Confucius was born in the present-day eastern China province of Shandong 550 years before the Christian era began. He was a distinguished thinker, educator, and political figure who had such a powerful impact on Chinese history and philosophy that his influence on society and philosophy in the East is compared with the impact Socrates had on the West. The teachings of Confucius were preserved in the Analects. As one might imagine, his teachings are relevant not only to Chinese society, but to societies elsewhere in the East, and to societies in the West, including in the United States.

Some of the teachings of Confucius have special meaning for the racial, ethnic, and other minorities within societies. For instance, his 15 simple words above amount to a powerful maxim that extends to people and circumstances everywhere. But they resonate powerfully with people in “diversity circumstances;” people who are in a minority in terms of ethnicity, race, national origin, physical disability, age, sexual orientation, or health situation. People in these circumstances often face challenges that are Herculean, and often are inclined to succumb to the social, political, health, or other pressures, threats, and apprehensions placed in their paths.

For many blacks, gays, Hispanics, women, disabled people, and others in the United States (and elsewhere), the Haitian proverb “Behind mountains more mountains” captures the vicissitudes of daily life. Thus, the Confucian maxim cited above provides a powerful motivator to people in diversity circumstances; it is a call to us to make resilience a hallmark of all pursuits, as more likely than not we will witness and have to withstand trials and tribulations not presented to others. Some of these trials and tribulations are the consequence of institutional and personal design; yes, institutionalized and individual prejudice still exists. Some result from happenstance, and others are the unintended consequences of well-meaning policies, laws, and actions of individuals.

This edition of Diversity Exchange captures some of the personal, institutional, and other challenges faced by people in diversity circumstances. Yet, partly as a testimony to their resilience, it also reveals successes and points of pleasure; it shows that there was falling, but there also was rising; and it suggests also that there continue to be numerous opportunities to fall and just as many to rise. I want to thank you for allowing us to share these points of pain and pleasure with you. As you will appreciate, the production of this magazine has involved considerable time and energy by contributors and editorial and production staff. I take this opportunity to extend my gratitude to them for their individual and collective labors.

So, read on! And, as you peruse these pages – whether or not you are part of a racial, ethnic, or other minority – think of your own comings and goings, your own trials and tribulations, and the wisdom of those 15 words in the Analects of that ancient Chinese philosopher named Confucius.

Ivelaw L. Griffith, Ph.D.
Executive Editor