|
<
back Diversity Brings Unity
to Community
By: RICK YENCER
MUNCIE, IN -
Dana Young hoped to bring many people together Saturday to recognize
their own diversity and differences.
"If people
begin to include more diversity in the own lives, the community itself
will become more unified," said Young, chairman of a committee that
organized Muncie Coming Together.
More than 300
people gathered at Central High School on Saturday to talk about
dividing and unifying forces in Muncie while showing the community's
cultural and social diversity.
The program
planned by more than 50 community leaders helped expand the study
circles started two years ago by local churches and community groups
to promote better racial and ethnic understanding during the debate
over renaming of Broadway after Martin Luther King Jr.
Young, a
parent, wanted to expand that concept in the schools to encourage
diversity and build on community unity.
Study circles
for youth and adults dominated the gathering after Charles Payne, a
Ball State University secondary education professor who once attended
segregated schools, talked about how to eliminate divisions based on
economics, race and religion.
"We have to
embrace neighborhoods that suffer from high unemployment, a high crime
rate, been overrun by drugs and high dropout rates for schools by
saying these conditions must end now," Payne told the crowd.
"Coming
together is the beginning. Staying together and working together would
be the success."
'Start
with youth'
Lisa Stewart,
a Ball State University student, brought her daughter, Kara, to talk
about how the community can be more diverse.
"It is always
important to start with youth," Stewart said. "We need to enjoy the
diversity of our community.
Claire
Surface, a home schooled student, recalled how her brother, who is
bi-racial, was treated so badly by other students that he went to
another school
"People
really don't get along," she said.
Hurley
Goodall, a retired firefighter and former state representative, said
the Muncie community could sometimes be its own worst enemy.
"If I have
$50 million to invest in a new business, I am not going to come to a
community that is at each other's throats," he said.
Aamir Shabazz,
director of the Muncie Islamic Center, saw the Muncie community as
more accepting of Islamic doctors, professors and other professionals.
"They are an
untapped resource in our community," said Shabazz, about the growing
Islam community.
Habib Bahrami,
a Yorktown High School student, sat with Shabazz and other youths
talking about how to bring people together. He hoped talking about
differences would bring better understand among people.
Varied
discussions
Some study
groups looked at past events like the Broadway-MLK Jr. Boulevard
debate while others explored racial and religious differences.
Michael
Poorman, a teacher at South View Elementary School, believed his
generation had rejected the racist attitudes of its parents and
grandparents, saying "inward change will produce outward change.
"We need to
take diversity training back to the schools," said Poorman, who also
believed getting along had to start with youth.
Tom Perchlik,
pastor at the Universalist Unitarian Church, thought the event was a
great success although community leaders had hoped for as many as 500
participants. Other committee members wanted to see more students.
"We wanted to
bring more diversity to the schools, along with getting the support of
the larger community," he said.
Date published: 2/27/2005
link to article in The Star Press
|
