“NIEAPA members shall seek to develop an awareness of their own personal and cultural values and beliefs as one way of appreciating the importance of multicultural identities in our own lives and in the lives of those we serve. NIEAPA members shall have and continue to develop specialized knowledge and understanding about the values, traditions and systems of all employees at the workplaces they serve.

MAY DIVERSITY MESSAGE

May is a wonderful month as the weather begins to warm, spring seems to be sticking around, and we get a glimpse of how our favorite baseball team might fare in October.

There are also some important days of celebration and remembrance this month.

• Cinco de Mayo May 5 celebrates the date of the Mexican army’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. This is not Mexican Independence Day as is sometimes thought but is considered a minor holiday in Mexico. In the US, it has evolved into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage. Chicano activists raised awareness of the holiday in the 1960s partly because they identified with the victory of indigenous Mexicans over European invaders during the Battle of Puebla.
• The second Sunday in May – Mother’s Day - Anna Jarvis started Mother’s Day in 1905 as a way to remember her own mother. Woodrow Wilson signed a proclamation making it an official holiday in 1914. The original reason for Mother’s Day was to have a holiday that expressed love and gratitude to all mothers, acknowledging the sacrifices women made for their children. It is a day that is celebrated around the world on different dates and in different ways. Celebrations of a mother deity go back to ancient Egypt and ancient Greece and can be viewed as a celebration of the feminine in all of our lives.
• Memorial Day, May 31 - Originally, this holiday was known as Decoration Day following the Civil War and was made an official federal holiday in 1971. The official national moment of remembrance takes place @ 3:00 local time. Some records show that one of the earliest Memorial Day commemorations was organized by a group of freed slaves in Charleston, South Carolina, less than a month after the Confederacy surrendered in 1865. It has evolved to a day of remembrance for all who have lost their lives serving their country in the Armed Forces.

As May is a month of rebirth, so also it is a month of remembrance, not only for those who have lost their lives serving our country but also for all of us to remember our mothers who are no longer with us as well as other women and girls who have had a positive impact on our lives.

There is a National Workplace Day of Remembrance in the UK that takes place on December 12 every year. Yes, I know we are discussing May’s holidays. Still, as many of us provide Critical Incident services to businesses, service organizations, and first responders, I would like to take note of this special way of remembering those who lost their lives at work, whatever their job, whatever their level, whatever their industry, whatever their politics - they served and sacrificed in an economy. When providing these services, I often recommend some form of memorial be instilled at a workplace for anyone who has passed, and I really like this way of remembering others in an official capacity.