About the Somerset County Cultural Diversity Coalition



The Coalition is a not-for-profit organization that is composed of a diverse group of individuals from the public and private sectors of Somerset County who have come together on a voluntary basis with a common purpose. Representing an ethnic gamut and composed of adults as well as teenagers, our mission is "to foster greater awareness, understanding, and respect for all differences in the community".
Formed in 1995, originally functioning under the auspices of the United Way of Somerset County, we are constantly recruiting new members.

In order to further our efforts to provide education about cultural differences and our commonalities, and to encourage an atmosphere of acceptance and respect, we are collaborating with corporations, non-profit agencies, community leaders, residents, the media, schools and other educational institutions.

To date we have sponsored a number of ethnic festivals and cultural diversity roundtables as well as annually publish a multi-cultural resource guide that is distributed to the schools, libraries and similar institutions in Somerset County. Future plans include a cookbook; educational training and whatever activities and events our members feel are necessary to meet the community’s needs.


ONE

As the soot and dirt and ash rained down,
We became one color.
As we carried each other down the stairs of the burning building,
We became one class.
As we lit candles of waiting and hope,
We became one generation.
As the firefighters and police officers fought their way into the inferno,
We became one gender.
As we fell to our knees in prayer for strength,
We became one faith.
As we whispered or shouted words of encouragement,
We spoke one language.
As we gave our blood in lines a mile long,
We became one body.
As we mourned together the great loss,
We became one family.
As we cried tears of grief and loss,
We became one soul.
As we retell with pride of the sacrifice of heroes,
We become one people.
We are
One color
One class
One generation
One gender
One faith
One language
One body
One family
One soul
One people
We are The Power of One.
We are United.
We are America.


(Anon.)