The special nature of Diversity Day at Brentwood School stems from the power of personal stories and the opportunity afforded to come together as a community—faculty members, students, parents, and guests—to discuss and grapple with issues related to diversity as defined in terms of race, cultural identity, religion, family structure, gender, sexual orientation, learning styles, life experiences, and physical and mental disability. The daylong event was held on the East Campus, and featured 6 guest speakers, 45 different workshops, 3 panel discussions, an international luncheon, and more activities. Diversity Day was organized by the Assistant Head of School for External Affairs, Dave Velasquez, Elena Cardenas, Student Life Center Administrative Assistant, students, and faculty.
< ?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
Speakers:
- Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky: reflected on his experiences as a college activist in the international movement to free Soviet Jews, then as a 3rd District Supervisor on the L.A. County Board of Supervisors.
- Councilman Bill Rosendahl: recounted his personal journey from public affairs television moderator to corporate executive to university professor to first openly gay man elected to the L.A. City Council.
- Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS Shoes for a Better Tomorrow, (for children in need, gives a pair of shoes with every purchase), presented “Conscious Capitalism: Why Giving Back Just Makes Sense.†TOMS Shoes hosted a “Style Your Sole†party where students decorated their own pair of TOMS.
- Helie Lee, author of “Still Life with Rice†and “In the Absence of the Sun,†recounted the story of her family living in war-torn Korea and their migration to America.
- Dynamic poet and performer, Mayda del Valle, presented “Language Revolution,†fusing personal and thought-provoking work with the rhythm and pulse of hip hop culture.
- Spoken word artists, Judah 1 and Nikki Blak, shared †iPlural,†a poetry slam presentation.
Workshops allowing discussion and debate included:
- America’s Concentration Camps: World War II Incarceration of Japanese Americans
- Cruising through Low Rider Culture: Chicana(o) Cultural Identity
- Muslim and Jew: Collaboration or Conflict? The Unlikely Friendship Between Two Religious Leaders
- Sex, Drugs, and the Pulpit: Learning from Two Ex-Pastors
- The Black Musician in American Popular Culture from Steppin Fetchit to Kanye West
- Be Heard: Talking about Mental Health
- Ethnicity and the Environment: The Environmental Justice Dilemma
- Personal Reflections Related to Issues of Diversity
- What Does “Becoming American†Mean to You?
- Aging Sensitivity Training
- Fiction’s Power to Define Us: Teen Books with Gay Characters
- – What’s Out There
- Native People of Ahwahnee – The Yosemetie Indian People
- The “F†Word: Feminism in America
- Southeastern Asia Cultures, History, and Misfortune
- A Journey of the Palate through Soul Food
Website, www.bwscampus.com, contact Shirley Blake, Director of Communications, (310) 889-2708, or e-mail at sblake@bwscampus.com.
