As we walk forward to the year 2020 I’m amazed how people still seem to color diversity with such, limited vibrancy. I wonder if people imagine rainbows are either outlined or colored in black and white. I’m convinced during the course of transformation from adolescence to adulthood many visionary qualities become color dull.
As much as I love the color brown (being Hispanic), my extended family includes the colors black, white, yellow, red and yellow. Added to this vibrancy is the blending of these colors which become natural components to tolerance, creativity, and imagination. True diversity is all about adherence to inclusiveness, not being selected or exclusive. Perhaps our current political climate promotes divisiveness or to be self-assured the box of crayons will feature our color first.
When I attend diversity conferences I expect vibrancy in color, not overwhelmingly black and white.
The mass media does a poor job discussing inclusive subjects especially displaying such notable difficulty to include Asian, Hispanic and Native American opinion and representation, that’s disappointing.
Hispanic and Asian organizations are not off the hook either. If the core colors of these sectors are represented by brown and yellow, all shades of these prominent colors must be included. Today, all variations of cream, tan, bronze, amber, canary, gold, mustard, etc. are dynamic members of the rainbow of society. Politics, religion and financial disparities may be living components of the resistance to change yet as soon as open our eyes wide, we work towards embracing the vibrancy of our communities.
The crayons may be worn, new, old, tall, thick, yet despite any imperfections all color the potential majesty of your canvas. When the child sees variations of colors it stimulates their creativity and imagination. And if one restricts the imagery of where you are, how can one understand who we will become.
As you plan your events today and in 2020 allow the crayon box to serve as your visionary palette to define your commitment to adherence to diversity and symbolism of acceptance.
