“Celebrate Diversity”
Different cultures, different religions, different ways of life, and different beliefs all in the same world, country, state, town, and school. For so long people have experienced discrimination because of their unique culture, race, or beliefs compared to the “Social Norm.” When I moved from a small Kentucky town to the large city of Nashville, I was different from others who lived there. My accent was thick; I wore different clothes; and, I had a different way of life. But I was accepted with open arms. So should we not do that with everyone no matter the color of their skin, their religion, or culture?
At our school, Ravenwood High, we have the most cultural diverse school in our county and one of the highest culturally diverse schools in the state. However, most of the students do not talk about their culture because they are afraid they will offend someone or that others will make fun of them. They cannot be truly themselves because of our society that does not accept and love on all cultures. Our school saw the need to alleviate that gap and bring our student body together. That is how “Celebrate Diversity” was formed.
At our school “Celebrate Diversity” focuses on the four “A’s,” academics, activism, athletics, and the arts. Every week each grade finds six people who have contributed to their select “A” group. With this, three of the contributors have to be African American to associate with Black History Month that is also celebrated in February. Each grade then makes a poster sharing a picture of the contributor, their life span, and their main contributions to the “A” category. Every week that specific grade takes down the past weeks posters and hangs their new posters in the hallway. With special permission from our principal, this year we were able to hang posters in non-designated areas to draw more attention to them.
Also working with our Cultural Heritage Club, we helped make a special Black History Month banner for the commons area in our school with a picture of the late Kobe Bryant. Along with that banner, the Cultural Heritage Club made a culture mural in the commons area with pictures people had taken on their travels in countries around the world or in their home countries. There was a world map placed in the hallway, and you could place a sticker on places that link to your family history. On Friday, also Valentine’s Day, we had a Multi-Cultural assembly. At this assembly we had a special flag ceremony based on the countries represented at our school, two female students danced a traditional Bollywood dance, a student sang a song in Chinese, a demonstration from a World Champion Tai Chi competitor, and then a concluding message from the president of the Cultural Heritage Club.
Students, teachers, and administrators have had nothing but positive things to say about the new “Celebrate Diversity” event. They feel it is very beneficial in learning about other cultures and how to make everyone feel more included no matter their identity. We all deserve to feel loved, happy, and accepted. One way to do that is to celebrate each other and lift each other up no matter the culture, religion, way of life, or beliefs.
Note: This article was written by Sydnee Floyd for a school project.