Click here to watch CulturePrep’s On Uganda volunteer and journalist Tawnya Rush’s video shot on location in Uganda during the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Using mixedinc.com, USA Today readers submitted modern-day Martin Luther King Jr. speeches. This version is by Larry Goanos of Doyelstown, PA.
I once made a speech about a dream of mine; my dream, your dream, our dream. The American Dream. That was long ago. This nation has changed since then. But the dream hasn’t.
I see a world where my children and your children and all the children of this great country are judged not on the color of your skin, but on the content of their character.
I see a world where it makes no difference whether you’re from the poorest barrio of Los Angeles or the largest penthouse of Manhattan; the rolling cornfields of Iowa or the bustling streets of Chicago. It doesn’t matter if you grew up watching polo matches on the manicured lawns of Palm Beach or hauling lobster pots from the chilly waters of Maine. You may be a soldier in Seattle or a trucker in Texas; a coal miner in Kentucky or a scientist is San Diego. These things don’t matter in the America of my Dream.
I’ll tell you what else doesn’t matter: Where your parents were born, the color of your skin, what God you worship or don’t, what gender you are, or what sexual preference you hold.
The size of your bank account and the make of your car hold no sway. The only thing that will matter when this majestic land of ours fulfills my Dream will be a person’s character, how hard he works, how honest he is, and what contribution an individual makes to our society.
A great president, John F. Kennedy, once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” I take that a step further and beseech you to also ask what you can do for your countrymen. And the answer is this:
Drop your prejudices. Drop your hatred. Drop your greed. Drop your fear of those who are different. This is a call to action for every American to move forward as one nation, one community, one brotherhood.
Hatred cused 9/11. Hatred killed Harvey Milk. Hatred killed James Byrd Jr. Hatred killed Matthew Shepard. The list is too long.
It is time, my brothers and sisters, to lay to rest all of our anger and hatred. There is no 99% and there is no 1%; there is only America. And in these difficult times, it needs your support 100%.
By Peter A. Vogel, CulturePrep Founder
A reality-check and poignant reminder about fortifying campus community came my way after leaving the customary debriefing session with a university client’s senior staff following the completion of a tense, month-long Campus Cross-Cultural Climate Assessment.
Still reeling with final data from the cross-cultural climate survey, historical attrition rates for students of color, and hauntingly clear memories of the face of a faculty member who shared her story of being an object of hate and intimidation – I departed the President’s Conference Room, and walked into a cold, snowy day.
I was soon warmly greeted by a group of students and faculty, who by outward appearance, represented a “mini United Nations” carrying grocery bags filled with box lunches. Turns out they came together through their involvement in a campus service project to feed the homeless.
People, Diversity, Community – In Action. Or as author, lecturer, and retreat leader Richard Rohr shares, “We don’t think ourselves into a new way of living, we live ourselves into a new way of thinking.”
“Reflections.” By Peter A. Vogel, CulturePrep Founder
Watching on TV the events of the inauguration unfold from my cabin in Colorado’s high-country, the hopes of American’s – of the world community – are equally high for improved cross-cultural relations.
Clearly, the election of President Barack Obama is both a step forward for America, and a catalyst for campuses and communities to engage in dialogues about what unites us and what divides us.
The time is ripe for offering forums – safe places – for campuses and communities to engage in a deeper connection between diverse groups of people. A chance to expose the obstacles to building authentic relationships. A chance to offer a counterbalance to the forces that perpetuate intolerance, aggression, and violence. A chance to affirm diversity-friendly people and places.
CulturePrep’s Peter Vogel and NBC Denver Channel 9’s Tawnya Rush serving CultureCakes at Ten Thousand Villages
By Gerard A. Cox, Associate Professor in the School of Liberal Arts, Marist College, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Retired in 2001 as an executive administrator after spending ten years as an associate academic dean (1969-1979) and then twenty-two years (1979-2001) as the college’s chief student affairs officer
It’s never too late. It’s true. We often try to convince ourselves that nothing will change. Not so. As sure as the seasons glide from one to another, change occurs on a regular basis. As an old acquaintance used to say, “Just wait. Change is coming ‘round the corner.” Sure, we can see ourselves in seasonal changes, but there are more dynamic changes waiting to happen all the time. The other day I came across a “tip sheet” on the Internet. I wasn’t looking for it. It was just there. Written by CulturePrep’s Peter A. Vogel, it seemed to be awaiting my attention. It was both short and had the nerve to boast, “10 Ways to Get Started Establishing a Diversity-Friendly Environment.” I couldn’t resist the challenge to read it. What appealed most to me was it began by hitting me between the eyes. Vogel wasted no time in telling me that change begins with me. To start I need to “conduct a personal cross-cultural inventory” of my own prejudice, intolerance and assumptions. This also includes admitting to cross-cultural skeletons hanging out in my closet. Don’t just point your finger at them he advises. Resolve to bring about change. Get rid of them. Change will not come until I can forgive others and myself for harmful attitudes and behaviors. Trying to make these changes is rough. “Habits never give up without a fight.” But I need to move on. Progress will come from continual cross-cultural assessment of personal behavior and thinking. Leave the past. Concentrate on how I think and act in the present and how my future is different because of the ways in which I change my disposition. Together with colleagues I should encourage activities within our community, especially with students that help to bring about interaction with people of difference. It will take time. Change will come, if I persist in facilitating intentional change. If I have the courage, I’ll ask a valued other (friend, spouse, or colleague) to help me monitor my attitudes and behaviors over time. I’ll ask that valued other to hold me accountable for what I say and do to help trod underfoot the vestiges of greener days.
There are things “the workplace” (college or corporation) can do to help create a diversity-friendly environment of each of us. But, as significant as such activities are (an internal oversight committee, ongoing assessments and evaluations, recognition for individuals and departments for achieving cross-cultural objectives) real change begins with me. How I change will ultimately help define the working community of which I am part. Ah, yes, John Donne, “No man is an island.” Thank you for always being there to remind me. We are indeed all a part of the mainland, a fact for which I’m grateful.