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What Diversity and Multiculturalism Mean to Me Essay

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What Diversity and Multiculturalism Mean to Me

By

David Meads

What does Diversity and Multiculturalism mean to me? I believe that diversity has become so much more than just the basic qualities of race or gender. It now includes all qualities that make everyone unique, as individuals or as part of a larger group. It is also the acceptance, respect, and understanding of these unique qualities that makes diversity work in a given society. Multiculturalism is the system that is centered around the respect for and the promotion of ethnic and or gender diversity in the society. Multiculturalism is the status of several different ethnic, racial, religious or cultural groups co-existing in the same society. Today, in the U.S. we already …show more content…

They were born on Air Force bases. In just about every small town and most medium to large cities, there is a “black” part or section of town. I grew up in a very small town but the part of town I lived in was very big to me. Everyone had the same ideals, beliefs, and expectations. We all knew each other very well. We went to the same church, played in the same park, ate the same type of food, and we listened to the same music. There were no unique individuals, no one really stood out. My town had harmony; a feeling of well being - for lack of a better word. I did not realize that I lived in a culture that had very little diversity. I knew that there were people out side my little world who spoke a different language, dressed different, and ate strange food. But it never occurred to me that I would ever meet anyone very different from me in every way. During the late seventies, when Carter was president, a lot of the restrictions were lifted on student loans. This made it easy for low income families to send their children to college. I quit my factory job and off I went to college. I chose a college as far away from home as I could – a whole three and a half hour drive away. That is pretty far for someone who has never been more than an hour from home for more than two days. On the first day, during registration, I realized that a whole new world opened up right in front of me. I experienced so many

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