Scholar advocates Afro-centric 'optimal theory' psychology

With a passion born of experience, guest speaker Alvenia Albright urged an audience of more than 40 students to embrace and encourage diversity. Albright, the vice-president of development for the Chicago Urban League, warned at Wednesday night's Campus Organized Lectures on Racial Sensitivity forum that failure to do so could be disastrous. "If America is to survive, it has to change," Albright said. But she maintained a hopeful tone throughout her speech. "Some progress has been made on this journey to appreciate rather than scorn our diversity," Albright said. And her message, while at times challenging to her audience, was never divisive. "We must work together to eliminate racism in America," she said. "No one racial group can do that." Albright also addressed America's economic and educational problems. She emphasized that poverty and lack of education are major determinants of criminal behavior, and so end up affecting everyone. She warned the assembled students that they would have to get involved in order to stop the deterioration of the education system. "It requires a local initiative," Albright said. "Not an initiative from Washington." She also associated America's deteriorating race relations with economic problems. Albright came armed with an array of statistics highlighting the widening gap between the nation's rich and poor, and noted that the vast majority of top positions in business remain in the hands of white males. She finished her speech by asking the audience to think about their behavior and to try to educate themselves about people of different backgrounds. "Most hate is based on fear, and fear is bred in lack of knowledge and lack of experience," she said. Albright also stressed that today's attitudes will have an effect for generations to come. "You have the ability to make the change in your children who will see your behavior and imitate it," Albright said. "America's rich diversity should be cause for us to celebrate and brag," she added. Wharton senior Biren Johnson, co-chairperson of COLORS 1995, has known Albright for many years. "She is a great person and extremely knowledgeable," he said. "I knew she would be perfect for this." COLORS 1995 will continue tonight with a series of skits put on by Bloomers, Kite & Key and the Intercollegiate Coalition to End Discrimination. COLORS, a program aimed at improving campus race relations, is co-sponsored by the Alpha Phi Alpha and Sigma Chi fraternities.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.