Most people think of diversity as being only about race and ethnicity. But racial and ethnic demographics do not tell the whole story of diversity. Beyond race and ethnicity, we must also consider other dimensions such as age, gender, national origin, religion, language, sexual orientation, economic means, where you come from, where you live, and how you earn your living. Difference, any difference, can become the focus of negative attention.

South Central Pennsylvania has never been a totally homogeneous place: Native Americans, English, PA Germans (both plain and fancy), Scots-Irish, Jews, Blacks, Welsh, Irish, Italians, Serbs, and Croatians all have roots here. From the original residents, to the first European settlers, to those who immigrated from Central and Southern Europe and those who migrated out of the post-Civil War South to work at the region’s mills, railroad yards, and mines in the height of our industrial era, all helped to create diverse communities.

E Pluribus Unum Out of many, One. This is a cornerstone of American democracy, but there has existed a tension between acknowledging difference and expecting conformity to a dominant Anglo-European culture. Examples include:

Civil Rights Era- With a demand for America to fully confront the legacy of slavery and racism and provide equal rights and equal opportunity to all citizens, regardless of race.

Women’s liberation

Ethnic pride movements

Gay pride activities

The Grey Panthers - Advancing the rights of older Americans

We have moved from a melting pot with an emphasis on conformity, where anyone who was different was expected to submerge those differences, to a notion of the mosaic or tossed salad, where we can acknowledge that we are all within the same frame or in the same bowl, but that the differences different shapes, textures, tastes, smells are real, they can be acknowledged, and they actually enhance the experience for all.

What shapes our diversity?

Children, aged 2-5, notice diversity. How?
It is embedded in the messages they get from their siblings, parents, and people close to them that begin to shape their perceptions of which kinds of differences are good and which are bad. Diversity is also shaped as kids grow by their direct interaction with people of varying backgrounds, and to the degree that they have little interaction with families from varying backgrounds, extra influence by the stereotypes and conditioning through the tv/media.

How does this affect our neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools?

What values do each of us bring to the diversity we encounter?
Do you wish individuals of different backgrounds would just fit in? Be more like you? Are you willing to tolerate some kinds of differences, but not others? Do you think diversity is a source of strength in our community or a liability? Do you see yourself as part of the diversity of the region? Or is diversity just about the people who are different? Do you resent what seems to be an oppressive political correctness and wonder why people are so sensitive? Respecting difference and finding common ground this is ultimately rooted in the values you bring to an encounter with difference and the skills you have to get beyond difference to find an area of mutual concern.

Business and the corporate sector have been among the first to address diversity issues it affects the bottom line. How well people get along in the workplace affects worker safety and productivity; how well workers interact with customers has a direct impact on sales, as does a company’s success in marketing its products to the broadest range of markets, including minority community markets. The corporate sector addresses workplace diversity through recruitment and hiring and promotions, through skills training, and by addressing organizational climate and culture.

Schools are also taking steps to address diversity issues; in part, out of concern for school safety; in part, through special activities, through curriculum additions or curriculum infusions. School districts in this region often struggle with teaching diversity in environments with little or no visible diversity, and yet significant numbers of youth will leave these communities to go to college or enter the job market or military where they will encounter individuals from a much more diverse range of backgrounds. How do we effectively prepare the kids of South Central Pennsylvania for life outside their home communities?

Challenges that remain:

Health care settings are ill-equipped to handle the language diversity in our communities (one hears disconcerting stories of cleaning staff called in to interpret for a doctor and a patient)

Teen suicide, particularly the high incidence of suicide among gay teens

Disproportionately high infant mortality among African American and Latino families

Students who are not reaching their potential due to low teacher expectations, or succumbing to negative peer pressure or lacking support from their families.

Two questions to think about:

1. What would it take for the families in our communities to raise a generation of children whose sense of self-worth is not built on a need to put someone else down to feel good?

2. What would it take for our schools and workplaces to foster the qualities that psychologist Daniel Golemen calls, Emotional Intelligence? Recognizing that it’s not just what you know, but how well you can manage yourself in interaction with others that contributes to success in the workplace and in the community: qualities and skills such as understanding others, adaptability to change, leveraging diversity, communication skills, conflict management skills, problem solving, collaboration and cooperation.