Philosophy

The National Association for Multicultural Education is committed to a philosophy of inclusion that embraces the basic tenets of cultural pluralism. NAME celebrates cultural and ethnic diversity as a national strength that enriches a society and rejects the view that diversity threatens the fabric of a society.

NAME believes that multicultural education promotes equity for all regardless of culture, ethnicity, race, language, age, gender, sexual orientation, or exceptionality. Thus, fair and full participation in a society’s institutions is paramount as both means and end in NAME’s philosophy.

NAME believes that multicultural education enables the individual to believe in one's own intrinsic worth and culture, to transcend monoculturalism and, ultimately, to become multicultural. This developmental process is at the center of the individual's noble quest to define one's relationship and responsibility to our global society.

NAME recognizes that individuals have not always been and perhaps never will be in complete agreement regarding the definitions and goals of multicultural education and that continuing debate is healthy.

Goals

There are six points of consensus regarding multicultural education that are central to NAME’s philosophy, and serve as NAME’s goals:

• To respect and appreciate cultural diversity.
• To promote the understanding of unique cultural and ethnic heritages.
• To promote the development of culturally responsible and responsive curricula.
• To facilitate acquisition of the attitudes, skills, and knowledge to function in various cultures.
• To eliminate racism and discrimination in society.
• To achieve social, political, economic, and educational equity.

Objectives

The following specific objectives highlight several of NAME’s future directions:

• To establish a clearinghouse for multicultural education resource materials.
• To establish standards and policy statements for educational institutions and organizations.
• To facilitate initiatives to encourage culturally diverse individuals to enter the professions.
• To establish appropriate special interest groups to meet the unique thematic interests of members.
• To develop a national clearinghouse for consultant services to assist educational institutions with multicultural training, research, inservice programs, curriculum development, and solutions related to the creation of a multicultural society.

The History of NAME

The idea of forming the National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME) grew out of a meeting held on February 7, 1990, in Las Vegas, Nevada hosted by Dr. Porter L.Troutman, Jr. The meeting was called by Rose M. Duhon-Sells, Dean of the College of Education at Southern University and a recent President of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE). For several years prior to the 1990 meeting, a number of individuals who were also members of ATE or who attended ATE's annual conference discussed the need for a national organization which would focus on multicultural education.

Of specific concern to the group was the need to establish a national forum for professionals interested in forwarding the cause of multicultural education, debating issues, sharing knowledge, and promoting research, scholarships, and educational policy and practices in the field of multicultural education. Paramount to the founders of NAME was the belief that multiculturalism promotes equity for all regardless of culture, ethnicity, race, language, age, gender, sexual orientation, or exceptionality. After considerable work, anxiety, and organizing, NAME was formed. The following year, February 16, 1991, the first annual NAME Conference was held in New Orleans.

Since that time, NAME has become a significant national organization with some 1,500 members. NAME first published a newsletter-NAME News-which then evolved into a quarterly magazine-Multicultural Education. NAME also holds an annual conference that is attended by hundreds of professional educators from across the nation and around the world. Each year's conference offers workshops, symposiums, and exhibits, followed by publications of the Conference proceedings.

Most importantly, multicultural educational materials have been introduced into school systems nationwide. Teacher training program curricula have been expanded to include courses on multicultural education and teaching to ethnically diverse students.

NAME Today

Since its inception in 1991, NAME's Board of Directors has established goals and objectives that guide the development of the organization. The degree to which these goals and objectives can be achieved is dependent upon funds from membership and annual conference registration fees, and upon the volunteer work of members. As the organization's membership base increases, NAME will be able to establish a national headquarters. NAME has incorporated as a nonprofit organization, and publishes a magazine on multicultural education. We encourage your membership and active participation in NAME's efforts.