Southeastern NEWS
Southeastern Louisiana University
Public Information Office
publicinfo@selu.edu
SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
Date: 3/20/01
Contact: Christina Chapple 25
Editors: Photo accompanies release
SLU SPONSORS "OF MANY COLORS" EXHIBIT AT LIBRARY
HAMMOND -- The award-winning exhibit "Of Many Colors: Portraits of Multiracial
Families" will be on display March 26-April 6 at Southeastern Louisiana University's Sims
Memorial library.
The exhibit, sponsored by the Southeastern College of Education and Human
Development's Office of Diversity and Multicultural Issues, offers a powerful and moving vision
of the growing diversity of the American family.
Under the auspices of Family Diversity Projects, Inc., the exhibit has been touring since
1993 and won a Multicultural Recognition Award from the Regional Laboratory for Educational
Improvement.
"Of Many Colors" includes photos by Gigi Kaeser and interviews with 20 diverse
American families formed through interracial relationships or transracial adoption. The exhibit
celebrates the families as "20th century pioneers willing to risk disapproval and
misunderstanding
to find richness and value in diversity."
Eileen Madison, whose family is featured in the exhibit, said, "When you are in a
multiracial family, you start seeing beauty in all races. I feel like somebody took a blindfold out
of my eyes and I started appreciating people for who they are, not because of what color they
are." Her 12-year-old son, Jose, agrees. "I'm very lucky," he said. "I love my Puerto Rican
culture, and I have relatives who tell me about their lives as African-Americans. I'm learning a
lot about another race besides my own."
For additional information, contact the Celina Echols, coordinator of Diversity &
Multicultural Issues, 985-549-3913, or cechols@selu.edu.
-SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsp01.htm