In 1985, Sara Ting, a poet, educator, diversity consultant, trainer, and visionary, asked a simple, profound question through a multimedia public service campaign: “Are you greater than the sun that shines on everyone; black, brown, yellow, red and white? The sun does not discriminate.”

Through this poem, Ting invited readers to remember and embrace their shared humanity. “I didn’t realize the depth of the words when I first wrote it,” she said. “It wasn’t until later that I saw that it wasn’t just limited to race and ethnicity. It speaks out against all kinds of discrimination.”

The Sun poem has since been displayed on posters in schools, colleges, and other public spaces as an educational tool. It is the heart of Ting’s diversity workshops to sensitize her audience to the beauty of differences. It will now be lastingly inscribed and celebrated on a landmark symbol in the Boston Seaport District.

“I hope that it will engage viewers to reflect and think,” said Ting. “So many people over the years have come to me with stories about how the Sun poem has moved and inspired them. One woman told me that she hated the poem upon her first readings, because it reminded her of her negative experiences growing up as an Asian American in Boston. Later, however, she realized that the poem had something to say to her, that for her it was a message to forgive. Stories like hers have inspired me to find a way to have this poem become more permanent. I believe that the Sun poem as a landmark symbol will allow the message to reach more people today, and to speak to future generations.”

Sara Ting has been working towards the symbolic reality of the sun poem for twenty years. In 1993, World Unity, Inc. was founded to “make a continuing and lasting contribution towards the elimination of all forms of racial, ethnic, religious and cultural bigotry, prejudices, discrimination and biases.” A landmark symbol with an inscription of the Sun poem was envisioned as a concrete step towards this mission.

“There is a fine distinction between a symbol and a monument,” explained Ting. “A monument honors something very specific about the past. A symbol, like the Statue of Liberty, stands for something timeless. I call the project a landmark symbol, because it is not honoring an event or a person, but the timeless concept of diversity and equality. It’s about all of us waking up to and experiencing our own humanity, and being able to accept the humanity of the people around us. I thought, what would happen if everyone could see this message and consider it? What if world leaders had the interests of humanity first, instead of their own individual countries?”

As a poet-in-residence at the Boston public schools, Ting tries to inspire such an interest in and for humanity in third, fourth, and fifth-graders. “When I teach children to write poetry, I’m getting them in touch with their humanity, with their individual voices. I don’t focus on mechanics, which might squash their creativity—I want them to embrace their imaginations. We publish a book at the end of every year. A college student who worked with me said that the writing was so fresh and pure, it eclipsed college-level work! Adults tend to write from their heads, not their hearts and souls. It’s hard to honor your own voice in a world of judgment and discrimination. That is why it is so important for people to understand that what comes from your heart and soul is real. This is part of self-esteem. People with low self-esteem think that their words and actions are meaningless.”

In Ting’s own poetry, nature imagery is used to point out the silent, but compelling examples of respect and harmony that exist around us. “I see nature as teaching us how to live and be in the world. Look at how open the sky is—what if we could be as open and as all-embracing as the sky? If the earth can accept all of us, why can’t we? And if the sun could speak, what would it say about how we treat each other?”

To look at our behavior through that critical perspective is to gain a clearer perception of the impact we can have one another. “People have always been told to treat others the way that they want to be treated. But critical thinking shows that this is problematic, that this is not universally applicable. I don’t want to be treated the way a person with low self-esteem wants to be treated. Why has this message been handed down through the ages, when it does a disservice to people who truly want to embrace humanity and diversity? It is still being told to children today. When a message is this prevalent, we must stop and think about what it truly says, if it is empowering and uplifting for everyone, rather than one segment of the population.”

When asked what she would suggest as a replacement, she responded, “Rather, treat people with humanity. This begins with embracing your own humanity, and everything else will follow. Connecting with your own humanity means accepting your shortcomings, accepting that you can make mistakes and have biases, that you can be selfish and angry and greedy and succumb to all the negatives that we accuse everyone else of. So when someone else appears and succumbs to those negatives, you have the compassion and the empathy to say that this person is human. You don’t have to accept the action—you can condemn what they did without rejecting the whole person.”

Ting pointed out that unsound blanket statements such as the so-called Golden Rule and other misleading words only aggravate stereotypes and tensions. “Think about the term ‘reverse discrimination’—there’s no such thing! Discrimination is discrimination. It doesn’t matter how or why you’re being discriminated against. It’s a universal feeling, and it should not be segmented. A bias is being perpetrated against you, and you are being left out. It is so important to have the right terminology. Only miscommunication and misunderstanding can follow.”

In her workshops, she addresses perception and understanding. “I begin by telling the story of how the poem was born of my experiences as growing up Asian American. I lead a couple of exercises, share some poetry, and then I actually give a demonstration of how prejudice can be removed. I start by asking how many people think that prejudice and bias are permanent. And a few raise their hands, but on the whole, fortunately, most people believe that they are not permanent. And then I use myself as an example of how prejudice can be removed, and explain how I became aware of my own biases against Japan. I know how difficult it is to let go of biases. It was hard for my father to let go of his prejudice towards the Japanese because he lived during World War II and saw his country being bombed, his people being killed. If I had lived through what my father lived through, it’s hard to say whether I could have let go of my biases.” Her workshops have been conducted with police departments, public schools, and colleges. She is now reaching out to corporate America. “If my training is truly about diversity, it should apply to any profession—if it doesn’t, it simply isn’t diversity training. The message is all-inclusive and universal.”

And though much progress has been made, the message is still needed. “Because discrimination is more subtle nowadays, it isn’t recognized so much as a problem. But it is still there—who can say that prejudice is gone? It still eats away at people on a daily basis, it is only more subtle. It’s a quiet suffering. This is something I notice in Asian Americans. Asian cultures to tend to be more go-with-the-flow, don’t make too much noise, don’t be the nail that sticks up and gets hammered down. It isn’t innate to speak out about injustice or what’s being done to your community. For example, think about the stereotypes against Asian Americans in the workplace. People have this perception that Asians are so successful and do so well, but there is also a perception of them not being strong individuals and leaders. They’re not often represented in leadership roles unless they’ve started the companies themselves. Ultimately, my workshop is about empowering individuals. If an Asian American who wants to lead takes my workshop, I hope they will see what they themselves have to do to earn that position. I hope they can be empowered to ask themselves, what am I doing myself to change the perceptions and the stereotypes?”

The focus is what the individual can do. “Power doesn’t belong to the person with the loudest voice, the biggest megaphone, the dominant outlet to the media. True power comes from what you do and how it affects other people.”

In that spirit, Ting concluded, “The easiest and most powerful way to join the mission of World Unity, Inc. is simply to share our vision. Direct people to our website, WorldUnityInc.org, and learn about different ways to spread the message.”