Dr. Raymond Reyes

2009-04-16T11:43:00.000-07:00

I am a Mexican American who was born and raised in a small rural white community in Montana along with my 4 brothers in the 50's and 60's. Growing up in this community was difficult for our family because we were treated like second class citizens. We were seen as field workers and cheap labor.

Mexicans came into the community as migrants during the summer time to do field work. The farmers held little regard for their workers. Some of the housing that was provided ranged from sheds to chicken coops. The workers and their families would be infected by lice and were often sick with colds. The housing often times did not have electricity or running water. My family lived in migrant housing in Oregon. I disliked it immensely. We were unable to store food because of the ants and other insects that would invade our small supply.

My family and I continue to live in white communities but no longer live on the edge. Each of my siblings and I continue to experience isolated incidents of racism but as adults we are able to deal with it better. It is difficult to for us when our children experience racism. My son was speaking Japanese one day on his cell phone at Walmart last fall when an older man came up to him and told him to stop speaking "that greaser language".

I believe it is important to talk to people about diversity in the community and how racism still exists in communities. Dr Raymond Reyes works as a diversity educator in the community. I asked him if he would speak on diversity for my video presentation.

Dr. Reyes is an Associate Vice President for Diversity at Gonzaga University. His responsibilities include the overall organizational development of cultural competency at Gonzaga University; increasing the diversity staff, student and staff populations; developing and implementing diversity training opportunities for the community to increase its understanding of diversity and is responsible for joining the larger community and region to create solutions to racial intolerance.

Dr. Reyes areas of scholarship and experience are in diversity, human development and learning, leadership development and cultural pedagodgy. He continues to deliver workshops and seminars addressing the following topics: multiculatural education; intercultural competency; application of neuroscience research to the classroom; healing recovery (drug and alcohol education); cultural leadership development.

During the summer of 1994 Dr. Reyes conducted classes at the Us Olympic Training Center at Colorado Springs on sports psychology and optimal performance for 55 Native American male and female elite runners. He was the primary author a comprehensive training curriculum guide for the Native American Sports Council, a member of the USOTC. Dr. Reyes continues to be a educational consultant to the Native American Sports Council.

Dr. Reyes has published numerous articles and chapters in books on topics on leadership program evaluation, school reform and multicultural education, diversity and equity and storytelling. He has delivered keynote addresses at various national, regional and state conference and research symposiums.

I thank Dr. Reyes for the time he shared with all of us. It is only through individuals like Dr. Reyes that life will be better our childrens children. I know that I want to have my grandchildren if I should have any that they will not ever have to go through a racist incident. I don't want to see them go through what our family went through in the 50's and 60's.

Marjorie Elaine Hernandez Garza