Group Celebrates Diversity In Downtown Rally, Walk
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Between songs and a peaceful celebration march, a variety of speakers at the third annual Diversity Rally Sunday in Central Park spoke about how diversity makes society better. Foreign exchange students through AFS-USA, Leo Karst, Wael Abu Gharvieh and Moctar Ansari discussed what it was like for them to be visitors to the United States for an extended time. Ansari, who hails from West Africa, said he’s been in this country 10 months. “I’ve seen some pretty interesting things though they are normal to you,” he said. He said a diverse community recognizes that people from different backgrounds can bring fresh ideas, but misunderstandings and language issues can lead to people making bad decisions. In a non-diversified population, Ansari said, there is an increase in bullying, which is based on stereotypes of people based on their skin color, sexual orientation, religion and other reasons. Gharvieh, a Palestinian living in Kendallville, said the main religion in his country is Islamic and the language is Arabic. However, in his city, there are people who are Jewish, Christian and Muslim and all believe and worship in God. After providing a little information on Islam, he said it is “completely false” that all Muslims don’t like Jews. He gave an example of his grandfather who eats dinner with a Jewish family regularly. Karst, 16, is half German and half Brazilian. He encouraged everyone to be open minded and said the exchange program is a learning opportunity for everyone. Pete Tuura, Warsaw, then reported on the research he did on diversity in Indiana, noting it’s a big topic. In 1920, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Indiana was the most white Protestant state in the country, he said. The state has had Sundown Laws, “which said if their skin was brown, they shouldn’t be in town after the sun went down.” He noted Indiana’s racist past is well documented. He encouraged people to talk about inequality no matter how uncomfortable it made people and that a person should be willing to correct their own behavior if they are wrong. Speaking on ageism, specifically on age discrimination in hiring practices, was Gary Proietti. While the 1964 Civil Rights Act said it was illegal to discriminate based on age, he contended it still happens. As a past hiring director for a group of restaurants, he said he heard many age-discriminatory comments when he wanted to hire an older worker. All were stereotypes of older workers, he said. Before his 50th birthday, he was downsized. At 50, he had to start his career over again, but was met with age discrimination by a regional vice president of a grocery store chain. Then when a friend reviewed his resume, Proietti said he was told not to put include his age, his employment more than 10 years ago, when he graduated high school and college, or anything else that identified how old he was. Andy Semler told how he was gathering stories of gay and transgender people for a living history project of Kosciusko County. Thanks to a Warsaw LGBT group on Facebook, he said he has been able to make connections to others. Read stories or add your own at lgbt-kc.blogspot.com “Trans and queer people have been here the entire time, but have only come to the forefront recently,” he said. Many do leave, but some can’t or can’t stay away for a variety of reasons. Semler said they shouldn’t have to leave at all if they don’t want to. He also announced an all-ages Pride Picnic, hosted by the Warsaw LGBT & Supporters Community, will be June 4 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Nye Youth Cabin. For more information, visit facebook.com/warsawlgbtcomm Speaking on socioeconomic issues, Combined Community Services Executive Director Steve Possell said he grew up in Boston, an area where it was no big deal to eat with someone who was different, he said. “The face of poverty is what I deal with every day,” he said, and the biggest rise in poverty is where there are two parents and one may even have a bachelor’s degree. He said the impoverished are the biggest minority that also is the most under-represented. He said it’s not popular to talk about the needs of the poor. Since he joined CCS, he said its focus in its programs is growing self-sufficiency. “What we’re trying to do is raise people up to a sustainable wage so they can raise a family” in this community, he said. “We are trying to do our best to raise the standards to get people out of poverty.” Romil Sheth spoke about the Warsaw Indian Group. The purpose of the group is to give a platform to Indians in the area so they can celebrate their culture, meet others and spread awareness of their culture. The Warsaw Indian Group has a Facebook page, and it organizes at least two events a year. Marena Moonflower and Hans Kusserow performed “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” before everyone was invited to take a sign and walk downtown. After the event, co-organizer Gennie Brissette estimated there were about 70 people there. “We were hoping for a little bit more, but it’s the first nice weekend we’ve had after a string of bad weekends,” she said. Organizers also moved it to a Sunday, but Brissette said the speakers did a nice job. She said they hope to continue the Diversity Rally every year, and the City of Warsaw Parks & Recreation Department is easy to work with in getting a place for the event. She said they always try to get a diverse group of speakers as it is apolitical.
