Published: May 02, 2008 10:57 am         

Diversity Day a good time to celebrate

A Goshen tradition has long outlasted the event that inspired it.

Saturday will mark the 12th annual Diversity Day in the Maple City. The festival got its start when the Ku Klux Klan staged a rally at the Elkhart County Courthouse. Diversity Day was designed to be an alternative to that noxious gathering, an event that would highlight the positives of multi-cultural inclusion.

The Klan’s bid for local attention came and went. Diversity Day was a success, and it’s been an annual highlight now for more than a decade. That says a lot about the kind of people who live in the Goshen area.

What does Diversity Day have going for it? Simply put, it’s a lot of fun.

To be unimpressed with Diversity Day is to be averse to food, music, dancing and people enjoying themselves. Visitors to Maple City Chapel will also be able to view cultural displays, and there are activities for the kids. What’s not to like?

Divisions persist in our community, and a one-day event isn’t likely to bridge the gaps. Anglo-Hispanic tensions are high in Goshen, with many longtime residents resenting their new neighbors. Some of that ill-will is based in bigotry; much of it isn’t. Illegal immigration is straining the cultural fabric, and pleas for “tolerance” increasingly test patience.

There’s clearly work to do, but take Diversity Day for what it is: a celebration. The event offers a time to spotlight all the things that are good about cultural diversity. And, of course, to get a bite to eat.

See you there.