About
Diversity Statement by Dennice McAlister
“Diversity is not about how we differ. Diversity is about embracing one another’s uniqueness” Joseph Ola (Joseph Ola is a Nigerian-born speaker, author, trainer, and consultant.)
The awareness of my first experiences with diversity began as a child in my neighborhood, an ethnically inclusive area within a large urbanite city. On my daily journey to elementary, middle school and subsequently high school, I walked with multiracial friends past a magnificent synagogue; the home of a prominent Muslim leader; a large catholic church; and the opulent residence of a renowned protestant minister; and my schoolmates and I each had a personal connectedness with these persons our lives. I was fortunate that the neighborhood was adorned with and I had access to a beautiful library, museums, shopping for ethnic foods and goods, it was also an academic hub for a major university. Some of the residents included famous writers, educators, activists, musicians, and other well-known persons that I actually see and talk to at various times throughout my youth. The neighborhood was a cornucopia of diverse cultures, diverse thoughts and experiences and as child I accepted this to be the norm of life not the exception. We were taught, celebrated, and shared various cultural holidays in school and in our homes.
My neighborhood was cordoned off though, by the invisible boundaries of the discriminatory practice of redlining, abject poverty, inequity in education, violence, substandard housing, and disparity of income. This boundary appeared to be a world of another dimension when I ventured outside the invisible boundary and I unknowingly (at the time) was fortunate enough to perforate the lines of division due to the perseverance of my parents and their hopes and aspirations for me to have a better life experience. The difference on this side of the impenetrable, one block fortress was a determining factor in my exposure to a better education, positive social and cultural experiences, diversity of thoughts and interactions, optimism, and hope for the future. Through my childhood lens it was unbeknownst to me at that time, that the pejoratives seen outside of the small radius of my neighborhood were directed at me.
I now know the necessity of those diversity lessons learned in childhood. The need for diversity of thoughts, ideas, life experiences, understanding how challenges in one’s mental health experiences shape perspective and outcome. How poverty, the social restraints of being unable to love whom we want, share and define and have meaning that we choose in our lives. To have reciprocal conversations of our thoughts and feelings of love, differences, similarities, hate, anxiety, loss, and fear. To explore the individuals’ truths related to their experiences and to listen and empathize the experiences of poverty and wealth, of extreme privilege and absence of privilege. True diversity is the celebration of and respect of the intrinsic characteristics of our collective individualism. It is accepting that I may not understand all aspects of culture, but I am intentional in my ability to learn, empathize, and authentically respect the diverse ideologies and experiences of others. To maintain an awareness of my own biases and diligently challenge those thoughts and feelings through open dialogue, didactical engagement, and the belief in the basic and inalienable rights of all human beings to have liberty, protection, safety, with dignity, and fairness, and the pursuit of happiness. The right for all to be respected and not just tolerated because of our differences of thought, perspective, and experiences.
Working in the mental health field for several years, I have observed invisible boundaries that desolate families sometimes due to the questioning of a mother or father’s commitment to their children, (due to cultural barriers, a family history of substance abuse, and or trauma, poverty, challenges with housing, mental illness, race, gender, and other mitigating factors) that can lead to an investigation, subsequent removal of children from the home and the devastation left by the separation of the family. One mother (limited English proficiency) in particular was questioned by law-enforcement, and child welfare due to her cultural beliefs not aligning with the norms and values of a new country. I saw this mother’s fear, guilt, shame, the emotional toil of the threat of losing her children (for the second time), and her cultural challenges in understanding the complexities of law in this new environment. Through the support of mental health and a social worker that was diligent in her support and understanding of the social challenges of the case this scenario ended better than most and reinforced my personal commitment to the enhancement of cultural diversity.
I have had the honor to work throughout the county of Fresno for over a decade, to observe, interact, and learn from cultures different from my own. My positions within the mental health field and public work have been ones of service to the community; as a therapist to assist in positive life change, and in case management as a liaison of access to needs for disadvantaged families, the LGBTQ community, persons with physical/mental challenges, the under educated, those persons challenged with substance abuse, homelessness, recently migrated, limited or none English speaking, severally mentally ill, gang affiliations, and incarcerated persons. It is my endeavor to continue to learn and continue working in some capacity with the underserved populations through therapy and continued community involvement.
