Growing up in rural Iowa in the ’50s and ’60s I was not exposed to much diversity. Our small-town schools in those days were nearly all white.

In kindergarten and first grade I had a classmate from England. Other than her accent, which I thought was cute, she was like the rest of us kids.

A couple of years later a classmate who was also a neighbor was the son of a Native American mother and a white father. Sonny was a good friend and we had a lot of fun playing together.

At my first full-time job I worked with a young Mexican lady. Maria was an excellent worker and I have good memories of her sharp wit and sweet sense of humor.

Other than a handful of experiences, I was not exposed to true diversity until I moved to Sioux City in 1974.

There was a sizable Jewish community in Sioux City at that time and I became acquainted with several Jewish individuals and families.

Sam and his partner, Abe, operated a clothing store that carried a full selection of larger sizes (my sizes.) Over time I became acquainted with Sam and his wife, Maita, who treated me like family. I developed a friendship with their son, Les, who taught me the ins and outs of dressing for success on a budget.

One day I asked Sam to join me for a cup of coffee. Over coffee and a donut I explained that some of my childhood heroes were Jews — Moses, David, Esther and others. I asked Sam if I might ask questions about present day Judaism.

Sam readily agreed and we had a lengthy, informative and delightful exchange.

I met and got to know other Jewish folks including a jeweler named Ray and another clothier named Burton. I respected their business acumen, their kindness and their generous support of the community.

When I joined a Rotary Club I met Grady, who became my first African American friend. Grady was an occupational therapist and a bi-vocational pastor. He shared his story of a difficult youth growing up in a predominantly white community and of a miraculous healing from blindness. I witnessed Grady endure racial slurs with a grace I’m not sure I could find. I served on the board of directors for Siouxland Youth for Christ and nominated Grady for membership on the board where I saw his passion for the youth of our community.

I also became acquainted with residents of the Winnebago Indian Reservation just across the Missouri River in northeast Nebraska. This included Chuck, a talented artist who painted Native American scenes that were amazing in their detail. My acquaintances also included tribal leaders from the reservation and leaders of our denomination’s mission church on the reservation. I came to respect and admire these neighbors.

Sioux City has a substantial Polish community, some of whom live in a neighborhood called Pollack Hill. Nearby was St. Casmir Lithuanian Catholic, built by Lithuanian immigrants in 1915 and eventually serving many ethnicities.

Sioux City also had sizable Greek and Middle Eastern communities. When my wife and I went for evening walks in our neighborhood we occasionally stopped to visit with an elderly woman who had come to Sioux City as a newly-married immigrant from Lebanon. She was pregnant on the difficult journey, she said, and she told us how grateful she was for the kindness of her new American neighbors.

Years later, my time with The Salvation Army allowed me the privilege of working with and becoming acquainted with persons of different ethnicities, different skin colors, different languages, different religions and different customs and traditions.

I have always enjoyed knowing people different than I am and I treasure all the acquaintances and friendships I have experienced over the years. I stand in defiance of the American heresy that the white race is superior to any other.

As a young boy I sang “… Red and yellow, black and white, They are precious in His sight, Jesus loves all the children of the world.”

I still believe it and consider human diversity as one of our nation’s greatest strengths.

An old Muslim adage says it simply: “A lot of different flowers make a bouquet.”

Arvid Huisman can be contacted at huismaniowa@gmail.com. ©2025 by Huisman Communications.