Respect Diversity founder Michael Korenblit shared a very personal story with the recent Respect Diversity Gala audience. He told of a little boy who questioned the meaning of his parents’ tattoos. These were not artistic tattoos, nor were they a result of recreational fun. The tattoos represented much more than that, because his parents were Holocaust survivors.
The boy’s simple curiosity led his parents to explain the meaning behind the tattoos in a unique way. First, the family took off for a drive around their small Oklahoma town. Their first stop was at a park with segregated water fountains, where the little boy was asked to sip from the two drinking fountains, one of those with the label “Colored.” After drinking from both fountains, the boy announced that the water tasted the same from both. Similarly, the little boy was shown the difference in the two waiting areas at the local bus station, one for whites and one for coloreds. The boy saw firsthand the vast difference in the comfort level and amenities of these two rooms. These lessons illustrated to this young boy, Michael Korenblit himself, the devestating consequences of discrimination that ultimately influenced a lifelong passion to help others experience the peace of accepting people different from themselves.
Years later, Korenblit and his wife, Joan, founded the Respect Diversity Foundation (RDF). “The foundation was created almost eleven years ago and we have worked with about 194,000 students, teachers and adults,” said Michael as he explained about RDF. Along with his wife Joan, the foundation’s executive director, they raise awareness and encourage others to celebrate differences. A non-profit organization, the mission of the foundation is to teach respect and tolerance for all people.
The platform is constant, but the RDF carries their mission in three ways:
- A Speakers’ Bureau where educators such as civil rights leaders, artists, authors, Holocaust educators, historians, early childhood educators, storytellers and musicians promote awareness within our schools and community.
- The Respect Diversity Symbol Campaign which includes multilevel, interdisciplinary, collaborative student projects that focus on human rights issues through art integration. Projects may be in the form of a school anthology, visual art, poetry, song or dance.
- Respect Diversity Symbol Exhibit. Art collaborations that teach the participants and those respect for diversity.
The Symbol Exhibit
Each year, the RDF partners with MetroFamily Magazine and other community sponsors to promote diversity with an annual poetry and art contest. This year’s theme, “We care for the earth,” was expressed with many collaborative projects by students. Each piece, unique in design, was yet another subtle reminder that we are all different. Appropriately, the exhibit was full of color, reminding viewers that “It takes diversity to make a rainbow,” a statement that was also echoed by choir members of Westminster and Linwood Honor Choirs during the gala program.
This Year’s Winners
Judges chose the following winners in five age categories based on creativity, diversity-relatedness and representation of the theme.
- PreK-Kindergarten: We Are a Rainbow of Peace, by students of Villa Teresa Catholic School, Oklahoma City. The project embraces the theme that these young artists are children of peace. The students’ project leader, Pre-K teacher Nancy Hazelton, explained the collaborative thoughts behind the work of art. “We began our project in August and worked on it for six months. We chose clay as a symbol of Mother Earth; the children made the clay figures holding hands as a sign of respect. The children made corn husk angels promoting peace and respect, and the children thought all the countries should stand for peace in the big world.”
- Grades 1-3: Save the Future! by students of Orvis Risner Elementary, Edmond. This group project focused on the connection between recycling and preserving our planet. The sculpture, made from a variety of renewable and nonrenewable resources, represented diversity of people and animals. “Our mascot is the eagle, and we decided we wanted to use that,” said teacher Cindy McBride. She went on to say that the school is going to keep the eagle displayed in their school as a constant reminder to recycle and care for the earth.
- Grades 4-5: The Ties that Bind, by Jefferson Heights Elementary and Washington Elementary, Sapulpa. After discussions on diversity and the responsibility of caring for earth, the students expressed their ideas on canvas. Students painted with watercolor and a paint/glue mixture to create a vibrant piece. Canvases were tied together to represent earth, with each section individually representing the diverse people of the world. The connected canvases illustrate the idea that everyone is part of a whole.
- Grades 6-8: Protectors of the Earth, by Piedmont Middle School. “I was really excited when I heard about the theme,” said Frances Williams, art teacher. ’The choices we make affect not only ourselves but, in the web of time, those choices affect all,’ was the overall message of this collaborative piece, contributed to by approximately 300 students. Students learned that totem poles were used to represent things that were important to the tribe or individual people, and they recycled many items to create their own totem pole.
- Grades 9-12: For the Record, by Crooked Oak High School. Each student had a “For the Record” statement that were intended to break stereotypes or any misperceptions that others may have of them. The repurposed vinyl records were created to show each student’s individuality. The students’ teacher, Cheryl Pantalone, said the project “created so much more dialogue than we would have had otherwise. Students were willing to share experiences with discrimination and examine their own biases and misperceptions they may have of others.”
Special Presentation to the Museum
“The Respect Diversity Foundation has a wonderful partnership with Science Museum Oklahoma,” said Michael. In appreciation, two gifts were presented to the museum. First, a colorful mural that was the combined effort of many in an art integration project as students learned about environmental sciences. In addition, a piece by artist John Mowen entitled “Dark Energy” was presented to the museum. “The print was created with archival ink and paper, and framed. The image is based upon photos taken by NASA telescopes. The image provides the opportunity to explain why distant galaxies are moving away from each other at a faster rate.” Joan explained.
Joan said, “Behind every work of art is a story. Some are inspired by a unit of study about the civil rights movement, others by a lesson about China, South Africa or Israel. Some art pieces were created after a diversity assembly and discussion. Others from poetry lessons as students learned about a diversity topic.” There’s no question that the lesson of equality that the Respect Diversity Symbol Exhibit provides will make an impact on many children and adults across the state.
Next year’s Respect Diversity Symbol Exhibit Gala is to be held on March 27, 2012. For more information on the Foundation and how teachers, schools and other community organizations can get involved with RDF and the Respect Diversity Symbol Exhibit or other projects, call 405-359-0369 or visit respectdiversity.org.
Julie Dill is a National Board Certifi ed Teacher and regular columnist for MetroFamily.
