Беларускія фэстывалі й выстаўкі ў Нью Джэрзі
Янка Запруднік
Выдавец: Беларускі Інстытут Навукі й Мастацтва
Памер: 219с.
Нью Йорк 2013
Q.: Now a general question: Establishment of the Ethnic Advisory Council is a new phenomenon not only for New Jersey, but for the entire United States. Shall we see in it a sign of activization and spread of ethnicity throughout America?
A.: Ethnic activity in America has always been going on. Now, however, it is conducted more systematically and coordinated, one could say, on a higher level. Such activity never ceased because of continuous influx of new immigrants to America. And neither the process of "acculturation," nor "melting pot" can obliterate among immigrants and many of their descendants awareness of their historic and cultural roots. The liberty of the American way of life is conducive to preservation and cultivation of those traits. And, I would like to add, one should see in it a positive circumstance. As American sociologists are saying now about cultural processes in the United States, the more colors in a carpet, the more beautiful it is in its design.
Four years later I again asked my friend Vitaut Kipel to share his views on the achievements of the Ethnic Advisory Council with the readers of BielarusJ4
Question: The Ethnic Council of New Jersey was set up four years ago by Governor Brendan Byme, a Democrat. And now we have a new governor, Tom Kean, a Republican. Will the change of governors bring about a change in the council's activity?
Answer: The council will remain with the same membership until the expiration of its statutory term. A majority of members will have served their term this year, and the charter says that no member can serve more than two terms. My term, for example, expires on the 12th
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of April when I shall have served four years as chairman.
As to the council itself, Governor Tom Kean said on many occasions during his electoral campaign, and also recently as governor, that if there are any changes they will be to widen the council’s function, perhaps even transforming it into a state commission, such as Historical Commission, Arts Commission, and others.
I should also mention that ethnic groups actively participated in the electoral campaign of the new governor, and Governor Kean is very appreciative of the support by ethnic groups, and understandably, a good politician would like to preserve that support for the future.
Q.: There are more than 65 ethnic groups in New Jersey, while the Ethnic Council includes only fifteen members. Will the Belarusian group be represented in a new composition of the council?
A.: Appointments to the council are the governor's prerogative. Membership is assigned on the basis of ethnicity and party affiliation, and of course on the grounds of competency of each individual candidate to work with state's various ethnic organizations. I believe that Belarusians will continue to be represented in the council. But, again, I should underscore that it is the governor who appoints members.
Q.: Could you describe briefly how the council works?
A.: As any other advisory unit of the administration, the council conducts its monthly meetings to discuss current affairs and plans for the future. It also informs the governor or appropriate state government units on problems that require attention or revision. The council's daily activities are fulfilled by its secretary and by a special intermediary between the council and the administration — in our case it's Mr. Steve Richer, Director of the NJ Department of Tourism. The main goal of the council is to acquaint state government departments with the problems and life of ethnic groups and to incorporate their actions into the overall cultural life of the state.
Q.: What has the council accomplished during the four years of its existence and how was it rated?
A.: The council has achieved approval for a review of high school textbooks of history, especially the sections dealing with East European nations. This revision is now being conducted by the Rutgers State University.
The council obtained consent of the high school administration to credit graduates' knowledge of parents' native language (naturally, after an examination) and to mark it in the high school diploma.
The council has launched a tradition of ethnic festivals in Liberty State Park. Our own very successful participation in last year's festival, as you remember, was described in the newspaper Bielarus.
The council has organized several successful conferences. Its members have been interviewed by TV, radio and newspapers, as well as appeared at some educational forums, establishing close cooperative relationships.
The council has facilitated access of ethnic press to official sources of information on current events that could be useful and interesting to ethnic groups.
The basic achievement of the council, 1 think, is the fact that ethnic groups have had a permanent representation in the state capital, Trenton, and participated in civic and cultural activities of the administration.
Speaking about the appraisal of our achievements, it can be best characterized, perhaps, by words from a letter to me as chairman of the council by Governor Brendan Byrne dated January 19 of this year (1982 JZ):
/ am proud of the results achieved by the Council during my term as governor. The foundation laid by you for further activities in international education and understanding will serve as a model for other states. New Jersey became a leading state in multicultural activities thanks to the efforts of such devoted people like you.
Q.: It's very nice to hear such words. Tell me, does membership in the council help in activities and life of the entire ethnic community whose name a member represents?
A.: Unquestionably. I, for example, as chairman of the council
Leonid Surak (left), Belarusian Irene Dutko. Belarusian representative in the
representative in the Ethnic Council, Ethnic Council, with Jane Burgio, Secretary of with Gov. Janies Florio. State of New Jersey.
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have participated in hundreds of ceremonies, often in the name of the governor, on TV, in radio, at press conferences, etc., and each time I had a bigger or smaller opportunity to touch on our own Belarusian problem as well as problems of other nations. Through the Ethnic Council we have a remarkable relationship with the state's congressional delegation as well as with Senator Bill Bradley and a number of other officials in Washington. The membership in the council is very helpful in external activities of any ethnic group.
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ln the ensuing years, Belarusian-Americans were represented in the Ethnic Advisory Council by Irene Dutko (1986-1992) and Leo Surak (1992-1994). However, multiethnic festival activity, sponsored by the council, ebbed down as a result of its composition, budgetary problems, and most of all, geopolitical changes in Eastern Europe resulting from the collapse of the Soviet Union.
In recent years, exhibitions of Belarusian art and artifacts as well as presentations of songs and dances are displayed during the celebrations of independence anniversaries of the Belarusian National Republic, biennial conventions of Belarusians of North America, and annual summer festivals on the grounds of the St. Euphrosynia Church in South River, New Jersey.
St. Euphrosynia Belarusian Church and Community Hall in South River. N.J.
A CONCLUDING WORD
The history of Belarusian festivals in New Jersey (and beyond), is not merely a description of the therapeutic activity of a group of countrymen stricken by nostalgia. In a deeper sense, it was a striving for Belarus's liberty by means of spreading information about the abysmal lack of freedom there. The informers were strongly convinced that support for Belarus's struggle for independence and democracy depended on knowledge about her.
One of the analysts of the phenomenon of information, British anthropologist and linguist Gregory Bateson (1904-1980) described information as the "difference which makes a difference." Indeed, information differentiates reality, and it changes not only perceptions, but the very state of things. Thus, as a result of festivals, the information on Belarus made a difference in the appreciation by American society and political leaders of the Belarusian people's struggle.
At the start of this publication, I mentioned these difficulties of explaining to Americans what kind of country Belarus is. The widespread unawareness about her was characteristic not only of the average American. Even specialists in the State Department hardly knew much about Belarus. In 1941, when Germans occupied Belarus and the State Department asked the Congressional Library to provide information about Belarusians, their national movement, etc., the library was ill prepared to satisfy that request. An emissary had to make a trip to New York where he queried Dr. Joseph Lichten, a member of the Anti-Defamation League and a recent immigrant from Poland who was familiar with Belarusian matters. Lichten related that encounter a decade later to his friend, Dr. Vitaut Tumash, when the latter immigrated to New York.
Historically, Americans' limited exposure to Belarus, a dimly known Soviet "state", — first a necessary ally, in World War II and then a cold war opponent behind the Iron Curtain, — resulted in suspicion and the unfortunate conclusion that Belarusians were "Commies".
Festivals acquainted Americans with Belarusian culture, and consequently with the Belarusian people themselves. Through the festivals, Belarusian-Americans overcame the natural wariness and stigma attached to them due to misinformation and their association with the Soviet Union. These colorful occasions welcomed newcomers into their culture through song, dance, folk art and fine arts. Thus, Americans discovered that in addition to their profound enjoyment of
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the arts, they shared other common ground with Belarusians: the joy reflected in their cultural expression and the mutual desire for freedom. They understood, perhaps for the first time, that the beliefs propagated by Soviet leaders were not shared by the people of Belarus, who were struggling to assert their own identity. The festivals established a gateway to such an understanding.
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