Letter: Saturday Rally: Diversity Makes Us Great
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To the Editor:
Several months ago, I was a North Adams teacher and a member of a school DEIJ committee. (Working for Diversity. Equity. Inclusion. Justice.) I did not think this was radical work.
Yet here I am today, asking friends and neighbors to join us on Saturday, May 10, at the North Adams City Hall from 1:15-2:15 p.m. at a "Diversity MAKES America Great Rally." Because apparently, the idea that people of all races, abilities, orientation, gender identity — the idea that all people are endowed "with certain unalienable rights" is now up for debate.
Please stand with me to show that Berkshire County believes diversity really is what makes this nation great.
We need to say it is not OK for this administration to grab (apparently, only brown) people and fly them to, and abandon them in, foreign prisons. Without due process. Tell me my fears about what could happen to the people just grabbed in Great Barrington are not justified.
Words can be manipulated. But how this administration is twisting the word diversity defies belief. They started by erasing web pages that discussed veterans, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes, Head Start programs, women, people of color, and more. Then they began disappearing people. And now they are trying to erase ideas.
Mass MoCA was just notified that it has lost a grant to support Jeffrey Gibson's commission "Power Full Because We're Different." With a title like that, could their reason for objecting be any clearer?
The letter Mass MoCA received stated that the NEA is now focusing on "projects that reflect the nation's rich artistic heritage and creativity as prioritized by the President."
"As prioritized by the President."
This move is not about our honoring our nation's rich heritage, not about upholding the constitution or protecting the bill of rights. This is about catering to the president's singular agenda. Which he has made very clear in both actions and words.
Let's make clear with our own actions and words what we believe: The diversity makes America Great. Stronger. Better
Come Saturday, May 10, from 1:15-2:15 to stand with us. Let's fill all four corners by City Hall in North Adams! If you can't get here, check local listing for other local rallies. But stand up wherever you are.
Eileen Gloster
North Adams, Mass.
