InternationalDora Tevan presented Martin Luther King Award
Published: Thursday February 19, 2009
Dora (Kalajian) Tevan
receives the Martin Luther King Award from Barry Rafkind, co-chair, Somerville
(Mass.) Human Rights Commission, while daughter Angelraven and other co-chair
Ify Mora look on.
.
Somerville, Mass. - Like Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the prominent civil rights leader, Dora (Kalajian) Tevan had a similar dream as a conscientious Armenian.
She dreamed of a society where people lived in harmony without prejudice toward one another - an environment where all God's children would hold hands, sing together, and build a society where peace and understanding were common practice.
The Ethnic Arts Center that Dora, the Armenian Explorer, launched in 1980 became a chapter out of King's dream book, a place where youngsters would gather and keep alive old country folkways.
For nearly three decades, Dora's dream became a reality in turning strangers into friends and diversity into harmony.
It was only fitting that Ms. Tevan received the coveted Martin Luther King Award from the Somerville Human Rights Commission.
The long-overdue tribute took place Jan. 19 before a throng of spectators at Tevan's alma mater, Somerville High, the school where she once served as a majorette. On this day, Dora became the toast of Somerville - the first time in memory that an Armenian was accorded such an honor.
"If paints mix, why can't people?" Tevan wonders. "It's all about friendship and love. My love for universal culture began with the pride of my own second-generation Armenian heritage and the values my family instilled in me."
In a model that resembled the Little Rascals clubhouse, Dora began her conquest on a shoestring, nothing more. From six ethnic festivals, her center has branched out to nearly 33,000 programs, motivated by tears of hope that brought her closer to such influences as Gandhi and Tolstoy. The loss of a storefront only energized the 58-year-old. She adapted to a mobile caravan and began combing neighborhoods.
Out of it came after-school visits to playgrounds and schools and a drastic reduction in gang-related activity. New initiatives such as ethnic folktale-based puppet shows gave her an upper hand over severe competition for funding from the likes of the Boston Children's Museum and Museum of Fine Arts.
The program further teaches cultural awareness through dance venues, a specialized children's curriculum and resource collections. It has literally functioned as a welcome mat for thousands of immigrants over the past 15 years - especially Haitians, Brazilians, Chinese, Central Americans, Vietnamese, and Tamils.
And given the recession, the center has only one staffer performing multiple functions. Through federal funding and private donations, it has survived.
"I'm mobilized by the model I've developed over time - a nonthreatening way to befriend and bake bread with our neighbors, both in the neighborhoods and across the globe," Ms. Tevan noted. "Special emphasis is on the self-esteem and ethnic esteem of urban children. I'm also motivated by the preservation of our indigenous customs and folkways which are fast disappearing over the past century."
Looking back over the past 29 years, Ms. Tevan has noticed a distinct change in personality.
"When I first started, little black children and little white children didn't want to look at one another, much less hold hands," she revealed. "Things really have changed and I'm happy to have made a small difference in the way society has intended. I had a dream in Somerville and only through cooperation and understanding has it come true."
Ms. Tevan happens to be a true Renaissance woman by virtue of her multifaceted life. Aside from the center, she's a world-class puppeteer who has performed near and far over the past 31 years, be it birthday parties, workshops, formal bookings, or teacher training.
Her association with Puppeteers of America introduced a novel approach to the medium.
"It works well with day-care centers and schools as a model which teachers can employ as an interdisciplinary approach to social studies and language arts," she says.
A third job finds her as an activities director inside a nursing home. All this while, she serves as primary caretaker for husband Corey (Khoren) who underwent emergency triple bypass heart surgery New Year's Eve.
How does she keep it all in perspective? Her faith in God and tight Armenian heritage play an obvious role, especially the values she learned from her parents Harry and Mary (Krikorian) Kalajian.
They encouraged her to attend Armenian and Sunday School at St. James Church in Watertown where she was program director of the ACYOA and sang in the choir for seven years.
Dora attended community forums dealing with Armenian music. Out of it came an insatiable desire to support children of all cultural distinctions.
"I felt I could do more sharing the Armenian heritage with non-Armenians than staying isolated with people of my own kind," she maintains.
A brother Richard is an avid collector of books and sister Nancy, an active member of the Armenian community and newspaper correspondent.
Aside from all that, Dora plays the xylophone and dumbag, enjoys West African and world dance, crafts of all kinds, and raises three cats and an Old English sheepdog.
"I had the good fortune of being part of the Genocide generation, attending picnics in their heyday, and becoming a ‘kefgi' of sorts," she smiles. "My soul is most at home dancing to the rhythms of our ancient Kharput roots."
About the Ethnic Arts Center
The Ethnic Arts Center was founded in 1980 following a series of festivals and a very popular Ethnic Arts Project in East Somerville, Mass.
