Diversity Essay

I believe that diversity is an awesome concept/theory. Additionally, I believe that “true diversity” is something America will never achieve. There are some organizations and institutions that have zero tolerance for non-diversified environments and have successfully achieved that goal (to an extent); but overall as a nation; I personally believe our culture, mindset and practical origins prevent actual implication in a variety of instances.
To achieve an America where we are judged by the content of our character and our academic achievements or skills; not the color of our skin, our religious beliefs, our sexual orientations and our age; would be a semi-utopia.
First and foremost, this country was founded on an assumption that the original people “found” here were an inferior and “wild” bunch of uneducated individuals. The American Indians were discriminated against immediately, simply because they were different; spoke a different language, practiced a different lifestyle and embraced different religious and ethnic customs that were foreign (and seemingly alien); to what the pilgrims were accustomed to in Europe.
Later in history, slavery and the outcomes of the Civil war, had a huge impact upon what most Anglo Americans inherently believe about Black people as a race here in America.
As a Black woman, born and raised in a Midwestern city like Chicago, my views about diversity are typically shared by a large number of “us” the baby boomers; yet considered by outsiders as rather radical.
As stated in one of the aforementioned paragraphs, it is a nice ideology, one that is noble and the pursuit of its statutes should be an ongoing effort.
In reality, in this particular city, it is a misnomer of sorts. In my opinion? True diversity will always be a highly sought after principle that will not be achieved in reality.
Employers, in my experience, in Chicago, have a tendency to hire people “like” themselves. They unconsciously seek candidates similar in lifestyle, mannerisms, culture and ideologies that are similar to their own.
As an Admissions Officer for more than 15 years, I also can be labeled as “guilty” in the performance of my duties. I practiced a tendency to place or prioritize specific student populations that I knew the various Universities wanted to see reflected in their various programs and dormitories routinely. It is a generally assumed stereotype here in Chicago that individuals from specific areas of town are undesirable and “ill-fitting” individuals for “proper” society and social settings. The mere mention of those areas will affect all screening and/or evaluation of a candidate for employment or academics; or significantly lower the possibility of acceptance/hire based strictly on those pre-conceived stereotypes.
City services, transportation access, availability of retail resources and physical presence of law enforcement also show distinct and separate parameters dependent upon exactly “where” you reside in the City of Chicago.
There is little diversity in the map of the City of Chicago-except in one area marked as Hyde Park (President Obama’s former neighborhood). Although Hyde Park practices an open diversity policy ;( in education, retail opportunities and social etiquette) they have their own “insider code” of selective diversity that is practiced as well.
I currently work in this environment: and the style of dress, articulation, attitudes and ethnicity are closely scrutinized and questioned IF you do not fit the pre-established mode of conduct and appearance; even in Hyde Park..
While I do not believe that all Anglo American are skinheads or Aryan Brothers; I do believe that subconsciously there are inherent learned behaviors that society has created that limit opportunities for true diversity to occur. There are people and organizations that are constantly working to “undo” those pre-conceived notions and who do believe that true diversity can be achieved on some level or another in America. I applaud their efforts. I do believe there are some people that truly want a diversified environment; but they are FAR outnumbered by those that fear others that are different from them in any manner- be it in sexual orientation, color/race, religious beliefs, age and educational levels. These fears manifest themselves in employment areas, housing, educational opportunities and many, many, many more areas.