Diversity

I'm reading the book Leading Diverse Communities: A How-To Guide for Moving from Healing into Action. It, along with conversations and a Scholarship essay, have made me think more recently about race and racial diversity. I think of myself as a respecter of diversity, and a learner from other cultures. This seems odd considering I grew up in mostly white communities. I wonder how it's possible to be an open minded, inclusive, globally minded, and racially accepting person? What experiences foster such a personality?

For myself, I've thought about my parents. They are globally minded, and inclusive, and open minded, and racially accepting. In fact, it seems almost like a fluke or accident to them that I grew up in mostly middle-class, suburban settings. It's even odd to my sister who, though only four years older than me, feels that her formative years were more urban and diverse than mine. But somehow my parents instilled in me a sense of equality.

Three things may have been central:
My parents taught me that all people are equal. They strive to treat everyone, from every walk of life, and of every color or nationality as unique individuals of equal value. My friends from poor homes were just as valuable as my friends from middle class homes. My friends from Japan or who were black were all special and equally valuable friends.

My parents taught me that people of all backgrounds have something to offer. When we ignore some part of the diversity of our world, we are less because of it. When we miss out on some part of the diversity, we miss out on understanding and experiencing part of God manifest in humanity.

My parents also taught me important things about poverty. Race and economics are closely tied in our society. Many issues of racism are compounded by issues of classism. That's why this matters. They taught me that while hard work should, and often does, pay off, sometimes bad things happen to good people. They also taught me that not everyone begins live with the same set of opportunities and limitations. In general, I do not assume that people who are poor, are poor because of laziness or bad choices. Though this is sometimes the case, there are other issues that interfere and are often the case.

These values have really shaped my willingness and desire to cross racial and other barriers of diversity. The book mentioned above shares 7 principles for building environments to welcome diversity. Two stood out to me and my classmate.

Principle 3: Treating everyone the same may be unintentionally oppressive
Inclusion does not mean sameness. Treating Equally does not mean Treating the Same

Principle 5: Recognize and work with the diversity already present in what appear to be homogeneous groups.
By fostering an appreciation for ALL forms of diversity (family makeup, spiritual background, exposure to issues of race, geographic background, race, gender, culture, and more) we can better recognize and welcome other forms of diversity that may be more uncomfortable for us now.

My friend shared an image that stood out to me. He went to Saddleback church and encountered a choir. That choir had Asian faces, Hispanic faces, White faces, and Black faces. He said that they all had a common purpose, and they sang perfectly. He said they all smiled the same.

In our diversity we can find common ground. We can appreciate and celebrate our differences and our similarities, both as individuals, and in categories that shape us. Afterall, we were all created in God's image.