THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 25, 1994 TAG: 9408250600
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHARLISE LYLES, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 63 lines
The membership roster for the Minority Round Table of Hampton Roads doesn't exactly read like the old-line country club roster: Nony E. Abrajano, Ralph Gonzalez, Ben O. Pacheco, Shewling Wong, Chiyoko Kobayashi, Bernard Holmes.
They represent the ethnic spectrum of the region's increasingly diverse population: Filipino, Hispanic, Native American, Chinese, Japanese and African American.
Their organization was formed from differences and common causes. They describe themselves as a multicultural network for cultural understanding, economic advancement and political might.
On Friday, the group will meet at 7 p.m., at Gibson World Travel, 279 Independence Blvd. in the Pembroke Mall area of Virginia Beach. The public is invited.
``If I know you and a little bit more about your culture, and you know me and a little bit more about my culture, then we are better able to get along and deal with our common problems in the community,'' said Ralph Gonzalez, a travel agent who is chairperson of the group.
A draft of the group's agenda includes plans for a multicultural festival and pushing area cities to form human rights commissions similar to that in Virginia Beach.
The organization has been meeting for about two years. It began at the Seatack Recreation Center in Virginia Beach, when E. George Minns of the Virginia Beach NAACP sat down with Abrajano, a Filipino businessman, to talk about redistricting in Virginia Beach.
The issue was on the minds of the city's black and Filipino residents. In their opinion, the current city borough lines diluted minority voter strength. City voters have since approved a referendum advising the city council to redraw borough lines.
But the group has continued to meet. Minns and Abrajano invited others. They started talking about bylaws.
``We realized we had some common concerns, such as gangs, crime, the future of our children,'' Abrajano said. ``And that if we put our heads together we could get things done. If we didn't, progress would take a lot longer.''
Several members are leaders of large ethnic organizations. That could translate into muscle at the polls.
For example, Mike Butler, Round Table co-chair, is vice president of the Virginia Native American Cultural Center, Minns leads the Virginia Beach chapter of the NAACP, and Abrajano is head of the Filipino-American Community Action Group.
The Minority Round Table also aims to improve communication and understanding between diverse ethnic groups by sponsoring multicultural activities.
Recently, the group introduced itself to the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission, and offered help in dealing with tensions that arise between communities.
When frictions arise between ethnic communities, the group can solve them from within, because its members include leaders from all ethnic communities, Gonzalez said.
The group's roots are in Virginia Beach, but, Gonzalez said, membership is open to all Hampton Roads and Peninsula residents. by CNB