Welcome
We are a nation of indigenous people and immigrants. We are a nation which is home to many individuals whose spiritual framework is sometimes religious and sometimes secular. We are a nation which includes those who do not identify as spiritual. We are a nation whose religious framework is many forms of Christianity, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, ancestral sprits and a host of others. We are a community of people. We are a community which now purports to acknowledge that “all people” includes people of all hues and colors, genders including non-binary, ages, races, cultural backgrounds, religions, spiritual frameworks, and sexual orientations including those who identify as asexual. We are an never ending rainbow in soft pastels, heavy oils, bold colors, and rich mixtures which flows or playfully skips along the rainbow.
I have recently moved to a city which has a rich history of indigenous Native Americans, those who identify as African American or black, many from Mexico and other American countries, as well as a rich mixture of those from every part of the planet Some of its history, such as the 1921 Tulsa race massacre in the Greenwood District, carries many layers of shame. When I attended high school here in the 1950ies it was difficult to tell whether the Native Americans or the Blacks were more shunned. A close third were members of the LGBT community. In more recent years Tulsa has been outed as the home of the Tulsa race massacre forcing or empowering them to do what in a 12 step community would be called a process of recovery beginning with the 4th step which is “We made a searching and fearless moral inventory.” The recently dedicated Reconciliation Park is just one of the symbols of this laudatory process. The Gathering Place which has a focus on inclusivity leading to not only equality but equity is another laudatory and impressive attempt of this process.
Sitting in one of the rooms of the Boathouse at the Gathering Place one will hear recordings of people (citizens of Tulsa?) talking about what love and harmony means to them. It seems that many of those recorded use Christian scripture as a reference point. I did not stay for hours and I will return to listen some more. Perhaps I will hear those coming from a Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Native American perspective.
A professional organization to which I now belong in Oklahoma sent me an email with links to power points and handouts from their mid-winter on-line conference. Several of them had titles with references to Christian scriptures. One referenced the Lord’s Prayer. This is from an Association for those licensed counselors who are required to now show cultural diversity competence; proving they are making a concerted effort to be welcoming and inclusive in all that they do in their professional and overall public life.
It happens that I myself have a background which includes a Christian framework. In fact, my first master’s degree is a Master of Divinity from a Christian theological seminary. I can certainly relate to a Christian framework. Yet, I can also relate to a host of other frameworks. Christianity is but one framework or vessel. I am, of course, well aware that many people of many different religious frameworks claim that their tradition or framework represents the one true or right religion. I can certainly honor those beliefs without subscribing to them. My behavior and my office needs to “walk the talk” of inclusivity.
If the city of Tulsa truly wants to be experienced as inclusive all that is done by city officials and in city spades needs to be experienced as inclusive. Presenting as Christian is not inclusive. Professional organizations must, likewise, walk the talk of inclusivity in all that they do. It some want to present themselves as a Christian, Muslim or Buddhist or other religious counselor they can and should do that, but they have no place in organizations that purport to be inclusive.
As I recently wrote, pealing black the layers of oppression and bias is an ongoing process for all of us. Oppression and discrimination is systemic. If we truly want Tulsans and all Oklahomans to include all people; if we truly want to make amends for our oppressive past, we must systematically identify and change the ways we exclude each other.
Written March 5, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett, LPC, AADC – WV; LPC – Oklahoma
coachpickett.org
pickettjf@gmail.com
Jimmy Pickett’s blog is published several times a week on his website and on his Facebook pages
We are a nation of indigenous people and immigrants. We are a nation which is home to many individuals whose spiritual framework is sometimes religious and sometimes secular. We are a nation which includes those who do not identify as spiritual. We are a nation whose religious framework is many forms of Christianity, Muslim, Hindu, Jew, ancestral sprits and a host of others. We are a community of people. We are a community which now purports to acknowledge that “all people” includes people of all hues and colors, genders including non-binary, ages, races, cultural backgrounds, religions, spiritual frameworks, and sexual orientations including those who identify as asexual. We are an never ending rainbow in soft pastels, heavy oils, bold colors, and rich mixtures which flows or playfully skips along the rainbow.
I have recently moved to a city which has a rich history of indigenous Native Americans, those who identify as African American or black, many from Mexico and other American countries, as well as a rich mixture of those from every part of the planet Some of its history, such as the 1921 Tulsa race massacre in the Greenwood District, carries many layers of shame. When I attended high school here in the 1950ies it was difficult to tell whether the Native Americans or the Blacks were more shunned. A close third were members of the LGBT community. In more recent years Tulsa has been outed as the home of the Tulsa race massacre forcing or empowering them to do what in a 12 step community would be called a process of recovery beginning with the 4th step which is “We made a searching and fearless moral inventory.” The recently dedicated Reconciliation Park is just one of the symbols of this laudatory process. The Gathering Place which has a focus on inclusivity leading to not only equality but equity is another laudatory and impressive attempt of this process.
Sitting in one of the rooms of the Boathouse at the Gathering Place one will hear recordings of people (citizens of Tulsa?) talking about what love and harmony means to them. It seems that many of those recorded use Christian scripture as a reference point. I did not stay for hours and I will return to listen some more. Perhaps I will hear those coming from a Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, or Native American perspective.
A professional organization to which I now belong in Oklahoma sent me an email with links to power points and handouts from their mid-winter on-line conference. Several of them had titles with references to Christian scriptures. One referenced the Lord’s Prayer. This is from an Association for those licensed counselors who are required to now show cultural diversity competence; proving they are making a concerted effort to be welcoming and inclusive in all that they do in their professional and overall public life.
It happens that I myself have a background which includes a Christian framework. In fact, my first master’s degree is a Master of Divinity from a Christian theological seminary. I can certainly relate to a Christian framework. Yet, I can also relate to a host of other frameworks. Christianity is but one framework or vessel. I am, of course, well aware that many people of many different religious frameworks claim that their tradition or framework represents the one true or right religion. I can certainly honor those beliefs without subscribing to them. My behavior and my office needs to “walk the talk” of inclusivity.
If the city of Tulsa truly wants to be experienced as inclusive all that is done by city officials and in city spades needs to be experienced as inclusive. Presenting as Christian is not inclusive. Professional organizations must, likewise, walk the talk of inclusivity in all that they do. It some want to present themselves as a Christian, Muslim or Buddhist or other religious counselor they can and should do that, but they have no place in organizations that purport to be inclusive.
As I recently wrote, pealing black the layers of oppression and bias is an ongoing process for all of us. Oppression and discrimination is systemic. If we truly want Tulsans and all Oklahomans to include all people; if we truly want to make amends for our oppressive past, we must systematically identify and change the ways we exclude each other.
Written March 5, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett, LPC, AADC – WV; LPC – Oklahoma
coachpickett.org
pickettjf@gmail.com
Jimmy Pickett’s blog is published several times a week on his website and on his Facebook pages
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