In Part I, we considered the first two quadrants of the Changemaker Journey “Homegrown Solutions” in light of current recommendations to stay at home as much as possible. In this second installment of “How to be Homebound Changemaker, we are thinking about the “Patchwork World” described in the 3rd and 4th quadrants of the Blue Roads Changemaker Journey.  Here we are encouraged to think beyond our personal experiences to engage with others  from a more global perspective. 
Cultivating Cultural Connectivity

This is an important time to recognize the beauty of our diversity as well as the challenges we encounter in seeing the world through the eyes of others. 

My husband shared a recent story of an Asian American heckled and bullied while shopping in a popular superstore.  No one spoke up to stop the racist harassment.  No one acted on the woman’s behalf.  

As we talked about the incident with shock and dismay, I could only hope that I would not have been one of those bystanders if I were to witness such a situation.  We promised each other that we would “practice” being ready to step up with at least a firm “Hey! That’s NOT cool!” objection should we encounter such behavior in our own lives. 

Former presidential candidate, Andrew Yang, has faced backlash this week for his Op-Ed in the Washington Post encouraging Asian Americans to ramp up their public displays of patriotism as a way of showing solidarity in the U.S. fight against Covid-19.  His intentions have been overshadowed by what has been perceived as his soft response and easy out for racist behaviors. 

After posting a picture of a personified earth wearing a mask on my social media feeds recently, I came across articles talking about the riskiness of mask wearing for African American males in this country. 

These examples highlight the fact that it is not  easy to consistently honor and appreciate the “patchwork” of diversity with full awareness.   We must be open to the possibility that we get it wrong sometimes. 

While our president insists on calling Covid-19 the “China Virus”, those of us who seek positive change in the world understand it is not helpful to stoke the fires of racism with divisive language.  It should go without saying that it is always wrong to do so, but it is especially  counterproductive in a time when we need the whole world working to fight a common inanimate enemy instead of one another. 
The changemaker’s patchwork enriches us all.  We can engage with it in part by: 

 


















* Reading and consuming information from diverse perspectives
* Interacting with others with humility and appreciation
* Practicing in advance how to speak up  when we witness racism in action. 





























By committing to be allies (upstanders rather than bystanders) and talking about how to do so first in the context of our families, we are passing on the values of peacebuilders and changemakers.  We are acting in our local context in ways that can trickle out and make the world a better place.