The American Mosaic

These stories, videos, etc., honor all of us and our stories (encompassing LGBTQ, all races, all religions, immigrants, women, others), as well as people being good neighbors.

Race Bridges Studio is  wonderful site with almost 200 videos on exploring diversity and race relations in the mission and challenge of building community.

Stories / Videos / Newspaper Articles / Songs

Minnesota May 2018 -- Halima Aden, a naturalized U.S. citizen, born in a refugee camp in Kenya after her parents fled war-torn Somalia, was interviewed by HuffPost Perspectives. Halima was the first woman to wear a hijab in the Miss Minnesota USA pageant and on international fashion runways. Becoming naturalized citizens meant to her that "we no longer had to run, we no longer had to worry about leaving a country behind or being rejected,, but being accepted."

March 29, 2018 Denver, CO - Brewability Lab's website says, "This business was founded by a special needs teacher who saw a need for jobs and training for adults with disabilities, or as we here at the lab refer to them, abilities.

At 21 years old, most adults with special needs are not given the opportunity to excel.  Our goal is to provide this opportunity through a brewery.  We provide job training for an ever emerging industry in the Colorado market.  

The skills and training our employees learn from our business will translate into further job opportunities in the great industry of beer."

December 26, 2017 Los Angeles - This celebrity barber Jason Schneidman gives free haircuts to the homeless. "So what I find with helping homeless people with haircuts is their appearances changes and their attitude changes. And then also the people around them see these people differently. "

December 12, 2017 Richmond, VA There are 107,681 youth in foster care that are not returning home or getting adopted. They will turn 18 or 21 and have to be ready to take care of themselves but with little to no support system they are more likely to experience challenges. The goal of Think of Us is to empower  youth to use their app to build their own personal advisory board of supportive adults that will coach them through their transition out of foster care. 

October 12, 2017  This video  Explain privilege defines that term visually.

December 5, 2013 - San Francisco, CA  "I have cerebral palsy. I shake all the time," Maysoon Zayid announces at the beginning of this exhilarating, hilarious talk. With grace and wit, the Arab-American comedian takes us on a whistle-stop tour of her adventures as an actress, stand-up comic, philanthropist and advocate for the disabled.

October 1, 2017 - New York, New York Parents reveal their struggles with telling their black sons that they may be targets of racial profiling by the police.

Scholar Dalia Mogahed wants to challenge prejudices against Muslims. Her complete TED talk is available here. 

July 19, 2016 - Woodinville, Washington  Kate Riffle Roper, a mother of five children, the youngest two adopted, as well as a lawyer, wrote about how, nearly on a daily basis, she has witnessed her black children being treated differently than her white children. She ends with, "I am posting this so you can see the reality I have witnessed and experienced, because, frankly, I didn’t believe it was true until I saw it up close, directed at two souls I love, over and over again. So, please, use this post as a pair of glasses to see the racism that surrounds you. Then we can actually make progress toward all lives being valued and cherished."

At StoryCorps in 2015, Chloe Longfellow remembers the happy memories and life lessons taught to her by her grandmother, many of which took place while cooking in Doris’ kitchen. "She used to tell me about acceptance and how to be a good human being."

http://lovehasnolabels.com/ is a web site giving “a true portrait of America” including a video, stories about many different Americans, a section and a video about biases, tips to fight bias and prejudice, etc.

April 10, 2017 - Evanston, IL Storyteller Anne Shimojima spoke at the Evanston Public Library about her family’s experience as Japanese Americans during World War II, when they were forcibly expelled from their homes and incarcerated in camps.   Click here to watch part of their experience. 

February 1, 2017 -  Victoria, TX Jews open temple to Muslims after a mosque is burned down.  USA Today 

January 31, 2017 - Chicago, IL http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-beautiful-story-behind-this-viral-photo-from-a-chicago-airport-protest_us_5890bf14e4b02772c4e97878?  The photo shows Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell of Deerfield, Illinois talking to a Muslim father named Fatih Yildirim, who lives in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg. Both men’s children ― 9-year-old Adin and 7-year-old Meryem ― sit on their shoulders.  

Videos / Images

July 14, 2017 - New York, NY The spoken-word production by fourth-graders at Success Academy Bronx 2, "Alternative Names for Black Boys," demonstrates how acutely these boys are aware of race in their world -- and how much they want to talk about it.

"With the killings of black men and boys being in the media, it was really just scary in my world," said their theater teacher, Sentell Harper. "I thought about the boys I was teaching. ... Society won't see them like I see them. Society will only see them as black men."

June 3, 2017 - McKinney, TX High school valedictorian Larissa Martinez revealed in her speech, " I am one of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the shadows of the United States... I decided to stand before you today and reveal these unexpected realities, because this might be my only chance to convey the truth to all of you that undocumented immigrants are people, too." 

May 23, 2017 - Portland, ME A high school in Portland, Maine bought 25 sports hijabs to support their female Muslim athletes. The money was raised by a GoFundMe campaign and a private donor. One athlete said, "Wow! My school did this for me? I have to do something back for my school, like be fierce on the field."

April 24, 2017 -  Wilmington, NC  You won’t find any coffee shop more welcoming or warmhearted than Bitty & Beau’s in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded by owner Amy Wright and her husband, the shop is run by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in honor of the couple’s two children – Bitty and Beau – who have Down Syndrome.

HBO created this film of interviews with interracial couples 50 years after the legal case of Loving vs. Virginia.

Kids with learning disabilities politely inform teachers how they can help.

Rob Sheer, who had been in foster care as a child, and his partner decided to foster kids themselves. And appalled that foster kids still travel with their possessions in trash bags, they have given away over 25,000 comfort cases. These cases tangibly show fosters kids that people care about them.

These gender-alizations are not helping anyone. George Takei

Pete Seeger said, “The key to the future of the world is finding the optimistic stories and
letting them be known.” 

The Deaf community came together to share an important message about listening.

Budweiser 2017 Super Bowl Commercial | “Born The Hard Way” The story of a man immigrating from Germany to St. Louis after America’s Civil War.

 
Based on a 2015 Event which challenges us to open our eyes to our bias and prejudice and work to stop it in ourselves, our friends, our families, and our colleagues. Rethink your bias at http://www.lovehasnolabels.com

 “We Are America” with John Cena, professional wrestler, rapper, actor, and reality television show host, published by Love Has No Labels | Ad Council. Cena ends by saying, “To love America is to love all Americans, because love has no labels.”

Black parents explain to their kids how to deal with police: “We practice this at home. [little girl holds up her hands] I’m Ariel Sky Williams. I’m 8 years old. I’m unarmed and I have nothing that will hurt you.” This just breaks my heart... PLEASE let's make the need for this end.

     

Several transgender children and adults describe many facets of their lives.

Women who received the Nobel Prize.

https://www.facebook.com/circa/videos/1308506045882784/  Music transformed this young man with autism. Now he works to unlock talent in others.

The story of Hamdi Ulukaya, born in Turkey,  owner, founder, Chairman, and CEO of Chobani, who has hired many refugees as well as pledging the majority of his wealth to refugee causes.

A 19 year old speaks on behalf of gay marriages in Iowa, based on his own experiences.

https://www.facebook.com/HistoryBites/videos/1723883254539055/ During the 1930s,  Turkey-- a new country that was mostly Muslim --defied Hitler and saved thousands of lives. Here's the incredible story.

https://www.facebook.com/lewishineofficial/videos/520121111491719/ 16 year old Lewis Hines in the UK had his first of 13 brain operations when it was discovered he had a brain tumor when he was 1 ½ years old. He continues to have brain seizures most days. However, he has coping mechanisms to meet his challenges. He found a project called Friend Finder to help children who miss a lot of school come together to make friends. He made this video to show it’s okay to be different. “My illness may define the length of my life, but it won’t define how I live it.”

 
A video which gives a different perspective about what “special needs” a person with Down syndrome really has.