By: TK Layman Staff Writer
Inclement weather and blustering winds showed a small but intimate turn out for speaker Kerani Mitchell’s community discussion “Exploring What Makes Us Oregonian.”
Ten people total showed up to talk about community inclusion and how they can, as a group, share stories of how they have all felt included or excluded from their particular community, and explore options to help those who may not feel welcome to be a part of their surroundings.
Kerani Mitchell, a graduate of Seattle University with a degree in international studies, started the group by leading them through a quick reflectio
n and having them consider what brought them to the discussion. By laying out the guidelines of creating a safe inclusive space and keeping an open mind, Mitchell got the audience thinking.
Introductions led way with participants stating their name and one thing they love about their community in Oregon.
During introductions, one audience member prompted the question, “When can someone call themselves an Oregonian?” As participants pondered on what makes someone an Oregonian, they all came to terms; an Oregonian is one who lives in Oregon.
Mitchell had the audience break up into two groups to discuss times they felt included in their community, and how they can identify ways to help others feel included in their daily lives.
One member, a teacher within the community, spoke about the difference between the “golden rule” and a different concept called the “platinum rule,” giving a description of treating others how they wish to be treated, rather than how one would want.
Mitchell ended the conversation with a recording of Maya Angelou’s poem “Human Family.”
By the end the group came back together to discuss ways they can help someone who may feel excluded from their community feel more welcome. Several of the ideas discussed included having themselves step outside their comfort zones and immersing themselves in a new culture, or searching for community involvement opportunities and above all treating everyone with human decency. As the conversation died down, the words of Maya Angelou resonated over the crowd: “We are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.”
Oregon Humanities Conversation Project continues Thursday, Feb. 16 with the next installment, “The Space Between Us, Immigrant Refugees, and Oregon” by speaker Manuel Padilla. Starting at 7 p.m. in the Anderson Room at the Salem Public Library
Contact the author at tlayman16@wou.edu
