Muncie Times, Muncie, Delaware County, 2 September 1999 — Page 47

The Muncie Times, September 2, 1999, page 47

CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL

Schools should prepare students for multiracial USA

Bernice Powell Jackson

To graduate from college and receive my liberal arts degree, I had to pass a swimming test. My college believed that swimming was a life skill which was necessary to live in the world, just as my studies in economics, literature and biology were. All the demographics for the United States in the 21st century show that our nation will radically change. There will be no one racial/ethnic group which will be in the majority. European Americans will be just one among many groups. The largest single racial/ethnic group is likely to be Hispanic. Yet too few of our educational institutions are focusing on this reality and requiring courses which will prepare leaders to swim in the 21st century realities. Too many of our future leaders are not being required to learn about living in a diverse world of many races, cultures and religions. One program which seeks

to prepare 21st century leaders is the Diversity Management Program of Cleveland State University and the National Training Laboratory. This new graduate studies program is aimed at a variety of people, including human resource professionals, school administrators, law enforcement officials and health care administrators to help them become facilitators and leaders in the workplace of the present and the future. As the workforce becomes more and more diverse, as

clients and product markets and membership bases diversify, there will be increasing demand for leaders who understand themselves and their own culture and who understand how to relate to people of other races and cultures. Students in this 18 to 20 month- long program can earn either a continuing education certificate or a master’s degree in psychology. Clearly, this exciting program is just one muchneeded step as we are poised for entry into a new century

and a new millennium. But courses in diversity “management,” in the history of the contributions of all races and cultures to this nation, in understanding different religions, in understanding race and racism should be prerequisites for graduation, not only for those who are majoring in African American or Lantino/a or Native American or Asian American studies, but for all who attend our colleges. And what about at the high school and junior high and elementary levels? All children attending schools in this increasingly-diverse nation, even those who live for the moment in an entirely homogenous town, must learn all of our histories and should be excited by learning about their own and other cultures. In this increasingly mobile world, where most of us will move several times over our lifetimes and in this increasingly global village

marketplace, where a small town business person may be suddenly dealing with a client thousands of miles and several cultures away, all our children must be educated to understand and value diversity. Swimming is a life skill which all should have. So is understanding and living in a diverse world. Fro the leaders of the 21st century not to have this lifesaving skill will mean they will be swimming upstream their whole lifetime. (NOTE: For more information on the Diversity Management Program, write Dr. Melodic Yates, Cleveland State University, Rhodes Tower 1227, Cleveland, OH 44115 or call (216) 687-9394 or e-mail: [email protected] •) Bernice Powell-Jackson is executive director of the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial fustice in Cleveland, Ohio.

US. black, West African mayors share common goals

ATLANTA—Mayors from Burkina Faso (West Africa), have joined forces with the National Conference of Black Mayors, Inc. (USA) to share common objectives and to promote and enhance cultural, educational, economic and social activities among their members, their cities and the countries. From the capital city of Ouagadougou, where Mayor Simon Compaore heads the more than 40-member Mayors Association of Burkina Faso, representatives from the National Conference of

Black Mayors, Inc. (NGBM) and Burkina Faso’s mayors are meeting to sign an official memorandum of agreement declaring a commitment to work together. The mayors have agreed to develop partnerships between their municipalities to strengthen economic and community development. These partnerships will be instrumental in creating opportunities for members of each association to experience and explore the other’s history, culture, government and politics. They further

agreed to engage in the “twinning” of cities between the two countries and to develop mechanisms whereby each respective community can learn, work and solve problems together through reciprocal cultural, educational, business, and technical exchange programs. NCBM is a 25-year-old organization with a membership of over 460 African American mayors who represent cities ranging in population from 100 to over 2 million. Mayor Jesse M. Norwood from Prichard, Ala.,

and president of NCBM said, “We are honored to be in this relationship with our brothers and sisters from Africa, and I am sure that this will be the beginning of a meaningful exchange of people, products and ideas.” Compaore and the Vice President of the Mayors Association of Burkina Faso, Mayor Alfred Sanou of Bobo Dioulasso, attended NCBM’s annual convention in Denver, CO., in April. “The mayors from Burkina Faso were an integral part of our convention,” says Michelle D.

Kourouma, executive director of NCBM. “When we experienced the Columbine High School shooting in Denver, these mayors telephoned their respective cities and flew their flags at half-mast, as did the members of our organization; we appreciated their empathy.” While in the country, the NCBM delegation will meet with the head of state, H. E. Blaise Compaore, and other high-ranking officials. NCBM, headquartered in Atlanta, is a non-profit, non-partisan organization.

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