Pastor Ross is a Guest Editorialist
with the Daily Herald Newspaper, Naperville, IL.
These articles are reprints from her
column entitled "Guest View".

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Diversity means using the strengths of people from all backgrounds
Posted Wednesday, July 13, 2005,
written by the Rev. Barbara A. Ross

When I got my Daily Herald newspaper the other day, I skimmed some of the stories. While doing so, I ran across an article entitled, “Applicant accuses Dist. 204 board of racial bias.”

I didn’t have time to read the article in depth at the time, but I do remember my very first thought about it was that I have yet to experience any racial bias here.

This does not mean that I put no credence into whether Gerald K. Bloodsaw’s argument, that he was denied an appointment to the District 204 school board because of racial bias, is true or not true. I am only sharing my experiences as an African-American and a resident of Naperville.

But the other day I sat down for a closer read of the article, as well as the Daily Herald’s editorial on this issue, “No proof to back claim of racial bias.”

My first thought after reading both was that there is a lot of hindsight here, and that this is a good time for the Indian Prairie District 204 school board to go back and review and revise procedures that lead to the filling of school board vacancies.

I also believe that there should not be any secrets about who the finalists are. I agree with the Daily Herald’s opinion that, by making the school board appointment process open, residents can decide for themselves if the board is somehow biased. This is a good policy for the District 204 school board to adopt, as it will ease/eliminate unnecessary suspicion and stress.

I also believe that by giving the public a chance to ask finalists for an appointed school board position questions on key issues in an open forum, as well as questions about their background, it would help reveal any concerns early enough to be dealt with before the finalist is appointed.

On diversity, I believe it should not just be limited to race; the color of a person’s skin.

Diversity is also about a person’s way of doing things, a person’s different views on issues.

Diversity means a variety of people from all walks of life.

I just firmly believe that diversity is too important an issue to contain the discussion of such to just the race of a person. If we only looked at race, we would be missing out on so many precious gifts that God has blessed a person with; gifts that they would bring to the table.

Most people, if they are honest, would agree with me that when most people think about diversity, they think of red, yellow, black, brown and white. Meaning they think of a mixture of different races.

In terms of fairness or unfairness, the color of a person’s skin should not be the only factor used in determining which person is best suited for the job. That would not be fair to the thousands of schoolchildren whom the school board would be making decisions for.

We must remember that this is all about our children and what is best for them to ensure that they have a chance to get, and have a right to, the best education possible. We must be careful in the way we paint the picture of diversity. Our children must be taught that just because you are red, yellow, black, brown or white, this doesn’t mean that you are necessarily the best person for the job. The best person for the job should be the one who brings a variety of well-rounded ideas to the table.

Our children must be taught what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said — people must not be “judged by the color of their skin but by content of their character.”

May this be a new beginning of great things to come for the Indian Prairie District 204 school board, which now has a great opportunity to implement or reconstruct its way of doing things.

Pastor Ross can be reached at pastorross@philiprcousinamec.org