In the Press
Interview with...Steve Hanamura
Steve Hanamura is the president of Hanamura Consulting, and
he actively serves as a consultant in the areas of leadership
and diversity. He has consulted for K-12 schools, colleges, universities,
private corporations, and government agencies. His clients include
the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and the Beaverton
School District in Oregon. Co-editor Allen Koshewa recently interviewed
Steve to understand his view of tolerance and his ideas about
the impact of diversity education upon literacy.
Allen Steve, in your workshops, you distinguish
between tolerance and understanding in terms of diversity. Would
you talk about what these terms mean to you and why such distinctions
are important?
Steve I gained a new perspective on the meaning
of tolerance during one of my first contracts as a consultant
with a large corporation. There were twenty of us who were hired
to conduct diversity training. As trainers, we were responsible
for getting people to talk with each other, for imparting necessary
course content, and for engaging participants in interactive exercises.
In order to be fully prepared for the first session, we all arrived
early to chart course content points on flip charts. We were assigned
to work in teams of two.
The first person I worked with was hesitating to be with me because,
as a blind person, I couldn't write on the flip chart. This meant
the other consultant would always have to do the charting prior
to the session. He resented the fact that he would have to "do
more of the work." Thus, from his perspective, our partnership
represented an uneven workload. In the beginning, he merely tolerated
me.
As our relationship grew, my associate began to see that there
were other areas in which I could make a contribution. For example,
while he was writing on the chart, I would greet participants
as they came into the room and would help them feel welcome. I
would also talk with the project coordinator (our client contact)
and make sure that the other logistical needs were taken care
of. The consultant and I were able to build a relationship that
went beyond tolerance. We began to respect the talents and gifts
that each of us had to offer.
Many organizations say "let's create tolerance." But
what does that really mean? Tolerance means "to put up with"
and implies something which we wish would go away. If I'm "tolerating"
your diversity, then I'm just putting up with you. But if I really
want to understand your culture, I'm going to listen to you from
a totally different perspective. Understanding does not necessarily
mean acceptance, but it goes beyond tolerance because tolerating
doesn't necessary entail understanding. These distinctions are
very important in the way diversity programs are set up. If we
promote diversity with the goal of merely tolerating children
of color, the children can feel that. If teachers are asking students
questions because they really want to learn about their ideas,
students will feel that too.
Allen What would help teachers who have not
actively promoted diversity education take some first steps?
Steve For K-12 teachers, an important goal is
to break down concepts of diversity and ask students questions,
such as "How would it feel if someone did such-and-such to
you?" This way you can shift the paradigm because you're
teaching age-appropriate behaviors. The concept of fairness underlies
these important conversations. On the other hand, it's important
to remember that life isn't fair. So another distinction is between
fairness and justice, as we may need to think about what is just,
rather than what is fair. I never promise students I will be fair,
but I do promise equitable and respectful treatment.
The distinction between fairness and justice may be at the bottom
of some of the conflict between different cultural groups. If
the goal is fairness, the goal is unlikely to be realized, just
as equal opportunity will never be completely realized. But teachers
have to give students the opportunity to give the gifts and talents
that they have, or potentially have. Fairness implies equality,
and there's no such thing. The distinction between justice and
fairness is similar to the distinction between prejudice and discrimination.
I'm a prejudiced person, and so are we all. But we have a responsibility
to redirect our prejudices to make sure we are treating people
in a manner that is equitable and just. Of course we need to strive
to be fair, but a more realistic goal is to promote equity and
respect regardless of the prejudices we may have. Schools will
not be able to create "bias-free" environments, but
they can establish peaceful and respectful environments.
Allen What are some of the obstacles to creating
"bias-free" environments?
Steve Social identities, and biases against
them, can be very subtle. Bias is frequently invisible, and that
is one reason that it is difficult to eliminate. Most of us act
on first impressions and these often come from what we actually
see. But very rarely do we fully know or understand someone's
perspective or culture or being. The core of who a person really
is may or may not be manifested in outward behaviors or expressions.
For example, a white person seeing an African American driving
a Cadillac may think that person is spending beyond his means.
Not only does that view represent bias concerning the African
American's socioeconomic status, but it doesn't even consider
that, for that individual, owning a Cadillac might be a source
of solace in the face of terrible strife. To one person it represents
excessive spending but to the other person it may represent the
preservation of one's dignity.
Religious beliefs, political beliefs, and sexual orientation
are the core of who we are, but we very rarely see these aspects
of individuals. We see people's shirt color or their status as
a custodian or teacher or administrator, but that's not the basis
of who we really are. Even deeper is the person's potential to
succeed. Teachers need to constantly ask what each student can
contribute, to explore the potential for success.
Allen What can help teachers examine biases
and probe differences in productive ways?
Steve There are specific strategies that help
teachers to get beyond their biases and help students achieve
their potential. I have a grid that I call "dialogue tools."
The first important tool is: Be in the inquiry. If you ask questions
rather than make statements, you will learn more about the person.
The questions, of course, must be asked within the construct of
educating oneself. When I'm faced with something I don't understand,
I view it through my own lenses and assumptions. But if I ask
questions, those lenses and assumptions can be examined.
A second dialogue tool involves active listening. Listen with
the understanding that what the person is telling you is true
for that person. This is hard to do if you don't understand or
agree with what the person is saying. Most of us listen to watch
to understand and once we understand we do something about it.
But what if I never understand someone's point of view? Then I
won't change my mind or expand my thinking. If, however, I trust
that what you're telling me is true for you, I won't discount
your experience. Sometimes, by not assuming that truth, I will
disagree too readily and tear away something very important simply
because I can't understand or see the other point of view.
Another important dialogue tool is to act on what you learn.
Obviously the precursor to this is establishing relationships
so that you can indeed take action; you're not going to do that
with someone you don't know. Teachers can only teach well if they
have established good relationships.
To effectively use these dialogue tools, it is important to understand
the difference between who you are as an individual and who you
are as a member of the various groups you belong to. Most people
don't know how to get comfortable within the groups they belong
to. In particular, members of the dominant culture do not easily
own their group identity and responsibility. We live in an individualistic,
monotheistic society, but many other societies are bicultural
or multicultural in their orientation. They think of the group
first and their individual identity second. But in American culture,
we think of ourselves as individuals first and don't understand
our group identity until we are forced to see it. War, for example,
highlights national identity. Yet just as national identity may
be obscured or dismissed in times of peace, in times of war individual
identities may be dismissed by the perceived need for everyone
to agree. The overlap between individual and group identities
creates an infinite number of cross-sections, and they two sectors
of identity can be highly consistent or dramatically at odds.
But in any case, bias and difference can be best probed when both
individual and group identities are taken into account.
Allen Whether we are examining individual identities
or group identities, we are bound to encounter values that contradict
our own. What contexts can you provide for thinking through the
potential conflict of different values?
Steve Well, once must begin by being sensitive
to the tension between disagreeing with a person and accepting
that person. There's a gray line between the personal and the
systemic. Disagreement can become the first phase of conflict,
so it becomes important to look at how different cultural groups
address conflict. Western Europeans tend to address conflict by
hitting it straight on. Asians and Latinos tend to address conflict
less directly. So disagreement can lead to assumptions that someone
is too strong, or too angry, or too wishy-washy. But really these
are cultural constructs about how to deal with conflict. If we
know that, we can accept that these different approaches to conflict
are cultural and not merely personal.
Every cultural group has some "nondiscussable" questions.
What's nondiscussable is derived from fears: fear of making a
mistake, of looking bad or foolish, of being put down, of getting
into trouble. People often shut down to avoid these possible outcomes.
The fear of offending or hurting someone comes from good intentions,
but it can also shut down communication. In order to balance the
risk-taking of discussing something openly with the desire not
to offend, it is helpful to be open about these concerns. "If
I say something offensive, let me know," goes a long way
in facilitating communication. Rather than worry about how someone
wants to identify herself, one can flat-out ask by saying, for
example, "Do you prefer to be called African American or
black?" When people ask me about aspects of my social identity
that I don't get to talk about very often, I'm glad to be asked.
Allen What propelled your own understanding
of diversity?
Steve I was aware of the importance of diversity
long before it was a movement. When I was a kid, people would
ask me to visit their class to talk about what it's like to be
blind. I was constantly asked to demonstrate Braille. I had to
learn to embrace diversity. When one's difference is being highlighted,
there may be a stage of wanting to avoid the differences, and
that was true in my case. At first, I wished I weren't so different,
and I wanted to do whatever was acceptable. But I eventually came
to embrace diversity, my own, and that of others. It's a lifelong
process.
People connect with personal stories first, especially around
issues of difference. So I often begin conversations about diversity
by telling a personal story. But about twenty years ago, I realized
that I can't just talk about my own experiences. To really champion
diversity, I had to become a person who has expertise beyond my
personal experience of being different. Now that I've heard so
many other people's stories, I can use my own story more powerfully,
as a tool to teach other things. Of course, diversity is our
story, it's not just my story.
Allen Did appreciating diversity play a role
in your literacy development?
Steve Yes, in many ways. If it weren't for music
and sports, I wouldn't have been so successful. Those two literacies
have played a tremendous role in my development as a human being.
Baseball saved me in the second grade. When I was in the blind
school, I flunked first grade because I hadn't learned Braille.
I still hadn't learned it after repeating the grade. The superintendent,
however, went to the second grade teacher and said "I'm going
to pass this boy up to you. He's supposed to know Braille and
he doesn't know it." The teacher asked him what she should
do with me, and the superintendent said, "I don't know, but
do something with him."
Fortunately, I had a propensity for broadcasting baseball games
whenever I could. So I would walk into class and, in a broadcaster
sort of voice, I'd say, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen!
Welcome to today's game between the New York Yankees and the Cleveland
Indians. Here are the starting lineups for the Cleveland Indians."
I'd read the starting lineups and keep on going for as long as
I could get away with it. Whenever there was a lull in the day,
I'd continue the broadcast, whispering it to myself.
The teacher watched me simulate baseball game broadcasting for
five months. She then came over to me and said, "Steve, you're
going to have to learn Braille if you want to become a broadcaster,
because you've got to be able to read commercials in between innings
of the game."
"I can be a broadcaster?" I asked.
"Not unless you learn Braille," she said. And I went
from the bottom of the class to the top of the class.
Baseball is what I hung onto when I felt bad about being blind,
when I didn't want to be in the blind school, and when I felt
sad about being away from home. But the teacher knew that there
was something in me that needed to be unspun. And my broadcast
performances propelled my learning.
Likewise, music has been a constant source of learning for me.
My sons taught me a lot about rap music after I was asked to do
a rap for our church choir. I never worked so hard in my life
musically. It took me one month to learn six lines. You must make
it flow and it's hard. I've sung with James DePriest in a choral
arts ensemble, I was in a group that backed up Barry Manilow,
and I've sung in folk groups, yet this was the biggest musical
challenge I'd ever had. When I asked my sons to coach me, they
said, "Make sure it's you. Don't try to be like somebody
else." Then they taught me to listen to a rap over and over,
practicing it until I developed it into my own musical persona.
I learned that rap is an art form all its own, and it provides
a way to express feelings that cannot be expressed in any other
way. Some rap lyrics may be offensive, and I don't like vulgarity,
but some rap is very profound.
Unfortunately, the increasingly narrow curriculum of public schools
often precludes the possibility of exploring the learning potential
of popular culture such as rap and hip-hop. In the throes of the
current budget problems in U.S. schools, particularly in Oregon
and New Jersey, the first thing that is cut is the arts. This
is a clear announcement of what is considered literacy and what
is not considered literacy. This is also related to what is deemed
intelligence and what isn't. When the artist or athlete is perceived
as less intelligent than the scholar, we're making an artificial
divided that prevents literacy opportunities for people. We learn
through creativity, through art, through kinesthetics. But because
of budget cuts we put art and band and choir and sports in a secondary
position. We need both the experiential dimension and the scholarly
dimension to make learning whole. Our own warfare in this arena
contributes to the literacy challenges we face.
Music and drama are wonderful art forms for teaching. Teachers
can bring in groups to do diversity theater. Literacy comes in
all these forms. It is what you read, what you do, how you "be,"
and it is everything that you don't see. If you define literacy
as the ability to learn and the enhancement of intelligence, it
encompasses all of life. And we can use this broad conceptualization
of literacy to expand the interpersonal understanding that is
the heart of diversity.
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