Diversity Awareness Month
Many schools, colleges and organizations are planning events to promote understanding and respect of all races and cultures. As a bully prevention specialist, I see the value of diversity awareness. The more we understand, the more we are tolerant of each other.
February is Black History Month and April is Diversity Awareness Month. Both inspire us to want to learn about one another. Desmond Tutu once said: “A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons.” The more we learn about each others cultures and beliefs the less likely we will believer our underlying assumptons, prejudice and mis-information about our neighbers.
I was speaking at a high school not too ong ago, when I arrived I was trying to locate the school office to sign in. I approached three girls in the hallway to ask for directions. They took one look at my right arm and screamed. (I have a birth defect, a short right hand with only two fingers.) After I finished my program on diversity, understanding and tolerance, all three girls came up to me with tears in their eyes apologizing for what they did. This is a perfect example of why it is important to offer up diversity awareness; once these girls learned who I was, they were able to understand and respect me as a person.
Multiracial Hands Around the Earth Globe
“Respect is a critical element in all healthy relationships. When students respect others, they treat people with consideration and courtesy and do not violate them physically or verbally.” Wise Sklls Resource
If we want to put an end to the conflicts and bullying in our schools and in our workplaces, everyone must be committed to creating and implementing an ongoing diverse and all inclusive environment. When our school administrators, business leaders and parents at home climb on board with an on going message of understanding and respect will our diversity peacefully thrive.
Diverstiy Awareness Month and Black History Month both are heritage celebrations and are vitally important reminders that our learning is continuous and involves a variety of races and cultures with experiences, identities and characteristics that our the foundation of the United States of America.
“America is not like a blanket… America is more like a quilt with many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven together and held together by a common thread.” Jesse Jackson
If we focus on our diversity for more than two months out of the year we will continuously refresh our commitment to bully prevention, equality and social justice.
Copyright Richard Paul 2015
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