ABSTRACT
Given the various issues we have addressed in this book –race, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ, violence, hate, etc. – we now ask a question. Where do we go from here? From our perspective as multicultural educators, who happen to be parents and grandparents and who interact daily with other people, we believe that it is important to engage in a critical dialogue that requires self-reflection, critical thinking, and a willingness to engage; to create safe places (in this case, the classroom) where we can come together to take a deep look at the facts of our socio-historical and cultural contexts that inform our “differences.” The way we choose to look at difference is through the lens of our shared histories, and specifically in the context of US history, cultural, and social contexts. This isn’t an easy task and we realize that. It is often painful to look at our history and to understand that Africans were enslaved and brought to the colonies, against their will; that human beings were “bought” and “sold”; that families were separated when sold into slavery. It is hard to look at the history of the genocide of the indigenous people of the Americas, the Native Americans. It is tough coming to the realization that the United States systematically deculturalized the very people native to the United States. It is hard to look at the fact that we have hate crimes in America today – because of a person’s skin color, or due to their sexual orientation. Too often, we hear from our students, family, friends, and strangers, “Why do we have to look at ‘difference’ and instead ask why we can’t look at ourselves as one common human family?” It’s the “I don’t see color,” as in “I don’t see difference,” argument. Why can’t we forget the past and look at ourselves as equal in every way? To be sure, we look forward to that time when we can move to the level – as a country, as the human race – where “we only see the human race.”
