The Pueblo Chieftain
February 8, 2004

by Juan Espinosa

On the surface, the thought of going to Cherry Creek High School for a diversity conference seems a little like going to Aspen to fight poverty.

What does anyone in the state's wealthiest school district know about diversity? Surprisingly, the answer is plenty, and there was ample proof of that on a recent Saturday when Centennial High School social studies teacher Mike Patterson and I accompanied seven Centennial MEChA and Diversity Club students to the 11th annual diversity conference on the sprawling Cherry Creek High School campus. A delegation from Central High School also attended.

As a part-time teacher and sponsor of the Centennial MEChA Club, I've attended the conference the past three years and found it to be of extraordinary quality. This year, more than 850 high school students and sponsors from 85 Colorado high schools and one Mesa, Ariz., school came together to discuss the hot topics of the day. The theme was "Diversity - you are the missing peace."

Half the fun for the students from less affluent school districts is to see how the other half lives. Cherry Creek High has a fine arts theater that rivals that of the Sangre de Cristo Arts and Conference Center's. That's where Emilio Delgado, who portrays Luis on "Sesame Street," delivered his keynote address at the morning session.

After the opening general session, students and their faculty sponsors broke into groups of about a dozen for more than 40 workshops on topics ranging from racial and ethnic themes to historical events such as the Holocaust and the Civil Rights struggle.

The hour-long session had thought-provoking titles such as: "I'm Not Prejudiced, But..."; "The Significance of Brown v. Board of Education"; "Denver Street Kids - Homelessness Hits Home"; and "Journey to a Hate-Free Millennium."

Presenters of the various sessions were highly qualified or, in a few cases, had lived the history about which they spoke.

For example, the workshop entitled "One of the Little Rock Nine" featured Denver real estate broker Carlotta Walls LaNier, one of nine courageous black children who were blocked by the Arkansas National Guard when they attempted to integrate Central High School in Little Rock in September 1957.

It took 1,200 soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division to back off the National Guard and Gov. Orval Faubus. LaNier was the youngest of the Little Rock Nine, and talked about being spat upon by onlookers as the soldiers escorted her and the others to school.

Her father, Cartelyou Walls, also lost his job because she was a student there.

"The financial pressure was evident in the lines on my mother Juanita's face," Carlotta said years later. "I watched her age and her hair quickly turn gray as my father was forced to leave town to find work."

Even when Carlotta's house was bombed, her family did not relent - she deserved the opportunity to go to Central to better her education. There is no substitute for learning about a historical event from someone who lived it, and the rare opportunity was not lost on the students, who gave up their Saturday to learn, explore and engage in serious discussions about their futures.

Though they represent only a tiny percentage of their schools' populations, the students who attended the Cherry Creek Diversity Conference embody a glimmer of hope for a generation of self-absorbed youths. Each group is encouraged to return to their home schools and do something to promote diversity and racial harmony.

To their credit, Centennial students in the Diversity Club may be ahead of the curve. In September they decorated the school halls with bright Chile peppers to mark Hispanic Heritage Month and this month they are decorating the halls with posters honoring Black History Month. Each spring, Centennial has a multicultural assembly and MEChA sponsors a Cinco de Mayo assembly.

Who knows, perhaps there will be a Pueblo Diversity Conference someday. But until there is, every high school in the county should send a delegation to Cherry Creek High.

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