Speaker Stresses the Importance of Diversity

by Kate Hettinger

Des Moines, Iowa (April 4, 1997)-- Gary Howard has spoken about understanding differences since college. After graduating from Yale University, he became a youth minister and taught classes for parents on understanding their teen-age children. Today, he is teaching young and old to understand each other.

Howard is the president and founder REACH, Respecting Ethnic and Cultural Heritage. He has traveled the world speaking about the importance of multicultural education. In a speech entitled "Creating a Deeper Vision of Diversity," he spoke Wednesday evening in Bulldog Theater to a group of about 100 students and community members.

Diversity is not just an issue of goodness or selflessness, Howard said. It's an issue of survival.

"It's not just theoretical," Howard said. "Daily, people are living and dying around issues of diversity."

Howard gave four myths about multicultural education. Each of these myths represents a part of multiculturalism that is commonly mistaken, he said. These myths introduced ideas ranging from enough has been done to diversity creates separatism.

Like the Alcoholics Anonymous' 12-step program, Howard said to deal with the issue of diversity, we have to recognize it. The first step is acknowledgment and acceptance of the fact that humanity is diverse.

"If you don't get to the acknowledgment, we won't get to the practice," he said.

Diversity is not just a humanitarian issue, though. It is also a business issue. With the growing global marketplace, businesses are understanding the importance of diversity and understanding it. Howard has worked with the Corning Corp. in creating a culture within the business where everyone will be able to work and live comfortably despite their diversity.

"In a global marketplace, diversity is important," Howard said. "Talent is diverse." A problem he cited in America is political correctness. He said we need to face the issue of diversity head-on and we aren't doing that by being politically correct.

"We have not yet engaged the issue of race," Howard said. "We need to get real about the conversation of race. We know what's politically correct and engage in conversation that misses the point."

But to institute change, leadership is important. Howard said leadership from all communities is important and no single group should lead. He said it was the tendency of the white man to lead that led to the problems with slavery and the genocide of the American Indians.

The Constitution begins with the statement, "We the people...." Howard questioned who "we" really means. When the Constitution was written, it meant rich, white landlords, Howard said. But with the issue of diversity, he said "We the people" needs to be more inclusive.

"We've danced around the edges of democracy for 200 years, but we've never really tried it," Howard said.

Howard advocates education as the best tool to overcome the problems of diversity. He said as a population it is important to see the differences and diversity and to accept them. Culture is not only what makes us who we are, but it is also our biases and prejudices, Howard said.

"We can never achieve unity until we deal with our diversity," Howard said.

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