BOSTON, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ —
On June 10 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., thousands from all walks of life will gather in Boston’s Rose Kennedy Greenway for a the Second Annual Metro Boston Race Amity Celebration. A “Festival of the Human Family,” this fun, family celebration will unite Boston’s diverse community and serve as a modern day celebration of our country’s motto, E Pluribus Unum, meaning, “Out of Many, One.”
In support of the event, which is organized by the National Center for Race Amity at Wheelock College, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is issuing a mayoral proclamation citing Sunday June 10, 2012 as Boston Race Amity Day. The Mayor’s Office of New Immigrants is one several non-profit organizations collaborating on the event including the YW Boston, the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Teachers’ Association and the Baha’i Communities of Greater Boston.
The free celebration will feature local television celebrity hosts, a Health and Wellness Tent, Job Fair Tent, College Fair Tent, Arts Tent, the Red Cross Blood Mobile Bus, spoken word artists, Brett the Yo-yo King, Boston’s best live musical entertainment, dance, art exhibits, Curious George and other children characters, along with concessions with food from around the world.
Attendees will have the chance to win hundreds of prizes, including meals at area restaurants, tickets to sporting events, concerts, museums, gift certificates, and entertainment venues for all age groups.
“Diversity and racial unity is one of America’s greatest assets,” said William H. “Smitty” Smith, Ed.D., founding executive director, National Center for Race Amity. “When remove racial and cultural boundaries, there is little we can’t accomplish.”
The Other Tradition: “Get To Know Me” Forges Trust and Cooperation
According to Smith, the purpose of the Event is twofold – “to focus on the uncelebrated ‘other tradition’ of American life dating back to the 1600s. That ‘other tradition is close cross racial friendships and ties that that move us forward in overcoming inequities in society.” The second element Smith states “is to encourage Bostonians to embrace our founding fathers’ vision for the nation captured in the motto the E Pluribus Unum: people of divergent backgrounds coming together as one to achieve greatness.”
“Diversity with unity is the key for America to reassert our greatness in the world,” said Smith. “From ending slavery, to WWII, to sending a man to the moon, all great moments in American history have been achieved by forging true, close relationships across race, culture and ethnicity.”
To facilitate relationship building, the event will use a unique ice-breaker called “Get to Know Me,” asking each attendee to do three things:
During the afternoon each person meet someone they do not know who is of another race, ethnicity, or culture other than their own.
Agree that within one week they will be in touch by either email, cell phone, in person, Face book, telephone, Twitter, Linked In or some means of personal communication.
Once participants meet a new acquaintance they will be asked to register as a two-person team for one of the wonderful “Get To Know Me!” Amity Prizes to be given away by drawings during the event.
Hundreds of Amity Prizes will be given including meals at area restaurants, tickets to sporting events, concerts, museums, gift certificates, and entertainment venues for all age groups.
“Get to Know Me is a fun way for people to overcome shyness, fear or mistrust, which is the first step in racial healing,” said Smith.
A National Effort Starting in Boston
The National Center for Race Amity is working to establish the second Sunday in June as National Race Amity Day, a day on which Americans are asked to reach across racial, cultural, and ethnic lines with an eye toward respect for their fellow citizens.
According to Smith, the goal is to continue to pilot the event in Boston before offering it for replication to communities throughout America.
“One day soon, cities across our great nation will join us in this celebration, and truly and finally, out of many will come one,” said Smith.
About The National Center for Race Amity
The National Center for Race Amity (NCRA) was established in January 2010. It is based at Wheelock College in Boston, Massachusetts and received its founding grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The Center’s three primary initiatives, expansion of the Campus Conversations on Race model in a national network of colleges that employ the strategy of training student co-facilitators to guide peer group discussions on race and ethnicity; development of theater based race amity education programs targeting middle school students; and research and development of The Human Being Curriculum® for national and international dissemination. For more information, visit
http://www.wheelock.edu/ncra/about.html .
For more information on the Metro Boston Race Amity Celebration, visit
www.wheelock.edu/ncra/celebration.html .
SOURCE The National Center for Race Amity
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