Our Goal is to help raise prejudice-free children
Here are 10 easy steps
1. Create an environment at home that contrasts with biased messages of society.
Provide items that reflect diverse ethnic and cultural images.
2. Show that you value diversity in the friends you choose, and in the people you
choose for services (e.g., dentist, mechanic, teacher). What you do is more
important than what you say.
3. Make it a rule that a person's identity is never an acceptable reason for teasing or
rejecting. Support the child who has been hurt.
4. Initiate activities and discussions to build positive self-esteem. People with
positive self-esteem are less likely to show prejudice towards others.
5. Talk positively about the physical characteristics and cultural heritage of other
ethnic group. Include people who have stood up against bias and injustice.
6. Help the children learn the differences between feelings of superiority and feelings
of self-esteem and pride in their heritage.
7. Provide opportunities for children to interact with other children who are
ethnically/culturally different from themselves and with people who have various
disabilities. Visit museums and cultural events that reflect diverse heritage.
8. Educate yourself about common stereotypes in our society so that you can
evaluate your selection of children's materials and experiences. Teach the
children to recognize stereotypes and caricatures of different groups.
9. Respectfully answer children’s questions about themselves and people who
appear to be physically different.
10. Teach children to stand up for themselves when they are ridiculed because of
perceived differences. Be sensitive to children’s feelings about themselves and
immediately respond when they show any sign of being affected by biases.
• From “Teaching Your Children to Resist Bias”
by the National Association for the Education of Young Children
On Sunday January 19, 2014, our communities in North Texas will be celebrating our Platinum event, the 20th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The Committee has chosen the theme of “Embracing Our Diversity” for this year. This civic event is always planned as a non-political inter-Faith event to celebrate the ideals of Dr. King such as elimination of prejudice, equality of races and of gender. The celebration was well-received the last time, judging by the number (>700) of attendees.
In January 2013, we awarded $4,600.00 in cash prizes to students from 4th-12th grade, thanks to the generous support of our sponsors: the Town of Flower Mound, the Lewisville Independent School District, the Medical Center of Lewisville, Tau Rho Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Davoodi Family Medicine, the Baháis of Flower Mound, Patrick Shovlin, MD, Mrs. Vernell Gregg, JoAnne Weaver,
the Masood-Buford family, Saberre Law Firm, Mark Saunders and Joan Parks-Saunders, Minuteman Press of Lewisville and Grapevine, and The Greater Denton County Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.