Yolanda King, Inclusion in Nigeria, Lesbian and Gay People in the Military and the "N" Word!
Dear Friends and Colleagues –
Yolanda King
A lot has been happening and there has been much in the news this week that matters. The feedback we’ve received about the first episode of season 2 with our guest Yolanda King (see February 27, 2007 blog entry) has been overwhelming. So many people have emailed us saying how much they appreciated the opportunity to personally connect with Ms. King. One listener wrote, “That was a brilliant show. Yolanda was very personable, and you really connected with her, with your questions and the style of interacting with her. I like the laughter... I particularly liked it when she talked about what is in her book, and the stuff she did (with her life coach) to overcome her demon's, live her full life, or recognize her inherent worth. It was touching and really helped me connect not only with her 'diversity' content, but with her as an individual.”
We encourage others to share their reactions and offer comments here on the blog. If you did not get a chance to listen to the show with Yolanda King live, please go to the Diversity Matters archive and click on episode one of season two (you can download it to your computer or mp3 player, or listen to it directly from the link).
We do apologize for the technical glitchs that caused about 45 seconds of “dead” time before the show started. The studio also messed up by playing our three different commercials back to back during each break rather than having one commercial per break. We plan on having that fixed for next week.
Diversity Matters explores Inclusion in Nigeria
Speaking of next week – we’re working on a very exciting show which I’ll tell you more about in my next blog entry. But here’s the teaser. Given our intention of drawing connections between diversity and inclusion in the world of work and the world at large, next week’s episode (March 9, 2007) will focus on efforts to bring Abundance, Prosperity and Peace to Nigeria. Our guests include Akeem Bello, who is the New Democrats’ (ND) candidate for Vice President on the Odidi-Bello campaign ticket. Mr. Bello strives to unify Nigeria as a tool for promoting inclusion throughout the region, nation, continent and the world.
Also joining us will be Thelma Horton whose humanitarian efforts as Project Manager with Stop Hunger Now is mobilizing efforts to bring 100,000 meals to impoverished school children in Kanu Nigeria. By feeding the children during school, Stop Hunger Now creates an incentive for parents to send both boys and girls to school by guaranteeing them a hot, nourishing meal each day. In this way, both the inequity of hunger and education are addressed. Stay tuned for more information about this show. In the mean time, share your questions or comments here on the blog or send them to us at richardandjudy@diversitymatters.info
Lesbian and Gay People in the Military
Sgt. Eric Alva, the first U.S. soldier to be injured in the Iraq war testified in favor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act a bill to enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces by replacing the current policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”, with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Sgt. Alva a proud gay marine was severely wounded March 21, 2003 when he stepped on a land mine in southern Iraq. Surgeons eventually amputated the marathon runner's right leg at the knee.
The "N" Word
New York City Council passed a resolution that would symbolically ban the “N-word.” The resolution encourages New Yorkers not to use the word and to become educated about its racist history. While I personally do not favour censorship, I believe hate speech is a weapon that cannot be ignored if we truly believe in inclusion. In fact, a group of individuals who describe themselves “as individuals who just got tired and fed up with the passive acceptance, code of silence, nonchalance, and the there’s-nothing-we-can-do-about-it attitude from way too many educators, professionals, entertainers, and just your average citizen about the constant use of the N-word. Has the overwhelming use of this word really empowered anyone or taken the power out of its oppressive origins for such complacency?” have formed an organization called Ban the N Word. Tell us what you think about efforts to legislate this sort of speech. Is it promoting inclusion or censorship?
Thanks again for all the continued support. Please send email, participate in the blog and listen to the show, because Diversity DOES Matter.
Stay tuned,
Richard Friend, Ph.D.
Co-Host
Yolanda King
A lot has been happening and there has been much in the news this week that matters. The feedback we’ve received about the first episode of season 2 with our guest Yolanda King (see February 27, 2007 blog entry) has been overwhelming. So many people have emailed us saying how much they appreciated the opportunity to personally connect with Ms. King. One listener wrote, “That was a brilliant show. Yolanda was very personable, and you really connected with her, with your questions and the style of interacting with her. I like the laughter... I particularly liked it when she talked about what is in her book, and the stuff she did (with her life coach) to overcome her demon's, live her full life, or recognize her inherent worth. It was touching and really helped me connect not only with her 'diversity' content, but with her as an individual.”
We encourage others to share their reactions and offer comments here on the blog. If you did not get a chance to listen to the show with Yolanda King live, please go to the Diversity Matters archive and click on episode one of season two (you can download it to your computer or mp3 player, or listen to it directly from the link).
We do apologize for the technical glitchs that caused about 45 seconds of “dead” time before the show started. The studio also messed up by playing our three different commercials back to back during each break rather than having one commercial per break. We plan on having that fixed for next week.
Diversity Matters explores Inclusion in Nigeria
Speaking of next week – we’re working on a very exciting show which I’ll tell you more about in my next blog entry. But here’s the teaser. Given our intention of drawing connections between diversity and inclusion in the world of work and the world at large, next week’s episode (March 9, 2007) will focus on efforts to bring Abundance, Prosperity and Peace to Nigeria. Our guests include Akeem Bello, who is the New Democrats’ (ND) candidate for Vice President on the Odidi-Bello campaign ticket. Mr. Bello strives to unify Nigeria as a tool for promoting inclusion throughout the region, nation, continent and the world.
Also joining us will be Thelma Horton whose humanitarian efforts as Project Manager with Stop Hunger Now is mobilizing efforts to bring 100,000 meals to impoverished school children in Kanu Nigeria. By feeding the children during school, Stop Hunger Now creates an incentive for parents to send both boys and girls to school by guaranteeing them a hot, nourishing meal each day. In this way, both the inequity of hunger and education are addressed. Stay tuned for more information about this show. In the mean time, share your questions or comments here on the blog or send them to us at richardandjudy@diversitymatters.info
Lesbian and Gay People in the Military
Sgt. Eric Alva, the first U.S. soldier to be injured in the Iraq war testified in favor of the Military Readiness Enhancement Act a bill to enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces by replacing the current policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as “Don't Ask, Don't Tell”, with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Sgt. Alva a proud gay marine was severely wounded March 21, 2003 when he stepped on a land mine in southern Iraq. Surgeons eventually amputated the marathon runner's right leg at the knee.
The "N" Word
New York City Council passed a resolution that would symbolically ban the “N-word.” The resolution encourages New Yorkers not to use the word and to become educated about its racist history. While I personally do not favour censorship, I believe hate speech is a weapon that cannot be ignored if we truly believe in inclusion. In fact, a group of individuals who describe themselves “as individuals who just got tired and fed up with the passive acceptance, code of silence, nonchalance, and the there’s-nothing-we-can-do-about-it attitude from way too many educators, professionals, entertainers, and just your average citizen about the constant use of the N-word. Has the overwhelming use of this word really empowered anyone or taken the power out of its oppressive origins for such complacency?” have formed an organization called Ban the N Word. Tell us what you think about efforts to legislate this sort of speech. Is it promoting inclusion or censorship?
Thanks again for all the continued support. Please send email, participate in the blog and listen to the show, because Diversity DOES Matter.
Stay tuned,
Richard Friend, Ph.D.
Co-Host
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home