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-Barbara Jordan 42nd Annual Conference of Southwest Foundations October 5, 1990 El Paso, Texas From the many, one. "E pluribus unum." From the writer, Ralph Ellison: "America is woven of many strands; I would recognize them and let it so remain.... Our fate is to become one, and yet many." You will recognize the Latin as our nation's motto, "E pluribus unum." Those words on the one hand confirm our diversity and on the other defy any interpretation that the differences will pollute the unity of our faith. We made that Latin phrase a motto in part so that we could call it up at will and hold it before all as a smug rejection of the shattering differences of the "old world." We were so proud of that salient American idea that we etched it onto our hard currency. You can't rub those words off our coins. From many, one. America's strength is rooted in its diversity and our history bears witness to that statement. We just recently celebrated the restoration of the structures on Ellis Island where many Americans saw the first light of this land. Yes, we are proud of our diversity. Within the past few months a report was issued by an organization called the Business Higher Education Forum. This is a group comprised of people from Fortune 500 corporations and some of our leading colleges and universities. The preface of that report begins as follows: "This report will take about 30 minutes to read. In that half hour, about 250 new Americans will join us. Nearly 220 will be born here; 30 will immigrate. The names will be rich and strange, echoes from the far corners of the globe. The color of their skins will vary. Some will be wealthy; some comfortable; too many will be poor. All of them will be, or aspire to be, Americans." Americans. We have often treated our national identity as if it were a religion...as in chosen by God and given a destiny fashioned by the divine. While such views are too superlative, we are different. What other nation conjures up a dream which outlines your present and your future as in the "American Dream." The French dream? The Italian dream? The African dream? No...of course not. "The American Dream" evokes certain images without the necessity to say anything further. Those images are In just symbols without substance. What is that substance? This substance is a polyglot nation which made promises so grand that its architects dubbed it an
Text of a speech delivered by Barbara Jordan during the 42nd Annual Conference of Southwest Foundations in El Paso, Texas. Topics include diversity and education.
Text of a speech delivered by Barbara Jordan during the 42nd Annual Conference of Southwest Foundations in El Paso, Texas. Topics include diversity and education.
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