Community members gathered at City Hall for the third diversity discussion, organized by Naperville Neighbors United.
Who Spoke at The Diversity Discussion?
The latest discussion featured two panelists, Rosa Campos and Nancy Chen who shared their stories about living in Naperville as minorities.
Campos, a bi-lingual teacher, moved to Naperville because of its highly rated education system, but has concerns about the achievement gaps between Hispanic students and others.
What Life is Like in Naperville as a Minority
“In a Focus 203 meeting I attended, I learned that on average only 10% of Hispanic students are proficient on their SAT and state mandated standardized test,” said Campos. “While their white and Asian peers are averaging 60-80% respectively.”
District 203 Board President Kristin Fitzgerald was in attendance. The crowd had some further discussion on addressing those gaps.
Watch Other Our Other Diversity Discussion Videos
Chen, a resident of Naperville for more than forty years, voiced her concerns about the strained trade relationship between the U.S. and China, and how that could impact the Chinese community.
“To live in fear, or uncertainty, because some politicians want to make the entire race as a scapegoat because of relations have gone sour with China, is another kind of racism that I believe other groups have never experienced,” said Chen.
After the Discussion
After answering some questions from the crowd, community members split into small groups to learn about other cultures, and discuss hardships they’ve endured.
Those in attendance were encouraged to attend a MLK documentary on June 13 at the 95th St. movie theater.
Naperville News 17’s Christian Canizal reports.