Does a more welcoming, diverse community help retain and attract the families and young professionals, among others, that Roanoke strives to lure through a variety of efforts? That was the focus of a discussion last week at the Shenandoah Club, organized by one of the four Creative Connectors subgroups. STAR — the Spirit of Tolerance and Art in the Region — invited Susanna Rinehart, the Director of Education for Diversity and Inclusion at Virginia Tech, to facilitate a spirited conversation for a group of about 50.
Rinehart asked: “What is community? What value should be placed on inclusion, acceptance and diversity?” STAR member Joe Cobb called it the “dynamics of difference,” before he introduced Rinehart, who works out of the Office of Equity and Inclusion at Tech.
The “Open Doors” series will continue with another conversation (open to all) on February 11 at the Claude Moore Education Complex and again during the “Down by Downtown Festival” in late April – early May. Cobb said Creative Connectors groups — the brainchild of planning guru Richard Florida — formed in other cities “all have an element of the celebration of diversity and an inclusive community. It’s what attracts artists, writers, [and others].”
Rinehart asked the group about the “particular challenges to that goal [diversity] in this region.” Some mentioned a suspicion of outsiders that move here, while others said Roanoke has been more welcoming in recent years. Rinehart conducted an exercise in which she asked attendees to identify themselves by certain characteristics: how large a family they come from, where they have lived, etc., to show that many people have more in common than they think.
Community is “a place where I can move from a feeling of exile,” said Cobb when Rinehart asked what that word meant to the group. River Laker, development coordinator for Roanoke City libraries, coined a term, calling it “inner-connectiveness.”
Rinehart said people often want to have a “sense…that the difference matters,” when it comes to inclusiveness, that being homogenized is not what they want, but rather acceptance. That kind of welcoming attitude may make the Roanoke Valley a more attractive place for some people, or for businesses looking to locate here. “Diversity is a component of what attracts and keeps people in a community,” said Rinehart, a “piece of what people seek. It may be as simple as looking at diversity as making a place more interesting.”
“Do you see Roanoke as a place that holds diversity…as a value to be actively sought?” asked Rinehart. It’s a question that the STAR group will ask again as part of the Creative Connectors exercise. Roanoke City officials chose 30 people of diverse backgrounds last March; after a two-day workshop four subgroups were formed.
Members have been tasked with coming up with programs that can help keep young people in the valley, while attracting others. Showing off Roanoke’s best side – the growing arts and cultural scene, outdoor amenities and its diverse community – is a major goal. As for the “art” part of the STAR group’s name, a December 3 “Wine and Wonder” event at the Taubman Museum of Art will feature discussion about a current work that invokes diversity and inclusion. A youth essay competition on building an inclusive community will also be held during January’s Roanoke Regional Writers Conference at Hollins University.
By Gene Marrano [email protected]