This summer, I caught up with St. Paul's grad Aaron Branch. Aaron and I met last year when we were both in the Kansas City Fringe Festival, where we each had a show.
When I first met Aaron over a year ago, it was before I had begun my job or knew that he was a St. Paul's graduate. I was so impressed with the ease and grace and smarts he handled a wide variety of people in the room during an orientation session - a variety of not just races and ages, but people from the funky and artsy walk of life as well as the more conservative paths. Aaron didn't blink.
Bumping into Aaron again this summer reminded me that one of the biggest misconceptions of my job here as the Diversity Coordinator is that some believe that I'm only here for the "diverse" students and by diverse they mean kids of color.
No, the racial issues of a handful of students is not all my position is about and Aaron was a walking reminder of my vision for this job.
Yes, St. Paul's had a hand in re-enforcing Aaron's confidence, but as a young African-American male, his family has passed on that extra emphasis and skill set of being aware of both how the world might interact with him and how he could interact with the world, regardless of, for example, whether the person in front of him was covered in tattoos, wears a three-piece suit or has tattoos underneath that business suit.
Yes, St. Paul's had a hand in re-enforcing Aaron's confidence, but as a young African-American male, his family has passed on that extra emphasis and skill set of being aware of both how the world might interact with him and how he could interact with the world, regardless of, for example, whether the person in front of him was covered in tattoos, wears a three-piece suit or has tattoos underneath that business suit.
Diversity and inclusion, in part, is about preparing our students to be better citizens of the world, to add another skill set to
their character and to their repertoire for success. And that's for ALL students, faculty and parents, not just the ones who are different from the majority in some respect.
Aaron, for example, is about to move to Chicago to attend school and that ability to graciously and respectfully recognize and interact with a wide variety of people will take him a long, long way.
Aaron, for example, is about to move to Chicago to attend school and that ability to graciously and respectfully recognize and interact with a wide variety of people will take him a long, long way.
That's why I love this column written by a parent who is white (please click on the hyperlink) which I came across recently. It emphasizes that when it comes to becoming a country that wants to better overcome its significant racial hurdles, parents of white children could do their part by laying a more realistic foundation regarding race and ethnicity.
The column starts off with the following:
"Dear parents of white children,
I vote that we strike (emphasis added) the following from our parental lexicon:
- “Everybody is equal.”
- “We’re all the same underneath our skin.”
I realize this is counterintuitive. But I’m completely serious.
These statements are so abstract they’re mostly meaningless when handed to a seven (or even seventeen) year-old. That’s at best. At worst, they’re empty filler—stand-ins for the actual conversations about race, racial difference and racism we need to be having with our kids.
Sugar when our kids need protein."
As the parent goes on to write, in a country that still has major issues and tensions about race, we aren't doing our children - future adult citizens of the world - any favors by shielding them from the uncomfortable realities that many Americans still encounter.
Although this columnist addresses race in her point, her underlying philosophy is applicable to all differences.
For example, in my case as a child, my family was very good about having those early and meaningful conversations about race and religion because as a child, I had significant interaction with people from other races and religions. However, they did not have early and meaningful conversations with me regarding people with mental and physical disabilities, which left me with a huge and uncomfortable learning curve as an adult as I worked with and became friends with people who did have disabilities.
Giving our children that "extra" isn't a replacement for what they learn in school. It's certainly not a skill just important for any child outside the majority. Rather, it's a necessity that helps each child build a strong foundation where they can more successfully operate within the walls of St. Paul's and beyond.
As the parent goes on to write, in a country that still has major issues and tensions about race, we aren't doing our children - future adult citizens of the world - any favors by shielding them from the uncomfortable realities that many Americans still encounter.
Although this columnist addresses race in her point, her underlying philosophy is applicable to all differences.
For example, in my case as a child, my family was very good about having those early and meaningful conversations about race and religion because as a child, I had significant interaction with people from other races and religions. However, they did not have early and meaningful conversations with me regarding people with mental and physical disabilities, which left me with a huge and uncomfortable learning curve as an adult as I worked with and became friends with people who did have disabilities.
Giving our children that "extra" isn't a replacement for what they learn in school. It's certainly not a skill just important for any child outside the majority. Rather, it's a necessity that helps each child build a strong foundation where they can more successfully operate within the walls of St. Paul's and beyond.
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