UNITED WE STAND
Connecting through culture, building bridges and leaving hate behind.
The National Endowment for the Humanities, in cooperation with the White House, launched the initiative United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture to stem the nationwide increase of domestic extremism and hate-motivated violence. The NEH’s response to the United We Stand initiative provides funding to its partners across the country to create humanities programs that encourage civil discussion, promote civic engagement, inspire compassion and create cross-cultural understanding.
To address the United We Stand initiative, NMHC created a special edition catalog of speakers separate from our regular Speakers Bureau. The goal of this special catalog is to provide New Mexico communities—especially rural and underserved communities—with the opportunity to learn about the components of hate-motivated violence and the importance of cross-cultural understanding. Program topics include firsthand stories of living in New Mexico’s Japanese internment camps, how comic books reflect and challenge American culture, poetry’s influence on the Civil War, an in depth look at Blackdom (New Mexico’s only incorporated all-Black town), and even a frank and balanced discussion on gun violence and legislation. By booking or attending these talks, New Mexico residents can learn and grow together.
NMHC is also partnering with the Children’s Hour! The Children’s Hour is an internationally syndicated kids’ radio show and podcast that takes complex topics and makes them approachable for audiences of all ages.
The Children’s Hour will produce four podcast episodes that will teach critical thinking and media literacy skills, explore the diversity of language and communication in the U.S., and discuss the importance of building community.
United We Stand was developed as a special initiative of the White House and was funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities to promote civic engagement.
#365
CELEBRATE AND LEARN ABOUT DIVERSE CULTURAL HISTORIES YEAR-ROUND
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) launched a new initiative titled United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture to leverage the arts and humanities against the rising tide of hate-motivated violence in America. United We Stand: Connecting Through Culture provides funding to NEH’s partners across the country for humanities programs that will encourage social cohesion, civic engagement, and cross-cultural understanding.
When ordinary citizens cannot go about their daily lives—going to the grocery store, praying in their house of worship, etc.—without fear of being targeted simply for being who they are, our national security and democracy are at risk. The arts and humanities can be powerful tools against ignorance and hatred. They remind us of the things we have in common as citizens of this country and as human beings. They are the ways we explore what it means to be “human.”
What does it mean to be human? It’s a question that encompasses the past, present and future; it encompasses both the individual and communal human experiences. There is no single answer because everyone has a different story to tell. Each human story is a strand in a web. Each strand is connected to the others, each strand depends on the others for support, each strand makes the web stronger. Without every strand, the web would not exist.
In the words of NEH Chair Shelly C. Lowe, “The arts and humanities have always been an avenue for acknowledging and expressing pain, coming to terms with that pain, and building support networks for survivors. In moments of loss and tragedy, we come together to both create and turn to art, poetry, music, literature for solace and healing. And to the lessons of history for understanding, and to religion and philosophy for acceptance. Combating hate not only requires us to identify the root causes of that hate but also to identify our inherent capacity for love, acceptance, empathy, and belonging.” It is NMHC’s hope that the United We Stand initiative will inspire New Mexico residents to build community and hold firm against the rise of hatred and violence.
The episodes will broadcast in 2024, so stay tuned to their podcast page! To learn more about the Children’s Hour, please visit their website: www.ChildrensHour.org.
Join your friends, family, neighbors and other community members on this learning journey! Stand united against hate.
THE CHILDREN'S HOUR PODCAST
Episode 1:
Speaking The Truth: Misinformation and Media Literacy
Students, listeners and children will practice implementing critical thinking skills to identify perspectives, motivations and biases from a variety of different media sources. Students will analyze how false information can affect society and threaten civil rights and democracy.
Episode 2:
Mother Tongue: Diversity of Spoken Languages in the United States
Students, listeners and children will analyze reasons and effects of discrimination towards people who speak other languages besides English, examine reasons for language loss and create solutions for building a positive multilingual society in which everyone is accepted. Students will develop appreciation and empathy by connecting with the stories, experiences and perspectives of diverse language speakers.
Episode 3:
Other Voices, Other Sounds: Diversity of Communication in the United States
Students, listeners and children will work to understand and combat social exclusion and discrimination of people who experience linguistic/verbal or hearing impairments, and/or who are on the autism spectrum. Children will learn how to express the language of kindness, inclusion and belonging to people of these groups and build bridges of understanding.
Episode 4:
Together We Can: Community Building Objective
Students, listeners and children will learn strategies and methods of building community through team building exercises, and be given a chance to apply what they learn within their own family/class/school/local community in order to combat bullying and hate, build unity, and inspire others. This episode will explore traditional games kids play and have played for thousands of years that require teamwork and cooperation, including hand games of African American peoples, games of Indigenous Americans like the Mayan game pok-a-tok and Incan chasquis, and games imported to the U.S. over generations of immigration from around the world.