We’ll Build a Place Where Everyone Is Truly at Home?

“Diversity is going to a party; Inclusion is being a member of the party-planning committee.”  Diversity trainer Daniel Juday came up with this fresh take on the popular saying “Diversity is being invited to the party; Inclusion is being asked to dance,” because he feels that people who have not had the power to participate in past activities need to actually shape present and future events.   “It seems to me that espousing this idea that inclusion means being asked to dance is not only overly simplistic, it’s dangerous. It allows that there is, and will be, a specific group that controls the ‘pace’ and ‘space’ of the dance floor.”  This week we will consider the complexity of how to foster a sense of belonging among diverse racial and ethnic groups, for as UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray avers in this Fall’s UU Magazine “It is easy to hold up a light and declare that everyone is welcome. It is harder to build a place where everyone is truly at home”.

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