Woman seeks end to racism's divisiveness

PALMER -- The woman who organized Mat-Su's first Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration two years ago says the Valley's racial makeup is changing but plenty of work lies ahead if we are to live harmoniously.

Kim-Marie Walker believes people must forget old concepts about race in order to build comfortable, tolerant communities.

"Race is a social construct that has served to divide people on the planet," she said. "We can no longer afford race as a social construct."

The Wasilla resident is a grant and technical writer whose Onyx Communications firm offers seminars on well-being and building communities. She spoke Tuesday during the Palmer Lions Club's luncheon meeting.

Walker has been an Alaska resident since 1989, except for a period from 1998 to 2000 when she and her husband worked in east Africa as employees for the nonprofit group Air Serv, which helped provide transportation for embassy personnel through the United Nations. The time away from Mat-Su gave her fresh eyes upon returning home.

"Everywhere I went I started seeing an increase in the number of people of color," Walker said.

The King event marked the first time she heard so many diverse voices in the Valley, she added. The celebration featured speakers ranging from a homesteader to a Yupik woman to an African American and three local high school students, one of whose mother marched in the civil rights movement in the South.

Although progress has been made in reaching out from one group to another, Walker said, a big question remains unanswered.

"How do we build community across different cultures?" she asked. "We need to suspend judgment, suspend the idea that we need to relate to each other on an 'I'm right, you're wrong' basis. Instead of debating, we need to seek to understand through dialogue without judgment."

She said the United States might better be described as a fruit salad than a melting pot.

"It has different textures, colors and tastes," Walker said.

The latest U.S. Department of Labor statistics show that 10 percent of the Valley's 67,000 residents are people of color, including Alaska Natives, she said. She added that populations of Russians and Ukrainians have increased here, too, in the past six or seven years.

"We need to strive to find common ground," Walker said. "I want a community with a safe environment, a stable infrastructure, where all citizens have shelter, food and access to health care."

Then she concluded by asking Lions Club members, "Won't you join me on this journey?"

Contact Steve Kadel at steve.kadel@frontiersman.com.