workforce of diverse races and colors. It took the Internet revolution and a shrinking world economy to force American educational institutions to require global and cultural awareness long after 1969. It took the NFL and the Super Bowl to change the attitudes of Arizona voters about a paid state holiday for a man that fought for a more loving and tolerant America.

We have a long way to go to win back the brotherhood of '69, but we need not weep on December 31, 1999. On the contrary, as a new millenium begins, we can identify who we really are and determine a direction for our lives and our nation, set goals, and strive for peace. For African Americans that means living the principles of Nguzo Saba: unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and especially faith. As the poet Langston Hughes wrote, our "wife ain't been no crystal stair" but our faith has allowed us to survive and progress as a people.