Discrimination

Hameka Canady

On December 14, 1960, the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization resolved that “discrimination includes any distinction, exclusion, limitation or preference which, being based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, economic condition or birth, has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing equality of treatment in education and in particular.” Article 1 is specifically relevant for my topic. It emphasized the importance of all children having equal as well as fair educational rights.

I was fortunate to meet with Patricia Parker, an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies here at the university. She is also the founder of a program entitled Still Lifting, Still Climbing: Young Women of Color Leadership through Community Activism, a program designed for high school-aged women in Trinity Court and Pritchard Park, which are both predominately black, low- income communities in the Orange County area. As of June 2007, the program has assisted ten young females from ninth to twelve grades in identifying problems in their community and possible ways to resolve the issues. Throughout the program, the students learned various skills through workshops on personal, organizational, and community leadership. I will continue to work with her in conjunction with Sociology 290.