Participants: Karen Thomas (Host), Richard Valenzuela
Series Code: IAADD
Program Code: IAADD000028A
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00:27 Welcome to Issues and Answers.
00:29 Today we're going to talk about 00:31 breaking down barriers and things that divide people. 00:35 Our guest today is Richard Valenzuela. 00:37 Richard is president of Leadership Diversity Institute. 00:40 He is the former education director 00:42 for Silicon Valley FACES, 00:44 former executive director and president of Anytown U.S.A. 00:48 which is affiliated 00:49 with the National Conference of Christians and Jews. 00:52 He is an internationally recognized diversity specialist 00:56 and he was involved in the Civil Rights Movement 00:58 and was a foot soldier for Dr. Martin Luther King. 01:01 He consults regularly with schools, colleges 01:04 and universities across the USA. 01:06 Richard is going to share his life experiences 01:09 in working with over 10,000 young people 01:12 across the nation and adults on how to break down barriers. 01:16 Thank you so much, Richard, for coming to the program. 01:18 It's my pleasure to be here. 01:19 I appreciate you making that trip here to 3ABN. 01:23 So we're going to talk a little bit about 01:25 today about breaking down the barriers through... 01:28 How did you come up across doing this? 01:32 Well, you know ever since 01:34 I was in school basically... 01:39 You know one of the first things 01:41 that really impressed me 01:43 was when Sammy Davis, Jr. got married. 01:47 Some of your audience may remember him. 01:49 He was a very talented black 01:51 dancer and singer and he got married. 01:54 This was in the late '50s 01:56 I believe was, it was '59 or so. 01:58 And I was in junior high school at the time. 02:00 And he got married to a white woman from Europe, 02:05 I don't remember her name. 02:07 But anyway it made national news. 02:08 How dare he marry this white woman 02:11 and he got hate mail, I'm sure, 02:13 from all over the country, all over the world, 02:14 most likely. 02:16 But what really touched it off 02:18 and made it a conversation in our school was that 02:21 he was going to have a child, 02:22 he was going to have a biracial, 02:23 multiracial child, 02:25 and all of a sudden they were slamming it. 02:29 They were saying the child was going to be polka dot, 02:31 there's something wrong with that, 02:32 it's going to be a half breed child. 02:34 You know, the idea of that 02:38 it wasn't right. 02:39 And they even used such idiotic comments 02:42 such as you don't see cows and horses mixing, 02:44 do you, or dogs and cats mixing. 02:47 Well, I was raised on a farm 02:48 and I knew that brown dogs went with white dogs, etc., 02:53 you know the color. 02:54 There were separate species 02:55 and that's how we were being treated in the '50s and '60s 02:58 as separate species of people. 03:00 Really! Separate Species! 03:02 Yeah and that really irritated me 03:05 even as a 13-year-old kid. 03:09 Wow! 03:10 So it started me on this journey 03:14 to make a difference and make changes. 03:16 And then I got involved with this program 03:18 which I'll explain later, 03:19 that I think has met the need to a great degree. 03:21 So how about your own background, 03:23 what nationality? 03:24 I'm Latino, I am Mexican-American. 03:27 Both my grandfathers came over from Mexico 03:29 and settled in Arizona. 03:30 One homesteaded some land. 03:32 The other was just running away from the revolution 03:35 I think is what the story is told. 03:37 But I've grown up there. 03:39 I'm second generation 03:41 and just experienced a lot of prejudice growing up. 03:43 And that's the other thing that intrigued me that 03:49 I ran into problems 03:51 and when Martin Luther King came around, 03:53 gee, well that's what I mean by being a foot soldier. 03:56 But I just became one of the people 03:58 that helped the movement and did my part 04:00 and this was one way that I found through education. 04:03 So how was it growing up at that time for you 04:06 as a person of Mexican descent? 04:09 Were you able to speak your language, 04:11 speak Spanish in school? 04:12 How was that? 04:14 Well, that was one of the first experiences that I had. 04:16 A lot of our Latino kids at that time 04:19 were told not to speak Spanish on school grounds. 04:22 If you did you would be sent to the principal's office, 04:25 you would be punished. 04:26 So immediately we began to think, 04:29 hey, there's something wrong with speaking Spanish. 04:31 There must be something wrong with me 04:32 and that second class citizenship began very early. 04:35 Now I'm sure the purpose was to get us to assimilate 04:37 and to learn English which would help us in the future, 04:40 but the intent is not always the same as the outcome, 04:45 you know, how it's interpreted. 04:47 How do you see things today now with some many... 04:51 In the media you hear a lot of racial conflicts, 04:54 you hear a lot of socioeconomic conflicts. 04:57 What do you think about the times right now, 04:59 which we live in? 05:01 Well, you know we've made a lot of progress. 05:02 There's no denying that. 05:04 I'm not an extremist to say 05:05 hey we're still in the dark ages. 05:07 But we've made progress especially this country 05:09 and I'm a proud American. 05:12 But there is still progress to be made 05:14 as you can see from the news 05:16 and how quickly it can erupt racial problems, racial issues. 05:21 Yeah. 05:23 That's just part of the barriers, 05:24 I think there's also a gender issue 05:25 between men and women. 05:27 And that's something 05:28 that we also touch upon in our program, 05:31 the issue of religion. 05:34 How many wars and fights 05:36 and what's happening in the Middle East right now. 05:37 There's a lot of religious, interfaith conflict, 05:40 and that's why it was always a pleasure to work with 05:42 the National Conference of Christians and Jews 05:44 that used to deal with interfaith conflict in 05:47 communities across the country. 05:49 So now things have kind of... 05:51 Some people ave said that 05:53 it's not really so important to really 05:55 deal with racial issues or deal with gender issues 06:00 or deal with social 06:02 because everybody's kind of doing much better now. 06:05 Do you see that there's still a need for this? 06:07 Oh, definitely. 06:08 I mean people say, well, we've made tremendous progress 06:10 because we have a black president 06:12 but that's just a beginning. 06:13 I mean there's still a lot more. 06:15 And what I find from young people, 06:16 and that's who I work with 06:17 high school and college students, 06:19 is they still are running into issues, 06:21 especially as children 06:23 when growing up of racial problems, 06:25 especially with biracial youth, too. 06:27 I'll get into that later too. 06:29 It's the idea that separation is still occurring. 06:34 You know, there's separation on our high school campuses. 06:36 You can walk into any campus, 06:37 especially in the inner city or midway in the inner city 06:42 and you'll find the groups are separated. 06:44 They're not talking, they're not communicating 06:45 and you wonder why problems can erupt up so quickly, yeah. 06:49 And even still like you said, 06:51 even on the campuses there are issues. 06:53 In fact, it's a big issues in high schools and campuses 06:56 across the country. 06:57 Segregation is there. 06:59 It may not be by law, but it's voluntary segregation. 07:03 So now you've been involved in developing a program 07:07 that is designed to address a host of these issues. 07:12 Tell us about the program? 07:14 Now I didn't create the program. 07:15 It started in East L.A I believe in '53, '54 07:19 and then it came to Arizona in '57. 07:21 It was called Anytown. 07:23 It's taken on other names now across the country. 07:26 But I helped develop it and update it in many ways 07:29 and I've had many people work with me 07:32 and many ideas that I've picked up from other folk 07:34 but it's a program that's very unique 07:36 in that it brings a diverse group of youth together 07:39 at a camp site preferably 07:41 because you need some degree of isolation 07:44 in order for the students to think about who they are 07:47 and where they're going and what's happened to them. 07:50 And you also have to create an environment of safety 07:52 where they feel safe to speak, 07:54 that they're not going to get jumped on, 07:55 they're not going to get hit, 07:57 they're not going to be shut down 07:58 for what they believe in, 08:00 either by faith or by race or by whatever issue. 08:04 They need to express that to get it out in the open. 08:06 Because I think what's happening today a lot 08:08 is we're saying, well, let's not talk about it. 08:10 You know, that's past, that's old. 08:12 A lot of parents are not even bringing up the issue 08:14 so it needs to be talked about. 08:17 So like, 08:19 can you kind of take us as best we can for those 08:22 who are watching from home who couldn't maybe go to camp. 08:25 It would be great if they could. 08:26 But what's it like, 08:28 what's it like to go through the camp? 08:29 What are some of the experiences 08:31 that people go through? 08:32 There are two models. 08:33 One is a summer model. It's a week long. 08:35 And you get to cover so many more issues. 08:38 But the basic model 08:40 that I'm promoting now is during the school year 08:42 where you can take the kids out of the classroom 08:44 and that's why it's called out-of-classroom education. 08:47 You take them out of the classroom 08:48 and take them to an isolated area 08:50 or a retreat center and you work with them 08:53 for what I'm saying three nights and four days. 08:56 And you go through all these segments, 08:57 all these exercises 08:59 based on experiential experience 09:01 and emotional intelligence. 09:03 What do I mean by experiential? 09:04 You put the kids through the activity 09:07 where they get to feel it and they get to see each other 09:09 and learn from each other. 09:11 The whole idea of emotional intelligence, 09:12 I really believe in that 09:14 that we need to develop our emotional intelligence 09:16 so we can cope and so we can communicate 09:18 and be better citizens. 09:21 So that's two of the main parts of this program 09:24 is those two things. 09:27 Empathy building. 09:28 You know we're hearing more about empathy now. 09:30 The idea that we're not just looking for sympathy. 09:33 I'm sorry what happened to you in history 09:35 or what happened to your people. 09:37 We're looking at 09:40 what the Native Americans once said, 09:41 you don't know anyone 09:42 till you walk a mile in their moccasins. 09:44 To walk in somebody else's shoes, 09:47 to be able to live their life for a short moment. 09:50 That's where we make progress 'cause sympathy didn't do it. 09:53 Apathy sure didn't do it because, you know, 09:55 we don't care what happened to you or what's happened. 09:58 But when you begin to feel as or with someone, 10:01 when you start seeing your friends 10:03 as your brothers and sisters, 10:05 and you're walking in their shoes, 10:07 then progress begins. 10:09 And that's what the whole concept 10:10 of the whole workshop is based on. 10:13 So give us an example. 10:15 So how does it start? 10:17 What's the first issue that you deal with 10:19 when a person comes up to the camp? 10:21 And they come with young people 10:22 and they come with some of the counselors 10:26 and some of the other people, so there's a safe environment. 10:29 What's the first activity that people go through? 10:31 Well, I think one of the things we have to do 10:33 is begin breaking those barriers 10:35 right from the start by just getting acquainted 10:38 by creating what I say 10:42 not only a safe environment but a trusting environment 10:45 and create what we call a community. 10:47 That's where the name Anytown came from, 10:50 create a community. 10:51 How do we do that? 10:53 I'll just mention a few activities 10:55 that we begin right at the beginning. 10:57 We do what we call two ups. 11:00 Two ups are response to there's no putdowns 11:03 allowed during the retreat. 11:05 And we're going to do it, 11:06 we're going to slip up either because we're used to doing it. 11:09 It's kind of a funny or harassment 11:11 but it can get real too. 11:13 But anyway, no put downs. 11:14 But if you do, you got to give that person two ups 11:17 which means you got to say 11:18 two positive things to that person 11:20 and it can't be something physical, 11:21 like you have pretty eyes or you dress well. 11:23 It's got to be about their personality or their character 11:26 and it's amazing how the students start 11:28 calling each other on that. 11:29 The teachers start calling each other on that 11:32 and they take it back to the school sometimes, 11:34 where they say you owe me two ups. 11:35 Yeah. 11:37 And then there's the concept of rainbow where anyone, 11:40 whenever we get together as an activity, 11:41 we can yell out rainbow. 11:43 That means you got to mix it up. 11:44 You can't be with the same race, 11:45 you can't be with the same gender necessarily 11:47 either and definitely not your best friends. 11:50 You know best friends are always gathering together. 11:53 That's the toughest thing to break 11:54 in any workshop that you do. 11:56 But with rainbow everybody's got to mix it 11:58 or else, you know. 11:59 And then one other thing that we do is, 12:06 well, I'll come back to that later. 12:07 Right, right. 12:08 So this is a type of mixer where everybody gets in there. 12:10 You plan it where people are diverse, 12:13 it's not just one group of people 12:15 and if they mix up the rainbow 12:17 it means they have to get up and talk to somebody 12:19 that they don't know. 12:20 Okay so then what happens? 12:21 The other thing we introduce is a concept of hugs. 12:25 You know it's really fascinating. 12:27 In fact, I read something 12:28 this morning about the power of touch. 12:30 And I think to some degree 12:32 we may be losing that in society, 12:34 but also to show these students the value of it. 12:36 Now we respect cultures that don't touch or hug much 12:39 or families that don't hug too much 12:41 but we make it an option. 12:42 We say it's okay to hug here. 12:44 But we may also put some humor into it. 12:46 We tell them, okay, 12:48 there are some hugs that are not allowed. 12:50 I don't know if you recall those 12:51 but the hugs are you know, 12:53 you can't have a bear hug picking someone up, 12:55 you might drop them. 12:57 You can't have an A-frame hug where you're barely touching, 12:59 very impersonal hug. 13:00 And, of course, 13:02 the sexual hug is not allowed at camp at all. 13:04 In fact, we're one of the longest running 13:07 male/female camps in the country 13:10 because we set up some restrictions on that. 13:12 So it's not there to pick up somebody, you know. 13:14 We want to deal with seeing people 13:16 as people and it's okay to hug. 13:19 And I even make the point that there's an experiment 13:22 that was done years ago, 45-50 years ago, 13:25 where they had these infants in an orphanage 13:28 and in this orphanage they split up the infants, 13:31 10 kids in one room, 10 babies in the other room 13:34 and this experiment didn't last very long 13:38 because they hugged the 10 kids in one room 13:39 and they picked them up and held them a lot. 13:43 The kids in the other room they just ignored. 13:45 They only picked them up when they had to feed them 13:46 and that was it. 13:47 So guess what happened? 13:49 Within a few hours they found, this is a true experiment, 13:51 I think it's been done more than once. 13:53 The kids that were hugged and... 13:55 I mean the kids were picked up and cuddled 13:57 and all they were smiling, they were eating. 14:03 The kids that were not, 14:05 they began to give up, stop smiling, 14:09 stop eating and they turned their faces to the wall 14:12 and just started to give up. 14:15 And that's exactly what we don't want 14:18 young people and people to do, 14:20 to give up and that's why people give up. 14:21 You're saying the power of touch 14:24 because they're not being held, 14:26 they're not being, you know, having that human interaction. 14:30 It's just that crucial, it's just that important. 14:33 And so for some kids that have never been hugged 14:35 as little kids it's amazing to see them. 14:38 Do you have that where kids come to camp 14:40 and say they have never been hugged? 14:41 The other norm that we have in many families 14:44 in our society is you stop hugging little boys 14:47 after they're four or five years old 14:49 because of the fear of what they might become. 14:52 Or you may make them too soft, 14:54 or you many make them whatever and so. 14:58 I think that concept 14:59 that it's not a manly thing to do 15:01 is what's hurting relationships in our society. 15:03 Wow. 15:05 So we get... 15:06 then they get to that kind of like the icebreaker, 15:08 they learn about the rainbow and hugging. 15:12 What's next? 15:13 The first night, we have to start quickly, 15:16 and this is a very condensed program, 15:19 is that we start with the idea of understanding 15:22 prejudice and discrimination. 15:24 What is it? What makes it? 15:26 What are the stereotypes out there 15:28 that we're constantly hearing? 15:30 What do you say to the kids? 15:31 What we do is we split the kids up 15:33 by the different ethnic or racial groups 15:35 and we send one group out of the building 15:37 for a few minutes 15:39 and then we have the rest of the group come up 15:40 with all the stereotypes or slurs 15:43 they've heard about that group. 15:45 And it's amazing the list that they come up with. 15:47 Well now the group comes back in. 15:49 This is done in confidence. 15:50 You're saying one of the groups goes out, 15:52 say maybe it's the Latino kids 15:54 or maybe it's the Native American kids, 15:55 African-American kids 15:57 or the white or European descent kids, 15:59 or Asian kids 16:01 and the rest of the whole group 16:04 they're all talking about the slurs 16:06 that they've heard growing up 16:08 or experienced about that group that's out. 16:10 The stereotypes and the slurs. 16:11 So we get a full list of all these. 16:14 And I make sure 16:17 this is not a superficial program. 16:18 This is a real program in order to get the feelings out. 16:22 So we get them up there and each group comes back in 16:24 and reflect on with ones affect them 16:26 or hurt them the most or would affect 16:28 or hurt their family the most 16:29 if they were there to hear them or see them. 16:32 And by the time that we're through that evening 16:33 you've got about seven or eight lists 16:35 of different groups and all of a sudden 16:38 the empathy building begins. 16:42 The students realize why they're there. 16:45 I think they really have to know that. 16:47 You see this is also called the leadership program 16:49 and I don't call it that just to be marketing 16:51 or be superficial about that. 16:54 I really feel and I make reference to all the students 16:56 as leaders or potential leaders. 16:59 I really believe every kid, every young person, 17:01 has the potential to be a leader, 17:02 not only to guide themselves as leadership 17:04 but to guide others. 17:06 And so we try to emphasize that throughout the program 17:09 that they're there for a reason, 17:11 They're there to influence their friends 17:13 or their circle of influences as we call it. 17:16 So after your deal with the racial slurs 17:21 and then you say it's like a big poster 17:24 that's on the wall that everyone can see 17:26 and then they kind of process. 17:28 What happens, what's the next exercise 17:29 that you do with the kids? 17:31 Well, yeah, the processing goes on 17:33 and I think that's a real important part. 17:35 You just don't do an exercise and walk away. 17:37 You've got to process 17:38 what can you gain from that activity, 17:40 what can you learn. 17:41 And it's amazing how the kids express themselves. 17:43 Now I know how it feels. 17:45 Now I know that it's not over 17:46 because there is even new stereotypes 17:48 and new slurs coming out all the time. 17:50 So the kids all of a sudden see this. 17:52 The other thing is, I think one of the learning 17:54 that they get from the program is they're not the only one. 17:57 Because a lot of them think, 17:59 oh, this is just happening to my group or my people. 18:01 We've had it the worst. 18:02 And then they see all these lists 18:04 and all these emotions coming from these students 18:06 saying this is what hurts me, 18:08 and there are some ugly things that come up there, 18:10 and if we have time we'll go over those. 18:13 But the next activity, the next afternoon, 18:16 we do have discussion groups 18:19 or sharing groups as we call them. 18:21 And those are guided also 18:23 but it's mainly just expressing 18:24 what they felt and what they learned 18:27 from the previous activity. 18:29 We give them guidelines such as agree to disagree 18:32 'cause sometimes that has to happen. 18:35 I statements, you speak for yourself 18:37 not for all your group like all blacks 18:39 or all Latinos think this. 18:41 No, you speak for yourself. 18:43 And those are important guidelines. 18:45 And then the confidentiality of keeping it within the group. 18:48 But anyway, then we move on to the following afternoon. 18:50 We deal with privilege. 18:53 And I know there's a lot of talk today 18:54 about white privilege in our society. 18:56 But there are other privileges too 18:58 that we need to discuss, 18:59 not only just white privilege. 19:02 Then there's also light skin privilege, 19:04 not just white. 19:06 I mean even... Yeah, BMT just did a... 19:07 there's a program someone just did 19:09 and you're hearing a lot of different programs 19:11 of people dealing with the light and the dark. 19:13 But tell us about this privilege. 19:14 What is it? 19:16 What do you mean by privilege? 19:17 Well, the whole idea of privilege or advantage 19:19 that we are born without our say so, 19:22 without our individual choice. 19:26 We are given color, we're given sexual identity, 19:31 or even the family we're born into, 19:34 we didn't have a choice, 19:35 and I mention that to the students 19:37 before we do the exercise. 19:38 I say you are born into the world 19:39 and here's what happens to you 19:41 and you don't have a choice. 19:42 But here's what happens to you as you grow up. 19:45 So we do this exercise where people step forward 19:48 or step back depending on 19:50 if the question refers to a certain privilege. 19:53 Like what are some of the questions that you ask? 19:55 Well one of the questions is number one is 20:00 if you've ever had a job, 20:04 or did you get a job because of someone you knew 20:06 of someone in your family knew? 20:08 Then they would step forward? 20:09 Yes, they would step forward 20:11 if they had that advantage 20:12 or privilege of knowing someone. 20:13 So then we get into the discussion of networking 20:15 and friendship making out of that, 20:17 because that's what often happens is that 20:20 we have that privilege of who somebody knows. 20:24 Economics: I wish my father would have been born rich. 20:27 I would have had so many more privileges. 20:29 I would have been able to travel. 20:32 Gender: There's still an advantage in this society, 20:35 especially in the world to be a man versus a woman. 20:39 There's advantage and privilege to that. 20:41 There's the education, 20:43 one that's hardly ever mentioned but 20:44 this is how we emphasize to the students, 20:46 hey you need to get educated 20:48 because historically 20:51 if any group wanted to advance, 20:53 education was the way to do that for the most part. 20:57 And you could see when they took away education 20:59 why they did it. 21:00 During slavery. 21:01 There were I think 13 states 21:03 that had laws against educating the slave. 21:04 Why? Because they didn't want them to question. 21:06 During the Middle Ages 21:08 the British had the Irish as serfs 21:12 and it was against the rules to educate the Irish. 21:14 And there were not books 21:16 that were available to the common folk. 21:17 In fact the Bible was the first book printed... 21:21 Really, that was... 21:22 Yes, at the end of the Middle Ages 21:24 or the Dark Ages. 21:26 It was the desire to see something, you know, 21:28 to read and to be able to get that word out. 21:31 So you're right. 21:32 It is a powerful tool, education. 21:36 It definitely is. 21:37 And so, and then we also talk about sexual orientation, 21:40 being heterosexual versus homosexual. 21:43 But there's all these privileges that society 21:47 provides for people and some get them and some don't. 21:49 And we're still either reaping the benefits 21:54 from those past laws, 21:56 even though we don't have the laws. 21:57 We're either benefiting 22:00 or we're being the victims of some of that past. 22:05 So you're saying as far as 22:07 dealing specifically with the child 22:10 or if you're dealing with the student, 22:11 being raised in that kind of a family. 22:13 They had nothing to do with it. 22:15 They were just in a particular family set of circumstances, 22:19 two-parent household, 22:22 maybe we're a family that had inherited money 22:27 or inherited privileges or businesses. 22:30 What about immigrants? 22:32 Immigrants the same way. 22:33 I often ask the students if your parents were here, 22:35 your grandparents, where would they be? 22:38 And if they have immigrant parents or grandparents, 22:39 they would be behind them. 22:41 Then I also talk about the kids that aren't there. 22:43 You say they would be behind them. 22:44 What do you mean? 22:46 You know, we put them in a big open area, 22:48 either a parking lot or a field of some sort 22:50 and they step forward and step back 22:53 depending on if it's a negative. 22:55 Some of the questions? 22:57 Well again... 22:59 Oh, there's also the social, 23:02 what I call social support, 23:04 family support. 23:06 Did you grow up with 50 books in your house? 23:10 That one has to deal more with education. 23:12 But did your parents ever take you to plays or fairs. 23:16 And some kids have never been to a play or an art fair. 23:21 So how is it when these kids are all lined up, 23:24 and the adults too, right, 23:26 adult counselors come so in that group 23:29 everybody is involved with this. 23:30 What does it look like? 23:32 Are they all pretty much together as a group, 23:34 what do you see often? 23:35 Well, if I have a good mix of white and black 23:37 and Latino and others, 23:39 there's usually a few more whites in the front. 23:42 It's usually a mix in the middle 23:43 and in the back is mainly minority members, 23:45 both staff and delegates. 23:47 But one of the things I stress 23:49 so they don't feel bad about where they are placed is 23:51 this is not where they're at now, 23:53 this is where they came from 23:55 especially the adults that now have degrees 23:57 and are educators or administrators there. 24:00 But sometimes the minority, they're in the back 24:01 because the questions are asked in that manner. 24:05 But I also say that you're the survivors for the students 24:08 because now there's a lot of kids here 24:10 that should be here but are not 24:12 because they either dropped out, 24:14 turned to drugs, turned to alcohol 24:15 and they fell off the edge and you don't see them anymore. 24:19 And so I have them do a couple of things. 24:22 I have them look straight ahead first 24:23 and say, okay, if you never look back 24:25 you don't know what's happening. 24:27 With privilege comes responsibility, 24:30 one of the major points that I make. 24:31 You have privilege because you're here at this workshop 24:35 and you've survived some of the things 24:37 that have happened to you and your family. 24:38 So now you've got to help someone else. 24:40 So there's a lot of lessons in the discussion of privilege. 24:44 It's not just you have privilege 24:46 and I don't or it's a white man's world, 24:48 this type of thing. 24:50 So, how do you deal with the violence, you know, 24:54 the things that kind of cause people to act violently 24:57 the young people, the gangs and all of that kind of thing? 25:01 What do you do to really... 25:04 How do you see this program can actually 25:05 break down the barriers? 25:08 Well, one of the things I've always 25:10 like to have is kids that are on the edge 25:12 of either going to gang activity or not 25:15 and this can make a big difference 25:17 on many of these kids. 25:18 And I've had some gang members 25:19 that have turned themselves around 25:21 because all of sudden they see something 25:22 to be proud of because 25:23 one of the other programs we have up there is 25:25 what we call cultural pride night 25:27 where every group makes a presentation 25:28 about their culture, 25:30 their contributions to America and the world, 25:32 immigration pattern, 25:34 major customs and traditions that they're most proud of 25:36 and also the stereotypes that they wish to eliminate. 25:39 And it's amazing how creative young people can get 25:41 when you give them those four options 25:43 of coming up with a presentation. 25:45 But what I've noticed is 25:46 these kids walk out 10 foot higher 25:48 because they're proud of who they are. 25:50 So many kids are put down. 25:51 It's amazing. 25:53 One of the groups that's very unique 25:55 is the biracial/multiracial kids 25:56 because that's an increasing number, 25:58 thank goodness. 25:59 Yes, in fact America, 26:00 right, it's moving 2050 they say 26:02 the average American is like almost the racial groups 26:05 that we see in the United States 26:07 are not even going to be close to being the same. 26:09 It's such a melting pot 26:10 so this is really important work that you're doing. 26:13 Yeah, this is one that I believe our final taboo 26:16 or biggest barrier is to overcome 26:18 that intermarriage thing or inter-date thing. 26:21 Kids are still being told marry your own kind 26:23 instead of looking for common interests so. 26:25 Right. 26:27 But we have a gender night too 26:29 where we talk about gender power. 26:30 How can we empower men and women to get along better? 26:33 We come up with stereotypes and messages 26:35 that they've heard. 26:37 Many of the messages 26:38 that we get in our society are negative messages 26:41 and some people apply them. 26:42 Like no means yes, 26:44 having to deal with sexual encounter. 26:46 That's sweeping across the country right now 26:48 at major colleges and universities 26:49 because they're being told you better 26:52 start looking into these cases more. 26:55 But that's a common thinking. 26:57 There are lot of messages that we don't always recognize. 26:59 But we recognize them up at camp 27:01 so they can see them and do something about them. 27:04 The act of violence between men and women 27:05 where there're couple messages 27:07 that always go up there is, 27:10 never hit a woman, 27:12 which most boys agree and most students agree that's good, 27:15 but there is always a few 27:16 that vote for never hit a woman unless she hits you first. 27:20 And so I get up there and explain okay, 27:21 how hard are you going to hit her, 27:24 how are you going to stop 27:25 and what happens because of this. 27:27 Is this a violent message and of course it is. 27:31 It has the effect on our society. 27:32 Richard, I thank you so much for coming. 27:34 There are so many great issues 27:36 that have been covered through here 27:38 and things to break down barriers. 27:41 I want to also thank our audience at home 27:43 for joining us on today's program. 27:45 If you're interested in learning more about the camps, 27:47 go ahead and contact Dare to Dream Network. 27:49 We'll have Richard's information available. 27:52 He is available to come 27:54 and conduct camps across the country 27:55 as well as there may be a camp near you. 27:58 You know Christ came to turn on 28:01 the divide between people 28:03 to break down those barriers 28:05 and He has a lot of different ways 28:06 that He is doing that. 28:08 Let us decide ourselves 28:09 that we're gonna be that community of one. 28:11 We're gonna be that person 28:12 that's gonna go and make the difference 28:14 and break down the barriers and bring people together. 28:16 Thank you for joining us. |
Revised 2016-08-29