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Diversity – whose definition?
From the desk of Equality Herald
Publisher
Beth Maples-Bays
Sunday, January 7, 2007
The news of the upcoming celebration commemorating
the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was piped into my living room
Friday. I was listening with interest to the plans for MLK Day,
regretting that I will be out of town for the celebration this year.
Marching in the 2006 MLK parade was the fulfillment of a deep-seated
wish that I could not realize earlier in my life. In the 1980s, I had
two dependent children and one dependent elder as well as work and
school monopolizing my time. The nineties brought more work and
adolescent children as well as complicated
health problems. Eight years in my living room, blind and unable to
get from one room to the other without assistance due to other
physical problems, made me a poor candidate for marching in anyone’s
parade.
So when I found last year that I had both the time
and the strength to walk down Martin Luther King Avenue to celebrate a
man whose contribution to our society may well surpass anyone else’s,
I decided that I would march. It was a wonderful experience.
As I heard the schedule for this year’s activities, I
noted the symposium and luncheon planned for Thursday, January 11. The
descriptor “Leadership/Diversity” was used. The voiceover on WBIR-TV
told me that Robin Wilhoit will moderate the event.
I called Channel 10 to see if this “diversity” panel
truly reflected the diversity in our community, or if it was the usual
lineup of white and black heterosexual Christians with an occasional
Jewish person or Muslim. I got nowhere. Without my knowledge, the
receptionist directed me to the newsroom. The person who answered the
phone there told me in no uncertain terms that she knew absolutely
nothing about the luncheon.
So I tried calling again, this time specifically
asking for someone in their Promotions Department. Long story short, I
wasted my time.
I moved on to other sources.
While it is entirely legitimate to have an African
American leadership symposium/awards luncheon, I had to step up and
object to the use of the descriptor “diversity” when I knew that it
was nothing of the sort.
I decided to approach this from a different angle and
called the contact listed on the
DiscoverET MLK Web site.
Mr. Vyrone Cravanas was cordial, and we spoke of the need for an LGBTQ
representative on any panel that is striving to represent the truly
diverse population of our area.
As a result of our conversation, I am pleased to
announce that the MLK Commemoration Commission will welcome a member
of our community to their ranks as they move forward in planning the
2008 celebration. I will highlight that Commission member in a future
article. |
