Various Groups of People Living Within the Community: Promoting Social Inclusion - Case Study Example

 My community that occupies the central part of Florida comprises of a number of different groups, which include the Caucasians who are the mainstream group, Latino and Hispanics who are among the minority populations. The Latinos comprise 3.5% of the population in Florida (“U.S. Census Bureau: State and County Quick Facts” 2000). I have noted many similarities between me and members of my community especially the fact that I do not have an accent that may be considered foreign, and I have not encountered a situation whereby people have wondered where I come from. To me, this indicates that they appreciate my likeness to them. On the other hand, I do not have pronounced characteristics that distinguish me from any member of the community in which I live. In spite of being Latino, I do not possess extreme features that can make anyone to think that I am not American. Our skin color and style of dressing is the same in the community and we mainly use English as the mainstream language of communication. However, there are some unique characteristics that generate a difference between me and other members of the community such as the fact that they can not understand my own language when I speak. When I engage in a dialogue with my family or my Portuguese friends, that is when members of my community realize that I am not American. These differences are never known by the community members unless I personally reveal them. I admire the leaders of my community since they treat all people in the same way without any kind of prejudice. They understand that there is a difference between various groups of people living within the community but they tend to focus on promoting social inclusion. Our local church leader who is also influential in the local community is among the leaders who proclaim the significance of diversity in the community. He believes that each group of people has unique characteristics that are important to the community in general. Local leaders tend to promote integration of different talents from various groups of people, which helps in maintaining community development. People like me are encouraged to bring in new talents to the community. Those who have distinct characteristics that distinguish them from the mainstream group are protected from racial prejudice. In church, the leader teaches the community members that all human beings are the same apart from the little differences that are associated with the region where somebody was born. Other leaders emphasize on this especially with regard to language differences. Every member of the community is treated with respect and dignity. In general, people who are like me and those who are different are treated equally. Other members of my community treat people equally too. There are some people who are conscious of the fact that I am not American, but they continue to treat me fairly. I have never experienced any racial prejudice or mistreatment. People like me who are not distinct from the mainstream group of community members are treated equally as any other member of the community. However, there are some members of the community who are highly sensitive to the existing differences, and they always tend to note any characteristics that are different from the mainstream group. For example, there are people who are usually too quick to note the use of any other language apart from English. Any time when a person like me speaks in Portuguese in the presence of the mainstream group, some of the community members will always comment that it he/she is a visitor in the community. A few tend to question why such a person is staying in Florida instead of going back to his/her community. However, these are comments that are usually made by a small population of the community members. Many of the people appreciate diversity. This is an indication of the fact that all members of a community can not think and take things in the same way. Some differences may arise, whereby some of the community members fail to behave like everybody else. The organization in which I work appreciates diversity, which makes me contented and enthusiastic about my work. We share a lot and educate each other since we have different talents and capabilities. The work manuals focus on maintenance of workplace diversity, and each worker in the organization appreciates the team work as well as the manner in which the organization treats people from diverse cultures and racial backgrounds. People like me appreciate inclusion and fair treatment. However, as in the community, there are usually a few people who usually tend to embarrass other people who do not belong to the mainstream culture. As Richard (2006) argues, it is usually difficult to maintain uniform thinking within a community. This might be the reason why even though the management makes efforts to encourage diversity in the workplace, there will always be some sort of embarrassment from some people. The local media has played a significant role in generating confidence among people like me. It helps in creating a feeling of being appreciated as members of the community. For example when I listen to a local media station presenting news in my own language, I develop a sense of belonging to the community since my own language is part of the local media. However, I do not like overemphasizing on the use of Latino in my community because I would not like the other members of the community who belong to the mainstream culture and use the English language to feel sidelined through the use of a language that they can not understand. This is one way that I believe will bring the necessary changes that will help in eliminating the differences that exist within the community. Every community member needs to be ready to forget his/her personal thoughts regarding his/her language, culture or race, and emphasize on a common means of communication, even though every culture needs to be appreciated. I believe in equal opportunities for all in the community, just as the community leaders do. The people who are in leadership have managed to accomplish inclusion in the community. Their efforts are similar to what I would advocate if I would be in a leadership position. The only difference between me and the people in leadership positions is the fact that I belong to a different cultural background, and that the present residence is not my place of birth. However, we share many other things such ideologies, color and the manner of dressing. Some minority groups are represented in my community, although there is still a gap that needs to be filled so that every person will be contented and ready to contribute to the success of the community as a whole. For example, even though the Latinos are represented, the African Americans also need to be represented in the same way. My community has been able to accomplish inclusion for all the people living within it. It has been able to accomplish the elimination of any form of prejudice. However, there are the few people who need to change in order to stop causing embarrassment to others who do not belong to the mainstream culture. I would help them to change through diversity training, which is important in generating a positive attitude towards diversity. Change is important because a certain minor habit in the community may eventually escalate in to a major problem in the community. Diversity training is significant in the workplace as well as in educational institutions (Scott 2007). I would also ensure that even other minority groups such as the African American groups need to be represented in the local media programs. Every person needs to be committed to promotion of diversity in the community, which will also be helpful in helping the children to learn how to live with people from diverse cultures. Education and other essential services need to be offered equally to all members of the community. School going children need to be supported with the essential facilities for learning so as to provide an equal opportunity for personal development and success in future. They need to be informed that success can be achieved by any person who acquires education, regardless of the race of cultural background. The mainstream cultures also need to accommodate ideas from other cultures, such as not regarding any person who does not use the English language while communicating with family members and friends as an immigrant. The main concepts that that relate to race in this text include the issue of color whereby there are different groups of people in the community of varying colors which indicates the racial aspect of the community. I am Latino, which is one of the minority groups that also comprise the African Americans and Hispanics. Caucasians are the mainstream group, which makes English the popular language of communication. References Richard T. S. (2006). Racial and ethnic groups (10th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Scott P. (2007). The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. U.S. Census Bureau: State and County Quick Facts (2000). Data derived from Population Estimates, 2000 Census of Population and Housing, 1990 Census of Population and Housing, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, County Business Patterns, 2002 Economic Census, Minority- and Women-Owned Business, Building Permits, Consolidated Federal Funds Report, Census of Governments, U.S. Census Bureau Read More