I remember the first time I experienced the cultural phenomenon called multiculturalism outside of my own home. I was reading the Stony Brook University newspaper called “The Brook”. The year was either 1991 or 1992. The term multiculturalism that was used in the newspaper was new to me as well as new to the community in which I was living: Long Island, NY. However, as far back as I can remember I have lived in a multicultural house thanks to my mother. Four times a year mom had a "family food feast" where we would have one food from each of our ancestors culinary repertoires. We had delicious cheeses from France and Normandy, noodles from China, shortbread from Scotland, fish and chips from England, and much more! I still look forward to these family food feasts because not only is it a celebration of everything that I am, it is a celebration of cultures, societies, and peoples that are now dead but are not forgotten because their stories live on in books, and in our hearts.
At one point I was trying to pick up a Swedish girl at the Scandinavia House in New York City. There was a tree in the middle of the room, with no apparent point or purpose to it. It looked nice, however it puzzled me. Why was it there? The second time the Scandinavian girl came back to my table as waitress, I asked her about it. Then, suddenly, I remembered the world tree Yggdrasil upon which Odin, the most powerful god of the Norse mythos, had a vision of the runes, and thus written language was born in Scandinavia. I asked her if this tree could be Yggdrasil. she replied, “What? I don’t know anything about Norse mythology. We don’t study that in Sweden anymore.” So, I told her the story of how Odin had the vision of the runes, and she was happy to learn about it. For me, this is the best kind of multiculturalism: positive, life-affirming, and based on history and tales of long ago.
However, multiculturalism is now on the decline on the world stage. From a nascent field embraced in academia about two decades ago. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor has called multiculturalism in Germany a failure. Sarkozy, the Prime Minister of France has said that the Burka is no longer welcome in France. It is sad to me to see this experiment that is multiculturalism in the modern world to be threatened. I believe that the old concept of America as a melting pot still is important. However, there are people in our country that are not of Anglo-American stock. Latinos and African-Americans as well as other groups deserve recognition by the libraries that serve them as well as the institutions which make up our country. I feel that we must not give up on the concept of multiculturalism as librarians because not one among us is as rich as all of us.
At one point I was trying to pick up a Swedish girl at the Scandinavia House in New York City. There was a tree in the middle of the room, with no apparent point or purpose to it. It looked nice, however it puzzled me. Why was it there? The second time the Scandinavian girl came back to my table as waitress, I asked her about it. Then, suddenly, I remembered the world tree Yggdrasil upon which Odin, the most powerful god of the Norse mythos, had a vision of the runes, and thus written language was born in Scandinavia. I asked her if this tree could be Yggdrasil. she replied, “What? I don’t know anything about Norse mythology. We don’t study that in Sweden anymore.” So, I told her the story of how Odin had the vision of the runes, and she was happy to learn about it. For me, this is the best kind of multiculturalism: positive, life-affirming, and based on history and tales of long ago.
However, multiculturalism is now on the decline on the world stage. From a nascent field embraced in academia about two decades ago. Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor has called multiculturalism in Germany a failure. Sarkozy, the Prime Minister of France has said that the Burka is no longer welcome in France. It is sad to me to see this experiment that is multiculturalism in the modern world to be threatened. I believe that the old concept of America as a melting pot still is important. However, there are people in our country that are not of Anglo-American stock. Latinos and African-Americans as well as other groups deserve recognition by the libraries that serve them as well as the institutions which make up our country. I feel that we must not give up on the concept of multiculturalism as librarians because not one among us is as rich as all of us.
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