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Welcome to Issues and Answers.
Today we're going to talk about
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breaking down barriers and
things that divide people. Our
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guest today is Richard
Valenzuela. Richard is president
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of the Leadership Diversity
Institute. He is the former
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education director for Silicon
Valley Faces, former executive
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director and president of Any
Town U.S.A. which is affiliated
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with the National Conference
of Christians and Jews. He is an
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internationally recognized
diversity specialist and he was
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involved in the civil rights
movement and was a foot soldier
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for Dr. Martin Luther King. He
consults regularly with schools,
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colleges and universities across
the U.S.A. Richard is going to
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share his life experiences in
working with over 10,000 young
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people across the nation
and adults on how to break down
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barriers. Thank you so
much, Richard, for coming to the
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program. It's good to be here.
I appreciate you making that
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trip here to 3ABN. So, we're
going to talk a little bit about
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today about breaking down the
barriers through... How did you
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come across doing this?
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Well you know ever since I was
in school basically... You know
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one of the first things that
really impressed me was when
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Sammy Davis, Jr. got married.
Some of your audience may
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remember him. He was a
very talented black dancer and
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singer and he got married. This
was in the late 1950s I believe
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was, it was 1959 or so. I
was in junior high school at the
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time. He got married to a
white woman from Europe; I don't
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remember her name. But anyway it
made national news. How dare he
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marry this white woman and
he got hate mail, I'm sure, from
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all over the country, all
over the world, most likely. But
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what really touched it off and
made it a conversation in our
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school was that he was going
to have a biracial, multiracial
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child and all of a sudden
they were slamming it. They were
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saying the child was going to
be polka dot, there's something
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wrong with that, it's going to
be a half breed child. You know,
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the idea that it wasn't right.
And they even used such idiotic
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comments such as you don't see
cows and horses mixing do you,
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or dogs and cats mixing. Well I
was raised on a farm and I knew
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that brown dogs went with white
dogs, etc., you know the color.
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There were separate species and
that's how we were being treated
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in the 1950s and 1960s, as
separate species of people.
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Really! Separate Species!
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Yeah and that really irritated
me even as a 13-year-old kid.
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So it started me on this
journey to make a difference and
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make changes. Then I got
involved with this program which
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I'll explain later, that I think
has met the need to a great
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degree. So how
about your own background
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What nationality are you?
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I'm Latino, I am Mexican-
American. Both my grandfathers
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came over from Mexico
and settled in Arizona. One
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homesteaded some land. The other
was just running away from the
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revolution I think is what the
story is told. But I've grown up
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there. I'm second generation
and just experienced a lot of
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prejudice growing up. And that's
the other thing that intrigued
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me that I ran into problems
and when Martin Luther King came
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around, Gee, well that's what
I mean by being a foot soldier.
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But I just became one of the
people that helped the movement
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and did my part and this was
one way that I found, through
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education. So how
was it growing up at that
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time for you as a person of
Mexican descent. Were you able
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to speak your language, speak
Spanish in school? How was that?
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Well that was one of the first
experiences that I had. A lot of
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our Latino kids at that time
were told not to speak Spanish
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on school grounds. If you
did you would be sent to the
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principal's office, you would
be punished. So immediately we
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began to think, hey there's
something wrong with speaking
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Spanish. There must be something
wrong with me and that second
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class citizenship began very
early. Now I'm sure the purpose
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was to get us to assimilate
and to learn English which would
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help us in the future, but the
intent is not always the same as
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the outcome, you
know, how it's interpreted.
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How do you see things today now
with some many... In the media
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you hear a lot of racial
conflicts, you hear a lot of
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socioeconomic conflicts. What do
you think about the times right
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now, which we live in?
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Well you know we've made a lot
of progress. There's no denying
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that. I'm not an extremist to
say hey we're still in the dark
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ages. But we've made progress
especially this country and I'm
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a proud American. But there is
still progress to be made as you
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can see from the news and
how quickly racial problems can
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erupt, racial issues. Yeah.
That's just part of the barriers
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I think there's also a gender
issue between men and women.
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and that's something that we
also touch upon in our program,
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the issue of religion. How
many wars and fights and what's
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happening in the Middle
East right now. There's a lot of
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religious, interfaith conflict
and that's why it was always
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a pleasure to work with
the National Conference of
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Christians and Jews that used
to deal with interfaith conflict
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in communities
across the country.
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So now things have kind of...
Some people have said that it's
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not really so important to
really deal with racial issues
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or deal with gender issues or
deal with social issues because
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everybody's kind of doing
much better now. Do you see that
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there's still a need for this?
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Oh definitely. I mean people
say well we've made tremendous
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progress because we have a
black president but that's just
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a beginning. I mean there's
still a lot more. And when I
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find from young people, and
that's who I work with, high
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school and college students,
is they still are running into
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issues, especially as children
when growing up, of racial
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problems, especially with
bi-racial youth, too. I'll get
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into that later too. It's the
idea that separation is still
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occurring. You know, there's
separation on our high school
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campuses. You can walk into any
campus, especially in the inner
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city or midway in the inner city
and you'll find the groups are
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separated. They're not talking,
they're not communicating and
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you wonder why problems
can come up so quickly, yeah.
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And even still even on
the campuses there are issues.
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In fact, it's a big issues
in high schools and campuses
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across the country.
Segregation is there. It may not
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be by law, but it's
voluntary segregation.
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So now you've been involved
in developing a program that is
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designed to address a host of
these issues. Tell us about the
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program. Now I
didn't create the program.
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It started in East L.A. in
1953, 1954 and then it came to
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Arizona in 1957. It was called
Any Town. It's taken on other
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names now across the country.
But I helped develop it and
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update it in many ways and I've
had many people work with me and
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many ideas that I've picked
up from other folk but it's a
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program that's very unique in
that it brings a diverse group
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of youth together at a camp site
preferably because you need some
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degree of isolation in order for
the students to think about who
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they are and where they're going
and what's happened to them.
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You also have to create an
environment of safety where they
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feel safe to speak, that they're
not going to get jumped on,
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they're not going to get hit,
they're not going to be shut
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down for what they believe in,
either by faith or by race or
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by whatever issue. They need
to express that to get it out in
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the open. Because I think what's
happening today a lot is we're
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saying well let's not talk
about it. You know, that's past,
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that's old. A lot of parents are
not even bringing up the issue
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so it needs to be talked about.
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So like can you kind of take
us as best you can for those who
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are watching from home
who couldn't maybe go to camp.
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It would be great if they could.
But what's it like, what's it
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like to go through the camp.
What are some of the experiences
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that people go through?
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There are two models. One is a
summer model. It's a week long.
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You get to cover so many more
issues. But the basic model that
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I'm promoting now is during the
school year where you can take
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the kids out of the classroom
and that's why it's called
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out-of-classroom education. You
take them out of the classroom
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and take them to an isolated
area or a retreat center and you
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work with them for what I'm
saying three nights and four
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days. And you go through
all these segments, all these
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exercises based on experiential
experience and emotional
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intelligence. What do I mean by
experiential? You put the kids
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through the activity where they
get to feel it and they get to
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see each other and learn from
each other. The whole idea of
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emotional intelligence, I really
believe in that that we need to
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develop our emotional
intelligence so we can cope
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and so we can communicate and
be better citizens. So that's
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two of the main parts of this
program is those two things.
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Empathy building. You know we're
hearing more about empathy now.
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The idea that we're not just
looking for sympathy. I'm sorry
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what happened to you in history
or what happened to your people.
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We're looking at what the Native
Americans once said, you don't
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know anyone till you walk a mile
in their moccasins. To walk in
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somebody else's shoes, to be
able to live their life for a
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short moment. That's where we
make progress. Sympathy didn't
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do it. Apathy sure didn't do it
because, you know, we don't care
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what happened to you. But when
you begin to feel as or with
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someone, when you start seeing
your friends as your brothers
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and sisters, walking in their
shoes, then progress begins.
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And that's what the whole
concept of the whole workshop
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is based on. So give
us an example. So how
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does it start? What's the first
issue that you deal with when
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a person comes up to the camp.
They come with young people and
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they come with some of the
counselors and some of the other
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people so there's a safe
environment. What's the first
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activity that people go through?
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Well I think one of the things
we have to do is begin breaking
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those barriers right from the
start by just getting acquainted
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by creating what I say not
only a safe environment but a
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trusting environment and create
what we call a community. That's
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where the name Any Town
came from, create a community.
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How do we do that? I'll just
mention a few activities that
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we begin right at the beginning.
We do what we call two ups. Two
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ups are response to there's
no putdowns allowed during the
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retreat. And we're going to
do it; we're going to slip up
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either because we're used to
doing it. It's kind of a funny
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or harassment but it can
get real too. But anyway, no put
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downs. But if you do, you got to
give that person two ups which
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means you got to say two
positive things to that person
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and it can't be something
physical, like you have pretty
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eyes or you dress well. It's got
to be about their personality or
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their character and it's amazing
how the students start calling
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each other on that. The teachers
start calling each other on that
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and they take it back to the
school sometimes, you owe me two
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ups. Yeah. And then there's
the concept of rainbows where
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whenever we get together as
an activity we yell out rainbow.
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That means you got mix it up.
You can't be with the same race,
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you can't be with the same
gender necessarily either and
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definitely not your best friends
You know best friends are always
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gathering together. That's the
toughest thing to break in any
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workshop that you do. But with
rainbow everybody's got to mix
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it or else, you know. Then one
other thing that we do is, well
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I'll come back to that later.
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Right, right. So this is a type
of mixer where everybody gets
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in there. You plan it where
people are diverse, it's not
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just one group of people and if
they mix up the rainbow it means
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they have to get up and talk
with somebody that they don't
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know. Okay so then what happens?
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The other thing we do is a
concept of hugs. You know it's
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really fascinating. In fact,
I read something this morning
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about the power of touch. And
I think to some degree we may be
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losing that in society, but also
to show these students the value
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of it. Now we respect cultures
that don't touch or hug much or
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families that don't hug too much
but we make it an option. We say
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it's okay to hug here. But
we may also put some humor into
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it. We tell them, okay,
there are some hugs that are not
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allowed. I don't know if you
recall those but the hugs are
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you know, you can't have a
bear hug or pick someone up, you
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might drop them. You can't
have an A-frame hug where you're
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barely touching, very impersonal
hug. And, of course, the sexual
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hug is not allowed at camp at
all. In fact, we're one of the
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longest running male/female
camps in the country because
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we set up some restrictions on
that. So it's not there to pick
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up somebody, you know. We want
to deal with seeing people as
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people and it's okay to hug.
And I even make the point that
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there's an experiment that was
done years ago, 45-50 years ago,
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where they had these infants
in an orphanage and in this
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orphanage they split up the
infants, 10 kids in one room,
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10 babies in the other room and
this experiment didn't last very
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long because they hugged the 10
kids in one room and they picked
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them up and held them a lot.
The kids in the other room they
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just ignored. They only picked
them up when they had to feed
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them and that was it. So guess
what happened? Within a few
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hours they found, this is an
true experiment, I think it's
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been done more than once.
The kids that were picked up and
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cuddled and all they were
smiling, they were eating.
00:13:57.23\00:14:03.61
The kids that were not they
began to give up, stop smiling,
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stop eating and they turned
their faces to the wall and just
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started to give up.
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And that's exactly what we don't
want young people and people to
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do, to give up and that's why
people give up. You're saying
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the power of touch because
they're not being held, they're
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not being, you know, having that
human interaction. It's just
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that crucial, it's
just that important.
00:14:31.90\00:14:33.54
So for some kids that have never
been hugged as little kids it's
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amazing to see them.
00:14:37.31\00:14:38.64
Do you have that where kids come
to camp and say they have never
00:14:38.67\00:14:41.08
been hugged? The
other norm that we have in
00:14:41.11\00:14:44.01
many families in our society
is you stop hugging little boys
00:14:44.05\00:14:47.48
after they're four or five years
old because of the fear of what
00:14:47.52\00:14:50.85
they might become.
00:14:50.89\00:14:52.22
Or you may make them too
soft, or you many make them
00:14:52.25\00:14:56.39
whatever. I think that concept
that it's not a manly thing to
00:14:56.46\00:15:01.20
do is what's hurting
relationships in our society.
00:15:01.23\00:15:04.17
Wow. So they get kind of like
the icebreaker, they learn about
00:15:04.20\00:15:11.04
the rainbow and
hugging. What's next?
00:15:11.07\00:15:12.74
The first night, we have to
start quickly, and this is a
00:15:12.77\00:15:17.35
very condensed program, is
that we start with the idea of
00:15:17.45\00:15:21.42
understanding prejudice
and discrimination. What is it?
00:15:21.45\00:15:25.02
What makes it. What are
the stereotypes out there that
00:15:25.05\00:15:28.62
constantly hearing?
What do you say to that?
00:15:28.66\00:15:30.76
What we do is we split the kids
up by the different ethnic or
00:15:30.83\00:15:34.56
racial groups and we send one
group out of the building for a
00:15:34.60\00:15:37.63
few minutes and then we have the
rest of the group come up with
00:15:37.67\00:15:41.20
all the stereotypes or slurs
they've heard about that group.
00:15:41.24\00:15:44.44
And it's amazing the list that
they come up with. Well now the
00:15:44.51\00:15:47.68
group comes back in.
This is done in confidence.
00:15:47.71\00:15:49.78
You're saying one of the groups
goes out, maybe it's the Latino
00:15:49.84\00:15:53.48
kids or maybe it's the Native
American kids, African American
00:15:53.52\00:15:58.19
kids or European descent kids,
or Asian kids and the rest of
00:15:58.22\00:16:02.72
the whole group they're all
talking about the slurs that
00:16:02.76\00:16:06.29
they've heard growing up or
experienced about that group
00:16:06.33\00:16:09.80
that's out. The
stereotypes and the slurs.
00:16:09.83\00:16:12.00
So we get a full list of all
these. And I make sure this is
00:16:12.07\00:16:16.54
not a superficial program. This
is a real program in order to
00:16:16.57\00:16:20.38
the feelings out. So we get them
up there and each group comes
00:16:20.41\00:16:23.68
back in and reflect on with ones
affect them or hurt them the
00:16:23.75\00:16:26.72
most or would affect or hurt
their family the most if they
00:16:26.75\00:16:29.75
were there to hear them or
see them. By the time that we're
00:16:29.78\00:16:32.62
through that evening you've got
about seven or eight lists of
00:16:32.65\00:16:36.19
different groups and all of
a sudden the empathy building
00:16:36.22\00:16:40.93
begins. The students realize
why they're there. I think they
00:16:40.96\00:16:44.73
really have to know that.
You see this is also called the
00:16:44.77\00:16:48.24
leadership program and I
don't call it that just to be
00:16:48.27\00:16:51.71
marketing or be superficial
about that. I really feel and I
00:16:51.74\00:16:54.98
make reference to all the
students as leaders or potential
00:16:55.01\00:16:58.15
leaders. I really believe every
kid, every young person, has the
00:16:58.21\00:17:01.68
potential to be a leader,
not only to guide themselves as
00:17:01.72\00:17:04.85
leadership but to guide others.
So we try to emphasize that
00:17:04.89\00:17:08.02
throughout the program
that they're there for a reason.
00:17:08.09\00:17:11.13
They're there to influence
their friends or their circle of
00:17:11.16\00:17:14.20
influences as we call it.
00:17:14.23\00:17:15.70
So after your deal with the
racial slurs and you say it's
00:17:15.73\00:17:23.51
like a big poster that's on the
wall that everyone can see and
00:17:23.54\00:17:26.78
then they kind of process.
What happens, what's the next
00:17:26.81\00:17:28.88
exercise that
you do with the kids?
00:17:28.91\00:17:30.78
Well, yeah, the processing goes
on and I think that's a real
00:17:30.85\00:17:34.02
important part. You just don't
do an exercise and walk away.
00:17:34.05\00:17:37.19
You've got to process what
can you gain from that activity,
00:17:37.22\00:17:40.16
what can you learn. And it's
amazing how the kids express
00:17:40.19\00:17:43.06
themselves. Now I know how it
feels. Now I know that it's not
00:17:43.09\00:17:45.99
over because there are even
new stereotypes and new slurs
00:17:46.03\00:17:48.83
coming out all the time. So the
kids all of a sudden see this.
00:17:48.90\00:17:52.00
The other thing I think one
of the learnings that they get
00:17:52.03\00:17:55.44
from the program is they're not
the only one. Because a lot of
00:17:55.47\00:17:58.87
them think oh this is just
happening to my group or my
00:17:58.91\00:18:00.81
people. We've had it the worst.
Then they see all these lists
00:18:00.84\00:18:03.78
and all these emotions coming
from these students saying this
00:18:03.81\00:18:07.05
is what hurts me and there are
some ugly things that come up
00:18:07.08\00:18:11.15
there. If we have time we'll
go over those. But the next
00:18:11.19\00:18:15.22
activity, the next afternoon,
we do have discussion groups or
00:18:15.26\00:18:19.79
sharing groups as we call them.
Those are guided also but it's
00:18:19.83\00:18:23.57
mainly just expressing what they
felt and what they learned from
00:18:23.60\00:18:27.84
the previous activity. We give
them guidelines such as agree
00:18:27.87\00:18:32.27
to disagree. Sometimes that
has to happen. I statements, you
00:18:32.31\00:18:36.18
speak for yourself not for all
your group like all blacks or
00:18:36.21\00:18:39.91
all Latinos think this. No, you
speak for yourself. Those are
00:18:39.95\00:18:43.49
important guidelines. Then the
confidentiality of keeping it
00:18:43.52\00:18:46.96
within the group. But
anyway, then we move on to the
00:18:46.99\00:18:50.23
following afternoon. We
deal with privilege. And I know
00:18:50.26\00:18:53.09
there's a lot of talk today
about white privilege in our
00:18:53.13\00:18:56.13
society. But there are other
privileges too that we need to
00:18:56.20\00:18:59.93
discuss, not only just white
privilege. Then there's also
00:19:00.07\00:19:03.77
light skin privilege, not
just white. I mean even...
00:19:03.84\00:19:06.14
Yeah BMT just did a... there's
a program someone just did and
00:19:06.17\00:19:09.98
you're hearing a lot of
different programs of people
00:19:10.01\00:19:11.55
dealing with the light and
the dark. But tell us about this
00:19:11.58\00:19:14.55
privilege. What is it?
What do you mean by privilege?
00:19:14.58\00:19:17.32
Well the whole idea of
privilege or advantage that
00:19:17.35\00:19:19.99
we are born without our say so,
without our individual choice.
00:19:20.02\00:19:26.49
We are given color, we're given
sexual identity, or even the
00:19:26.53\00:19:32.93
family we're born into, we
didn't have a choice, and I
00:19:32.97\00:19:35.47
mention that to the students
before we do the exercise. I say
00:19:35.50\00:19:38.24
you are born into the world and
here's what happens to you and
00:19:38.27\00:19:41.34
you don't have a choice. But
here's what happens to you as
00:19:41.38\00:19:44.48
you grow up. So we do
this exercise where people step
00:19:44.51\00:19:47.52
forward or step back depending
on if the question refers to a
00:19:47.62\00:19:52.95
certain privilege.
Like what are some of the
00:19:52.99\00:19:54.62
questions that you ask?
00:19:54.66\00:19:55.99
Well one of the questions is
number one is if you've ever had
00:19:56.02\00:20:01.43
a job, or did you get a job
because of someone you knew of
00:20:01.46\00:20:06.90
someone in your family knew?
00:20:06.94\00:20:08.27
Then they would step forward?
00:20:08.30\00:20:09.64
Yes they would step forward
if they had that advantage or
00:20:09.67\00:20:11.77
privilege of knowing
someone. So then we get into the
00:20:11.81\00:20:14.34
discussion of network and
friendship making out of that,
00:20:14.38\00:20:17.61
because that's what often
happens is that we have that
00:20:17.65\00:20:20.88
privilege of who somebody knows.
Economics: I wish my father
00:20:20.92\00:20:24.92
would have been born rich.
I would have had so many more
00:20:24.95\00:20:28.96
privileges. I would have been
able to travel. Gender: There's
00:20:28.99\00:20:32.83
still an advantage in this
society, especially in the world
00:20:32.86\00:20:37.00
to being a man versus a woman.
There's advantage and privilege
00:20:37.03\00:20:40.67
to that. There's the education,
one that's hardly ever mentioned
00:20:40.70\00:20:44.04
but this is how we emphasize
to the students, hey you need to
00:20:44.07\00:20:47.41
get educated because
historically if any group wanted
00:20:47.44\00:20:52.01
to advance, education was
the way to do that for the most
00:20:52.05\00:20:55.32
part. And you could see
when they took away education
00:20:55.35\00:20:58.55
why they did it. During slavery.
There were I think 13 states
00:20:58.59\00:21:02.02
that had laws against educating
the slave. Why? Because they
00:21:02.06\00:21:05.66
didn't want them to question.
During the middle ages the
00:21:05.69\00:21:09.20
British had the Irish as serfs
and it was against the rules to
00:21:09.23\00:21:13.84
educate the Irish.
And there were not books
00:21:13.90\00:21:15.34
that were available to the
common folk. The Bible was the
00:21:15.40\00:21:19.64
first book printed at the end of
the middle ages, the dark ages.
00:21:19.67\00:21:25.31
It was the desire to see
something, to be able to read
00:21:25.35\00:21:29.42
and to be able to get that word
out. So you're right. It is a
00:21:29.48\00:21:34.22
powerful tool,
education. It definitely is.
00:21:34.26\00:21:36.83
And then we talk about sexual
orientation, being heterosexual
00:21:36.89\00:21:41.46
versus homosexual. The there's
all these privileges that
00:21:41.50\00:21:46.27
society provides for people and
some get them and some don't.
00:21:46.33\00:21:51.14
And we're still either reaping
the benefits from those past
00:21:51.17\00:21:55.94
laws, even though we don't
have the laws. We're either
00:21:55.98\00:21:59.58
benefitting or we're being the
victims of some of that past.
00:21:59.61\00:22:04.49
So you're saying if you're
dealing specifically with the
00:22:04.52\00:22:08.69
child or if you're dealing with
the student, being raised in
00:22:08.72\00:22:12.46
that kind of a family. They had
nothing to do with it. They were
00:22:12.53\00:22:17.23
just in a particular family
set of circumstances; two-parent
00:22:17.27\00:22:22.44
household, maybe we're a family
that had inherited money or
00:22:22.47\00:22:27.58
inherited privileges
or businesses. What about
00:22:27.61\00:22:30.71
immigrants?
Immigrants the same way. I often
00:22:30.75\00:22:33.72
ask the students if your parents
were here, your grandparents,
00:22:33.78\00:22:36.65
where would they be? And if
they have immigrant parents or
00:22:36.75\00:22:39.29
grandparents, they would be
behind them. Then I also talk
00:22:39.32\00:22:41.89
about the kids
that aren't there.
00:22:41.92\00:22:43.26
You say they would be
behind them. What do you mean?
00:22:43.29\00:22:44.86
You know, we put them in a big
open area, either a parking lot
00:22:44.89\00:22:49.16
or a field of some sort and
they step forward and step back
00:22:49.20\00:22:53.47
depending on if it's a negative.
00:22:53.50\00:22:55.90
Some of the questions?
00:22:55.94\00:22:57.27
Well again... Oh there's also
the social, what I call social
00:22:57.34\00:23:03.45
support, family support.
Did you grow up with 50 books in
00:23:03.55\00:23:08.32
your house. That one has to
deal more with education. But
00:23:08.35\00:23:12.99
did your parents take you to
plays or fairs. And some kids
00:23:13.02\00:23:17.63
have never been to
a play or an art fair.
00:23:17.66\00:23:21.73
So how is it when these kids
are all lined up, and the adults
00:23:21.76\00:23:25.57
too, right, adult counselors
come, so in that group everybody
00:23:25.63\00:23:29.20
is involved with this. What
does it look like? Are they all
00:23:29.24\00:23:32.77
pretty much
together as a group...
00:23:32.81\00:23:35.34
Well if I have a good mix of
white and black and Latino and
00:23:35.38\00:23:39.01
others there's usually a few
more whites in the front. It's
00:23:39.05\00:23:41.98
usually a mix in the middle and
in the back is mainly minority
00:23:42.02\00:23:44.92
members, both staff and
delegates. But one of the things
00:23:44.95\00:23:48.56
I stress so they don't feel bad
about where they are placed is
00:23:48.62\00:23:51.59
this is not where they're at
now this is where they came from
00:23:51.63\00:23:54.96
especially the adults that now
have degrees and are educators
00:23:55.00\00:23:58.33
or administrators there. But
sometimes the minority, they're
00:23:58.37\00:24:01.74
in the back because the
questions are asked in that
00:24:01.77\00:24:04.67
manner. But I also say that
you're the survivors for the
00:24:04.74\00:24:08.71
students because now there's a
lot of kids here that should be
00:24:08.74\00:24:11.58
here but are not because they
either dropped out, turned to
00:24:11.61\00:24:14.95
drugs, turned to alcohol and
they fell off the edge and you
00:24:15.02\00:24:18.59
don't see them anymore. So I
have them do a couple things.
00:24:18.62\00:24:22.09
I have them look straight ahead
first and say if you never look
00:24:22.16\00:24:25.26
back you don't know what's
happening. With them each comes
00:24:25.29\00:24:28.56
responsibility, one of the major
points that I make. You have
00:24:28.60\00:24:32.17
privilege because you're
here at this workshop and you've
00:24:32.20\00:24:35.70
survived some of the things that
have happened to you and your
00:24:35.74\00:24:38.77
family. So now you've got to
help someone else. So there's a
00:24:38.81\00:24:41.84
lot of lessons in the discussion
of privilege. It's not just you
00:24:41.88\00:24:45.45
have privilege and I don't or
it's a white man's world, this
00:24:45.51\00:24:49.05
type of thing. So
how do you deal with the
00:24:49.08\00:24:53.76
violence or the things that kind
of cause people to act violently
00:24:53.82\00:24:57.89
the young people, the gangs and
all that kind of thing? What do
00:24:57.93\00:25:02.36
to really, how do you see this
program can actually to break
00:25:02.40\00:25:06.77
down the barriers.
Well one of the things I've
00:25:06.84\00:25:09.40
always like to have is kids
that are kind of on the edge of
00:25:09.47\00:25:13.21
either going to gang activity
or not and this can make a big
00:25:13.24\00:25:16.41
difference on many of these
kids. And I've had some gang
00:25:16.44\00:25:19.01
members that have turned
themselves around because all of
00:25:19.08\00:25:21.68
sudden they see something to
be proud of. Because one of the
00:25:21.72\00:25:24.39
other programs we have there
is what we call cultural pride
00:25:24.42\00:25:26.86
night where every group
makes a presentation about their
00:25:26.89\00:25:29.42
culture, their contributions
to America and the world,
00:25:29.46\00:25:32.63
immigration pattern, major
customs and traditions that
00:25:32.66\00:25:35.76
they're most proud of and also
the stereotypes that they wish
00:25:35.80\00:25:38.53
to eliminate. And it's amazing
how creative young people can
00:25:38.57\00:25:41.30
get when you give them those
four options of coming up with
00:25:41.34\00:25:44.27
a presentation. But what
I've noticed is these kids walk
00:25:44.31\00:25:47.24
out 10 feet higher because
they're proud of who they are.
00:25:47.28\00:25:50.91
So many kids are put down.
It's amazing. One of the groups
00:25:50.95\00:25:54.48
that's very unique is
the biracial/multiracial kids
00:25:54.52\00:25:56.79
because that's an increasing
number, thank goodness.
00:25:56.85\00:25:59.02
Yeah in fact America will
be by 2050 they say the average
00:25:59.09\00:26:02.79
American is like almost the
racial groups that we see in
00:26:02.82\00:26:06.43
the United States are not even
going to be close to being the
00:26:06.46\00:26:09.46
same. It's such a melting pot
so this is really important work
00:26:09.50\00:26:12.50
that you're doing.
Yeah this is, I believe, our
00:26:12.53\00:26:15.70
final taboo or biggest
barrier is to overcome that
00:26:15.74\00:26:18.84
intermarriage thing or
inter-date thing. Kids are still
00:26:18.91\00:26:21.91
being told marry your own kind
instead of looking for common
00:26:21.94\00:26:26.01
interests. So, but we have a
gender night too where we talk
00:26:26.05\00:26:29.98
about gender power. How can
we empower men and women to get
00:26:30.02\00:26:33.09
along better. We come up with
stereotypes and messages that
00:26:33.12\00:26:36.83
they've heard. Many of the
messages that we get in our
society are negative
00:26:36.86\00:26:40.80
messages and some people apply
them. Like no means yes, having
00:26:40.83\00:26:44.63
to deal with sexual encounter.
That's sweeping across the
00:26:44.67\00:26:47.74
country right now at
major colleges and universities
00:26:47.77\00:26:49.84
because they're being told you
better start looking into these
00:26:49.87\00:26:53.94
cases more. But that's a common
thinking. There are a lot of
00:26:53.98\00:26:57.35
messages that we don't always
recognize. But we recognize them
00:26:57.41\00:27:00.55
up at camp so they can see them
and do something about them.
00:27:00.58\00:27:03.72
The act of violence between men
and women. The couple messages
00:27:03.75\00:27:08.56
that always go up are never hit
a woman, which most boys agree
00:27:08.59\00:27:12.96
and most students agree that's
good but there are always a few
00:27:12.99\00:27:16.77
that vote for never hit a woman
unless she hits you first. So I
00:27:16.80\00:27:20.54
get up there and explain okay
how hard are you going to hit
00:27:20.57\00:27:24.31
her, when are you going to
stop and what happens because of
00:27:24.34\00:27:27.91
this. Is this a violent message
and of course it is. It has the
00:27:27.94\00:27:31.48
effect on our society.
00:27:31.51\00:27:32.85
Richard, I thank you so much for
coming. There are so many great
00:27:32.88\00:27:35.92
issues that have been covered
through here and things to break
00:27:35.95\00:27:39.75
down barriers. I want to also
thank our audience at home for
00:27:39.79\00:27:43.22
joining us on today's program.
If you're interested in learning
00:27:43.26\00:27:46.70
more about the camps go
ahead and contact Dare to Dream
00:27:46.73\00:27:49.66
Network. We'll have Richard's
information available. He is
00:27:49.70\00:27:52.87
available to come and conduct
camps across the country as
00:27:52.90\00:27:57.01
well as there may be a camp near
you. You know Christ came to
00:27:57.07\00:28:01.04
tear down the divides between
people, to break down those
00:28:01.08\00:28:04.61
barriers and he has a lot of
different ways that he's doing
00:28:04.65\00:28:07.38
that. Let us decide ourselves
that we're going to be that
00:28:07.45\00:28:10.12
committee of one, we're going to
be that person that's going to
00:28:10.15\00:28:13.29
go and make the difference
and break down the barriers and
00:28:13.32\00:28:15.99
bring people together.
Thank you for joining us.
00:28:16.02\00:28:18.43