Windows and Mirrors for All is twenty. Not quite old enough to imbibe at Brews and Book Reviews, but old enough to reflect upon its age. When the first column ran in the March 2004 Voter seeing things through a DEI lens was in its early stages in LWVRA and those initials were not yet in vogue. As noted then, “The heading above, Windows and Mirrors for All, is gratefully derived from a wonderful essay by Emily Style ‘Curriculum as Window and Mirror’…Ms. Style states that “education needs to enable the student to look through window frames in order to see the realities of others and into mirrors in order to see her/his own reality reflected. I think people of all ages need both mirrors and windows with which to view the world, but too often we only have mirrors.” The goal remains the same.

[Read https://www.nationalseedproject.org/images/documents/Curriculum_As_Window_and_Mirror.pdf ]

Ms. Style states that “education needs to enable the student to look through window frames in order to see the realities of others and into mirrors in order to see her/his own reality reflected.” I think people of all ages need both mirrors and windows with which to view the world, but too often we only have mirrors.” The goal remains the same. [Read https://www.nationalseedproject.org/images/documents/Curriculum_As_Window_and_Mirror.pdf ]

I hope that my thinking on DEI topics has matured over these twenty years. The conversation in the public arena first became more welcoming, witness the legalization of same-sex marriage, the work towards acceptance of trans and non-binary gender identities and more. Today the blooming of acceptance has faded somewhat and the backlash can give you whiplash, with some state legislatures banning the teaching of the full history of race relations, and passing misogynistic anti-abortion laws that can endanger the lives of pregnant women, and then we have to think about language from the left as well as the right—shouldn’t that be pregnant persons? Affirmative action has been disaffirmed at the same time as identity politics have exploded and compassion is stretched thin while we all shout and no one listens.

Race may no longer be the elephant in the room, as I called it twenty years ago, but not because we have come to a universal understanding of our common human condition. Our differences have been magnified and used to divide us. The thoughtful conversation about race and all forms of diversity in America is needed as much as ever. Help me keep this conversation going.

In November 2013 I wrote about the Race Card Project, begun by journalist Michele Norris in 2010. [https://theracecardproject.com/blog ] This project, which asks Americans to express the essence of their feelings about race in America in just six words, is still going strong. Norris spoke at the Westminster Town Hall Forum recently sharing, through both analysis and recitation, the power that our friends and neighbors have put into just six words. One thing that surprised her—the majority of the cards came from white people. Through interviews and photos, she created a book built out from the stories behind the 6-word cards. I look forward to exploring Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really Think About Race and Identity.

Mychael Rambo was the opener for Norris. He quoted his grandfather a couple of times and I particularly recall this (paraphrased) one. “Son, you can be a thermometer in life, taking the temperature of the room and fitting yourself into it, or you can be a thermostat and change the environment.” Which one will you be?