WHAT KIND OF CULTURAL COMMUNITY CAN YOU ENVISION FOR YOURSELF?
HELPFUL TIPS TO START BUILDING A DIVERSE COMMUNITY
WHAT IS CULTURE?
As community builders, understanding culture is our business. Whether you live in central Kansas or New York City, whether you live in Miami, Nevada, or the Pacific Northwest, you are working with and establishing relationships with people--people who all have cultures.
What is culture? Here is one viewpoint.
"Culture" refers to a group or community which shares common experiences that shape the way its members understand the world. It includes groups that we are born into, such as race, national origin, gender, class, or religion. It can also include a group we join or become part of. For example, it is possible to acquire a new culture by moving to a new country or region, by a change in our economic status, or by becoming disabled. When we think of culture this broadly we realize we all belong to many cultures at once.
Do you agree? How might this apply to you?
WHY IS CULTURE IMPORTANT?
Culture is a strong part of people's lives. It influences their views, their values, their humor, their hopes, their loyalties, and their worries and fears. If you are from New Mexico or Montana, if your parents are Cambodian, French Canadian, or Native American, if you are German Catholic or African-American, if you are Jewish or Mormon, if you are straight or Gay, if you are a mixture of cultures your culture has affected you. So when you are working with people and building relationships with them, it helps to have some perspective and understanding of their cultures.
But as we explore culture, it's also important to remember how much we have in common. A person who grew up in Tibet, will probably see the world very differently than someone who grew up in Manhattan--but both people know what it is like to wake up in the morning and look forward to the adventures that of the day. We are all human beings. We all love deeply, want to learn, have hopes and dreams, and have experienced pain and fear.
At the same time, we can't pretend that our cultures and differences don't matter. We can't gloss over differences and pretend they don't exist, wishing that we could be alike. And we can't pretend that people that discrimination doesn't exist.
This chapter will give you practical information about how to understand culture, establish relationships with people from cultures different from your own, act as an ally against racism and other forms of discrimination, create organizations in which diverse groups can work together, overcome internalized oppression, and build strong and diverse communities.
This section is an introduction to understanding culture, and will focus on:
What culture is
The importance of understanding culture in community building
Envisioning your cultural community
How to get started in building communities that encourage diversity.
But first, it is important to remember that everyone has an important viewpoint and role to play when is comes to culture. You don't have to be an expert to build relationships with people different from yourself; you don't have to have a degree to learn to become sensitive to cultural issues; and you don't have to be a social worker to know how culture has affected your life.
WHY IS UNDERSTANDING CULTURE IMPORTANT IF WE ARE COMMUNITY BUILDERS?
The United States is becoming increasingly diverse. By the turn of the century one out of every three Americans will be a person of color. According to James Banks, more than 8 million legal immigrants came to the U.S. between 1981 and 1990, and an undetermined number of undocumented immigrants enter the United States each year. In addition, the United States includes people of many religions, languages, economic groups, and other cultural groups.
It is becoming clear that in order to build communities that are successful at improving conditions and resolving problems, we need to understand and appreciate many cultures, establish relationships with people from cultures other than our own, and build strong alliances with different cultural groups. Additionally, we need to bring non-mainstream groups into the center of civic activity. Why?
In order to build communities that are powerful enough to attain significant change, we need large numbers of people working together. If cultural groups join forces, they will be more effective in reaching common goals, than if each group operates in isolation.
Each cultural groups has unique strengths and perspectives that the larger community can benefit from. We need a wide range of ideas, customs, and wisdom to solve problems and enrich community life. Bringing non-mainstream groups into the center of civic activity can provide fresh perspectives and shed new light on tough problems.
Understanding cultures will help us overcome and prevent racial and ethnic divisions. Racial and ethnic divisions result in misunderstandings, loss of opportunities, and sometimes violence. Racial and ethnic conflicts drain communities of financial and human resources; they distract cultural groups from resolving the key issues they have in common.
People from different cultures have to be included in decision-making processes in order for programs or policies to be effective. The people affected by a decision have to be involved in formulating solutions--it's a basic democratic principle. Without the input and support of all the groups involved, decision-making, implementation, and follow through are much less likely to occur.
An appreciation of cultural diversity goes hand-in-hand with a just and equitable society. For example, research has shown that when students' cultures are understood and appreciated by teachers, the students do better in school. Students feel more accepted, they feel part of the school community, they work harder to achieve, and they are more successful in school.
If we do not learn about the influences that cultural groups have had on our mainstream history and culture, we are all missing out on an accurate view of our society and our communities.
As you think about diversity, it may be helpful to envision the kind of cultural community you want to build. In order to set some goals related to building relationships between cultures, resolving differences, or building a diverse coalition, it helps to have a vision of the kind of cultural community you hope for.
WHAT KIND OF CULTURAL COMMUNITY DO YOU ENVISION?
CAN YOU IMAGINE THE KIND OF CULTURAL COMMUNITY YOU WANT TO LIVE OR WORK IN?
People have very different views of what a multicultural society or community should be like or could be like. In the past few decades there has been a lot of discussion about what it means to live and work together in a society that is diverse as ours. People struggle with different visions of a fair, equitable, moral, and harmonious society.
How will our country be unified as a cohesive whole, if people separate into many different cultural groups?
In order to be a part of the American dream, must I assimilate?
Why does racism persist in a country that is committed to equality and liberty?
How can I protect my children from the harmful influences in the larger culture? How can I instill my children with the moral values of my own religion or culture, but still expose them to a variety of views?
Are there structural problems in our government or economic system that serve to divide cultural groups? How can they be changed?
Should I put my community building and civic energies into my own cultural community, rather than the mainstream culture? Where can I have the biggest influence?
Can oppression be stopped by legislation, or does each person have to overcome their individual prejudice, or both?
Why do immigrants have to hold onto their own cultures and languages when they come to the United States?
If my group is excluded from the American dream, what can I do?
How do I protect my children from being targeted by racism or sexism other forms of discrimination if I live in a diverse society? Shall I send them to Afro-centric school, or a female-only school, or another appropriate school?
If each person overcame their own prejudices, would all the divisions disappear?
How do I overcome my prejudices?
Is prejudice a thing of the past?
Why can't we all just get along?
What do you think about these questions? Which issues do you struggle with? What other issues are important to you or your cultural group?