Cultural acceptance starts with a conversation, and that dialogue spread Thursday morning in Gainesville.

About two dozen people filed into the bottom floor of the United Way of Hall County building to take part in a cultural diversity workshop: “Mixing it Up! Breaking Down Barriers.”     

“Culture is the foundation of people,” said André Cheek, the workshop’s sole presenter.

Cheek, a former director of minority affairs and multicultural programs at Gainesville State College, said she hoped those who attended the workshop, many of whom are leaders in the community, were able to open up and take something real away from the session.

“Although I was expecting resistance, it did meet and exceed my expectations,” said Cheek. “The hardest thing to get adults to do is to be open, honest and talk about diversity in this demographic area. But taking those steps to get to that point is what made them feel they could open up.

“I feel like the people who were at this workshop were open-minded enough to where they can look at things and also take what they’ve learned and begin to reflect on how they can make a difference.”

Culture, Cheek said, is rooted in several different things, including food, clothing, places of origin, music, manners, gestures and relationships. Those things, she said, set people apart, but a major emphasis of the workshop was to open people up to the realization that there are many commonalities between culture groups.

“To kind of talk and realize that a lot of us have similar backgrounds, but we also come from different backgrounds and we’re able to share our experiences, will make the department better, which ultimately makes the services we provide better,” said Gainesville Police Chief Brian Kelly, who attended the workshop.

“We are a representation of the population we serve. We all have different experiences and we all have different ideas and if we don’t take the time to tap into those, we’re missing the boat.”

Cheek said she hopes those community leaders, like Kelly, will take what they learned at the workshop and implement it in their organizations.

“When you’re in a leadership position, you’ve been chosen for that position for a reason,” said Cheek. “Evidently you have some type of servant mentality as well as influence. So being able to look at your own organization, to honestly say how can I change the culture of my organization, whether that means having a more diversified training program so they can understand people better, will make the biggest difference. When it’s happening in your own little area, it’s going to continue on out.”

Greer Peters, who works at Wood’s Mill High School, said the program would also be beneficial for students.

“I really want to bring the workshop to the students because I think that’s where we need the biggest impact is with the youth,” said Peters. “If we can change them, then we’re doing something right.”

Cheek hopes the conversation will be a catalyst to change, something Mary Parks, a former Hall County educator who went on to help found the Hall County Family Connection Network, envisioned.

Parks visualized seeing “several agencies coming together and where we could collectively write a grant” toward improving cultural diversity.

“The goal is to see who is interested in looking at the diversity of our area and coming to the table to look for a grant that can actually support the mission of training individuals and leadership to appreciate culture, values and to understand people for who they really are,” said Cheek.

And Peters hopes Thursday’s workshop will stick with those who attended and Park’s vision can become a reality.
“I hope we can reflect on what we learned and actually go out and use it,” said Peters.

“Because a lot of times we’ll come to things like this and it sounds good, but then you go back to your normal life and not implement it into your life and make a difference.”