progroupinc.com: Article: Celebrate Diversity Month Quiz

Celebrate Diversity Month Quiz

July 2006 diversity newsletter

Attention Everyone! APRIL Is Celebrate Diversity Month.

Are you prepared? Have you considered setting aside a period to recognize all of our diversity—together—in a way that fosters dialogue and appreciation?

To see if you are ready to celebrate diversity, please select your answers to the following quiz questions:

1. Which word best describes today's diverse population?

A. A fruit salad
B. A collection of potatoes
C. A melting pot
D. None of the above

2. If you were going to pick a song that best represents the diversity of this country, which title would you pick? (To hear music and read lyrics, click the websites below. If you know the words, sing along.)

A. It's A Small World After All.
B. This Land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land.
C. It's Not Easy Being Green.
D. All of the above.

3. Five passengers were sitting in a shuttle van on its way to the airport. A couple were conversing in Russian, a Latina was speaking to her son (and the driver) in Spanish, and then there was me, who could hear it all but understood nothing. When the Latina got off the van, what did the Russian couple say to her as she left?

A. Bye-bye
B. Adios
C. Do svidanja
D. Sayonara

4. What did she say back to the Russian couple?

A. Do svidanja
B. Adios
C. Bye-bye
D. Sayonara

Each of the questions in this quiz represents the fun and challenging elements that make up the diverse communities many of us are a part of. It's all part of what we want to celebrate in the month of APRIL. Celebrate Diversity Month is a time to reach out and learn about each other's cultures and stories. It's about the things that differentiate us, as well as the similarities that unite us. Let's look at the answers in light of Celebrate Diversity Month.

Question 1: The answers here include some common beliefs about diversity. We hear them all the time. The correct answer is D. None of the above and here is my reasoning. The terms "fruit salad" (A) and "tossed salad" have been around awhile as metaphors for diversity. While not terrible metaphors, they imply that when you mix or toss all the pieces of us together you create a "new dish." It's not that simple and most of us don't want to be torn or cut to pieces to create a better world. The other question is "Whose recipe do you use for that new dish?" How much of each element of diversity do you use? Which parts do you leave out? I saw one diversity exercise where kids were asked to bring their favorite fruit to school to make this fruit salad. It didn't end up looking or tasting good at all. What if they had all brought apples? That is not the message ProGroup wants to send about diversity.

That isn't as bad as the term "melting pot" (C) or, as my immigrant father called it, "melting plot." To me, this term suggests that we all melt away our uniqueness and become one indistinguishable blob.

Here is a true story for answer (B), the collection of potatoes. At a diversity train-the-trainer session, a woman gave each of us a different potato, as in white, red, sweet, large, small, lumpy, etc. She asked us to describe each of ours. Then she noted that they were all unique and different, just like the people in the room. She said that while they all are called potatoes each of them is different. She continued by saying, "The important thing to remember is that we are like the potatoes and despite our differences we can be made into a variety of useful things such as mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, au gratin, or hash browns." I got her point and hid all of the knives and graters until she left.

ProGroup prefers to describe diversity as all the ways we are unique. Celebrate Diversity Month gives us the opportunity to have individuals share their uniqueness while others listen in appreciation. By planning guided experiences and open dialogues, your organization can give individuals an opportunity to hear differences, discover commonalities, and form connections that create more inclusive and respectful schools, communities, and workplaces.

Question 2: The answer is D. All of the above. Together they really make the statement that, while it's a small world and this land is supposed to be for you and me, it's not easy being green. According to Kermit the frog, who made that tune a hit, "It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things. And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water or stars in the sky."
Celebrate Diversity Month is about making everyone feel special. In fact, Karen and I founded it because we heard many people say, "If I'm not part of any history or heritage month does that mean diversity isn't about me?"
Celebrate Diversity Month doesn't replace the nationally recognized months, like Black History Month or Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, it's in addition to them.

Finally, questions 3 and 4: These are based on an observation I had last week while going to the airport. While the passengers conversed in their native languages they would occasionally converse all together in an English that I didn't understand at all. When the Latina and her son left the bus the Russian couple wished her "Adios" and she waved saying "Bye-bye." I said nothing. To me this represented the way cultures are overlapping in our country today.

Celebrate Diversity Month provides a time for people of different cultures and languages to come together to share their significant events, experiences, and the things that they value. It's a way of creating connections between people who grew up singing "This land is your land, this land is my land" and those who have never heard of the song.

As Kermit sings he bemoans being green with the lyric "When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold...or something much more colorful like that." Well, Kermit, we like you being green, but what you missed is that we are all colorful in our very own way and we all have our stories to tell. If you tell your story and listen to those of others, you might feel proud being green and find you are more similar to others than you expect. That's why when we talk about celebrating diversity we say: "It's about ME and it's about YOU."

ProGroup has made a serious commitment to making Celebrate Diversity Month a national observance. In 2007 we permanently switch to April. We hope that soon, through the continuing efforts of ProGroup and other supporters, April will be officially recognized by Congress as a month to celebrate ALL the diversity that exists within our workplaces, schools, and communities throughout our nation. (See www.celebratediversitymonth.org.)

Five things you can do

As you make your plans for April or whenever your organization holds your Celebrate Diversity Month or Week or Day, think about these points:

1. Send the message that this is not just a one year celebration but a long-term commitment that will be repeated each year and part of your organization's commitment to diversity.

2. Select five adjectives that you want to describe your celebration. Then use these adjectives as criteria for evaluating plans. If you can't describe them using your adjectives, then reconsider. For example: inclusive, enlightening, fun, colorful, entertaining.

3. Use a committee to get ideas, but beware of too many ideas. Make some executive decisions to select a few highly effective events.

4. Be careful of being too "cute" with your events. Lean toward meaningful, substantive experiences that promote dialogue, rather than flashy ones.

5. Adopt the concept of "It's about ME and it's about YOU" to promote inclusivity in whatever you do.

Check out www.celebratediversitymonth.org for ideas about how to observe this month and/or share an idea you have for others to use.

officially designated months

African American History Month: February

Women's History Month: March

Asian Pacific Heritage Month: May

Hispanic Heritage Month: September 15 to October 15

Disability Employment Awareness Month: October

American Indian Heritage Month: November

Older Americans Month (May) and Gay and Lesbian Pride Month (June) are by presidential proclamation only and must be renewed, unlike those that were proclaimed by Congress.