Unity within diversity can be found on Kent’s East Hill | Tate

Kent’s East Hill is one of the most diverse areas in the state and perhaps comparable to any single community in our nation.

At a recent Kent School Board work session, I found statistical data indicating about 130 different languages are spoken in the district. Many of those languages and the corresponding ethic groups live, work and play on the East Hill.

“I never even heard of most of those languages before tonight,” said one observer. People from throughout the world have come to the East Hill and have found reason to stay.

Unifying diverse populations is a calling, requiring the right people, at the right place, at the right time.

On March 3, Mayor Suzette Cooke greeted a gathering of people at East Hill Elementary School, where the enormous diversity of the East Hill was being discussed.

Some outsiders may view diversity in schools as a negative. But Dr. Wade Barringer, principal of the award-winning Kent-Meridian High School, showed that East Hill schools had received numerous awards in a variety of areas, from closing the achievement gap at schools like Kent and Daniel elementary to Martin Sortun achieving the prestigious “Level 3 Green School” status.

Erica Fadig, of the University of Washington School of Public Health, a community-oriented Public Health practice program, presented information she and six of her classmates had gathered from 600 East Hill residents. The UW students surveyed the East Hill population by knocking on doors in the middle of the winter. The group withstood a hailstorm at least once in order to bring back information to the meeting about how East Hill residents viewed their community.

Kent Police Chief Ken Thomas spoke briefly about safety on the East Hill. Josh Hall, the city of Kent’s economic development specialist, presented a variety of East Hill demographic information obtained from the census.

Amira Hussein, of the Institute for Community Leadership and a sophomore at Kent-Meridian, gave a riveting speech that brought the entire group of about 75 people to their feet.

Jack Becvar, Kent historian, brought up the other end of the generation gap. Becvar was in the first class to graduate from Kent-Meridian back in the early 20th century. He has since lived in Kent with his wife, Mary Lou. He spoke passionately about the rich diversity he has seen settle into the East Hill and the need for the community, young and old, to come together.

Jim Berrios, owner of the Golden Steer Restaurant, and Harpreet Gill, owner of Punjab Sweets, spoke about the business climate and its international flavor. They emphasized the potential of the vast diversity of small businesses on the hill, but also mentioned the need for a face lift and themes, a sense of place, and the need for identity and unity.

Another remarkable thing about the community gathering was that United Way’s Lori Guilfoyle, the city of Kent’s Josh Hall, King County Health Department’s Caren Adams, and Anthony Shoecraft of the Community Center for Educational Results communicated with people like Barbara Phillips, Jim Berrios, Roger Hurst, Harpreet Gill and Trish Cardkey to discuss the potential on the hill. They then decided to do something about it. Hall worked effectively, utilizing all the support provided by these groups and individuals to set up the forum.

The Issaquah-based Pomegranate Center, renowned for its work in helping communities come together, facilitated the forum from beginning to end. Like a superb conductor gathering the best from each member of his orchestra, facilitator Milenko Matanovic brought out the best ideas, thoughts and visions participants had relative to the “state of the East Hill community,” and to achieve the goals of identifying leaders, setting priorities and developing a code of collaboration.

All of the right people who couldn’t attend at that time and place were extended an invitation to join in later. Just contact Hall at 253-856-2707.

Unity: a cornerstone in the human condition

Alone, the act of diverse individuals, diverse groups and businesses, and diverse thought coming together for a common cause in the East Hill, loudly speaks to unity within diversity.

If a community’s elderly white gentleman like Jack Becvar, who was raised in a very bigoted time, can stand up and invite not only the youth, but the world of different groups that migrated to the hill, to form a gathering place for all, that’s the epitome of unity within diversity. He realizes that the cornerstones in the human condition indicates we all come from the same source regardless of what language, skin color, nationality, creed or other conditions of life.

The multitude of differences among us pale in comparison to our similarities that rests upon a few cornerstones in our foundation. The fact that we may prepare and eat different kinds of food pales in comparison to the fact that we all must eat to survive. Speaking different languages pales when considering we all speak a language. Having different religions pales when we consider religion is part of every human culture.

Our different approaches to politics, education and economics are minuscule considering all human societies from the most primitive to the most advanced have political, educational and economic systems. Also, every human society develops social mores around love, justice and other universal human experiences. One does not have to claim to be colorblind to make these observations.

People and organizations in the East Hill corridor are viewing the differences as a strength, and it is. They have decided “to move forward with a myriad of diversity and synergy, achieving the common good for all.”

That’s unity within diversity.