Keeping the doors to the community open.

Abstract

Polls show that Americans of all races now believe that social class and national origin are more potent bases for discrimination than race. However, this assessment is rendered more complicated by (a) the high rate of exclusion of people on the basis of behavioral characteristics and (b) the strikingly disparate impact of such decisions on people of color. America’s high rates of (a) incarceration in the criminal and juvenile justice system, (b) visa denials, detention, and removal in the immigration system, and (c) suspensions and expulsions in the schools all have the effect of excluding many Latinos and African Americans from ordinary life in the community. Although norms of inclusion are adaptive for communities, such an approach is intrinsically difficult to achieve. Attention should be given to (a) facilitation of the exercise of moral leadership and (b) design of settings that ‘‘demand’’ notice of, and care for, all participants.

Hospitality: Transformative service to children, families, and communities.

“…Whether the mechanism is found in criminal justice, juvenile justice, immigration detention, or school disciplinary proceedings, the burden of this involuntary separation from social and material resources falls disproportionately on young people, especially young people of color (Melton, 2010b). The numbers are stunning.…”

“…The answer—indeed, the formidable challenge—lies in cultural change to embrace norms of hospitality : (a) norms of welcome that would prevent the mismatches between community expectations and personal behavior that lead to pressures toward exclusion, and (b) norms of forgiveness and reconciliation that would overcome the punitive impulses that result from such mismatches. (Melton, 2010b, p. 452)…”