Solomon Joseph is from India, moving to Washington Heights at an early age, raised with Puerto Ricans and Dominicans. He moved to Buffalo several years ago to continue his community and literary interests. He is the founder of Manifest Diversity, an organization whose work is to bring all cultures together to create harmony and unity via workshops, seminars, and community meetings. He is also founder of the Educational Pledge project (theeducationalpledge.com), taking on the work of poet/writer and publisher, Alberto O. Cappas, who is the author of the Educational Pledge. He is a father of two little girls, and is a graduate student at Buffalo State College.
Solomon Joseph
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THE NEED TO MANIFEST “MANIFEST DIVERSITY
September 2022
With so many cultures, races, and ethnic groups from around the world, wouldn’t it be beneficial to work together instead of against each other?
Why must we ignore the strengths, talents, and abilities of those who are different? Is it hard to believe that we can share experiences, knowledge, and stories from diverse perspectives of diverse peoples?
Think about all the stories you heard, and think about the languages, beliefs, and lifestyles. How about the music, do you see any similarities, any differences? What message did you receive? How do you make sense of what you just experienced?
These are the questions Manifest Diversity answers. It is a collaboration of experiences, stories, and narratives from people around the world. It is about working together to find the collective consciousness of people in all shapes and forms. Manifest Diversity does not discriminate. We welcome anyone and anything that creates understanding, respect, and compassion.
How amazing it would be if we just take the time to learn about each other, find each other and believe and accept each other.
We would like for you to take the time and visit our “manifest diversity community”, a community where judgment, discrimination, hate, and racism are not welcomed.
The mission of manifest diversity is to establish a society without the ills presently in place in our world. We would like to see a manifestation of cultural understanding and harmony, to truly accept each other where our difference, lifestyle, language, and belief system is welcomed. This is the sole mission and purpose of manifest diversity.
To accomplish and move toward this mission, we must commit to the following responsibilities as human beings on this planet:
We must understand the meaning of diversity
We must collaborate in sharing the human experience.
We must support the contributions of other cultures
We must promote the goodwill and charity of all cultures
This is an ongoing journey to the discovery and visibility, and acceptance of all cultures, to live together in harmony. That is our sole mission, and we need you to join us in the journey – together we can “manifest diversity. “
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Manifest Destiny vs Diversity
February 2022
“Manifest Destiny: Manifest destiny was a widely held belief in the 19th-century United States that American settlers were entitled to conquer and control North America. Contemporary historians have widely condemned manifest destiny as an ideology used to justify dispossession and genocide against Native Americans.” – President James Monroe (key part of US foreign policy issued in 1823)
Manifest Diversity: Where the global majority will contribute, not conquer, or control the United States; promoting all cultures to learn about each other, with the purpose of living together in unity and harmony, manifesting the best that humanity can produce. – Solomon Joseph, founder, Manifest Diversity Institute, 2020
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Our public school system has glorified and celebrated manifest destiny as a patriotic movement when it was clearly a successful and racist attempt at securing white supremacy. When one thinks of an American, who comes to mind? What does an American look like? Today, many walks of life consider America their home, whilst embracing their own language and culture. Many also consider themselves multicultural embodying multiple identities whilst thriving in American society. When we dissect the history of America, we may come to find many contradictions between the intents and purposes of America. And so, who really belongs in America?
Manifest Diversity, not Manifest Destiny, is a movement to educate each other, to learn and embrace our different languages, music, religion, and culture — to introduce civility so that each American new and old can live in harmony. I believe there is a strong sense of decency, humanity, and an urge to understand each other. We must not be silent and ignorant. We must learn to be accomplices especially towards injustices. We must be allies to those in need minus the discrimination and prejudice as to who deserves to be American.
I have asked this question repeatedly, especially since taking a cultural competency training at the Native American Community Services in 2018 and learned more in depth about the Doctrine of Discovery. It did not make any sense as to why colonizers and settlers thought they were entitled to American land and everything in it.
With my experience as a multicultural instructor, a performer involved in dance and storytelling, and serving as an educator with the Buffalo Public Schools and Buffalo State College, I plan to utilize “Manifest Diversity” as a teaching tool to highlight our diversity from around – showing our communities about the world and the complex web of interconnection that is easy to miss if we “don’t look up”
Note/Overview: “Manifest Destiny” became first and foremost a call and justification for an American form of imperialism and white supremacy. It was the idea that white Americans were divinely ordained to settle the entire continent of North America. The ideology of Manifest Destiny inspired a variety of measures designed to remove or destroy the native population. Manifest Destiny allowed the United States to expand its territory by more than 60%. I urge everyone to research Manifest Destiny.
To be continued……
(read: theeducationalpledge.com)
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Manifest Diversity
December 2019
With so many cultures, races and ethnic groups from around the world, wouldn’t it be beneficial to work together instead of against each other? Why must we ignore the strengths, talents and abilities of those who are different? Is it hard to believe that we can share experiences, knowledge and stories from diverse perspectives of diverse peoples?
Think about all the stories you heard, think about the languages, beliefs and lifestyles. How about the music, do you see any similarities, any differences? What message did you receive? How do you make sense of what you just experienced?
These are the questions Manifest Diversity answers. It is a collaboration of experiences, stories and narratives from people around the world. It is about working together to find the collective conscious of people in all shapes and forms. Manifest Diversity does not discriminate. We welcome anyone and anything that creates understanding, respect and compassion.
How amazing it would be if we just take the time to learn about each other, find each other and to believe and accept each other.
We would like for you to take the time and visit our “manifest diversity community”, a community where judgement, discrimination, hate, racism is not welcomed. The mission of manifest diversity is to establish a society without the ills presently in place in our world. We would like to see a manifestation of cultural understanding and harmony, to truly accept each other where our difference, lifestyle, language, belief system is welcomed. This is the sole mission and purpose of the manifest diversity.
In order to accomplish and move toward this mission, we must commit to the following responsibilities as human beings on this planet:
¨ We must understand the meaning of diversity
¨ We must collaborate in sharing the human experience.
¨ We must support the contributions of other cultures
¨ We must promote the goodwill and charity of all cultures
This is an on-going journey, the discovery, visibility, and acceptance of all cultures to live together in harmony. That is our sole mission, and we need you to join us in the journey – We can work together to make manifest diversity a reality. Email us at manifestdiversity@gmail.com.
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Manifest Diversity: A CULTURALLY & COMPETENT BUFFALO
July 2019
As a multicultural educator, I present cultural diversity workshops examining cultures, music and languages from around the world. I strongly believe in bringing people from all walks of life together. I strongly believe in educating people about the world and the diversity of it. And I strongly believe that we can learn from each other by engaging in a simple conversation, hence the solution to create understanding.
It is so important to be culturally competent in today’s world because we are encountering people from all walks of life. It takes time, patient and respect to understand someone who is different. It takes cultural awareness, cultural knowledge and cultural sensitivity to be culturally competent. But what does it mean to be culturally competent?
Culturally competent means that you have the awareness, knowledge and sensitivity to be able to understand someone who is different from you. So instead of understanding who you are, you are able to understand who someone else is based on their values, beliefs, norms, customs, traditions, styles, biases, stereotypes, behaviors and so on. You understand that they do things differently than you do. They eat different foods than you do, they cook different foods than you do, they walk, talk and act differently than you do. At the end of the day, you still respect them. That is what it means to be culturally competent.
Someone who is not culturally competent discriminates, judges and looks at the differences of someone in a negative way. Their actions may label them a racist, a homophobic or someone who thinks they are morally, physically and intellectually superior than others. These are not traits that define someone who is culturally competent.
No matter what color, race, creed or sexual orientation someone comes from, cultural competence teaching us to understand others who are different from us. So if you want to practice being culturally competent. Talk to someone who is different than you, learn about their differences without judging. Attend an event or a workshop in which you learn about people from around the world. Google things that you never would about someone. Get to know them and why they are the way they are. Establish some positive feedback of your own about meeting people. How do you say Hello in their language? How can you erase stereotypes and judgements from your heart? How can you be more open minded in a world that makes it hard to accept people who are different?
I will be hosting more programs and events where we can learn about different types of people and how to interact, engage and treat people as human beings. For more information: checkout theeducationalpledge.com and email me at: manifestdiversity@gmail.com
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New Book:
THE EDUCATIONAL PLEDGE
QUESTIONS TO SELF-DEVELOPMENT
(Edited/Introduction by Solomon Joseph)
June 2019 Issue
It is often said that to be great you must overcome many obstacles, that only the strong survive, and that only those who possess the power of the mind, can create success for themselves. Nothing can be further from the truth when you’re honest with yourself, and when you learn to empower yourself by answering your own questions about life.
“The Educational Pledge” is a guide for survival, a book I’ve read and adopted as a guide for myself. It has taught me how education can be used as a tool to further your goals in life.
The author, Alberto O. Cappas, has helped me to realize the importance of education and why we need to empower ourselves. The “Educational Pledge”, which is included in this book, is a self-development pledge designed to help us understand how we can begin to empower ourselves. I’ve been confused growing up because I didn’t know which way I was going, and which way I wanted to go. When I read the “Pledge”, I finally found meaning in the type of person I wanted to be. After all these years, I was finally convinced that it’s never too late to make a U-turn. My mission in life is to help educate each other about the world, and how connected we really are.
I was fortunate to come across Alberto Cappas, when I picked up a copy of the Latino Village, a publication he co-publishes with his wife, Ramona.
I followed up by contacting him, to meet the person responsible for the “Educational Pledge.” He immediately introduced me to his life’s work. and I completely connected with him.
I’ve always believed that we are constantly learning and that we can always learn more, especially if we just relax and open our heart. I began to read the Educational Pledge, daily and began answering very deep questions about myself, my goals and how I can establish an example in life.
I believe everyone should take the time to reflect on who they are, and what they can become. I have applied the Educational Pledge to my life, and sharing it with others, helps me to empower them, and it gives me great joy.
It gives me hope that we can help many others – men, women, and children of all ages, to understand the meaning of their lives. We live in an age where it’s easy to lose track of who we are, and where we’re going and makes many of us feel like it’s too late to get back on track — but it’s not!
What you hold in your hands is a guide to help you understand who you are and how you can empower yourself. Please take the time to be grateful for the life you have and for the life you are about to live.
Take the Pledge, Empower yourself! Get the book at buffalolatinovillage.com, theeducationalpledge.com, or amazon.com. For book presentation, book signing party, contact Solomon at theeducationalpledge@gmail.com, or call him at 646-296-9412
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THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWLEDGE & EDUCATION
May 2019 Issue
Why do we need knowledge and how do we utilize education? What is the importance of knowledge and education? Ask a couple of five-year old kids and they will say “to become smart” or to be someone famous!
As cute as it sounds, there is a lot more truth to just becoming smart or becoming famous. Knowledge is a way to gain necessary information and applying it. It is a tool to further your education. It is an instrument to get out of “the box.” Knowledge is Power! Knowledge is information that your brain stores so that when you question or try to understand things, you will have the appropriate answers and awareness to situations, events and problems. Knowledge is the ability to develop solutions by way of making sense of things, but there’s more, a lot more that becomes Education as the sum of all the knowledge you store for years and years throughout one’s life. The point is to utilize this education to make a positive difference. It’s really about growth and self-development.
So how do we gain Knowledge and education? Let’s start with people. When we talk with and hear people, we are getting knowledge about them. When we are invited to a conversation, we gain a better understanding about someone and the situation. Whether it’s a conversation, or personal news, at the end of it, we know a little more than we did when we began. The best part is the learning process. Knowledge is an event that is learned. Education is also a learning experience.
Traditionally, we go to school and we learn facts, figures and equations. This is the knowledge we learn to get an education. Ask another five-year old what Education is, and they will most likely say “Education is school.”
So really, Knowledge and education go hand in hand, but the learning experience is everything you collect and store in your brain which becomes your way of thinking. From your way of thinking comes your way of life and it all goes back to your way of collecting knowledge, which becomes your education. What you learn, collect and store, is the importance you put on your knowledge and education, because education is not only about going to school, but how you apply your learning and knowledge to life.
Obtaining knowledge and education is not hard nor is it impossible because one learns every day. How you utilize the knowledge you gain is the knowledge which eventually becomes your education! Its importance is based solely on YOU!
I hope you understand that the importance of Knowledge and Education is YOU!
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The Buffalo Latino VILLAGE 