From the Desk of Honorable Cynthia Lee Sheng, Parish President

In Jefferson Parish we take pride and draw strength from our diverse work-

force. I believe that we must understand how our community is evolving in

order to best meet the needs of those who live here. A population with dif-

ferent cultural backgrounds has less crime, more technological centers and

innovation, better business growth, and more educational opportunities.

We need to promote and harness the capacity of all members of our com-

munity if we want to stay economically competitive and socially and politi-

cally relevant in the world today.

In an effort to create an environment where all of our employees can do

their best work my team has analyzed and reorganized the organization

chart. I wanted functional groupings, so that they are reporting to the same

manager, and I wanted to create communication channels that give us the

best chance at creativity and innovation. During our transition process, we

retained and promoted some of our veteran parish employees; while also

bringing in an unprecedented number of women and minorities to key administrative positions. That process has lead

us to having the most diverse workforce the Parish has seen to date.

It is important to embrace diversity in order to grow, and my administration fully supports and is grateful for the efforts

of the Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board. As President of Jefferson Parish, I am committed to continuing to work

toward racial equity. Our work to make Jefferson Parish a more inclusive and diverse community is far from complet-

ed, but I am pleased with the positive steps we are taking towards becoming a community where everyone has the

opportunity and support to succeed.

DIVERSITY MATTERS Celebrating Diversity In Jefferson Parish

January 2020

A Publication of the Employee Diversity Board of Jefferson Parish

Honoring A Champion Of Diversity

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Triple Evils of POVERTY, RACISM and MILITARISM are forms of vio-lence that exist in a vicious cycle. They are interrelated, all-inclusive, and stand as barriers to our living in the Beloved Community. When we work to remedy one evil, we affect all evils. To work against the Triple Evils, you must develop a nonviolent frame of mind as described in the “Six Principles of Nonviolence” and use the Kingian model for social action outlined in the “Six

Steps for Nonviolent Social Change.”

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Dr. Martin L. King January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968

Cynthia Lee Sheng

Parish President

Celebrating Dr. Martin Luther King

As we promote diversity in

the workplace and Jefferson

Parish, we invite your ideas!

Please contact:

WE NEED YOU

Aleen Bernard

<ABernard@jeffparish.net>

Diversity Board

Aleen Bernard - General Services

Tommy Austin - Fleet Management

Tonya Bates, Workforce Connection

Ray Mowla - Sewerage & Drainage

Deon Green - Research & Budget

Lisa Harrington - Jeff CAP

Yvonne Keller - Human Resources

Donnie Lewis - Community Development

Irene Lunkin - Library's

Joanna Miller - Animal Shelter

Betina Noveh - Public Works

Pay Palafox - Community Justice

Hector Pineda - Parish President Office

Christie Richardson - Citizens Affairs

Lashaunda Thomas - Juvenal Services

Dr. Vanessa Zimmerman - CAA

This month is set aside to celebrate a man that celebrated diversity in an effort to create a community that fosters equal-ity. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Christian minister and activist who be-came the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, King is best known for advancing civil rights through nonviolence and civil disobedience, in-spired by his Christian beliefs and the

nonviolent activism of Mahatma Gandhi.

King led the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and in 1957 became the first presi-

dent of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). With the

SCLC, he led an unsuccessful 1962 struggle against segregation in Albany,

Georgia, and helped organize the nonviolent 1963 protests in Birmingham,

Alabama. He helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, where he deliv-

ered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.

It was not enough Dr. King put his life on the line for freedom and justice, ulti-

mately paying the highest price to make democracy a reality for all Americans.

I challenge you to make this MLK holiday "A Day On, Not a Day Off." The Mar-

tin Luther King Jr. holiday honors the life and contributions of America's great-

est champion and advocate of racial justice and equality.

https://www.vandenberg.af.mil/News/Commentaries/Display/Article/341637/embrace-diversity-living-martin-luther-kings-dream/

Jefferson Parish Promotes Diversity

Multicultural Calendar for February Black History Month

2/11 – LGBTQ+: Tammy Baldwin – Birthday of first openly LGBT politician elected to the U.S. Congress, and first elected to U.S. Senate 2/15 – Buddhist: Parinirvana or Nirvana Day – commemorates Buddha’s death in 483 BC and his final nirvana – for more religious holidays, see our 2020 Interfaith Calendar 2/15 – Women: Susan B. Anthony – Birthday of leader of women’s rights and the effort to enable women to vote 2/21 – Black: Barbara Jordan – Birthday of first Black woman elected to the Texas State Senate 2/26 – Christian: Ash Wednesday – the start of Lent, prayer and fasting for 40 days until Easter Sunday

March 2020 Ethnic Holidays Women’s History Month – Celebrates the Achievements of Women

3/1 – Hispanic American/Women: Geisha Williams – Birthday of first female Hispanic CEO of a Fortune 500 company 3/6 – Black American/Muslim: Shaquille O’Neal – Birthday of considered one of the greatest NBA players of all time, and a practicing Muslim 3/9 – Hindu: Holi – honors the winter crop harvest, and advent of spring 3/10 – Black American: Harriet Tubman – abolitionist leader on the Underground Railroad, aided slaves in their journey to freedom 3/14 – Jewish German American: Albert Einstein -Birthday of leading theoretical physicist of the 20th century 3/17 – Irish: St Patrick’s Day – Birthday of celebrates the patron saint of Ireland, who brought Christianity to island 3/31 – Mexican American: Cesar Chavez – Birthday of social activist for Mexicans and Mexican Americans, fighting for equality and economic justice

Diversity Board

Recognized By Parish President Yenni and the Council

The Horror of War and the Beauty of Survivors

Pockmarked homes of the town greeted us as we drove into the town – a town

that just five years earlier had been torn by bullets and ravaged by bombs. I

was in central Croatia – one of the six European countries that emerged from

the former Yugoslavia in the late 1990s. East of Italy, across the Adriatic Sea,

Yugoslavia had been held together by the strong policies of Marshal Josip

Broz Tito from very shortly after world war two until his death in 1980. Almost

immediately, tensions began to rise between the Roman Catholic Croatians,

the Eastern Orthodox Serbians, and the Muslim Bosnians. With the election

of Slobodan Milosevic as president of Yugoslavia in 1997, war erupted be-

tween the Serbs and the Croats – with Bosnia Herzegovina in the middle.

This was a horrific war. It introduced the term “ethnic cleansing” to our vocabulary, and even United Nations peacekeep-

ers found themselves coming under fire. A Yugoslav air force

pilot who refused to fight his own country was shot down over

Croatia in 1991 after being refused entry to Austrian airspace.

Neighbors who had been sharing meals the week before found

themselves at arms against each other. Citizens fleeing the vio-

lence were often separated from family. My first opportunity to

visit the former Yugoslavia came in 2005 when I flew into Za-

greb, Croatia. Admittedly, my perspective is skewed to the Cro-

atian view, having visited close to but never into Bosnia, with

Serbia across that country. Zagreb – even as early as 2005 is

home to Serbian and Bosnian families. I had the opportunity to talk with former Serbian soldiers, Croatian Bosnian, and

Macedonian citizens and to tour areas that five years previously were battlegrounds. While the war was viciously fought,

the people who fought the war respected and cared about each other. A former Serbian soldier attending a church ser-

vice with me in Croatia was in tears as he looked across the street at a hill and told of shooting from a bunker on the hill

down into the street the church was located on. “I may have shot at some of these brothers and sisters who welcome me

today,” Josip said.

Cultural differences did not prevent individuals from assisting each

other, even during the war. Stories are told of meeting refugees at the

borders and bringing them to shelter, food and family. When it was

not possible to find or get to family, Muslim Bosnians found them-

selves living long term in a Christian church or Orthodox Serbs might

shelter in a Catholic church. Visiting this scenic region five years lat-

er, I asked about homes I could see in various states of disrepair. I

was told that they had been damaged during “the war,” and the own-

ers were from other factions in the war. The homes are being protect-

ed for the owners who are welcome at any time but do not yet feel

comfortable to return. The people are protecting the property of their

neighbors. The war was triggered when fractions built on religious

differences demanded dominance one over the other. This drive for dominance is not seen in the people of that country

– the people who witnessed the horror.

Clifford "Mark" Klym , Author

Jefferson Parish Promotes Diversity