In a recent keynote address, Pete Cooper, CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga stated why diversity and change are inevitable. Cooper listed nine reasons for inevitable change and linked those reasons to specific diversity issues.  Every county within 400 miles of our Southern border will become majority nonwhite in the near future. The same can be said for many of our major cities. The ethnicity of our population is changing dramatically and the diversity of cultures will continue to change the face of America.

Reese Witherspoon quote - “Being a Southern person and a blonde, it's not a good combination. Immediately, when people meet you, they think of you as not being smart.”  

Harper Lee quote - “Well, they're Southern people, and if they know you are working at home they think nothing of walking right in for coffee. But they wouldn't dream of interrupting you at golf.”

I’ve been studying: (a)  how to not look askance at folks who appear to be fair-weather friends, and, (b)  how to be an improved friend. As in, being there when I’m needed. And yes of course sincerely asking ‘how can I help?’ involves self-centeredness. I believe self-fulfillment through good deeds though, is not a bad thing. I am not studying how to join the saint-hood nor suggesting such for others. Long ago I realized the personal satisfaction and ‘the feel good’ derived from helping. For a time this was likely the chief component of my volunteerism motivation. 

Family Trees

we try to become what we desire to be

going against our family’s predestination

against genetic dispositions and family trees 

Georgia's Trenton Arts Council is sponsoring an event on September 11th called “Happenings.”  Developing a multicultural event like “Happenings” is a more ambitious project than we’ve ever attempted.

For more than thirty years, Polly Strasmich and her husband Erwin combed garage sales and auctions for works by American artists of the mid-twentieth century.   Social Realism was a family favorite.  The Social Realist was often somber and dark in the depiction of society’s gritty reality.  Social Realist themes included bread lines in the Great Depression, child labor abuses and the brutality of world wars. These artists were often part of the WPA which gave them federal stipends.  They were able to influence public opinion and politics.  for example, photographs of the abuse of child workers taken by Louis Hines changed the child labor laws of our country.

Ethnic and Racial Disparity in education is a persistent societal problem. 

In light of changing demographics and an increasingly diverse society,  we must find ways to address education disparities and close the gap.  Three key factors contribute to differences in education for ethnic and racial minority children: Expectations, Exposure and Environment.

The Asian Americans comprises about 4.5% of the United States.  Among them, the Chinese Americans, with a little over three million--constitute the largest Asian ethnic group in the U.S. Most of them arrived at this country in three separate immigration waves, each characterized by its own set of reasons for migration. The first wave took place during the Goldrush in California as part of the 1800s immigration wave.  The Chinese immigrants were primarily laborers from Southeast China. Some came voluntarily with the intention of returning to their home village with wealth and prestige; others were kidnapped and bought as Asian slaves. This article will follow the story of Chinese Americans and the challenges they still face.

One of the richest adventures I’ve had in my adult life is working as a resident chaplain in an urban setting.  I worked for two years for a major hospital system in Houston, Texas.  This hospital system had a mission statement of serving its diverse community and offering appropriate pastoral care.  What I came to understand from this work experience was the incredible ethnic diversity as well as the religious diversity represented by patients in the hospital.  I learned this as I made my rounds through the ER, ICU, Ambulatory Care, and other surgical units. 

I was enjoying a pleasant conversation with a small group of friends when one woman mentioned that she was going to hire some Mexican  to do yard work. She followed up the comment that you could no longer say 'blacks', so now it was the politically correct thing to say 'Mexicans'. Everyone looked at me- I told her I would get the work done “pronto!”.  It took her several moments to realize that I am a 'Mexican'.  I would not describe myself that way, but that I am. I let the comment go, but the words we use count.