Tempe residents put on matching red T-shirts Saturday morning and set differences aside to march around Tempe Town Lake in the city’s ninth annual East Valley Unity Walk and celebration.
Tempe residents marched from the Tempe Center for the Arts to the lake where they met with residents from Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Guadalupe to celebrate being unified despite the cities’ differences.
Once at Tempe Beach Park, the red T-shirt-clad walkers assimilated into another crowd of walkers in green, orange and blue.
Sitting on the lawn with bagged lunches, the multi-colored crowd watched performances by the Corona Del Sol Trash Can Band, the Fiesta Americana dance group from Glendale and the Electrolytes, a break-dancing group from Marcos de Niza High School in Tempe.
Tempe’s history of diversity gives it an advantage in finding solutions and building its economy, Mayor Hugh Hallman said.
“To its roots, Tempe is the most diverse city in the state,” Hallman said.
Tempe has organized a unity walk since 1998 to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Other cities have been invited to participate since 2004.
The walk has evolved from a Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration to an event aimed at unifying the East Valley communities, said Ginny Belousek, diversity specialist for the City of Tempe.
It is easier if these cities, which share borders and compete economically, have a sense of being a whole, said Belousek.
“We are a diverse community. It’s better to recognize it than ignore it,” Belousek said.
Participants from different schools and diversity-based groups marched across the Tempe Town Lake pedestrian bridge with signs displaying their focuses.
A group from The Arc of Tempe, an organization aiding people with developmental disabilities, has participated in the Unity Walk for three years, said Renee Melara, an ASU psychology sophomore who works at the Arc of Tempe.
It is important to represent people with disabilities as part of a diverse community, Melara said.
A group from Pax Academy, a private school focusing on cultural diversity that opened in August, walked to promote the ideals of its school, said Naeemah Abdus-Salam, parent and school representative at Pax Academy.
“We want to create an inclusive environment for our students,” Abdus-Salam said. “What better place to be than a unity walk?”
Participants from Tempe Talks, the Tempe Human Relations Commission Diversity Dialogue Program, took advantage of the Unity Walk to socialize outside of their meetings while still supporting the group’s goals.
Tempe Talks meets for six-week sessions to discuss how Tempe can be more culturally inclusive and shares its recommendations with the Tempe City Council.
The diverse audience watched Journalism freshman Yahaira Jacquez perform a Brazilian dance with Fiesta Americana, a dance group. Jacquez regularly performs other dances from South America and Mexico.
“I want to honor my culture,” Jacquez said.
Reach the reporter at michelle.peirano@asu.edu
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