We stand staring into the changing face
of America’s future.
California will be the first to decide -
Decide whether to communicate
across the cultural divide, effectively managing our differences, or
steer the nation into a state of collision.
Our complexion in California
is more multi-ethnic -
yes, “multi-ethnic” -
But not “multicultural”
Because, despite our demographics of diversity
We are staying strangers
Lost together in one place
Without common caring
Or common commitment
But we need not despair
Rather – we need repair.
California will be the first to decide -
To decide to create partnerships
that crisscross cultural differences.
Decide to dismiss denials of conflict -
Learning, instead, to conciliate pain
where ‘conflict’ can be constructive.
Deciding now to truly
Disarm our divisions -
Taking off our masks
seeking so-called “harmony among the races,”
But admitting, honestly, to ourselves and
to each other
the need to be active listeners and to respond with personal risk
and vulnerability.
Replacing the unforgiving past with a compassionate present
that leads to freedom of the future.
By mediating and managing tension that is real and permanent
By conciliating opposition without annulling it
By asserting the multiple Dream of Diversity
With Vision and Re-vision
The California Council of Cultural Centers in Higher Education
will be conduit
for effectively communicating, mediating,
and facilitating our communities
across America’s cultural divide.
CaCCCHE Vision
