“The time has come,” the Walrus said,
“To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —
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Of cabbages — and kings —”
(“Through the Looking Glass” by Lewis Carroll)
We need time to talk.
We need time to talk to each other, not at each other. We need to share the hundreds of things in life that constantly link each to the other and we need to examine those words that always seem to keep us apart; words like race, discrimination and injustice. We need time to talk about the common and invisible threads of life that bond us together and the things that keep us apart.
For the last 18 years, the Diversity Dinners project in the south suburbs has been a starting point for some of these conversations. These dinners, held in numerous private homes throughout the area, are designed to encourage open conversations on important issues. Guests are selected by age, gender, race and background to create a diverse environment that promotes open discussion of differing views.
In exchange for honest opinions and a sharing of ideas, you get a fully catered dinner at no cost. What more can you ask for?
The dinners are managed by the villages of Park Forest, Flossmoor, Homewood, Richton Park and Olympia Fields, in conjunction with local chapters of the League of Women Voters, U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly and a number of school districts.
This year, Diversity Dinners will be held on April 14. You can become a host or a guest by registering online at diversitydinners.com. For more information, you also can call Hildy Kingma, Park Forest’s economic development director, at 708-283-5622.
The ground rules are simple. You have to be at least 14 years old and willing to go to the home assigned.
At a recent kickoff breakfast for this year’s event, Terri Johnson, executive director of the Center for a New Community, a Chicago agency that focuses on issues on immigration, race and economic discrimination, underlined some of the purposes of these dinners.
“Lots of people know things are wrong, but don’t know what to do about them,” she said. “These dinners are a place to start.”
Race is “the big elephant in the room,” and a dialogue is needed, which she defined as “a conversation with empathy” to connect with each other.
The focus at these dinners is on honest conversation, and as an infrequent guest we’ve observed that discussions usually result in shared feelings. All seem to preach to the same choir.
Shared opinions often sound alike, Johnson said.
“But preaching to the choir is a good thing,” Johnson said. “Not all singers sing the same tune and sometimes we are singing new songs.”
Asleep at the Wheel
The other week, a Park Forest Police officer was stopped in the right hand lane at the Western Avenue railroad crossing waiting for a s–l–o—w freight train. When the train finally passed and the crossing gates lifted, it was noted that none of the cars in the left hand lane were moving. The car at the head of the line was stationary.
The officer investigated and discovered the driver was asleep. It was a case of too much liquid refreshment and too long of a wait.
Jerry Shnay is a freelance journalist and can be reached at [email protected].
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