"There is only one race-the human race," was the recurring theme of Olmos' speech. I am sure most of the audience nodded their heads, thinking, "I knew that," because it seems so simple. However, upon reflection, adopting this creed is not really that simple. Why is there a box on college applications that asks for "race"-Black, White, Hispanic or American Indian? Why do we concentrate on what makes us different from one another when, on a biological level, "there are more differences between bugs than humans"?
At times, I find it difficult not to think in terms of race because I have been conditioned to do so. Often, one of the questions people ask when they first meet me is, "What are you?" What a loaded question! I am a lot of things, but I know from experience that the person wants to know my race. I sometimes get annoyed that people assume that because I have fair skin, that I am not (in part) Latina. Although I do not always want to be considered in terms of my race or culture, it is also something that I take pride in. In order to emphasize "his humanness," rather than his "race," Olmos traced himself back to the origins of man. "I am first African, then Asian, then indigenous and European." This is not something that most of us think about. Perhaps we should.
Olmos brought up the fact that in the United States education system, children are taught "American" history without learning much about indigenous people, Asian Americans, Latino Americans or African Americans. "Thank God for Dr. Martin Luther King," he said, who is "a tremendous beacon of understanding." When asked to name one Asian American hero, in a room full of well-educated people, Ph.D.s included, not one audience member could think of one. I find it disappointing that most of us know nothing about the histories of the cultural groups, not races, that comprise America. As Olmos suggests, I think it is important that we get "a balanced diet of culture" that is currently lacking in American society, so that perhaps our children will know more about the members of their community.
At the beginning of his speech, Olmos warned the audience of the controversial nature of his talks, "Every time I speak, I get into a lot of trouble because people think I am a racist."
He is an emotional speaker and he definitely says things that are not quite politically correct. One thing he stated in his speech did make me uneasy. "I do not believe that Jesus Christ was blond-haired and blue-eyed," he said. While this, I am sure is true, considering the area of the world in which Jesus was born, it is what Olmos did afterward that I found both unnecessary and offensive.
He asked a black man in the audience to come up to the front of Johnson Chapel and hold out his arms as though he were Christ dying on the cross. To me, not only did this show a lack of respect for the sacrifice of Christ, but it also seemed contradictory in a speech with a supposedly intended message of unity. I realize that he was trying to highlight the Eurocentric views of Americans, which is a valid point, but, in the spirit of Christianity, I do not think it really matters what color Jesus was.
Despite some differences in opinion, on the whole, I think Olmos is an energetic, moving speaker. I admire him for his courage to speak his mind in trying to promote social change. Quoting Gandhi, he said, "everything we do is insignificant, but it is so important that you do it." For Olmos, these are words to live by. For his audience, they are hopefully an inspiration.