A visiting Latino playwright from San Francisco asked me a fairly innocuous question, “Where’s your Latino Theatre Group?” I stumbled on my answer. “Uh, you mean in Long Beach?” Simple enough question. And I couldn’t come up with anything better then “There is none.” The conversation then turned to what else we got. I listed…
“At a time when many journalists are risking their lives to cover the coronavirus, media companies are slashing jobs and salaries. Over the past week, hundreds of journalists at Vice, Quartz, The Economist, BuzzFeed, and Condé Nast have been laid off. In April, The New York Times estimated 36,000 employees of news media companies had…
“Laura Poskin wants to make our world a better place to grow old. As the director of Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh, she brings people together to build more inclusive, respectful neighborhoods for all ages. Laura is a gerontologist who started her career as a journalist in New York City, writing for national publications such as People…
“What if our current understanding of Diversity and Inclusion is fundamentally flawed? In this revolutionary talk, Fred Falker introduces the Distance Paradigm – a new way of thinking about Diversity and Inclusion, differences, and a powerful and practical new approach to connecting with others. Fred challenges us to see that there is nothing dividing us,…
“The rise in immigration around the world has become a worldwide topic of discussion as the number of international migrants has reached millions worldwide. Kourosh speaks regarding the relationship between immigration and culture and the hardships of his Father while moving from Iran to Canada in search of a better life. Kourosh is a seasoned…
Melissa Morgan is an old friend of ours (Antonio Ruiz and Sumire Gant). We all worked together back in the mid-2000s on a project called ArtPeace. The project’s goal was to use art as a tool for young people to create and talk about Peace in their communities. Melissa currently works as a marketing manager…
“The congressional freshman class taking office in January is the largest in decades and the most diverse in history. As the start of the new term approaches, Judy Woodruff sits down with four incoming members of the House of Representatives: Denver Riggleman, R-Va., Lauren Underwood, D-Ill., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. and Mark Green, R-Tenn.–three of whom…
Stephanie Rivera, Diversity and Immigration Reporter at the Long Beach Post, became a journalist because she saw it as a middle ground between social justice activist and politician. “When I was growing up, social justice has always been part of my life. From my siblings, from my mom mostly. Just showing us how to stand-up…
“Mr. Lamont Sellers discusses ways to make changes supporting diversity on University campuses. Mr. Lamont Sellers serves as the current Associate Vice President for Diversity and Senior Diversity Officer for the University of South Dakota. Sellers was most recently the inaugural director of the Center for Diversity & Community at USD. He holds a BA…
“The US is getting more diverse. As more Americans realize this new future, it is changing how cultural and political divides take shape. We live in an America where television programs, commercials, and movies are trying to represent a browner country; where Despacito, a Spanish-language song, tops the Billboard charts and where NFL players kneel…