DIVERSITY NEWS SEPTEMBER
2007
Welcome to the September Edition of
Diversity News!
This
month's articles include:
LGBT Book Club Pick
Destination Unknown - DB's Travel Hot
Spot
Diversity Spotlight - Jokes in the
Workplace
LGBT Business Leader
Intuitive African Dance & Drum
Culture
Be sure to forward to your
friends and coworkers!
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this newsletter scroll to the bottom and type in
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| The Hot Spot - DB's
Travel Spotlight
 Did you know,
Dallas is gaining ground as an LGBT domestic
travel favorite?
Although most would not
expect it, Dallas, TX is a booming LGBT travel
destination. Often overlooked by LGBT travelers
as a boring and right-winged city, Dallas is
actually a mecca of culture, and quite welcoming
of the diversity LGBT visitors bring.
Dallas earned 'runner-up honors' in 2007
to New York City, when Gay.com awarded its top
domestic LGBT- friendly destination. Dallas is
also home to the largest gay and lesbian church
in the world, The Cathedral of Hope.
What to do in Dallas? - Dallas is
stocked with rich museums, an enviable art and
music scene, top shelf restaurants, a thriving
LGBT community, and more. The place to hang out
is Oaklawn Neighborhood on Cedar Sprinds
Road or Oaklawn Avenue. Here you will
find a wide variety of LGBT life, such as LGBT
friendly restaurants, bars and retail
shops!
JFK Interest - The John
Kennedy Memorial at Main and Market Streets
memorializes the tragic 1963 John F. Kennedy
assassination. Similarly, museums, such as The
Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza (where Lee
Harvey Oswald fired from), and the Conspiracy
Museum offer additional insight.
Other
Visitor Hotspots - Other hot visitor spots
include the observation deck at the signature
sphere-topped Reunion Tower and the Dallas
Museum of Art. 2007-2008 exhibits include Away
from It All: American Travels from the
Collection of Works on Paper, From the Ashes of
Vesuvius , Gabriel Orozco: Inner Circles of the
Wall, and British recording artist Phil Collins:
the world won’t listen exhibit.
Fort
Worth - Don't forget nearby city of Fort
Worth boasts a wealth of museums including the
Kimbell Art Museum, Amon Carter Museum, and
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the National
Cowgirl Museum & Hall of Fame (often
frequented by the lesbian population).
Upscale Shopping - Known for
being the Neiman Marcus birthplace, upscale
shopping is thriving in Dallas. Be sure to check
out the Texas-sized Dallas Galleria, with a
gorgeous ice-skating rink and over 200 stores,
including Tiffany, Nordstrom, Tourneau, Saks,
Banana Republic, Baccarat, Brooks Brothers,
Harolds, Versace, Pink, Williams-Sonoma,
Cartier, Rolex, Louis Vuitton, and Gucci.
Click here to book now or to
contact a LGBT friendly travel
expert! |
|
LGBT Book Club- TOP
PICK
 AMERICA'S BOY: A MEMOIR
Born in 1965 into a small
town in the heartland of America, Wade Rouse
didn't quite fit in. At five, his family
returned home to find Wade in the middle of
their living room wearing red heels, a
black-and-white polka-dot bikini, gold earrings,
a tinfoil crown embedded with glued-on red
checkers, and a cardboard sash saying "Miss
Sugar Creek" in red magic marker. With his
golden, feathered hair and preference for pink
dress shirts, Wade is mistaken for a girl for
much of his childhood. Wade's family has their
own quirks. His father calls everyone
"hon"--including the dirty gas station
attendant--and his mother talks as though she's
cross-examining herself. Wade fills his time
eating Little Debbie cakes and Cherry Mashes
because becoming fat is more acceptable than
being different.
But when summer arrives,
his entire lovable, eccentric family pack their
clothes in garbage bags and drive to their log
cabin on Sugar Creek in the Missouri Ozarks. At
Sugar Creek, Wade finds comfort with his family
until a tragic accident takes his brother's life
and, afraid of losing the love of his remaining
family, swears that he wll never allow them to
mourn the loss of their only remaining son. Wade
buries his identity along with his brother.
Told with humor, courage, and boundless
joy, America's Boy is a love letter to a
singular time in America's heartland, to a
family perhaps in detail different but familiar
all the same, and to the growing pains that
accompany self-discovery.
Click here to buy America's Boy or
other LGBT
Books |
|
Diversity Builder's
Business Tip
 Office
Humor Needs Work - How to Include Humor at Work
in a way that supports Diversity
Humor in the workplace should be used to
make people feel good and build a sense of
camaraderie. Humor has shown to boost the immune
system, lower blood pressure, increase energy
and even raise productivity at work.
Inappropriate humor creates an atmosphere that
says it is okay to make fun of others, and that
certain types of people are not valued in your
company. So what types of humor are okay in the
workplace?
Feel Free
To Joke About:
Yourself – show that you don’t take yourself
too seriously!
Common Situations You All Face – for
example: the holiday rush, or equipment
failure
Personality Traits & Quirks that are not
too personal – for example: not being a morning
person, or being a huge sports fan.
Neutral Current Events – for example:
celebrities, or non-controversial news
stories.
Avoid Making
Jokes About:
Personal Appearances
Gender
Sexuality/Sexual Orientation
Religion
Race/Ethnicity
Physical Disabilities
Politics
Anything Vulgar or Gross
When in
doubt, use your common sense. If you think a
joke might be inappropriate or hurt someone’s
feelings, don’t tell it!
Click here for Diversity Training
Information
|
Diversity Business
Minute
A deeper look into
companies that are helping our community...
Charles Caudell and Cal Woodard
Helping the LGBT community find the perfect
dream
home!
Relocating
to Middle Tennessee and would like to use a LGBT
friendly Realtor? Real
Living- Sterling Properties is a team
you can trust!
Buying or selling your
home should be a fun and exciting time. Use a
realtor you feel comfortable with, one who
understands the LGBT community and our
needs!
Click Here to Contact Real Living
Sterling
Properties |
Cultural Diversity in the
Arts
New Intuitive Dance
Group Celebrates Diversity in Dance
Houston-based dance company, Intuitive
African Dance and Drum Culture, founded in the
summer of 2007, is a dynamic and energetic
fusion of traditional West African Dance and
Culture and its transitions in this country and
the Diaspora.
When asked about the
cultural importance of the new dance group,
Founder Tracie Jackson commented, "The
preservation of traditional West African Dance
is important because the rhythms and dances of
this culture can be seen and heard in the music
and popular polycentric (meaning several body
parts are moving simultaneously but to different
rhythms) dances.
Research has confirmed that
enslaved Africans came only from West Africa
during the Mid-Atlantic slave trade. Those
enslaved Africans brought to this country and
countries throughout the Daspora, their drum
rhythms, music and dancing. West Africans
incorporate dance and drum in every aspect of
their lives, including celebration, religion,
rites of passage and death. This is an important
link to our society that needs to be cultivated
and shared."
The African dance
performance also offers the audience
eye-enticing visuals such as stilt walking and
elaborate costumes that symbolize the message of
the particular dance and rhythm.
The
company is located in Houston, TX, yet travels
nationally to perform for corporate events,
cultural celebrations, and other events
celebrating the diversity of African dance and
music. As for the future of the dance group,
Jackson stated, "Intuitive (African Dance) plans
to perform and travel world wide in all media
outlets, including television." The dance group
is a proud member of Houston's GLBT Chamber of
Commerce.
Click here to learn more
about Intuitive African Dance and Drum
Culture
|
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