Too many people have become immune to or annoyed with the word "diversity."
They see it somehow as a "card" of any kind (racially related, disability
related, etc.) that doesn't hold credibility.  I vote for a new word that
doesn't further irritate people with a word they think is just politically
correct rhetoric.  "Ethnicity" covers the "color" thing.  "Ability" and
"sexual identity" covers other aspects of what we think of in terms of
"diversity."  I prefer the word "ability" because there is room there to
stress strengths and not just impairment.

Am I getting off topic?

Katherine Mercurio Gotthardt
www.luxuriouschoices.org
  -----Original Message-----
  From: povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:povertyracewomen-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Andrea Wilder
  Sent: Friday, January 11, 2008 11:57 PM
  To: The Poverty, Race,Women and Literacy Discussion List
  Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 1515] Re: PovertyRaceWomen Digest, Vol 15,
Issue 8


  OK--more on the problem of "diversity;" no one knows what you mean (except
Black) unless you specify what you mean, so we might as well specify to
begin with--women? poor? etc etc.

  Andrea
  On Jan 11, 2008, at 1:42 PM, Bertha Mo wrote:


    As an anthropologist, I've learned that meaning is often dictated by
context and circumstances.  I participate on list serves such as this one
just to enhance the meaning of the term "diversity."

    Bertie Mo, Ph.D., MPH

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      Today's Topics:

      1. [PovertyRaceWomen 1509] Diversity and Literacy (Taylor, Jackie)
      2. [PovertyRaceWomen 1509] Re: Diversity and Literacy (Andrea Wilder)


      ----------------------------------------------------------------------

      Message: 1
      Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2008 21:46:40 -0500
      From: "Taylor, Jackie"
      Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 1509] Diversity and Literacy
      To:
      Message-ID:
      <0913EC48F2B05C4FBE4878BAFCABBFEC0176FD35 at KFSVS2.utk.tennessee.edu>
      Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

      List friends,

      I have been watching the discussion about the list name for the
Poverty,
      Race, Women and Literacy List, and reviewing the options. A name
      embraces who we are and what we are about. I'm wondering, are we
      limiting ourselves by choosing a very descriptive name?



      What about choosing a name that is fully inclusive of all groups that
      find themselves on the margins? None of the names below really suggest
      that except for "Diversity and Literacy" and "Literacy and Voice." If
      the name were "Class, Color, Gender, and Literacy" I don't see how
that
      would allow for discussions of the elderly and literacy, or of ableism
      for example, the discrimination against those with disabilities. I
don't
      believe we have postings purely on class, color, or gender.



      The advantage of the name "Diversity and Literacy" is that it allows
for
      the full range of topics that concern our community and the
intersection
      of those topics, like the discussions occurring this week, for
example.



      What do others think?



      Jackie



      Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List Moderator,
      jataylor at utk.edu



      ________________________________

      Thanks to all the contributors who sent in ideas regarding the
possible
      name change for our list. After reviewing the different possibilities
      and discussing them with National Institute for Literacy staff, it
seems
      as if the following names fit the most appropriately with the purpose
of
      our discussion list (listed in alphabetical order):

      Class, Color, Gender, and Literacy
      Class, Ethnicity, Gender, and Literacy
      Class, Gender, Race, and Literacy
      Diversity and Literacy
      Gender, Income, Race, and Literacy
      Gender. Poverty, Race, and Literacy
      Literacy and Voice

      Or

      Keeping it as is: Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy

      It is completely up to us which of the above names we want to select.

      Please be aware, that if we change the name of the list, we will need
to
      create a new list. Current subscribers will be automatically
subscribed
      to the new list. Each subscriber will receive a confirmation email
with
      a new password and information about the list.

      Here is what I am proposing. Between now and January 21, let us have a
      discussion on the pros and cons of the various names above (please do
      not suggest new names). Then between January 22nd and February 11th,
      people can select their top choice (only one please) either on list or
      off list to me (dgreenberg at gsu.edu
      )

      So who, would like to start the discussion by providing feedback on
the
      pros/cons of any of the above names for our list?

      Daphne

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      Message: 2
      Date: Fri, 11 Jan 2008 07:10:18 -0500
      From: Andrea Wilder
      Subject: [PovertyRaceWomen 1509] Re: Diversity and Literacy
      To: "The Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy Discussion List"

      Message-ID: <1d6bb58cf46b2036caf52dbc03cf97b6 at comcast.net>
      Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252"

      Hi Jackie--

      The problem with diversity : a euphemism for black. I find this
      everywhere.

      Andrea.


      On Jan 10, 2008, at 9:46 PM, Taylor, Jackie wrote:

      > List friends,
      > I have been watching the discussion about the list name for the
      > Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy List, and reviewing the options. A
      > name embraces who we are and what we are about. I?m wondering, are
we
      > limiting ourselves by choosing a very descriptive name? ?
      > ?
      > What about choosing a name that is fully inclusive of all groups
that
      > find themselves on the margins? None of the names below really
suggest
      > that except for ?Diversity and Literacy? and ?Literacy and Voice.?
If
      > the name were ?Class, Color, Gender, and Literacy? I don?t see how
      > that would allow for discussions of the elderly and literacy, or of
      > ableism for example, the discrimination against those with
      > disabilities. I don?t believe we have postings purely on class,
color,
      > or gender.
      > ?
      > The advantage of the name ?Diversity and Literacy? is that it allows
      > for the full range of topics that concern our community and the
      > intersection of those topics, like the discussions occurring this
      > week, for example.
      > ?
      > What do others think?
      > ?
      > Jackie
      > ?
      > Jackie Taylor, Adult Literacy Professional Development List
Moderator,
      > jataylor at utk.edu
      > ?
      >
      > Thanks to all the contributors who sent in ideas regarding the
      > possible name change for our list. After reviewing the different
      > possibilities and discussing them with National Institute for
Literacy
      > staff, it seems as if the following names fit the most appropriately
      > with the purpose of our discussion list (listed in alphabetical
      > order):
      >
      > Class, Color, Gender, and Literacy
      > Class, Ethnicity, Gender, and Literacy
      > Class, Gender, Race, and Literacy
      > Diversity and Literacy
      > Gender, Income, Race, and Literacy
      > Gender. Poverty, Race, and Literacy
      > Literacy and Voice
      >
      > Or
      >
      > Keeping it as is: Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy
      >
      > It is completely up to us which of the above names we want to
select.
      >
      > Please be aware, that if we change the name of the list, we will
need
      > to create a new list. Current subscribers will be automatically
      > subscribed to the new list. Each subscriber will receive a
      > confirmation email with a new password and information about the
list.
      >
      > Here is what I am proposing. Between now and January 21, let us have
      > a discussion on the pros and cons of the various names above (please
      > do not suggest new names). Then between January 22nd and February
      > 11th, people can select their top choice (only one please) either on
      > list or off list to me (dgreenberg at gsu.edu)
      >
      > So who, would like to start the discussion by providing feedback on
      > the pros/cons of any of the above names for our list?
      >
      > Daphne
      > ----------------------------------------------------
      > National Institute for Literacy
      > Poverty, Race, Women and Literacy mailing list
      > PovertyRaceWomen at nifl.gov
      > To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to
      > http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/povertyracewomen
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