Faces of Diversity, commissioned by the Society for Community Development, in collaboration with School District 43 and the City of Coquitlam Leisure and Parks Services, is dedicated to the memory of those souls who, on March 21, 1960, lost their lives while demonstrating peacefully against apartheid in South Africa. Below: Inspired by Faces of Diversity, here is a selection of writing reflecting on unity, diversity, prejudice and hope for the future, by youth in Anmore, Belcarra, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam, and Port Moody. This writing is part of a book that also includes artwork, titled Faces of Diversity.

Why Momma?

A crash downstairs,
through the window I see fire.
The yells outside are never-ending.
My mother rushes upstairs
I start to cry.
I ask her
Why Momma?

She grabs my hand as we rush downstairs
I see broken windows and glass everywhere.
As we run outside I see my horrors coming true,
My home and the homes around us are no more.
And I ask her
Why Mom, Why?

My brother was killed by a gunshot,
And years later I find out it was all about racism
And now I don't ask why,
I know why,
Racism.

Sinead Linden
Grade 6, Age 11

The Two of Spades

After the game ended
The deck of cards jumped
Back into the desk drawer.
The deck minus one black two that is.
The crumpled and crippled two of spades
Tried climbing the desk's leg
But to no avail.
No card would help the two with the mangled
   corner
The other cards laughed and chattered amongst
   themselves.
It was just a two, why bother?
Perhaps Mrs. Laker would notice
The lonely card on the floor
And return it to its home in the desk drawer.
Perhaps not.
Next time she vacuumed
Mrs. Laker sucked up the lowest spade
Without even noticing a thing.
The other cards went on with their lives
   in the drawer
It was just a two what did it matter?
It mattered a lot.
The deck of cards never saw the world beyond
   the desk drawer again.
For all the cards are needed to play a game
Whether high or low, all the cards are
Equally important
Or the whole deck goes to waste.

Kristen Olsen
Grade 11
Riverside Secondary

My background is...

My background is Danish/German. People judge me all the time. Because I am blonde and have blue/green eyes is no reason to assume that I have a perfect life! I am constantly told that I am "so lucky" because of the way I look or the way my friends or family look.
But the truth is my family is struggling to stay together and I have troubles with school like everyone else. I don't judge people by their appearance and I get deeply annoyed and my pride is hurt when people assume I have a perfect life. The truth is I don't, but nor do you. No one does. Everyone is the same. No one should be singled out and stereotyped for looks, whether bad or good.

Nicole Kirkley
Hillcrest Middle

The Faces of Diversity

The faces of diversity are the faces of you and I. These faces are shades of brown and white; they are the faces of the young and elderly, gay and straight, women and men, the challenged and the not-so-challenged mixed into infinite possibilities. The challenge for today is to break away from simple stereotypes, which make us feel safe and superior. A lifetime of experience tells me that I have been wrong every time I have accepted a stereotype. It has always been one on one contact which has caused me to reexamine my beliefs. It shouldn't, but it surprises me every time to discover that I have more similarities than differences with people who seem very different from me. The challenge for today is to create opportunities to meet people we perceive as "different." Communication creates opportunities for understanding. Understanding destroys mistrust. Empathy can be created and stereotypes are broken. The challenge for today is to be brave enough to acknowledge our stereotypic ideas, to meet those who seem different from ourselves and then to be willing to replace tired old ideas with new understanding. Change takes place one person at a time. The process is slow but immensely satisfying.

Unknown