Vittrup sent a third of the families home with multiculturally themed videos for a week, such as an episode of Sesame Street in which characters visit an African-American family's home, and an episode of Little Bill, where the entire neighborhood comes together to clean the local park. Full Story »
Posted by Patricia Blochowiak
This story underscores the superficiality of our contemporary belief that "diversity" and "multiculturalism" will eventually produce a colorblind society. The reality is far more complex, based not so much on differentiated skin color as it is on differing cultural norms that produce widely divergent outcomes among the various groups we too crudely define as "racial." This article highlights some of the resultant distortions; my only criticism is that it rambles--only the most devoted reader will read to its conclusion.
As a partner in an interracial marriage, with three multiracial children, this topic has been a matter of lifelong interest. To me the most disturbing aspect of contemporary society is that too much emphasis has been put on race, and too little on culture--a particularly destructive trend that perpetuates racism. My own focus as a parent has been on defining for my children the unique cultural gifts offered by different groups, along with a compassionate understanding of the faults and deficits unique to our various histories. I think understanding, not tolerance, is the key to expanding one's capacity for appreciation and, eventually, love.