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thePeorian.com
P
eoria is known as a
city with a large and
influential Lebanese
population. But this
area’s multiculturalism, its “melt-
ing pot” so to speak, contains far
more nationalities than one might
think for a community our size.
Not many cities barely 100,000
people or even metropolitan
areas of 350,000 can say that a
person can turn in any direction
on its downtown streets and see a
different nationality, local experts
say.
Of course that is because of
the downtown presence of the
world’s largest heavy equipment
manufacturer’s headquarters, but
nonetheless it is something for
which Peoria can be proud.
“
We are a melting pot and
we celebrate our diversity here.
That’s one of the best things
about Peoria,” said Angela Weck,
executive director of the Peoria
Area World Affairs Council.
“
You know today it’s more like
a stew. Other nationalities follow
American customs but more and
more of them are maintaining
chunks of their own customs,
as well. You might even call it a
mosaic because when you look
at it you see a whole picture but
you still see the individual pieces,
also.”
“
That’s a good thing. They
should still celebrate their own
customs as we celebrate our
diversity. Peoria is unique for a
city in the Midwest because of
our multiculturalism. Often in
the Midwest there is a feeling of
parochialism but Peoria has been
very good about embracing di-
versity. We have the best of both
worlds,” Weck said.
She acknowledges some parts
of the Peoria area had reputations
of being “not quite as welcoming,
to put it nicely. But I think we
can be proud of how far we’ve
come. Yes, we still have a ways to
go. That has been predominantly
African-American and Hispanic
issue but the stigma affects all
ethnic groups. So we’ll keep
working on it.”
AND… BLEND!
Peoria’s multiculturalism blends well together
By Paul Gordon
The Present
