Black History Month Perspective: Diversity Opens Eyes
By Dr. Cynthia Hammond, PhD, MS; Kettering College Nursing Professor; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Committee Member
America has had a history of creating systematic methods to maintain racial separation in favor of Whites. Society, thankfully, has recently begun to analyze these archaic hallmarks to bring about a more equitable society, but the work is never done.
One of the prominent racial divides was between American colonizers and the original inhabitants, the Native American. The history books of my primary school education and the movies of the 1960s discussed that the American settlers fought against the Native Americans because they were assumed to be “savages.” The negative portrayal of the Native Americans was they were stealing from and killing other American settlers. The false portrayal of the “other” has always been inaccurate and resulted in real world biases.
“I was always taught that I needed to be exceptional to be considered equal.”
Another racial group that has been identified in a racial divide are African Americans. This racial divide resulted from the African people being transported to America for the specific purpose to involuntarily participate in institutionalized slavery from the very beginnings of this country. This African American racial divide permeated my culture and has defined my lived experience. I was always taught that I needed to be exceptional to be considered equal.
When I began nursing school, my expectation was that I would be safe and in a safe nurturing environment. I experienced violence and bullying from some of my peers and even from some of my professors. I learned that I had wishful thinking and discovered that all educators back then were not committed to teaching and student learning—some were entrenched in upholding and maintaining institutionalized racism.
I learned that self-motivation would become the tool I needed for survival when my educational environment was hostile. Fulfilling my dreams relied on my own self-motivation to keep moving forward, and I did just that. I earned an associate degree, followed by my Bachelor of Science in Nursing, along with an undergraduate and graduate degree in Health Education. I continued to earn a graduate and doctorate degree in nursing.
“Our lives are richer if we engage with diverse individuals…”
The essence of race is consumed in a diverse outlook of life. Diversity is a compilation of many ideas and life perspectives. Diversity is the method we can use to undo the biases that are so engrained in our culture and everyday way of life. Our lives are made richer if, for example, we eat a variety of foods. The variety of foods contain a variety of different vitamins and minerals that we need to feed our bodies.
Our lives are richer if we engage with diverse individuals for the rich perspectives and other life experiences that they bring. It is imperative that we choose to step out of our comfort zones and into new experiences that will follow God’s commandments of being our brother’s keeper. Remember: in giving we receive. We poise ourselves to receive many blessings from others and from God.
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