Make Way For A New Diversity Book
Open My Eyes Open My Soul:Celebrating Our Common Humanity, is a
special collection of poetry and stories, with contributions
from people of all walks of life. The book includes entries from
celebrities such as Maya Angelou, Margaret Cho, Muhammad Ali,
Dr. Bernie Siegel, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others, along with
a diverse group of contributors. I am very proud and humbled to
have been a part of the creation of this wonderful anthology,
along with my co-creator, Yolanda King, who is the daughter of
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and Coretta Scott King, who graciously
wrote our books foreword. It excites me beyond words to see this
book being used in ways we didn't even perceive, during its'
creation. Since the book was published, in December 2003 by
McGraw-Hill, we have received much feedback on the many ways our
book is being used, as a teaching tool. Diversity trainers, in
the areas of Human Resource, jumped at the chance to purchase
many copies of the book and start using it as diversity training
material for their organizations. Roger Rosas wrote us this
message: " I just finished reading your book "Open My Eyes, Open
My Soul" and I would like to tell you how magnificent your book
is. I am a Diversity Project Manager for Liberty Mutual and your
book has make me see Diversity in a total different prospective.
I am also a member of the Houston Human Resources Association
and member of the Diversity Committee. I am plan to give your
book as a gift to each member of the Committee. I know that they
all will enjoy it as much as I do." In addition to the
workplace, people are using our book in churches and many
classrooms nationwide. Shanedria Ridley, M. Ed wrote us this
note "As a national educational consultant (and former
schoolteacher) who is frequently called upon to devise solutions
to instructional challenges, I am constantly seeking materials
and sources that can positively impact our great and troubled
generation. Illiteracy and intolerance continue to gnaw away the
foundation of our educational institutions, the training grounds
for our future leaders. Your book serves as an antidote to both
of these societal ills." This response has prompted us on a
journey to create a study guide and online courses for diversity
training as well as a curriculum for educators, in the
classroom. Both Yolanda King and I have been able to creatively
build keynote presentations, on the topic of diversity, pulling
from just a few entries in our book each. Yolanda pulls from her
skill of an actor and dramatizes the readings of Muhammad Ali,
and Stevie Wonder. She also turned one popular poem "Agape" by
Jimmi Ware, into a rap song. I use humor from my own diverse
cultural background and I created a silent film from one of the
stories "Danny", who was a foster child that was loved by and
then taken away from his best-friend, Abby Warmuth. We have
happily found the possibilities to this book.... endless. I even
used the book to conduct a four hour employee diversity
training, for a Fortune 500 company's diversity council, on
communication skills, pulling heavily from an entry by Lynise
Harris titled appropriately "The Perfect Lesson". I was also
able to engage the audience by soliciting volunteers to act out
some of the other readings in the book. I feel the bonds we
formed that day, learning together as a team, will last us a
life time. The messages in our book touch people on what I call
a heart level. When the emotions are stirred and new
perspectives are shared, people tend to sit back and reflect on
the message. They are not being preached to, but enlightened to
a new way of thinking. Then they can do their own
self-examination of their soul and find areas where they can
make positive and proactive changes. Often times the stories
resonate with the reader because they have had similar
situations in their life. Our approach is different than
preaching or mandating new regulations. Not that there isn't a
place for those tactics, but using this book, Open My Eyes Open
My Soul, seems to inspires a common sense way of treating all of
humanity with respect. I am not talking about treating everyone
the same, but with the same level of respect. I believe the
lessons in this book enlighten people, who may not have known
they were treating others different than themselves, so that
they can connect and create more harmonious relationships.
Obviously, you may think as the co-creator, I'm just a wee bit
biased. However, what you may not know is how much I have
learned from our contributors and how much I feel I have grown
as an individual, since taking this project on. I can honestly
tell you that I had no foresight into being a diversity trainer
prior to the creation of this book. However, I am loving this
experience and I plan to continue spreading the word of the
benefits, when using Open My Eyes, Open My Soul as a diversity
training tool.