Taking a closer look at diversity, tolerance

Course designed to give students a better understanding of cultural differences

In the famous Norman Rockwell painting, Freedom from Want, the family patriarch stands before the Thanksgiving dinner table, while his wife proudly displays the holiday turkey to a dozen seated, smiling relations. It is the ideal image of bounty and family, American-style. Or is it?

Jerry Hatfield, associate professor of human services, might not think so. In his course, “Diversity and Cultural Competence,” Hatfield teaches that no single image can describe an America populated through diversity—diversity in culture, gender, ethnicity, sexual preference, and disability.

“There is no universal experience that describes all of us, no one-size-fits-all,” he says.

This concept forms the premise for Sharing the World: The Human Service Worker’s Introduction to Effectiveness in a Multicultural World, a text Hatfield has authored to correspond with his diversity course.

He explains, “Human services workers need to develop their skills for relating with people who are, in some way or ways, different from themselves.”

What makes them different? “They experience their culture and everyday life in a fundamentally different way from most of us, because of their minority status,” he says.

For example, black and Hispanic Americans are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed than their white counterparts, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And because of oppression in this country, minorities are more likely to have received a sub-standard education and inadequate health care, Hatfield says.

These examples underline another concept Hatfield teaches, a concept referred to as White Privilege.

“White Privilege occurs because we assume the white lifestyle is the norm,” he says.
In his book, Hatfield uses a check list written by Peggy McIntosh at Wellesley College to illuminate the pervasiveness of White Privilege in our culture. Some examples include:

I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my race widely represented.
If I should need to move, I can be pretty sure of renting or purchasing housing in an area which I can afford and in which I would want to live.
Whether I use checks, credit cards or cash, I can count on my skin color not to work against the appearance of financial reliability.
I can swear, or dress in second-hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute these choices to the bad morals, the poverty or the illiteracy of my race.
I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my race.

White Privilege gets its power, Hatfield says, not only from its pervasiveness but also from its invisibility in a culture where the majority believes that the Norman Rockwell image is a universal experience, and does not recognize the advantages it receives by being viewed as “the norm.” Worse, says Hatfield, is the idea of ethnocentrism, where one ethnic group is seen as better than another. “It’s when one group judges another and says, ‘Why can’t they just be more like us?’” he says. The tendency for the majority to elevate their culture over others has a name, too. Ironically enough, it is called Americanism, Hatfield says.

Differences in cultures show up in subtle ways, too, says Hatfield, such as communication styles. Some cultures are more open and expressive in communicating, while others are much more formal.

Hatfield explains this anecdotally with an example of a teacher who, in asking a child a question, expects a certain type of response. If a child responds in a way that the teacher feels is inappropriate, the student may be labeled as having a control problem. If, on the other hand, the teacher believes the child should make eye contact and doesn’t, that child may be considered unfocused or disengaged. Teachers, social workers, or anyone in authority who does not understand alternate communication styles are likely to discriminate—albeit inadvertently—on a regular basis, he says.
If there is one tool that Hatfield can give his students to recognize and respect the differences that occur in a multi-cultural setting, then that tool is empathy. “Empathy,” says Hatfield, “is the ability to truly understand another as if we were that other person…. It is the key that unlocks our ability to be helpful.”

And how do we improve our ability to understand each other? First, says Hatfield, “We need to keep a sharp eye on own prejudices,” and actively work to shed them. "Secondly, we need to respect the differing values of other cultures, whether they involve family structure, gender role models or communication skills, to name a few."

Those in teaching and social work positions have even more work to do. They need to select materials that are multi-cultural, and with which a child can identify. “Otherwise, the child feels invisible,” he says. To be really effective, the classroom or agency needs to involve people from multiple cultures as guest speakers, volunteers and coworkers.

“The overriding idea is the World View,” Hatfield says. “We have to see ourselves as the really small part of the world that we are.” He adds that Americans represent a mere five percent of the world population. Among that five percent, the Norman Rockwell idea of normalcy is shrinking fast as multi-cultural populations continue to increase.