Manhattanville College Hosts Thanksgiving Diversity Breakfast
Building the Mosaic was the theme of this year’s Westchester/Fairfield County Thanksgiving Diversity Breakfast held at Manhattanville College, November 21.
With over 300 people participating, representing different faiths from around the region, this year’s event was a record-breaker.
Three honorees were recognized for their work in bringing together diverse elements of the community.
Geoffrey Anderson of Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO) talked about the housing needs of people in the county. “It is a wonderful feeling to tell someone facing eviction, that yes, we can help you,” he said.
WRO fights housing discrimination, an issue Anderson said has been more prevalent than people may think. He explained that the job of WRO in part, is to educate people about the benefits of diversity. “Fighting for Source of Income legislation, which the county recently signed into law, was one of Anderson’s major projects. “It disallows anyone from asking where someone’s income comes from,” he said, adding: “Diversity allows individuals to share the world. People who take on diversity as a part of who they are, learn a lot.”
Rabbi Amiel Wohl of Coalition for Mutual Respect and a former rabbi at Temple Israel of New Rochelle served in that community for 40 years as part of the Reform Jewish Movement. Rabbi Wohl said he learned from his father who began discussions between Jewish and Christian clergy. In Cincinnati, his father was also involved in educating people about race relations. He called Jewish owners of theaters in the city and told them they had to integrate their theaters and they listened, Rabbi Wohl told the audience.
The Coalition for Mutual Respect was developed when tensions flared between African Americans and Jews shortly after President Carter fired Andrew Young and the PLO issue was at the forefront of national events.
Today the Coalition sponsors an interfaith Passover Seder with College of New Rochelle or Iona staff and students. “We created a special Haggadah to consider Christian sentiments,” he said.
The achievement is that the Coalition is persistent, Rabbi Wohl explained. “It is important to understand that creating interaction between communities is what makes America special not our technology or military. It is our pursuit of tolerance and togetherness.”
The third honoree, Sr. Beth Dowd, creator of the children’s chorus, Songcatchers, and an Ursuline nun said: “We can create a positive energy here. It makes a difference in the world.” Sr. Dowd expressed her deepest desire to not exclude anyone from the circle of communication.
Dowd grew up in a family that was active in the community and where music was foundational. As a teacher in the primary grades, she always incorporated music into her lessons. “There is something physical as well as spiritual when practicing music. It reaches something deep within us,” she says.
She created a children’s choir at Blessed Sacrament School and determined to allow all children to participate no matter what their economic backgrounds, she eventually started Songcatcher’s in 1994. “All children should have the opportunity,” she said. Sr. Dowd has worked with the poorest children of New Rochelle. The program has grown to about 135 children in the after school program, and there is an additional early childhood program. Classes run Tuesday through Saturday and are facilitated by the work of over 100 volunteers.
Today, the theme of Songcatchers is “reaching for peace through music.”
“You don’t get harmony when everyone sings the same note,” Sr. Dowd explains.
