From Island to Inland:
Cultivating diversity in Northwest Arkansas
By Molly Elfers
In 1954, the United States detonated the largest nuclear weapon ever tested on the tiny atoll of Bikini - part of the Marshall Islands.
Then a part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Marshall Islands eventually sought and gained its independence. But the US still holds ties with the islands, and allows citizens to come to the United States to work without a visa. It was in the 1980s when the first Marshallese man migrated to the town of Springdale, located in Northwest Arkansas.
Since then, thousands of Marshallese have followed his lead, migrating to Arkansas with hopes of securing relatively high-paying, low-skill jobs at Tyson Foods Inc., the largest meat producing company in the world. But the transition from the tiny islands in the Pacific Ocean to Northwest Arkansas isn't an easy one for the Marshallese people. This is where Kathryn Birkhead and the Jones Center for Families come in.
From atoll to Arkansas
(click photo to enlarge)
"All are welcome who behave like ladies and gentlemen," says Birkhead, "that's our motto." Kathryn is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion at the Jones Center for Families, a community center in Springdale that offers everything from ice skating to parenting classes. Kathryn's job is to create an environment that is welcoming to the culturally diverse population of Springdale, which involves both education and activities. She and her team of dedicated diversity and inclusion champions work tirelessly to organize and implement such education.
"From the moment [the Marshallese] step off the plane, there is complete unfamiliarity," says Birkhead. "They come from the tropics, surrounded by water, and arrive in a land-locked place that has some very cold winters. The clothes that the Marshallese feel most comfortable wearing are ill-suited to Arkansas winters." The way that things are done in America is very different from the islands, and can cause quite a bit of culture shock for both the Marshallese and their American neighbors. The way Americans view time, for instance, with relatively strict adherence to beginning and ending times, can be a hard adjustment for islanders who are used to the more flexible schedule.
Making the change easier
"The Jones Center has housed a Marshallese Community Outreach Coordinator for almost three years," Kathryn explained. The interaction that the outreach has created gives the Jones Center a more complete understanding of Marshallese traditions. It also gives them a better idea of how to engage their community. The Center, along with the Northwest Arkansas Marshallese Community Organization, put on a Marshallese Independence Day celebration every year. During Marshallese elections, they even allow the use of their facilities as a place for citizens to come cast their absentee ballots.
"We also sponsor child development classes in Marshallese that are taught by a Marshallese woman," says Birkhead. "The classes help parents understand the different stages of their child's development and aid in their understanding of culture and society in the United States."
The Jones Center has also made an effort to reach out to the Marshallese youth, and sponsored a Marshallese Youth Leadership Summit that was organized locally by Albious Latior, a young Marshallese man.
The twenty yard line
Kathryn and the rest of the Jones Center's team don't only work to make newer members of the community feel welcome; they also work with people who have lived in the area for generations, and may not know much about people like the Marshallese. "It's interesting how uninformed some people are about the Marshallese," she says, "one day someone asked me if they spoke Spanish."
And although she loves her job, it isn't always easy. "The most challenging aspect is trying to reach people who don't realize that they aren't open [to new ideas]," she says. She used the analogy of a football field, originated by Jon Abercrombie with Everyday Democracy, saying, "You can reach the people in the middle, but the most challenging thing is to try and reach those people who are in the twenty yard line, those in either extreme - those people are much harder to reach."
"Many of the people who are very strict in their Christian beliefs have a really hard time accepting different religions," says Kathryn. When she recently invited a Buddhist monk into their community to create a sand mandala, for instance, "one man stood right next to the mandala trying to introduce viewers to Christ." And while these types of people may be in "the twenty yard line," Kathryn knows that the majority of her community is within reach.
Envisioning a diverse future
Though Kathryn does see a promising future for diversity, her fear is that once progress is made, people will think promoting diversity is less important: "We've got to stay the course and keep on promoting diversity and inclusion. We can't let people become marginalized."
As for her advice to other diversity leaders? "If every person in a community were to reach out to just one other person who was not like them and start forming a relationship, the results would be overwhelming."
Kathryn Birkhead can be reached at: birkhead@jcf.jonesnet.org
Everyday Democracy can be contacted at: info@everyday-democracy.org
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