White Corn in a Suitcase

I LOVE white corn. I used to think it arrived in a suitcase. When we lived in Boston, Kansas and California, my relatives always brought white corn, Alaga syrup and Red Diamond Coffee with them in a suitcase. I was amazed that everyone had the same exact same suitcase. Now that I am an adult I think perhaps my mother sent a suitcase home (Alabama) with each relative and the next visiting relative was responsible for filling the suitcase.

At the Alabama farmers market yesterday, I almost bought corn, but I had flashbacks of sitting in the kitchen with my grandmother shucking corn. I LOVE fried or sauteed corn as some would call it, but I wasn't willing to give up my social life to work for it.

I also LOVE roasted corn. It doesn't have to be white, but the chance of a piece of yellow corn coming across the table at a family event is pretty slim. When I was in Malawi, we would pull over to the side of the road and buy roasted corn on the cob. I can't remember what kind it was.

My Uncle Gene is the corn roaster of the family. Every other July, I would wait for him to fire up the grill and roast the corn. I think he put it in the coals or something. My cousin B took on the role of the grill master. He is a great corn roaster too.

Someone who must not know me well, sent a bag of uncooked corn still in the husks home to me via my husband. Wait, an oven roasted corn recipe. "Stick corn in shucks on oven rack for 30 minutes. Peel back husks. Eat."

Until I can find the grill master, the oven is going to have to do.

Britain's Got Talent 2009 Winners Embody Cultural Fusion

Britain's Got Talent Winners--Diversity--embody the richness and fusion of culture. The members range in gender, race, age, professional background and region. They also fuse different dance styles and music. The name is a great description of the diversity we encountered in Britain.

When we visited Europe, diversity was evident upon arrival in London. We flew Ryan Air for $ 19 from Brussels to London for a two night excursion. We had to switch from American English, to French, to the Queen's English? We encountered people from African nations, the Caribbean, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and India--all with different English accents before we even reached our hotel. I couldn't find a Berlitz tape to help me navigate all the different accents.

Our hotel was in an area of England where people of Jamaican, Portuguese and Spanish descent settled. I went to a Jamaican beauty parlor, ate Portuguese food for lunch and swore that I had to find some traditional English food before heading back to Belgium. I also developed a better understanding of Punk Rock as a result of a BBC documentary regarding the Jubilee, but that is another conversation.

Congratulations Diversity.

African American Professional Women and Hairstyles

African American women struggle to fit into Corporate America on a number of levels. Do hairstyles that reflect their culture hinder them from being successful? Check out Lessons from an 80's Alumna.

Is university experience a diversity issue?

One of my friends shared an article from the Washington Post regarding the makeup of the Supreme Court. It appears that most of the appointments in recent history have been people from private universities. For positions that make decisions that affect the general population, do presidents need to consider diversity of education and who they may have rubbed elbows with in college? Do they represent the culture at large?

Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe include educational background and organizational dimensions on their Diversity Wheel. When I use it in training, hierarchies that are set up based upon profession and education are usually strong themes that generate discussion.

Of course these dimensions differ than the internal layers which relate to things that we can't control or change about ourselves. They are dimensions of diversity nonethe less. What are your thoughts?

Finding identity in the Namesake

I really love the movie, the Namesake starring Kal Penn. It is long, but it really helps one understand the experience of transnational young men and women. Transnationals are those individuals who live among two cultures, sometimes caught between them. Their ancestry might be in one part of the world, but they live in another. Their parents might represent their country of origin, but the children are a blend of the two.

Sometimes these individuals are referred to as cultural marginals and third culture kids. They sometimes struggle with finding a balance between the culture at home and the culture at work or school. The Namesake captures the complexity of living among two worlds.

For more information check out the webinar Cultural Marketing and Belong or Bust: Third Culture Kids.

Tandoori Chicken and a Lassi at Kohinoor

I really enjoyed my dinner last night. Not a lot of people know about Kohinoor across from the Mellow Mushroom on 20th Street South. I love the food. I feel like I am cheating on Taj India since I spent most of my Indian food eating life at their buffet.

I started eating Indian food at Golden India when it was on West Valley Avenue. It relocated to Five Points South below Cosmos Pizza for awhile, but it went out of business. On my first visit, they had lady fingers or bendhi masala. Still unsure what I am talking about? Have you heard of okra? It is okra with stewed tomatoes, onions and wonderful spices. I once read that many Indian dishes have about 22 spices in them. I even slipped the dish into a family dinner with my relatives that don't eat Indian food. They recognized how flavorful it was, but I didn't tell them it was Indian food until well after the meal.

I am not sure when I started going to Taj. I think that Saffron was my second Indian restaurant in Birmingham. It was located near what used to be Ski Lodge I on West Valley. For a short time, I also used to go to a place that opened on 150. Can anyone remember the name of it?

If you aren't sure what to order, I always recommend starting with Tandoori chicken. I LOVE to get a mango lassi, which is a yogurt drink, to wash down the chicken. In most places in town, rice comes with the meal. If the restaurant has the option, order a basket of assorted naan.

Not sure where to go? Check out this listing of Indian restaurants http://www.yellowpages.com/Birmingham-AL/Indian-Restaurants.

Identity: How Black Are You?

(The following post was written for a friend's web publication in January 2009, but it was never published. Hopefully you will find it to still be a relevant issue.)

Are you Black Enough?

In the face of the election of the first black president, there have been several questions about the definition of black and whether he is black enough. In a presentation by Frontline regarding Barack Obama, elder black community leaders did not feel that President Obama—then a state Senator Obama had paid his dues. They felt he was not a deserving candidate for Congress in comparison to a former Black Panther who was rooted in the community.

So what does one mean by the term “black?” I use black and African American interchangeably in this post. Does it refer to the color of one’s skin or the group with which one affiliates or is it the color of the people from which one descended? Education, form of dress, political affiliations, and other ways of life are often evaluated to determine one’s level of blackness. In an attempt to address these questions, William Cross, a scholar in psychology offers a continuum of identity by which African Americans see themselves in his book, Shades of Black (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1991).

Cross links race and identity by offering a continuum of “blackness” according to levels of race salience. Race salience is not related to skin complexion, but the level one affiliates with a particular group. The more race salience one has, the more one identifies racially and culturally with the black community. The less one has, the less one identifies with the community. So a nationalist would have the greatest amount of race salience and someone who assimilates into the dominant culture has the lowest level. A nationalist might fight for an independent homeland for blacks or identifies with the entire African Diaspora in the U.S., Caribbean, Europe, Latin America, Canada... That person may wear a form of dress that is Afro-centric and not linked to white society. The Black Power Movement is associated with nationalists. We often see the Angela Davis afro as a symbol of Afro-centrism. Malcolm X is also a symbol of nationalism.

In contrast, the assimilator might believe that he is only black in terms of complexion or race, but does not identify with the community as a whole. He might not associate with anyone within his community. His politics often seems counter to the black mainstream. Terms such as Oreo or Uncle Tom might be bestowed upon this person. Although a fictional character, Sgt. Waters from A Soldier’s Story is one that I ask students to analyze. However, Justice Clarence Thomas is frequently associated with this identity.

Those individuals in the middle of the continuum are often bi-racial or maintain a multicultural outlook. Individuals who are bi-racial in this context have one parent who is black and the other non-black. A person with this identity might identify strongly with both parents, not denying either such as Tiger Woods. Others in the middle identify with multiple groups, but there is no doubt that black as their dominant identity. Their identity may or may not be related to parentage, but maybe just an outlook on life. El Hajj Malik Shabazz, who is usually associated with nationalism, embraced all Muslims even those who were not black, after going to Mecca for Hajj.

In summary, according to Cross, the concept of race is very complex. There are levels or degrees to which one affiliates with race. Those with mid to low levels of race salience are often viewed as “not black” or not black enough by those with higher levels of race salience, but he believes that they are not completely denying their race, but the level to which they affiliate may differ than their nationalist counterparts.

But, is skin color the only thing that links people together? When I was growing up, we always claimed Teena Marie who is white because she had soul. However, we wanted to disassociate ourselves from Clarence Thomas because his views did not represent the African American mainstream. So what links people together outside of race?

Everyone has a culture, Part 2

In part 1 we discussed the fact that many Americans don’t believe that culture is relevant. Why does this matter? As interculturalists we believe that culture influences just about every aspect of our lives. If one is part of the majority, culture may be taken for granted and just seen as the way things are for everyone. Those who are not in the majority frequently negotiating between their cultural backgrounds and that of the dominant cultural. This post will outline three approaches to working with individuals who believe they are "cultureless".

For many third generation Americans, the concept of culture is somewhat foreign. Their grandparents may have married people of different cultures so what they perceive as culture has become irrelevant. So how do you discuss culture with individuals who perceive themselves as not having one? I take three approaches to this phenomenon: 1) Gardenswartz and Rowe's four layers activity. 2) Cultural icebreaker. 3) Try to connect people by showing commonalities, but not ignoring differences.

Gardenswartz and Rowe's four layers of diversity highlights personality, internal, external, and organizational layers of culture. Personality is how we interact in the world. The internal layer includes characteristics that we usually don't change such as gender or race. The external layer consists of characteristics that could be changed such as geographic location. By helping individuals decide what elements of diversity are dominant in their lives, they are defining aspects of culture that are important to them. So my intern included religion as one of the dominant elements of diversity in her life (refer to part 1 of this article). It is imperative that this exercise take place prior to introducing cultural norms and values. I like to have at least two hours for the four layers.

The cultural ice breaker includes a list of questions regarding how one engages in cultural activities. It is a checklist that is based upon culture general norms and values, but it doesn't ask questions about culture directly. It is a way of telling them, "Hey, you practice culture everyday. You just don't think about it." One question includes, Can you think of an annual family tradition from your childhood or one you practice with your family today? Answers range from everyone gathering for Christmas to tailgating at the Iron Bowl. No one said it had to be an ancient tradition passed down from one's ancestors, just a tradition. The ice breaker can be completed within an hour. It is part of a shorter workshop or may just be a standalone activity. For one group that I belonged to, we started each of our meetings with one of the questions.

I am definitely a believer in cultural awareness months, but I think it is important to show intersections of culture as well. If introducing a cultural concept, I may have a theme such as the harvest. I might ask students, what activities or traditions are practiced in the fall? Not only would I include Kwanzaa and Thanksgiving, I would seek information about a number of local observances. The Alabama Bureau of Tourism is ripe for information. Birmingham is a young city in comparison to most cities in Alabama so I usually have to go to some of the smaller cities to really get a southern culture discussion going. We may discuss the National Peanut Festival in Dothan or other fall festivals. The same can be done for each of the four seasons. There are gazillion annual observances across the state. As students research the origins of these festivals and practices surrounding them, we could start to help them identify their cultural roots. See the UA Crossroads Community Center’s newsletter Intersections.

Please share some of your family traditions.

Everyone has a culture

Doesn’t everyone have a culture? If we share the same citizenship, does it mean that we are all the same? This issue was particularly poignant while I was participating in a local activity where everyone was asked to share something from their cultural background. The students of Asian, African, Latin American and Jewish descent had no problem coming up with a presentation. Some were first generation Americans, others were third or more. At that time I don't think anyone identified as Native American though most southerners, black and white, have Native American ancestry.

The white students began to feel left out. They felt they didn't have a culture. The director of the program at the time was highly skilled at facilitating this issue. As the program evolved, one of the advisors developed the category “plain ol' American.” As part of her presentation, she usually shared U.S. American cultural symbols such as baseball and apple pie. The more I encountered people who were unsure of their cultural identity the more I wanted to learn about how people perceived themselves. It has become a significant part of my journey as an interculturalist.

Ten years later when I was developing a course, this issue resurfaced. Before launching a course or adding a new activity to an existing course, I usually put together a focus group. We were researching activities to stimulate cultural conversation. My intern, who is white, couldn't tell me her ethnicity. She identified more as a Catholic. This became particularly relevant to her when she moved from a place with a large Catholic population to a Baptist university in a Baptist town. We concluded that our concept of identity had to be more inclusive.

I attended a Catholic high school, where most of the students were white. However, they knew their Irish, Italian, or Greek roots (See Diverse Birmingham). Even if there was intermarriage in their backgrounds, they knew the cultural roots of each side of their families. Looking back, many of them were children of recent immigrants and there may have been grandparents who kept the family traditions alive. So how would I approach this issue with people who don’t recognize culture?

In part 2, I will share how I work with people to help them develop a cultural identity.

Clogging Meets Hip Hop

I was so excited when I saw cloggers from Alabama on America's Best Dance Crew (ABDC). I love all forms of dance, but I have never tried clogging. Dynamic Addition, a group from Winfield, AL, was so talented. I was on my feet for just about every performance. It was amazing to see these performers and their success at incorporating hip hop into their moves. I really want to see them in person. Perhaps I will stop by their studio on my way to Memphis.

Pandemics and Globalization

Unfortunately, I failed to take Latin so I frequently have to look up words or call my younger sister. I wasn't sure about the difference between a "pandemic" and "epidemic". Recent headlines about the Swine Flu and motherhood have lead me to investigate the terms more closely. I was introduced to the term "pandemic" in reference to AIDS. I had heard of it referred to as an "epidemic," but while traveling abroad, heard the word "pandemic." According to Wikiedia, "pan" as a prefix means all. That was my original understanding because of the term Pan-Greek councils at universities or PanAfrican movement that encompasses a unified effort by various African countries.

I wondered if the Swine flu was a pandemic due to its travel across the globe. I taught a globalization course, but never considered discussing pandemics as a function of it. Since reading about the spread of the Swine flue through air travel and seeing evidence of it in North America and Asia, I thought its presence in four countries was the criteria for the use of the term "pan."

Wikipedia defines, a pandemic as "an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through a populations across large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide." So a pandemic doesn't have to cross the globe, just a large region according to this definition.

References:
The World Health Organization
The Daily Beast Cheat Sheet