As a child, I grew up aware of two distinct races: black and white. I don’t know who made this determination but that is what society taught us and we accepted it.
I must have somehow lost touch with the world for a period of about two decades. When I finally reconnected I discover multiple new races had emerged: Hispanics, Asians, Latinos and others. Had I been in a time warp? Where was I when these new races were assigned? I attended school with children who came from these same diverse backgrounds but they weren’t labeled different “races”.
It seemed odd that somewhere along the line, someone decided to “regroup” human beings into segmented compartments based on skin color or country of origin.
“Who was responsible for this division of humanity?” I inquired. But the only answer I received was the proverbial “they”. “They” said so.
But why was it that “they” categorized people based on the above mentioned criteria? Why not by eye color or height or IQ? The blues and the browns, the shorts and talls, the smarts and stupids. It sounds so absurd, doesn’t it? No one I know would ever suggest something so ridiculous nor would any rational individual support it.
After all, dividing human beings due to country of origin or skin color makes ever so much more sense.
This does, however, pose a rather unique dilemma of labeling children born of combined races. Perhaps a blending of terms such as Latasians, Blackanics, Whacks, Asites, or Hispasians would alleviate the problem. Imagine the fun of creating new category titles for each? We could run contests and offer prizes for the most original and creative!
Fun…if it were all an innocent child’s game. But not only have we segregated our human family by color and nationality, we’ve arrogantly assigned ranking of importance and value to each, some of course holding higher regard than others.
I for one think it is preposterous and damaging to separate those who belong to the same family. Families do not divide members according to generation or marital status (marrieds and singles, aunts and cousins) or any other reasons. So why do it to the family of Homo sapiens to which we all belong?
When filling out applications that require me check which race I am a part of, I check “other” and add “human” to the blank space. After all, that is the race to which I belong.
It’s time to end the division of humanity. There aren’t multiple races. There is only one race and that is the HUMAN RACE and we’re all a part of it. Let us fully embrace all of our family and finally be one.
Internationally known motivational and inspirational speaker, Janet is a graduate of Englewood Cliffs College (now St. Peter’s) and is a leader in the field of anger management and conflict resolution.
She serves as a consultant to such companies at the U.S. Army, U.S. Postal Service, Hoffman-La Roche, Carnival Cruise Lines, AT&T, United Way, YWCA, and more.
Janet is a registered trainer for the N.J. Education Association, training teachers and students throughout the state.
As a survivor of domestic violence, she also works as an instructor at a battered women’s shelter.
Janet hosts her own TV show, Discovering Your Personal Power and is a frequent quest on television and radio. She recently appeared on Fox TV, Steve Adubato’s One-On-One, was highlighted by NBC News and appeared on many others. She has also co-hosted her own talk radio show as well.
An award-winning author and freelance writer, Janet writes a column for the Daily Record as well as articles for such magazines as Woman’s World, N.J. Family, Prime Woman and Living Solo.
She has co-authored a book with Mark Victor Hanson (of Chicken Soup For the Soul) entitled “101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Vol. 3”, wrote “The Secret Side of Anger” (currently available on CD), and has four published children’s books. Janet is listed in “Who’s Who in Authors”.
Additionally, Janet has spoken at the United Nations, Notre Dame University, is a member of the National Police Suicide Foundation and a board member for the World Addiction Foundation. She has been a committee member and keynote speaker for the YWCA’s National Week Without Violence Campaign.
In 2001, Janet founded the nation’s first support group of its kind for families struggling with issues of estrangement. The group, Reunion of Hearts: Reconciling and Reconnecting Estranged Families, was dedicated to the emotional and spiritual healing of family members and very successfully reunited more than 90% of the families.
Janet is also a member of NJAWBO and A Vision In Motion Speaker’s Bureau.
She has been nominated for many prestigious awards including the Russ Berrie “Make a Difference Award”, and has received many others.
Added to her credentials are numerous awards for her nature photography. And in 1994 – 95, Janet was one of the nation’s top female marathon race walkers, winning gold medals at the state level and gold, silver and bronze medals for national marathon competitions. No one has yet broken her record of power walking every single day for more than 26 years.
In her spare time, Janet rescues abandoned and abused dogs (she currently has 3 beautiful mutts), hikes, and spends time with her family.