Top 5 Things You Can Do To Help Build An Inclusive Community

We all have a role and responsibility to bridge the ethnic and racial divides that currently exist in Cleveland and make this a city where diversity is appreciated and celebrated; thus building a truly inclusive community.

The National Conference for Community and Justice recommends the five critical steps we can all take to get started.

1. Look in the Mirror

It is hard for most of us to acknowledge our own bias. Take the time to stop and evaluate how you interact with others, what words you use, and how you nonverbally interact with those that are different from you.

• Learn more about your own ethnic background, you may be surprised how much you don't know.

2. Get Smart

Whether it's asking questions of individuals and groups you are unfamiliar with, or picking up a book or visiting a website; take the time to find out more about the cultures, societies and religions that are unfamiliar to you. Education is the key to bringing communities together.

• Share a meal with someone of a different ethnic or racial background or invite someone of a different background to your house.
• Read a book by an author who is different from you.
• Attend a play at a neighborhood theater that you haven't been to before.
• Introduce yourself to someone who is different from you.

3. Listen and Speak Up

Be aware of what you hear on TV, the radio, from your neighbor, teacher, colleague or friend. Speak up when you hear someone spreading stereotypes, prejudice, bias or bigotry. Drawing attention to the problem may be uncomfortable and challenging, but it is essential to helping others identify and address, their own bias words and actions.

• Interrupt an ethnic or racial joke.
• Write the TV station manager when you observe stereotypes.
• Challenge the biases and stereotypes of family and friends.
• Avoid using those words to describe groups that they consider put downs or "hot buttons."

4. Venture Beyond

When we think in new ways, meet new people, and embrace new ideas, we expand our capacity for understanding. Seek experiences that bring you in contact with religions, ethnicities, and cultures that are unfamiliar to you. Being open to different perspectives and lifestyles is one of the best examples you can provide for others to follow - and expand your own experience in the process.

• Shop at a store that is owned by someone of a different racial, ethnic or religious background.
• Visit a house of worship that is different from your own.
• Eat at an ethnic restaurant.

5. Make a commitment

Do not stand still. Get involved. Join an organization in your community that inspires you. Participate in programs or honest conversations, focusing on human relations issues that are important to you and your community. Making a commitment to be active in creating and sustaining positive relationships with those who come from different backgrounds is key to building community.

• Join or create a book group, that focuses on aspects of diversity.
• Participate in a dialogue group. (www.studycircle.org)
• Initiate a discussion at work or at home about stereotypes and prejudice.
• Volunteer at an organization that confronts racism. (www.nccj.org)
• Explore community resources by contacting your local government.
• Encourage your workplace or volunteer organization to assess how inclusive the organization is through workshops and surveys.

Prepared by ideastream's partners in Accents, The National Conference for Community and Justice