Significant conversation focus of 2015 Abriendo Puertas
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
In recent years, Nashville has become a hub of diversity. The 2010 census showed that Tennessee’s Latino population grew by almost 35 percent since 2000, comprising 10 percent of the city’s population and giving the state the sixth-fastest-growing Hispanic population nationwide. Census data also showed that the racial makeup of Nashville is 60.5 percent Caucasian, 28.4 percent African American and 3.1 percent Asian. Large groups of immigrants from Mexico, Kurdistan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Arab nations also call Nashville home, among others.
Earlier this month, community leaders came together at Lipscomb University’s sixth Abriendo Puertas (Opening Doors) forum to engage in deliberate dialogue about Nashville’s future as a multicultural city and how to empower those diverse voices in the community. This year’s forum, “Empowering Voices in Community: An Initiative of Abriendo Puertas,” was presented by Lipscomb’s College of Education and the Nelson and Sue Andrews Institute for Civic Leadership.
“We want to bring community leaders together to have an opportunity to learn and share ideas,” said Deborah Boyd, Interim Dean of the College of Education. “It’s important for us to realize that this conversation is not just an urban-area, metro Nashville discussion. It’s a discussion about the future of not just our city, but also the communities around us, our state, our nation, and our world. It is a critical conversation.”
The forum featured the stories and experiences of several diverse voices in the Nashville community. Adriana Herrera, a senior at Nashville’s Overton High School, shared her story of leaving her home in Guerrero, Mexico, and migrating to the United States as a young child. She said that despite many obstacles including witnessing domestic abuse and being homeless off-and-on, she wants to attend college and one day become a lawyer.
“I want to become a lawyer and to be able to give back to my community by helping others,” said Herrera, who was homeless last summer just before beginning her senior year at Overton. “I want to be able to go to college, but I know that I may not be able to right away. But I have a plan A, B and C. I refuse to quit on my dreams. Sometimes it just takes a while to realize your dreams.”
Lipscomb University’s student body is rapidly reflecting the cross-cultural community around it like never before in the institution’s history. Since 2005, Lipscomb’s minority enrollment has increased 263 percent. This year, 18 percent of the student body is non-Caucasian, which makes Lipscomb one of the most ethnically diverse campuses in Tennessee. Forty-two nations and 44 states are represented. Lipscomb students also belong to 32 religions.
Kasar Abdulla, a native of Kurdistan and a graduate student in Lipscomb University’s Institute for Conflict Management, also shared her experience of fleeing her home in Iraq as a child with her family.
“I remember trying to survive long, dark nights in refugee camps,” she recalled. “But my mother made sure I continued to learn even in a camp that had inhumane conditions. She told me even in that situation to ‘know that through the power of the pen you can change the world around you. By reading you can change the world inside you.’ Discovering my voice was a challenge. I didn’t find it until I fully understood and appreciated my refugee story.
When we came to the United States when I was in the fifth grade, I had a teacher who helped me discover my voice. Her love of teaching helped me overcome my struggles. I believe that schools have the power to change communities. We have an opportunity in this community to help immigrants and their families navigate and understand the educational system.”
Participants had a special opportunity to view Nashville Public Television’s documentary “Next Door Neighbors: Community,” produced by Ed Jones, senior producer and director at the station. The film highlights several organizations that work to address the challenges facing immigrants in the Nashville area.
A panel discussion following the screening included: Leah Hashinger, ESL to Go program director, Tennessee Foreign Language Institute; Shanna Singh Hughey, senior advisor, Mayor’s Office of New Americans; Denise Rocha, youth development coordinator, Conexión Américas; Gini Pupo-Walker, executive director of family and community partnerships, Metro Nashville Public Schools; and Lisa Steele, assistant dean and director of intercultural development, Lipscomb University.
The forum also featured an opportunity for participants to meet with Nashville-area organizations to learn more about how to get involved in the community.
- Photos by Kristi Jones, Video by Josh Shaw