C e n t e r
f o r
M u l t i c u l t u r a l
E d u c a t i o n
May 2014
VOICES
Promoting Diversity in the University Community and Beyond...
Inside this Issue:
Dr. Blackwell Piece
2
Graduating Student
Worker Highlight
3
2014 Fall Preview
The CME is looking forward to an exciting academic year in fall of 2014!
There are a couple individuals we are tentatively planning on featuring in
our programming schedule. See the following biographies for more information about these exciting upcoming events!
Register for MS Walk 4
Love to Write?
Looking for
publication
opportunities?
Write for the
CME Voices
Newsletter next
fall!
If interested,
please contact the
CME by emailing
the CME graduate
assistant, Lauren
Wypiszynski, at
wypiszyl@uni.edu!
Charles
Ogletree
Cornell
Brooks
Daisy
Hernandez
Dr. Charles Ogletree is a
prominent legal theorist
and the Dr. Jesse Climenko Professor of Law at
Harvard Law School. He
serves as Faculty Director,
Associate Dean and Vice
Dean of the Harvard Law
School Clinical Program.
Earning his MA and BA in
Political Science from
Stanford University, Ogletree has a reputation for
taking hard look at complex issues of law while
securing Constitutional
rights.
He has examined these
issues not only in the
classroom but also on the
Internet, in pages of law
journals, and every day as
a public defender. In
2006 and 2007, Ogletree
was named by Ebony
Magazine as one of the
100 Most Influential
Black Americans.
Rev. Cornell Brooks is
the Executive Director of
the New Jersey Institute
for Social Justice. In his
role he oversees all advocacy, policy, research and
workforce initiatives. Resulting from his work,
policy research in the upcoming years will see an
increase and expansion in
the health care aid, digital
divide and the market
labor field.
Brooks is a fourthgeneration ordained minister earning his BA in
political science from
Jackson State University
and Master of Divinity
from Boston University
School of Theology, with a
concentration in social
ethics and systematic theology. Brooks then attended Yale Law School
where he earned a Juris
Doctorate.
On a return visit, Ms.
Daisy Hernandez, an
award winning journalist who visited this
spring under the office
of Women’s and Gender
Studies, is coming out
with a book on multicultural affairs this fall!
Hernandez is an author and journalist who
focuses on race, gender,
sexuality and other issues affecting women of
color.
She is co-editor of the
anthology Colonize This!
Young Women of Color
on Today’s Feminism,
which is used in women’s studies courses all
across the country.
Between 2008 and
2010, Hernandez was
the author of ColorLines
magazine and has been
featured on National
Public Radio as well.
Page 2
By: Dr. Michael D. Blackwell
The Hindenburg burned to the
ground on May 6, 1937. Ever since,
people have debated over whether
the radio announcer, Herb Morrison, said “Oh, the humanity” or
something else. To me, it sounds
like he did, indeed, make that statement. At the time, it was such an
emotional cry over seeing the zeppelin burst into flame and believing
all persons on board had died. For
me, just as during the disaster on
September 11, 2001, I was impressed by the dozens of persons
who ran towards the blaze to help
save lives and bodies. It makes me
wonder why we do not similarly
run, figuratively speaking, when we
witness another type of disaster,
i.e., injustice.
This year, the CME focused on
the role of women in contemporary
society, especially in the United
States. We are aware of income
inequality, the attack on reproductive rights, the rifeness of sexual
and domestic violence, and the lack
of concern for the plight of single
moms. It appears that we are so
inured to the devaluation of women
in this country, and the intensification of that diminution among
women of color, we react to a reech-
Angela Davis
oing of those statistics with ennui and
diffidence. Rather than run to the fire
of oppression, discrimination, and
dehumanization, we simply divert our
attention and characterize the naming
of such unfairness as pandering to
liberal causes or to those who are not
suffering or mistreated as badly as is
claimed.
The sad fact of the matter is that
we often make excuses when our first
response should be like citizens and
service personnel who acted to rescue
runners and spectators at the 2013
Boston Marathon, for instance, who
were victimized by explosions. We
can accede to the heroic nature of that
proactive response in the face of tragedy, but we seem unable to appreciate
the parallels in the socioeconomic,
political, and cultural milieus. Instead, we frequently choose to denigrate the needs of the afflicted and
engage in blame-the-victim mongering rather than rush to their aid. And
then we wonder why the disparities
continue despite out do-nothing-ism!
However, I was inspired by the
stories of social movements and efforts to reform the status quo by many
of our guests and other visitors to
UNI: Angela Davis, StacyAnn Chin,
Mariahadessa, Sandra Guzman, Erica
Littlewolf, Christine Seyboe Tour, Lela
Lee, Marcia Riggs, Daisy Hernandez,
et al. Each one of them was creative
and encouraged us to develop new
ways to effectuate gender equity and
make this world a better place in
which to live!
Riggs shared with us an inspiring,
creative piece called, “The Merger Poem,” by Judy Chicago.
Lela Lee
The Merger Poem
by Judy Chicago
And then all that has divided us will
merge.
And then compassion will be wedded to
power
And then softness will come to a world
that is harsh and unkind.
And then both men and women will be
gentle.
And then both women and men will be
strong.
And then no person will be subject to
another’s will.
And then all will be rich and free and
varied.
And then the greed of some will give
way to the needs of many.
And then all will share equally in the
earth’s abundance.
And then all will care for the sick and
the weak and the old,
And then all will nourish the young.
And then all will cherish life’s
creatures.
And then all will live in harmony with
one another and the earth.
Sandra Guzman
And then everywhere will be called
Eden once again.
Christine Seyboe Tour
Page 3
Some of Diane’s favorite things:
Color—Blue
Food—Crème Brulee
Hobby—Swimming
Store—So many of
them!
Pets—Fish
Movie—Coming to
America
TV Show—Family Guy
Class—Ecology and
Evolution
Diane Ihimbazwe is a senior here at UNI and is not only graduating
this May, but is one of the commencement speakers! She is a Health
Science and Biology major who plans to work a year after graduating,
but then continue her education by attending graduate school for Epidemiology.
Diane is actually from Kigali, Rwanda, a small East African country.
It is about the size of Maryland, very small. She has two sisters, Nancy
and Nadine, who are both in Minneapolis. She also has two brothers,
Aime is currently living in Belgium, and Fidel who lives in Canada;
both of her parents still live in Rwanda. They’re all over the place!
Luckily, she plans on traveling and hanging out with a lot of her family
this summer.
Diane chose UNI because it is the perfect school attend, for it’s not
too small and not too big. She came here because her sisters went to
UNI and they both loved it! Her advice for UNI underclasspersons is
to explore every opportunity, for you never know where it will take
you!
Diane started working at the CME in November of 2013. Her favorite parts about working here are the people she works with and the
awesome people she meets at the events. Every speaker has touched
and inspired her in different ways, for she will miss hearing them when
she graduates! Luckily, she feels she has learned so much from working at the CME. Her experiences here have taught her professionalism
and has exposed her to a work environment. Diane will be greatly
missed next year, yet we wish her the best of luck!
Zach Owens, one of our beloved student staff members at the CME, is
graduating! After graduation, he is going to see MoTown in Chicago, relax,
and possibly vacation in South Carolina or Jamaica while he looks for employment and finishes up his coursework this summer.
While working at the CME, he learned always to put his best foot forward
in every situation! His advice to underclasspersons is to take advantage of
every opportunity provided and don’t rush to grow up.
Zach’s favorite CME memory is all the little conversations he had with Dr.
B, Tabatha, and Jenny, and all the support they have given him towards
achieving his dreams! Zach, we will miss you greatly, and wish you the best
of luck in your future endeavors!
For more information about Zach see our
January Voices Newsletter online!
Page 4
Saturday, May 17 at 10:00 A.M. at the WRC
One mile route!
Free registration!
All walkers receive a goody bag!
Chances to win door prizes!
Donations of all sizes welcome the day of the walk or online!
Don’t want to walk? VOLUNTEER!
Need volunteers from 8 AM-Noon
Receive a free t-shirt for volunteering!
For more information, contact James Russel at (319)433-8724
Register to volunteer or to walk at:
http://walkmnm.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/MNMWalkEvents?fr_id=23209&pg=entry
Center for Multicultural Education
109 Maucker Union
Cedar Falls, Iowa 50614-0165
Phone: 319-273-2250
Email: cme@uni.edu
Website: www.uni.edu/cme
Our Mission:
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We foster success in racial and ethnic minority students, contribute to the cultural competence of all
students, and promote an appreciation of diversity in the University Community.
Editor-in-Chief: Dr. Michael D. Blackwell
Co-Editors: Lauren Wypiszynski, Brittni Haag and Diane Ihimbazwe