What is commitment? How do I recognize it in myself and n others? To what am I committed? At what level am committed?

Commitment is a very personal issue. No one can demand or command it; it must be offered freely. My experiences have convinced me that we all have some level of commitment to something. For example, most of us are committed to doing what's necessary to earn a living. Being committed to issues and activities in which we have a vested interest is easy. The challenge, however, is to be committed to issues and causes for which there is no vested personal interest - issues and causes from which we expect no personal gain. It is into the latter category that our commitment to diversity is likely to fall.

Within the last fifteen years, it has been trendy and politically correct to express a commitment to diversity. Expertly crafted policy statements, student creeds, and institutional mission statements reflect this trend. Too often, however, a lack of action to support these statements has reduced those words to nothing more than, to use a Biblical reference, "sounding brass and tinkling cymbals." Commitment can be measured only in terms of action, not words. Such actions include the following:

Respect the past. Those of us who have been given access to the hallowed halls of academia as instructors in predominantly White institutions must not forget that someone probably paid dearly for the space that is now being occupied by a person of color. No matter how impressive our credentials might have been, they were rarely our passport to academia. It has been almost thirty years since the Civil Rights Act of 1967, and African Americans still make up less than 2 percent of those faculties.

Yes, the door has been opened wide enough for a few of us to squeeze through. Our responsibility now is to open that door wider so that others can follow.

Get the facts. For many African Americans, diversity is an emotional issue that cuts deep into our souls and psyches. To replace emotionalism with rational thought, make sure you have facts to support your position.