In commemoration of President Barack Obama’s Proclamation of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I am honored to reproduce, with permission, a moving speech on diversity by a proud Filipino American, physician, and officer. Colonel Rodrigo Mariano, M.D., is Board Certified as a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine Physicians and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

As of late, the term diversity has been bandied about as if it were a new idea, based on future census demographics. However, the idea of diversity is long steeped in the history of the American identity, as people left their homelands in search of freedom: religious freedom, economic freedom, political freedom. This country has been the beneficiary of many migrations of people from different lands at different times, from the pilgrims seeking religious freedom, to the mass immigrations from Europe at the turn of the 20th century, refugees from war-torn countries from around the world, and those coming to seek a better life for their families. This country builds its strength on its most valuable asset: the diversity of its people, their ideas, their innovations, their energy, and their common vision as Americans. As the world becomes more competitive, smaller, and fast paced in the 21st century, it is that same diversity of ideas, innovation, and consensus built upon diverse ideas that will prove to be an advantage for American leadership in the 21st century.

Since the Census of 2000, the demographics of the United States shifted from the uniformity of the Great American Melting Pot to the real complexities of a nation whose population is reflective of the world at large. Continue reading Leadership of a Diverse Workforce