Diversity can sometimes be divisive

I received an interesting email this week from someone who argued that diversity is more divisive than it is uniting.

The individual wrote the following: “This idea that we must embrace our backgrounds, heritages, nationalities, races, colors of skin, languages is doing more harm to America as a whole than anything! We are a great melting pot, but we must MELT TOGETHER! Not divide apart.”

I understand what he is getting at. In a certain sense, identifying ourselves primarily by what diversity group or ethnicity we come from, does single us out from the mainstream. However, it is just an identifier—a name—that doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with a diverse individual’s feelings on being American, or the notion of becoming one in the great American melting pot.

And in a sense I do agree with this individual. By identifying ourselves as “hyphenated Americans” (i.e. African-American, Hispanic-American, Gay-American) the first line of identification we put forth to people is our diversity, which can be mistaken by many as being divisive. Truth be told, we are all American, and the diversity identifiers are a part of our identification as whole Americans.

Personally, I’m not too fond of the hyphenated American that came about as a result of the politically correct movement of the late 90s. I’m perfectly fine with saying that I’m Latino and referring to my Black friends as Black, my White friends as White, etc.

The differences that we all have, both diversity individuals and those of mainstream white America really are what give us our strength as a people. Diversity is strength, in that united towards a common goal, whether in the workplace or on a national level, our differences are what give us the creativity and innovation to be the best that we can be.

Each diversity group has its own his history and carries with it the struggles and triumphs that come along with it (be they religious, ethnic, gender, or otherwise). And melted together (or baked, cooked, whatever) they form a delicious flavorful strong center and base. Where (and why) mainstream white individuals find offense in the perceived disassociation that identifying oneself as a diversity individual brings is in the fact that if white people celebrate their heritage many diversity groups assume that to be racist.

Yet each year there are various events throughout the country that celebrate Puerto Ricans, Native Americans, Mexicans, etc. Some high schools even have all Black proms. But what happens if there is a White pride parade, or an all white prom? It’s immediately marked as racist and non-inclusive. But it sounds racist and separatist when you say it, right?

All things considered, maybe the individual who emailed me does have a point. Maybe Hispanic-American does sound a bit non inclusive and racist to him. I mean, it certainly does identify a specific group, of which certain individuals, by virtue of their birth alone, may or may not be a part. I can see why he would feel that the hyphenated American is a divisive identifier.

The truth is that you can be both a proud American and a proud Black, Hispanic, Asian, gay, female, and even White male individual. It’s all in the delivery— if you indicate that you are proud of your heritage and the valuable lessons you have learned from it, that’s great, but once you start in with the notion that a particular background, culture, gender, ethnicity, etc. is above or better than another, then it is just racism disguised as a cultural celebration.

Diversity in the workplace and in everyday life can sometimes be perceived as divisive. All of us, both mainstream and diversity groups must do our parts to create a nation that includes everyone, including those of the mainstream.