Bringing people together by celebrating diversity is the message of Eisenhower High School’s annual Unity Day.
The 1997 Unity Day held Thursday at the Blue Island school featured an appropriately diverse assortment of events highlighting African-American history, Irish and Brazilian dancing, interracial and international adoptions, living with disabilities, daily life in China and the sufferings of European Jews during the Holocaust.
It was day for new experiences.
“We learned how to do Irish dancing. It’s really fast,” said Leslie Wolcott, 14, of Blue Island
“I liked how (the Irish dancers) moved,” said Cathy Castro, 15, of Blue Island.
“I knew about the Special Olympics, but I never saw it,” said Thomas Gama, 15, of Blue Island, after a presentation by Linda Mastrandea, an athlete who doesn’t let paralysis keep her inactive.
Other students eagerly questioned Chicago actress Kecia Cooper about the career of Madam C.J. Walker, an African-American woman who built a profitable cosmetics empire in the early years of this century, and applauded Cooper’s re-enactment of Mary McLeod Bethune’s defiant response to Ku Klux Klansmen who tried to shut down her school. Many were unaware of the career of the educator whose crusade brought her to national prominence as an adviser to presidents.
Tae Kwon Do instructor Tom Cameron showed how the martial arts are rooted in Oriental philosophy, asking students to rise to their feet and attempt to balance on one leg, first while thinking a positive thought, then in the grip of a negative one. Positive thinkers have better balance, he explained.
A humorous skit performed by Ami Bryant and the South Suburban Drama Group had students laughing at the shallow attitudes of two young men who broke up with girlfriends because one was too fat and one was too light-skinned.
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Another drama kept them silent as an actor recalled the horrors of the Holocaust.
Hugo Echeverria, 16, of Blue Island, saw Unity Day as a valuable experience.
“Different races unite,” he said. “You get to learn about different cultures.”
Multicultural activities are part of the curriculum in District 218’s other high schools, Richards in Oak Lawn, Shephard in Palos Heights and Polaris School for Individual Education in Oak Lawn.