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More broadly, let’s look at people who live in South America. In casual conversation, they do not call where they live “South America”. To them they live in “America”. Additionally, they label those who live in The United States as “North American”.

These perspectives, of course, are relative. In fact, each of our perspectives is unique because our distinctive life experiences have created them. The more life experiences we have, the more perspectives we attain. Despite the fact that those in South America may group us together as “North Americans”, we perceive our view of the world as not only “American” but as “northeasterners” perhaps, depending upon which region of the country we live.  When we look more closely, we may see ourselves as inhabitants of a particular state also; a citizen of our respective county; hometown; member of our own family and as an individual like no other on earth. All of these make up who we are and how we see the world around us. Additionally, we may classify ourselves based on our race, religion, gender, ethnicity, political views and so on. We may be quite aware of this in ourselves but do we allow ourselves to be that aware of these distinct perspectives in others or do we label others as members of only some group, small or large?

In the field of diversity we call this “worldview”.

Worldview - The personal perspective on how we each view the world around us.

Rooted in all that we have experienced during our lifetime, every individual’s

worldview may be valid to oneself. The actual validity lies in the roots of each

individual’s genuine experiences, which have taken place throughout our lives.

Our worldview forms all of our perceptions on how we see others and how

we see ourselves. Throughout our life, this perspective manifests itself into

branching out and forming our opinions, self-image, assumptions, beliefs and

even our values.

By simply “practicing worldview”, i.e., persistently considering the perspective of ourselves and others, we can become more productive both personally and professionally. Practicing worldview is a necessary variable in making diversity work in order to avoid setbacks such as negative assumptions, stereotyping, harmful biases, and unnecessary expectations of assimilation that can keep any classroom, department, organization or business from becoming its most productive. Without doing so, any diversity initiative can and likely will be unsuccessful.

Consider the following excerpts from an essay by David Zarembka, an American who lives in Africa:

·         It seems that humans, in order to deal with the mass of humanity they encounter, need to organize the masses by reverting to labeling people through identity. it is the root of much of the problems here in East and Central Africa and perhaps many other parts of the world.

·         In the latest national election, Barack Obama is seen in the United States as “black” and much has been made of the fact that he is the first African-American US president. His racial “identity” has little to do with his upbringing because he was brought up completely by the “white” side of his family. Yet, if he had grown up in Kenya, he would have been considered “white”.

·         But in Kenya race is not the determining factor it is in the United States. It is one’s ethnicity (tribe) that counts the most. From people’s African names, one can usually tell the ethnic group of the person. This ethnicity is passed through the fathers side only, so there cannot be “mixed” people even though a large number of people are actually “mixed”. In Kenya, Obama is seen as a Luo regardless of the fact that he barely knew his father and has visited Kenya a total of only a few weeks. The Thursday after the US election, Kenyans got a holiday to celebrate the success of one of their own.

·         So the labeling of identity has little relationship to reality, but is putting the masses of people in the world into narrow boxes. In Rwanda and Burundi, since everyone speaks the same language, has the same culture, and lives intermingled, I am not sure that there is really any “ethnic difference”, but labeling has made it so–deadly so.

·         European race theory accounts for the differences in life chances between the Hutu and Tutsi. The early European “explorers” in the region decided that the cattle-keeping Tutsi came from Ethiopia while the Hutu were Bantu agriculturalists. Why was this important? Because the Ethiopians were considered the bottom rung of the white race. Consequently if the Tutsi came from Ethiopia, they were “white” and therefore should be the rulers. This is what the German, and particularly the Belgian colonialists, implemented. In Rwanda everyone had an identity card (note the use of the word “identity”) on which the category “Hutu” or “Tutsi” was indicated. This had drastic consequences during the genocide as anyone with the label “Tutsi” on their identity card was killed.

·         Recent DNA analysis has shown that all Hutu, Tutsi, and Twa (a small, discriminated against, third group in the region) are closely related genetically. Therefore the theory of the Tutsi origins in Ethiopia is total race mythology.

·         Recently the Rwandan Government has declared that everyone in Rwanda is a Rwandan and the categories of Hutu and Tutsi can no longer be used. Nonetheless everyone concludes very quickly who is a Tutsi and who is a Hutu.

·         We live in a murky world of make-believe identities which are important only because they have such negative, even deadly, effects on people’s lives.

·         Is Barack Obama an African-American or an American? Is he “black” in the US and “white” in Kenya? Is he a Luo? Is he an African? Kenyans expect a million Americans want to come to Obama’s father’s home in Siaya District and they are developing a new tourist circuit to accommodate this. What a disconnect. Yet a million Africans may want to visit his ancestral home!

As a result, it is important to not only know how we perceive the world ourselves but to consider the perspective of others too. This can be done by communicating, moving outside our comfort zone and self-evaluation. The more we practice these, the easier they get, the less fearful we become, and the more productive we all will be.

                                                                 by Mark Good
 - Zarembka essay contributed by Lynne Piersol
 - To read the entire essay go to http://www.riehlife.com/2008/11/22/identity-report-from-kenya-by-david-zarembka/

The African Great Lakes Initiative (AGLI) of the Friends Peace Teams (a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization) strengthens, supports, and promotes peace activities at the grassroots level in the Great Lakes region of Africa (Burundi, Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda). To this end, AGLI responds to requests from local religious and non-governmental organizations that focus on conflict management, peace building, trauma healing, and reconciliation. AGLI sponsors Peace Teams composed of members from local partners and the international community

2. Speak up. Don't let racist comments or misinformation go unchallenged in your classroom. Debunk myths about the president-elect, or encourage your students to do their own research to find the truth; use each "Obama myth" as an opportunity to explore how we know what we know. Know what rights you have, as a teacher, to engage students who make racist or threatening statements. Know what rights your students have to discuss the election in their school. The classroom is the place young people learn how to conduct themselves in a democratic society: if administrators respond to anti-Obama comments by squelching all discussion of the elections, let your administrators know you do not approve.

3. Reach out to the community. No matter how they feel about the results of any given election, the vast majority of American citizens understand the importance of supporting their president. Draw on the goodwill of local churches, business leaders and community organizations to create a coalition that can denounce acts of bias and represent the tolerant and temperate side of your community. Start by talking to your school's parents and people you know. Invite anti-racist or activist groups in your area to join in. Don't forget to include the loyal opposition. Find people and organizations that didn't support the winning candidate, and give them the chance to show that people of all political persuasions oppose bias and hate speech.

4. Strive for unity. Emphasize our common interests as Americans. Lay the ground rules for constructive classroom discussion, then engage your students in a dialogue about the issues that face us today – from the environment to war to the economic crisis. Challenge students to find issues on which they agree, and solutions they can support. Find actions they can take to make those solutions a reality.

5. Dig deeper. Your students have been told this year's election was unlike any other – but do they really understand why it is so important? Explore the history of race and political power in this country. Teach about the struggle for equal voting rights, and the price that has been paid for those rights. Guide your students through a research project comparing this election – and the reaction to it – to past presidential races. Send your students into the community to collect oral histories from older friends and family members, as they explain the historic significance of the first African-American president.

From "Teaching Tolerance", December 4, 2008