Manifest Destiny vs Diversity

People /

Manifest Destiny vs Diversity “Manifest Destiny: Manifest destiny was a widely held belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were entitled to conquer and control North America. Contemporary historians have widely condemned manifest destiny as an ideology used to justify dispossession and genocide against Native Americans.” – President James Monroe (key part of US foreign policy issued in 1823) Manifest Diversity: Where the global majority will contribute, not conquer, or control the United States; promoting all cultures to learn about each other, with the purpose of living together in unity and harmony, manifesting the best that humanity can produce. – Solomon Joseph, founder, Manifest Diversity Institute, 2020 ____________________  Our public school system has glorified and celebrated manifest destiny as a patriotic movement when it was clearly a successful and racist attempt at securing white supremacy. When one thinks of an American, who comes to mind? What does an American look like? Today, many walks of life consider America their home, whilst embracing their own language and culture. Many also consider themselves multicultural embodying multiple identities whilst thriving in American society. When we dissect the history of America, we may come to find many contradictions between the intents and purposes of America. And so, who really belongs in America?  Manifest Diversity, not Manifest Destiny, is a movement to educate each other, to learn and embrace our different languages, music, religion, and culture — to introduce civility so that each American new and old can live in harmony. I believe there is a strong sense of decency, humanity, and an urge to understand each other. We must not be silent and ignorant. We must learn to be accomplices especially towards injustices. We must be allies to those in need minus the discrimination and prejudice as to who deserves to be American. I have asked this question repeatedly, especially since taking a cultural competency training at the Native American Community Services in 2018 and learned more in depth about the Doctrine of Discovery. It did not make any sense as to why colonizers and settlers thought they were entitled to American land and everything in it.  With my experience as a multicultural instructor, a performer involved in dance and storytelling, and serving as an educator with the Buffalo Public Schools and Buffalo State College, I plan to utilize “Manifest Diversity” as a teaching tool to highlight our diversity from around – showing our communities about the world and the complex web of interconnection that is easy to miss if we “don’t look up” Note/Overview: “Manifest Destiny” became first and foremost a call and justification for an American form of imperialism and white supremacy. It was the idea that white Americans were divinely ordained to settle the entire continent of North America. The ideology of Manifest Destiny inspired a variety of measures designed to remove or destroy the native population. Manifest Destiny allowed the United States to expand its territory by more than 60%. I urge everyone to research Manifest Destiny. To be continued……                                 (read: theeducationalpledge.com) Read More From This Writer All Post Books Business Culture Education Entertainment Food Government Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development Medical Military & Veterans Our Community Peace People Sports Manifest Destiny vs Diversity February 25, 2022/No Comments POST TITLE (CAPITAL) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus Read More Manifest Diversity December 25, 2019/No Comments Manifest Diversity With so many cultures, races and ethnic groups from around the world, wouldn’t it be beneficial to work Read More New Book: THE EDUCATIONAL PLEDGE QUESTIONS TO SELF-DEVELOPMENT June 25, 2019/No Comments New Book: THE EDUCATIONAL PLEDGE QUESTIONS TO SELF-DEVELOPMENT (Edited/Introduction by Solomon Joseph) It is often said that to be great you Read More Load More End of Content.

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OPEN LETTER TO ERIC ADAMS,NEW YORK  CITY MAYOR

Politics /

OPEN LETTER TO ERIC ADAMS,NEW YORK CITY MAYOR The time has come for a new dawn in New York City. The tragic murders of Police Officer Jason Rivera (32nd Precinct beat officer) and community builder and the grave injuries police officer Wilbert Mora (32nd Precinct beat officer) sustained cannot be in vain. New York as well as other major cities are plagued with violence and weapons that robbed law abiding citizens and law enforcement of an opportunity to build a life of joy and prosperity. My deepest condolences to the NYPD, New York City and the families and loved ones for the loss of P.O. Rivera and P.O. Mora. My prayers and public service commitment are yours. I applaud and appreciate your crime fighting initiatives as well as your mental health and social welfare programs to reach out to most vulnerable citizens. I support your state of emergency as violence continues to take a hold of New York City. I call on you and NYC council to lead with concrete legal and social justice actions to address gun trafficking and illegal gun sales. As we grieve the loss of P.O. Rivera’s life, let us not forget his mission/vision to serve and build a bond between NYPD and all communities. Let us take a moment and reflect on what concrete steps we as regular citizens, lawyers, activists and elected officials can do and will do to stop the pandemic of violence and horror we are living. I also call on you to fund programs to work with families and individuals suffering from mental health challenges. New York has always led the way on social change and in providing all New Yorkers with an opportunity to restart a new life. Take this tragic opportunity to call for and secure legislation and funding to address mental health and other issues plaguing our society. You are a mayor of change and hope. You also are in a unique position to build trust and cement the great community partnership as the YPD has with communities all over the city. You are both a community member and a retired police officer. I met you as a young bright eyed young woman through a program sponsored by Columbia University in the 80’s. Your vision and motivation to young people transformed lives and encouraged generations of parents, students, public health practitioners and citizens to become civic leaders. Thank you for your motivation and for listening when I presented as part of a theater troupe. The time is now. You are on the right track and have the stewardship to make this systemic change. New York and the world are awaiting and support you. To New York City council members, I exhort you to enact and support legislation in support of Adams’ initiatives. Thank you for your service. May the beautiful soul and smile of P.O. Rivera give all of us fortitude and clarity to continue building bridges among NYPD, your administration and our diverse communities. May the humility P.O. Mora be known for allowing us to regroup and push forward sustainable criminal justice reforms to protect the lives of those who serve and our citizens. _________________________________________ Eric Adams is a former police officer, got elected mayor in November 2021. He promised NYC to be a law and order Mayor. Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books Business Culture Education Entertainment Food Government Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development Medical Military & Veterans Our Community Peace People Sports Who We Are OPEN LETTER TO ERIC ADAMS,NEW YORK  CITY MAYOR February 23, 2022/No Comments POST TITLE (CAPITAL) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus Read More CARTA ABIETA A LA PRIMERA DAMA:Dr. JILL BIDEN January 23, 2022/No Comments January 2022 CARTA ABIETA A LA PRIMERA DAMA:Dr. JILL BIDEN Gracias por su liderazgo y mayordomia en el campo educativo. Read More 2022: ENFOQUE HAICA DONDE VAMOS December 23, 2021/No Comments 2022: ENFOQUE HAICA DONDE VAMOS  Se acerca el 2022. Nuestras comunidades se preparan para contiendas locales en diversos estados claves, Read More Load More End of Content.

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RETHINKING WHO WE ARE

Entertainment /

RETHINKING WHO WE ARE Recently, I finally sat down and interviewed Arleen Ramirez for my documentary film “Boricua Soy Yo.” You may remember, in the September issue of the Buffalo Latino Village, I wrote a column and highlighted Ramirez. Arleen Ramirez is a Soprano singer and Ladino Music Artist who is spearheading the BorikenSphared Ladino Music Project, a research project that explores Judeo-Spanish heritage and how that heritage influenced cultural traditions throughout Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.  Arleen is a proud Puerto Rican who was born and raised in Mayaguez and has made a living and career as a Ladino Music recording artist, and through her Music Project, she is trying to educate others on Sephardic heritage in Puerto Rico; a heritage many Puerto Ricans don’t even know existed or failed to acknowledge. Growing up as a Puerto Rican in Buffalo’s lower West Side, we typically have been taught that Puerto Ricans are made up of Tainos, Africa,ns and Spanish conquerors who enslaved and captured the island. As I continue to learn more about the history of the island and the history of the people who have ties to the island, this oversimplification of what makes up a “Boricua” eye-opening. There are far too many layers to our history and heritage, and to simply tie the European or non-Taino and African side of our heritage to “Spain”, hides the complex nature of our diversity as a people and does a disservice by to not truly showing how diverse and culturally rich our island of Puerto Rico is. It never occurred to me that there were Puerto Ricans whose cultural backgrounds may have been different than the Boricua Trinity (Taino, African, Spanish) we’ve always been taught but the more research I do with this film project, I’m uncovering so much that has either been forgotten, hidden, or just gone unexplored. The island of Puerto Rico was settled by people who flocked to it from all areas of the world, and in doing so, the Puerto Rican identity has always been fluidly changing and being reshaped and formed. You see it in our language, customs, ane traditions we practice.  For instance, the phrase““Ojalá”, (which means “hopefully”) comes from the Arabic phrase “inshallah”. You see it in the foods we eat such as Alcapurria which itself has Middle Eastern influences (falafel) to even buñuelos which has a historical connection to Sephardic Jews who settled in Puerto Rico throughout Latin America.   I challenge anyone reading this, whose families have ties to Puerto Rico, to investigate your history, customs, and cultural practices. You may be amazed at what you will   uncover. I don’t intend this to be a paradigm shift, I just want folks to know Puerto Ricans are made up of more than what we’ve been taught. There are many layers to the Puerto Rican onion, and I’ve only begun to uncover but a few. Read More From This Writer All Post Business Culture Food Government Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development Medical Music Our Community Peace People Sports RETHINKING WHO WE ARE February 18, 2022/No Comments POST TITLE (CAPITAL) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus Read More DON’T FORGET OUR TRADITIONS January 18, 2022/No Comments DON’T FORGET OUR TRADITIONS With the new year comes expectations for new beginnings, prosperity, losing that little holiday weight and Read More YEAR IN REVIEW: FROM INSURRECTION TO WRITE-IN December 18, 2021/No Comments YEAR IN REVIEW: FROM INSURRECTION TO WRITE-IN As we’re coming to the end of the year 2021, I wanted to Read More Load More End of Content.

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