Anytown, Anytown

Last night I had an unexpected encounter. Almost everyone in the room had an association with Anytown Alabama. Anytown is a prejudice reduction camp for high school students that was sponsored by the National Conference for Community and Justice. Most states had an Anytown, Metrotown or some version of the camp. Now that the NCCJ national office in New York is defunct and a number of other factors, the Birmingham office had to close its doors.

I have had an instant connection with people that were associated with Anytown. Anytown organizers were intentional in putting classes together of people from different races, faiths, ethnic groups, socioeconomic backgrounds and different parts of the state. It involved an intense week of delving into their souls and developing a lifelong bond with people who started as strangers.

So how can I spot an Anytowner? Usually, Anytowners have no problem stretching beyond boundaries of most of their peers. Their experience at camp made them face their prejudices in an open setting. The residual effect of this intense searching of the soul includes a new human being with a perspective on life that most people will never have.

So what am I talking about? Many people say, "I don't have any prejudices. I don't see color..." These statements are rarely tested. This attitude is self-reported. We never get to ask people who interact with them whether they behave in a manner contrary to their opinion about themselves. If Anytowners were in denial at the beginning of the week, they faced their prejudices and learned to overcome them. They were put through the test and passed it with flying colors.

In my world of training, we are doing well to get more than two hours with a group. In that amount of time, appealing to the affect is very difficult. Anytown offered 24 hour, round the clock, facilitated activities.

Next to my family and classmates, I would say Anytowners make up my close friends. The picture above is from my baby shower which was given by several Anytown Alumni, high school and college classmates and one military brat.

Back to the encounter on last night. When we found out that we were all involved in Anytown, we began to sing the theme song, Anytown, Anytown yellow, white, black, red or brown or something like that. We also did an energy check which was a series of claps that you have to hear to understand what I am saying. I was amazed that I could somewhat remember a song I learned in 1992. We went on to reminisce about our experiences. We will miss you Anytown, AL

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.

Birmingham's Cultural Evolution Part 2

(Continued from Part 1) As I registered for graduate school, the diversity that UAB had attracted caught my attention. Students and scholars from around the world converged on a daily basis on the Southside alongside Blacks and Whites whose families had lived here for over a century. One of the most memorable moments was when students from Bombay, Japan, South Africa, and a few Middle Eastern countries asked if we could go to a soul food restaurant.

We ordered just about everything on the menu including: ox tails, chittlins', pigtails, greens, and sweet potatoes. We gave demonstrations on proper use of hot and pepper sauces. After describing what we were eating, many of the students commented, "We eat many of the same foods in our countries." I was amazed that okra is referred to as ladyfingers in some parts of India.

Eventually Olympic soccer converged on the City. Sister city activities with Japan, China, and Hungary began to capture my attention. Japanese visitors frequented Birmingham to visit the Japanese Tea Garden and the Samuel Ullman Museum. The cultural fairs sponsored by the Greek, German, and Middle Eastern communities could not be missed.

Oppressed people from all over the world looked to Birmingham as a beacon. The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute documented how the Movement influenced the world including recordings of "We Shall Overcome" sung by students at Tiananmen Square. South Africans escaping Apartheid sought guidance for building relationships across cultures.

Brian returned to Birmingham on several occasions still longing for our childhood experience. ..Stay tuned for Part 3/3

Diverse Birmingham: Evolution of a Worldclass City

When my brother, Brian, and I moved to Birmingham from Northern, California in the late '70's, we experienced a major culture shock. At first glance, Birmingham consisted of two major groups--Black and White. For the exception of Five Points South, Birmingham was still segregated. However, as time progressed, Birmingham's cultural roots began to expand before my eyes. At John Carroll, I met Mexican, Palestinian, Lebanese, Greek, Italian, Vietnamese and Irish students. At Ramsay, I also met Muslim and Jewish students.

In the interim between college and career, I was looking for an escape from an infrequent lecture by Granddaddy. He asked, "Do you realize Atlanta and Charlotte had to start from somewhere--Use your talent to build Birmingham." One of my cousins rescued me. She had read that Birmingham was hosting a music festival similar to Summerfest in Milwaukee. We were able to raise
$ 5.00 each for weekend passes to the first annual City Stages. It was surreal. I couldn’t remember another occasion in Birmingham where so many people of different races, creeds, colors and musical tastes were in the same two square blocks. How could I leave for the east coast with all this excitement in Birmingham?

As I registered for graduate school, the diversity that UAB had attracted caught my attention… Stay tuned for Part 2/3

Latino or Hispanic?

Several years ago, Latino and Hispanic organizations held a conference to discuss the spectrum of individuals moving into the Birmingham area that fit the definition of Latino or Hispanic. They had moved to Alabama from Latin American countries and from different parts of the U.S. Some were native Spanish speakers, some spoke indigenous languages, others spoke English and some spoke several languages. The opinions about the terms were as diverse as the people at the conference. An article in the Boston Globe captures the debate about the terms. http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/01/25/latino_hispanic_which_is_it/.

Because a number of people work in situations where they have to give statistics, they need to know what term to use. I try to encourage them to use the terms that the federal government requires for statistical purposes, but they should understand that individuals and groups of individuals do not necessarily agree with these terms. If at all possible, take the time to build a relationship and understand what an individual prefers to be called which is probably just his or her name. On the other hand, understand that sometimes people live by cultural norms and similarities that extend beyond the individual. At times they may be linked to a group. This does not mean that we should stereotype people or hold them to fixed concepts, but understand and value the uniqueness that they bring into our lives and workplaces.