Diversity and Culture

I asked three of my friends and family members to tell me their definition of Culture and DIVERSITY.

Their definition of culture

May (Black female, family member, 30, housewife and student) --Where you live, your lifestyle and families’ way of life.

Ford (Black male, childhood friend, 32, unemployed, single, college educated) Culture is inherited behavior based on a person’s upbringing and current surroundings. Their heritage, background, and lifestyle choices make up their culture. For example there is Black culture and within Black culture there is Hip Hop Culture. 

Samson (Mixed male, Best Friend, 35, teacher, college student, divorced twice)—Culture is like an unorganized group affiliation that loosely governs how people are. Black culture in America is defined by being descendant of Africans; speaking a certain way and acting a certain way. Culture is usually none exclusive so one person can belong to several cultures. I relate to African American culture, urban culture, hip hop, Muslim culture and so on.

Their definition of diversity

May--Differences within culture.

Ford— Diversity is more than just racial. Diversity in itself can have many forms.

Samson—Diversity is a variety of cultures. For examples on a college campus jocks, geeks, gamers, religious, student sub grouped by class or major, this makes a college campus culturally diverse.

Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples? Which aspects have been omitted—and what are some examples of such omission?  In what ways has thinking about other people’s definitions of culture and diversity influenced my own thinking about these topics?

They discussed many things that I learned about diversity. They showed a good understanding about culture and diversity. The only this I would omit is Samson saying “Black culture in America is defined by being descendant of Africans” Culture is not defined my descendant. That is ethnicity. A white person can be a part of Black culture.  Hearing the views of my family and friends just confirmed my own beliefs about culture and diversity.  I am curious to know what they believe race and ethnicity are also.

My Family Culture (What If Scenario)

Imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

1.     My first item will be the Holy Bible (1611 King James Version). Being around chaos and behind taken from the only I knew would be difficult for my family. Reading, teaching and learning The Most High words would help my family cope and adjust to change.

2.     The second item will me my Nutritional Health and Herb book.  This book lists all the natural ways to heal or prevent illness. It also explains all the different healing herbs, plants and other items needed to stay healthy. This is a book that my family uses daily. We try not to take prescribed medicines or over the counter medications. This is our health Bible.

3.     The last Item would be my son’s teddy bear.  He loves teddy bears and would probably feel comfortable with it.  It’s a familiar item to him that would make him think about home. 

I would rushed if, upon arrival, I was told that I could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items I brought with me. I might panic a little because a lot of change would be happening but without hesitation I would only take the Holy Bible. This is God’s word and it is something I don’t have memorized and it is something I might not be able to replace. I don’t want to take that chance. This is also something that would comfort my family in this time of crisis. 

I have learned that I do hold God high with the utmost importance. When I first read this all I thought about was taking the Bible. I had to really think about other items to bring. If something like that occurred I believe I would be OK as long as my family is together.