“No role models and I’m here

right now

No role models to speak of
Searchin’
through
my

memory, my memory, I couldn’t
find one” – J. Cole

Think of the first person

you’ve ever admired. Perhaps
you thought of someone in your
neighborhood growing up or a
family friend.

Maybe you struggled with

finding
someone
nearby.

Role models do not have to
be limited to older members
living in your community. For
many, to fill the void of suitable
role models, there are always
figures in culture to hold in
high regard. Even growing
up in a community where you
feel like the outsider, at least
there is always someone to

relate with through another
medium, the messages society
and media feed to you as the
ideal to aim to be. Think of the
poise and confidence of Tom
Brady evading defenders left
and right in the passing pocket.
The furrow in his eyebrows
while being brought down by
a defensive lineman, eyes still
locked downfield to see if his
receiver made the catch, crowd
roaring. Or maybe it’s the
character in the sitcom who
is slightly awkward but still
becomes the mediator at the
right times and shines during
their moment.

Growing up can be hard,

and part of that process of
discovering
yourself
and

finding
your
uniqueness

inevitably involves having role
models: individuals who you
can look up to for assurance
that going down your current
path will be able to lead

to a desired outcome. For
individuals with the privilege
of having someone who looks
like them represent them on
media, they are able to validate
their every nook and cranny
of their personality. For every
quirk in character or behavior,
human beings want to know
they are normal. And for most
people, there is that somebody,
whether it be in the community
or in media, who normalizes
your behavior or personality
and who acknowledges and
represents your full humanity,
full of nuance and complexity.

For most of my life, I had no

conception of what it meant to
be a Korean-American man, to
be able to envision myself in 20
years. The best representation
was always my dad. Stern and
stoic, his only interests were
to make sure my sisters and
I enjoyed prosperous lives in
the future. His perceived one-

dimensionality,
a
common

stereotype of Asian parents,
carried into the one-on-one
conversations we had in car
rides. (It would only be years
later when I first initiated
a conversation with my dad
about my struggles when he
shared his own hardships.)
Feelings were never discussed.
Instead,
food
was
on
the

table, and I was put in varying
extracurriculars to fill the time
not in school. It was assumed
that I would end up becoming
successful somehow, always
biding my time for a mythical
future. What I didn’t have was
any fathom of was what to do
with the time in between.

Looking for myself among

the sea of faces on television,
there was no one. Instead,
the few times that do pop into
mind
were
always
varying

permutations
of
the
same

stereotype of the nerd or the
martial artist. Was it okay to
be introverted but still possess
a deep personality? Could I
be interested in humanities
but still pursue a career in the
STEM field? It felt as though
every time I deviated from my
parents’ wishes, I was pushing
the envelope in what society
and the messages I grew up
with expected of me, when it
shouldn’t be that way. There is
an undeniable connection that
comes from seeing someone
like you on television that
can’t be mimicked no matter if
there was a person of another
background playing out your
life’s key events.

Representation also extends

beyond just having role models.
Representation also involves
other
deeper
underlying

issues. From corporations in
America to the locker rooms,
voting booths and Hollywood,
Asian Americans are not being
represented. This past year
included both highs as well as
lows in progress for increasing

diversity
in
Hollywood.

Though there may have been
a slight mishap during the
Oscars, “Moonlight,” a movie
portraying
a
gay
African-

American
teenager
growing

up in Miami won Best Picture.
It’s a full-length movie that is
able to portray the protagonist
Chiron’s
myriad
of
social

identities as well as his daily
struggles.
The
movie
does

a masterful job of depicting
Chiron’s transition from boy
to man, trying to figure out life
like the rest of the audience.
However, a low point last year
was Matt Damon being casted
as the lead for “The Great Wall,”
a movie set in China where he
“discovers” the secrets behind
the Great Wall and plays savior.

I know many people who

ask, “What’s the big problem?
Why does it matter who gets
the lead role in a movie?”
But when you’ve never come
into contact with someone of
another race in your entire
life, the only image of a person
that comes to mind are ones
that are already saturated in
culture. Unconscious bias plays
a huge role, and media shapes
it. This is a well-documented
psychological
phenomenon

called implicit bias.

Perhaps it doesn’t matter as

much in casual social settings,
but what about in the rooms of
corporations while choosing
new
potential
candidates?

Think of a scenario when it
comes down to two people, one
with a more “exotic” sounding
name and one with a generic
English name, but with the
exact same specifications. In a
study from Ryerson University
and University of Toronto, job
applicants with more Asian
sounding names such as “Soyou
Han” were 20 percent less likely
to get called for an interview
than Anglo names like “John
Smith.” As the person hiring,
you can only think of the

numerous shows you’ve seen
with the immigrant speaking
broken English, meek and shy,
unable to be seen as a leader. In
a 2015 study of Silicon Valley,
Asian-Americans represented
27 percent of workers but only
14 percent of executives at
the surveyed big tech firms.
Perhaps for the company it was
only a decision, but for me the
message I got was simple: Asian
Americans aren’t leaders. Who
would you hire them?

Representation matters. I’ll

say it again. Representation
matters. It is not just Asian
Americans. There are other
groups in this country who
also
do
not
have
proper

representation,
such
as

those
with
disabilities.

Representation
that
means

being cast in those lead roles
and being in front of the
spotlight, but not in a way that
relegates my heritage to the
level of food on a sampler plate,
only thought of as extra and
as an appetizer for the main
course. Representation in all
its entirety and nuance, and all
with individuals one can aspire
to become.

At the end of the day, human

beings want few things. As
social creatures, we desire
friends and acceptance. For
many individuals, there are
ways to validate themselves
through media. Nerdy band
geek? You got it. Jock with
a passion for art? You got it.
However,
there
are
people

who do not have this same
opportunity to feel empowered.
Be that role model for another
person. Show them that life
does not have to be defined
in neat little categories. Your
quirks and character “flaws”
can be your greatest assets.
Maybe I would have still gone
down my current path in life
without any representation or
role models, but damn, would it
have been easier.

No Role Models

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan in Color
Monday, January 22, 2018— 3A

YOUNG LEE
MiC Columnist

On
the
anniversary
of

President
Donald
Trump’s

inauguration,
congressional

Democrats
and
Republicans

failed to agree on a budget
that would secure continued
protection for the Children’s
Health Insurance Program and
Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals.

As of now, this has resulted

in political gridlock: While
Republicans
have
pushed

for
CHIP,
the
Trump

administration seems to be
against protecting DACA. On
the other hand, Democrats
have been fighting to continue
funding and support for both.
While an argument can be made
that this government shutdown
is a direct result of the fight to
protect CHIP and DACA — two
programs that benefit people
of color — it is important to
understand the impact this
fight will have on marginalized
communities.

Lack of action on CHIP and

DACA

More specifically, CHIP helps

children across the country
live healthier lives by granting
children
from
low-income

families access to medical care.
Unfortunately, this program’s
funding expired this past year,
and no agreement has been met
on supplying its future funding.
Though CHIP only represents
3 percent of our total Medicaid
costs, Republican opposition
to the program may condemn
low-income children across the
United States to being raised
without access to necessary
vaccines
and
other
health

coverages. Up to 1.7 million
kids may lose their healthcare
in the upcoming weeks. In 2017,
around 67 percent of CHIP
recipients identified as people
of color, which is why the loss

of this program would result in
severe ramifications for these
communities.

DACA, on the other hand,

is a provision from President
Barack Obama’s administration
that
guarantees
two
years

of safety for undocumented
individuals
who
arrived
in

the United States as minors,
as long as they are registered
with the federal government.
Today, there are approximately
800,000 registered Dreamers
who have been promised they
could stay in the country.
However,
the
current

administration
has
issued

threat
after
threat
against

undocumented
individuals.

This
means
that
Dreamers

— our friends, neighbors and
classmates — who took a huge
risk by sending their personal
information
to
the
federal

government in order to register
for DACA may now see this
information be used against
them.

Even
on
campus,
DACA

has sparked a larger dialogue
about
what
students,
staff

and faculty can do to protect
undocumented
students.

Earlier in Trump’s presidency,
Central Student Government
even passed two resolutions
supporting DACA. Later, after
the president tried to pass
his travel ban, University of
Michigan
President
Mark

Schlissel stated the University
is committed to protecting
the rights of all community
members and will not release
the immigration status of any
students.
Additionally,
he

assured students that campus
police would not ask them about
immigration
or
citizenship

status
while
working
on

campus.

“The
leadership
of
the

university
is
committed
to

protecting
the
rights
and

opportunities
currently

available to all members of

our
academic
community,

and to do whatever is possible
within the law to continue to
identify, recruit, support and
retain academic talent, at all
levels, from around the world,”
Schlissel wrote in his Jan. 28
notice.

The Trump administration’s

visible disdain for people of
color has been the cornerstone
of
the
president’s
policies

since
the
beginning
of

his
campaign.
With
this

government shutdown, which
we, the editors of Michigan
in Color, feel is a testament to
the lack of value the current
administration
places
on

undocumented individuals, his
racist ideas and rhetoric are
resulting in widespread failures
of government that will cut off
resources for many Americans.
And perhaps unsurprisingly,
people of color will be forced to
bear a disproportionate amount
of the burden.

Effects of the shutdown
Perhaps the most apparent

consequence of a government
shutdown
is
its
effect
on

payment for federal employees.
Those deemed “unessential”
— roughly 700,000employees,
the vast majority of all federal
government workers — are
now placed on furlough until
Congress can reach a deal. This
means that while Congress gets
paid during the gridlock they
created, over three-quarters
of a million federal employees
will not see a paycheck until a
deal is reached (assuming that
Congress passes a deal similar
to one passed after the last
shutdown, which granted back
pay to furloughed employees).
This pay freeze may seem
relatively innocuous in the
bigger picture; however, it’s
crucial to understand the effect
this will have on individual
federal employees — especially
those
from
marginalized

groups.

Starting
after
the
Civil

Rights Movement of the 1960s,
African
Americans
began

flocking to federal jobs with
newly-available positions for
Black applicants. While jobs
in the private sector were (and
still are) limited by racist and
exclusionary policies, federal
jobs were largely seen as open to
all racial identities and agents
of upward mobility. According
to a study from the University of
California, Berkeley, which was
reported on by NPR, “among
industries that pay blacks the
highest
wages,
the
biggest

proportion
of
those
blacks

work in the public sector.” The
article went on to state that
the report found “the earnings
gap between whites and blacks,
which exists in all industries, is
the narrowest in government…
[and] for every dollar earned
by white government workers,
black women in government
earn 89 cents and black men
earn 80 cents. Overall, black
women earn 85 cents and black
men earn 74 cents for every
dollar earned by whites.”

As
a
result
of
this

history,
Blacks
are
vastly

overrepresented
in
federal

government
roles.
Despite

making
up
only
about
13

percent
of
the
country’s

population, African Americans
occupy almost 20 percent of
all federal jobs. As a result,
it’s easy to see why this
shutdown
disproportionately

affects
the
group.
This

inequitable
distribution

isn’t a crazy coincidence or
an inconsequential fact, it’s
representative
of
a
bigger

problem: People of color, and
members of other marginalized
identities, all too often must
unfairly bear the burden of
government gridlock.

Additionally,
the
impact

of halting the services these
federal employees offer will
harm
some
groups
more

than others. For example, 96
percent of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) will be
furloughed as a result of the
government shutdown. HUD
was created to address housing
needs
for
“America’s
most

vulnerable
populations”
—

which the department defines
as the working poor, minorities,
Native Americans, people with
disabilities, people with AIDS,
the elderly and the homeless. In
other words, the majority of the
groups described as “America’s
most vulnerable populations”
are
minority
groups
(and

even
groups
that
aren’t

exclusively made up of people
of color, like the homeless, see
a disproportionate share of
minorities).

Services
provided
by

other
government
agencies,

such as the Environmental
Protection Agency, will also be
drastically reduced. According
to
Parlapiano
and
Yourish,

95 percent of employees at
the EPA would be affected
by a government shutdown,
meaning many of the EPA’s
services will be halted. Though
this agency has a contingency
plan that will allow it to
operate for one week through a
shutdown, if Congress is unable
to bring this gridlock to a swift
conclusion, crucial services —
such as the regulation of air,
water, pesticides, hazardous
waste and the climate — will
be delayed. The suspension
of these services are more
likely to impact people of color
in a multitude of ways. For
example, the regulation of air
is imperative in safeguarding
the health of people living
near factories and other smog-
producing
industries,
urban

areas populated primarily by
people of color.

The final victims of the

shutdown
are
children
of

color. According to a White
House report from the 2013

fiscal year, over 6,300 low-
income
kids
in
six
states

couldn’t
attend
their
Head

Start programs in preschool
during the shutdown, leaving
them in need of a place to stay
while parents were at work.
The majority of the children
who comprise these Head Start
programs are ethnic minorities
— 29 percent Black, 4 percent
American
Indian/Native

American, 2 percent Asian,
and 37 percent of Hispanic or
Latino origin, according to a
2016 national report. Similarly,
Women, Infants, and Children,
a program that works to fund
supplemental
nutrition
for

women and their children has
also been compromised. This
program not only gives support
for
low-income
families

through educational programs,
but also supplies postpartum
and
breastfeeding
women

with supplemental foods and
vitamins for their newborns.
This not only creates issues for
many of the families that may
already live in food deserts,
but
also
for
women
who

desperately need nutritional
foods to nourish their child
within the vital time period of
the first 28 days to one year of
breastfeeding.

In short, the government

shutdown
disproportionately

puts
a
further
burden
on

marginalized
communities.

While we firmly believe that
CHIP and DACA are important
policies that should stay, people
of color should not be the
ones to bear the weight of this
government impasse. What we
see with this shutdown down
is the further exacerbation
of systemic inequality that
negatively affects the income,
occupations, living conditions
and the health of people of color.
Ultimately, this shutdown sends
a message from the Trump
administration that the needs
of marginalized communities

MiC Editorial Staff

IMO (In MiC’s Opinion): The Government Shut down

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