Ashley Cecil

4.25″ x 11″ watercolor, Seattle skyline
SOLD
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From the classroom to the conference room, racial diversity is a term carefully studied and implemented. My takeaway from this concept is that it’s strived for and regarded is a mark of excellence. But the means of getting there are not as morally clear as the end result itself.

Earlier this month, two cases were heard by the Supreme Court regarding affirmative action voluntarily utilized by public schools in both Louisville, KY and Seattle, WA to create racial integration. The 1954 case of Brown vs. the Board of Education led to actions ensuring schools opened their doors to all students. Schools, like many in Louisville and Seattle, continue to implement such practices. In these cities, race is one of many factors considered in deciding where a child attends school. This might result in denied acceptance to the school of a student’s choice because no more room is available for a student of their race.

To some, this practice seems noble, especially when many communities self-segregate. Since racial diversity is so highly regarded, we owe it to our children to secure that their lives are not void of people of other ethnicities, right? Apparently, that depends on who you ask.

Seeing racial integration through to fruition without bringing into question what is unconstitutional is not clear (per the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment). Should a student be denied acceptance to a school in his or her own neighborhood because their race “quota” has been maxed out? On the flipside, should we allow for segregation to potentially grow organically if communities are left mold their own student body? How do you achieve racial integration without racial means? Is it truly academically beneficial to a student to attend an integrated school? Who is to judge? These are all tough questions with no easy answers.

Supposedly, all public schools are equal, so it shouldn’t matter which school a child attends. Anyone who believes this has clearly not stepped foot into two schools on opposite sides of any city. The intention is good, but the ironic method to achieve it, using race to eliminate discrimination by race, is debatably ethical.

There seems to be a split down the middle of opinions on the topic. So, in the spirit of constructive debate, I invite your thoughts. Where would you stand if your child were placed in these circumstances? What if you were the same parent, only you had experienced, first-hand, the Civil Rights Movement as a minority? Please share your stance and/or personal experience.

4.25″ x 11″ watercolor, Seattle skyline SOLD See all paintings available for sale. From the classroom to the conference room, racial diversity is a term carefully studied and implemented. My...

Inside the historical home he once occupied, Thomas Edison himself appeared to watch his admirers from a hanging frame while his genius was praised. The standard admission fee was waived yesterday evening to entice inquisitive visitors to browse the extensive collection of Edison’s inventions and personal belongings at the Thomas Edison House.

Carefully arranged throughout the small shotgun building in Butchertown, Louisville, Ky were items such as Edison’s phonograph above. Guests also found examples of his movie projector, the Kinetoscope (click here to see glimpse of the first copyrighted film called “Record of a Sneeze”), Edison’s sewing machine, incandescent light bulbs, as well as the bed he slept in. The house induces a time warp back to Edison’s occupancy in 1860′s with a meticulous restoration of the original interior.

The Thomas Edison House is a privately funded nonprofit offering more to the community than wine and cheese around the holidays. In the spirit of Edison’s untiring creativity, the Invention Convention Program enables school age children to create and develop their own new inventions. Field trips to the 1850′s Edison House also offer a myriad of angles for teachers to work into their lessons plans (certainly a more effective way to get a science lesson to stick in a student’s head).

If you’re ever passing through Louisville, or if you’re one of the many residents still in the dark about the hidden treasure, I highly recommend stopping in.

Inside the historical home he once occupied, Thomas Edison himself appeared to watch his admirers from a hanging frame while his genius was praised. The standard admission fee was waived...

Hand crafted art, sugar rimmed Martinis, Godiva Chocolate, solo guitar, and Santa; the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft hosted quite a unique of mix entertainment this evening. The enormous 2 story contemporary museum sheltered a full house from the bitter cold. I’m sure the free flowing vodka helped keep the bodies warm. The annual “Martinis and Mistletoe” drew in a crowd of art patrons ready to show their financial support with sales of the museum’s well stocked artisan inventory.

“The Mission of the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft is to promote excellence in the art and craft heritage of Kentucky through:

• Education outreach to Kentuckiana (that’s local jargon for the Louisville/Southern Indiana area) schools
• A permanent collection gallery
• Three exhibition galleries featuring Kentucky, regional, national and international artists
• A gallery shop representing hundreds of Kentucky artists
• Professional development and scholarships for artist

I wasn’t sure what to do first: try on jewelry, pick out pottery, drink a Christmas cocktail, or remind Santa how exceptionally good I’ve been this year. Actually, I didn’t have much time for any of it. I was busy sketching the event (which turned out to be hazardous as I accidentally dropped my pen on the guests below me while rendering this last sketch). Keep the “painting journalist” away from the martini bar.

Hand crafted art, sugar rimmed Martinis, Godiva Chocolate, solo guitar, and Santa; the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft hosted quite a unique of mix entertainment this evening. The enormous...

Whatever your social justice concern, you would have found educated voices speaking about it at the “Engaging Our World” conference. Paul Loeb, who researches and writes about citizen responsibility and empowerment, was a key guest speaker. Other participants included many faculty members at the University of Louisville, representatives from various nonprofits, and religious/spiritual leaders.

To squeeze in as much as possible, I brought along a friend to divvy up the workshops. Between the two of us, we heard panelists field questions on environmental issues (panelists sketched above), watched an Oxfam video presentation, learned about the cleft palate corrective surgeries that Dr. Mark Chariker performs (glad my friend was assigned to that one),

listened to representatives from “Women in Transition” explain how they help women rise above poverty (speaker and conference attendee sketched above), attended a lecture on Humanity and Sustainability, and created models of “ideal communities” with ACTIVE Living that best enable active lifestyles that fight obesity.

The conference planning committee didn’t just stop at booking knowledgeable speakers and organizing wonderful workshops. Everything was covered, down to the biodegradable, sugarcane fiber cutlery used at lunch. My friend took her knife back to Columbus to test the claim that it would decompose in her compost pile.

I left the conference feeling a mix of shock at the reality and severity of numerous looming issues while also inspired by the enthusiasm generated by the participants. Although possibly skewed since I am devoting an increasing amount of time to these issues, it still seems that many of these topics are gaining momentum and beginning to move mountains.

Technorati tags: Oxfam, Engaging Our World, social justice, Paul Loeb, University of Louisville

Whatever your social justice concern, you would have found educated voices speaking about it at the “Engaging Our World” conference. Paul Loeb, who researches and writes about citizen responsibility and...