Speaker and author Bruce A. Jacobs will discuss his research and recommendations in his book, Race Manners for the 21st Century: Navigating the Minefield Between Black and White Americans in an Age of Fear, at Montgomery County Community College’s Central Campus, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell, on Tuesday, April 6, during a Presidential Symposium from 12:30-2 p.m. The public is invited to attend this free, inspiring and informative presentation.
The symposium is a capstone event of the College’s continuing dialogue on diversity for 2009-2010. Under the direction of President Karen A. Stout, the College’s Diversity Advisory Committee is incorporating an array of existing and new programs, clubs, performances and guest speakers to support students and community members of varying ages, backgrounds and ethnicity.
“This has been an ongoing conversation that will continue beyond this year,” said Rose Makofske, Director of Equity and Diversity Initiatives at the College. “We are looking at what we are doing to see where we need to change, adapt and grow to meet the needs of our students and the community.”
The Committee selected Jacobs as this year’s guest speaker to lay the groundwork for developing positive, productive dialogue among cultures. In his book, which was published in 1999 and updated and reissued in 2006, Jacobs discusses racial misperceptions and provides clear direction on ways to positively interact. He encourages people to disregard “rage talk” radio and television shows and instead to focus on developing real relationships with mutual respect.
“Tolerance falls short of what we humans need to be doing in sharing a nation or sharing a planet,” Jacobs writes. “Respect is the dynamic, deliberate embrace of the validity of other people’s experiences and cultures and orientations. It goes a step beyond the perceived kindness of tolerance and fulfills the deeper moral obligation to understand that our lives as humans are qualitatively equal: not the same (how could they be?), but of equal equality. Respect is the act of living this understanding, both through one’s behavior and through one’s evolving beliefs. So I suggest that you and I move beyond tolerance and into active respect.”
Jacobs, a Harvard graduate, has been on NPR, C-SPAN and Pacifica, as well as other national radio and television shows. He has been the guest speaker at numerous venues, including colleges, universities, churches and community gatherings. He was a participant in “Race and Reconciliation in America,” a series of dialogues convened by former U.S. Senator William Cohen and racial justice advocate, Janet Langhart Cohen.
Prior to the symposium, Sociology Instructor Dr. Augustine Isamah will lead a discussion of Race Manners on Wednesday, March 31, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at the Central Campus Bookstore, 340 DeKalb Pike, Blue Bell. The book discussion is free of charge and is open to the public.
Montgomery County Community College’s ever-growing student population reflects the growth in the County in recent years. According to U.S. Census Data, Montgomery County has the third largest population of all the counties in the Commonwealth with more than 770,000 residents.
Between 2000 and 2007, the overall growth for the County was approximately three percent. However, during this same time period, the increase in growth in the County’s African American population was 13 percent; Asian American population, 32 percent; and Hispanic or Latino American population, 49 percent.
The College has even greater percentages of mixed cultures, which creates new opportunities, as well as some challenges.
“At the end of the day, we’re all going to sit down at the table together,” Makofske said. “And, the question is ‘what are we going to serve for dinner,’ and that is why we need to have this ongoing dialogue.”
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by Diane H. VanDyke
