As a child, I never worried
about making mistakes. If my
knees were scraped when playing
outside, they healed, so I stood on
the highest playground structure
trying to look past the horizon.
Growing up, I continued having
this dauntless quality, always
questioning how I could change
the color of the sky or how I
could solve a derivative in an
unconventional way. For this
reason, the liberating medium of
acrylic paints became my favorite
style of art. The 4 foot tall canvas
allows a full range of motion as
well as the ability to use brushes,
knives, paper, and even my fingers
to capture emotion when the
paint is wet. And when the paint
dries, I can keep adding layers.
With this medium, I can be a child
again, exploring and imagining
ideas as crazy as I can make them.
This trait of dauntlessness has
helped me accomplish goals and
is still teaching me lessons of what
it means to succeed. As a woman,
a woman of color, and a woman
of color with immigrant parents,
it takes more effort to achieve
the same as others. I have heard
countless stories of the challenges
that women of color face, and how
they overcome them.
In my painting, I chose to
encompass
facial
features
of different women. But, the
sparkling eyes and determined
eyebrows of these women tell
stories and challenge stereotypes.
A few things I wanted to touch
on in my painting are femininity,
sports, clothing, career, and the
reason why women of color are
queens.
The flowers represent my own
femininity and the challenges
women have to face in a
patriarchal society. If we speak
up or act a certain way, we are
criticized. We are not taught to
fight and triumph. But, for me,
being feminine means being able
to fall down and still get up. Being
a woman of color means to fight
for what’s right.
The pattern of a soccer ball
represents sports. I have seen so
many female athletes criticized
for being too muscular, or not
feminine enough. Even though
Serena Williams has won 23 grand
slams, the reality of the news and
modern world is that there will
always be people criticizing her.
It dawned on me that I would
face challenges like she does,
constantly having to prove myself
in the face of stereotypes against
women in sports.
Being
a
student
at
the
University
of
Michigan
has
given me the opportunity to
interact with so many other
women of color. For all my peers
who wear a hijab, it represents
dignity, modesty, and faith, and
they reserve the right to choose
to wear one or not. Personally,
I want the choice to be able to
wear a bindi and be accepted
in this community, because my
choice is my choice, and it’s my
responsibility to educate myself
about the choices of others.
The blue collar and white
collar at the bottom of the
painting represent women of
color in various careers. I chose
engineering without knowing
what I really wanted to do. Like
every other brown kid, if you are
good at math or science, this is the
field for you. No, I’m just kidding.
Anyways, when I tell people I
study engineering, I get awe and
wonder, but sometimes, there is
doubt in them, and even in myself.
How would I survive or gain
respect in such a competitive and
male dominated industry? Today,
I’m still an engineer because I
want to change the mindset of
people that a woman of color
with the goal of being a CEO or
wiring NASA’s rocket ship, is
unstoppable.
Finally, women of color are
queens. We are fighting for what
we deserve, and speaking up in
spaces like this one. We shouldn’t
need another world war to prove
that women are capable in the
workplace, or that they can thrive
in sport. We need compassion,
strength, and love, to shape the
world into not a kingdom, but a
Queen’dom.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Michigan in Color
Monday, April 15, 2019 — 3A
On Friday night, among the
smooth rhythms of 90s R&B, the
vibrant LED lights reflecting from
the stage and the nostalgic smell of
soul food, Black creatives packed
the basement of the new William
Monroe Trotter Multicultural for
the 2nd annual Creatives of Color
Showcase. Creatives of Color, an
organization started last year
by LSA senior Drew Metcalfe
through
OptiMize’s
Social
Innovation Challenge, connects
Black
creatives
across
the
University of Michigan’s campus.
It provides a space for Black
artists to connect and produce art
specific to their experiences and
their culture.
The
showcase
featured
artists from a variety of artistic
mediums, who created projects
or
presentations
after
being
randomly put into groups. Among
these creatives were rappers,
dancers, poets, filmmakers, actors,
musicians, singers, visual artists
and more. During each act or
presentation, audience members
clapped, laughed and embraced
their fellow creatives, displaying
the joy in Black ingenuity and
finally having a space to revel in it.
This year’s showcase proved to
be extra-special because it was the
inaugural event, after the ribbon-
cutting, for the new Trotter
Center. President Drew Metcalf
talked about the importance of the
showcase being the new Trotter’s
kick-off event.
“We’re the first big event in
here and that’s groundbreaking, it
feels special. Definitely a lot better
than
our
previous
locations,
we have official staging now,”
Metcalf said. “I’m just excited
about the progress we’ve made.
We got to have events here all day.
We were painting upstairs and
we got to curate the art gallery.
Having access to that kind of stuff
in such in a new building, as a new
org, feels really encouraging and
positive.”
The showcase’s placement in
the new Trotter center reflects
the goal Metcalf set out to
accomplish a year ago: to create
an
imaginative
environment
for Black artists to share their
work and gather in the name of
originality and ingenuity. The
center lends itself to collaboration
and acts as a unified space for
Black creatives to explore their
artistry. Committee Head of
Performative Art, Kandis Terry,
spoke about her decision to join
the Executive Board of Creatives
of Color.
“A lot of times I’m usually the
only person of color, the only
Black person, let alone Black
woman in the spaces that I’m in
and when (Drew) said he had
this idea for collaboration for all
artists on campus, it was a chance
for me to help other people get
comfortable in their art,” Terry
said. “Art doesn’t have to be
something that’s so serious, it
should be a form of expression and
mental wellness. People who are
so good at it are good at it because
it’s something that they have to
do. It’s an impulse…. This space is
very open, it doesn’t feel limited,
there’s no cap on it. There’s space
for everyone to be a creative
person of color.”
Treasurer Clarence Womack
also talked about the significance
of creating opportunities for
Black creatives on campus and
why he joined the trailblazing
organization.
“I joined Creatives of Color
to support my friends and their
decisions to support people in
the Black community. There
weren’t a lot of opportunities
for artist of color to collaborate
(or) understand other people’s
talent,” Womack said.
On
March
14,
Netflix
announced it was cancelling its
original series One Day at a Time.
The streaming giant’s decision
came after several appeals by
the cast, other Latinx celebrities
(including Hamilton creator Lin-
Manuel Miranda) and viewers to
save the show.
On the surface, One Day At
A Time is like any other family
sitcom, with a close nuclear family
and a wild cast of friends, but it
distinguishes itself by centering
around a Cuban-American veteran
and her multi-generational family.
Replete
with
cultural
references, the Cuban, Latinx,
and recent immigrant identities
permeate beyond the odd joke
here or there: they drive the
show. Rita Moreno – who is best
known as Maria from West Side
Story – plays the staunchly Cuban
grandmother Lydia, who fled Cuba
as a teenager in the 60s. Her desire
to follow tradition brings her into
conflict with her American-born
grandchildren Alex (played by
Marcel Ruiz) and Elena (played
by Isabella Gomez), as well as her
newly-divorced daughter Penelope
(played by Justina Machado).
The show plunges headfirst
into the Alvarez family’s inherent
Cubanness, using white supporting
characters to introduce less well-
known concepts. Instead of the
Alvarezs having to ditch their
heritage to conform to mainstream
American culture, their friends Dr.
Berkowitz (Stephen Tobolowsky)
and Schneider (Todd Grinnell)
learn what it means to be Cuban
and become part of the family.
One Day At A Time presents
more than racial diversity: the
show endeavors to cover a wide
range of issues from sexual
harassment to the flaws in Veteran
Affairs to recreational drug use.
More than simply touching on
them, the series gives plenty of time
to each topic and handles them
sensitively. No matter how dire the
situation may seem, the Alvarez’s
always find some kind of way to
solve the problem or otherwise
have a happy ending. It’s a staple
of the feel-good sitcom genre, but
given how serious these issues are,
it is incredibly well done and never
seeks to minimize the impact they
can have on individuals.
You don’t have to be Cuban
or even Latinx to find the show
relatable. Many of us in the
broader
immigrants
of
color
community can find themselves
in the Alvarez’s. In one episode,
Lydia warns her grandchildren
that walking on the floor barefoot
can cause them to catch colds.
This reminded me of my Chinese
grandmother scolding me for
sleeping
with
my
hair
wet
because cold air would rush into
my follicles and give me a cold.
(Obviously, neither of these bad
habits are desirable, but I’m still
skeptical of anything any grandma
tells me that a doctor won’t.)
There are already so few shows
starring people of color that
losing One Day At A Time comes
at a major cost. UCLA’s annual
Hollywood Diversity Report found
that there was fewer than one lead
of color for every two white leads
in scripted digital series alone. Not
getting to see positive and deeply
explored depictions of people like
us informs us that our experiences
are unimportant and not valued –
which is far from the truth.
Netflix may have cancelled One
Day At A Time, but that doesn’t
necessarily mean that the series
is gone for good. As showrunner
Gloria Calderón Kellett continues
to fight for, the show can continue
if picked up by another network.
You can support One Day At
A Time by watching the three
seasons on Netflix and by tweeting
with the hashtag #SaveODAAT.
The Gray, White, Black, and
Gold teams competed against
each other on the night of April
10th for the second annual
“Train Like an Alpha” event in
the Mendelssohn Theatre in the
Michigan League.
Flashing lights, Old Town
Road and whistles echoed the
theatre, and the energy of the
crowd matched that of the four
teams of girls who danced to the
coordinated routines of current
members of the fraternity, Alphi
Phi Alpha.
For their annual event, Alpha
Phi Alpha holds campus-wide
tryouts for girls who want to
try their hand at some of the
fraternity’s
dances
and
step
routines for their hand at the
grand prize. Each routine had a
specific theme or reference, and
their uniqueness showed in each
of their choreographed dances.
The Gray Team started the
night off with an “Indiana Jones”-
esque adventure theme, decked
out in gray tank tops, green cargo
pants, and black utility belts ––
their energy was definitely felt
by the audience. The girls were
on a mission to find the “golden
whistle” before it fell into the
wrong hands. With a routine full
of clean moves and gymnastics
feats, the night was off to a good
start.
However, the following two
teams still held their ground
pretty well. The White team had a
sporty workout theme with all of
the dancers clad in workout bras
and joggers. Their clever routine
started with a nod to the Everest
college commercial that was
familiar to the Michigan natives
who grew up seeing it on their TV.
Next was the Black Team.
Dressed in black unitards with
black and gold accent pieces,
they channeled the energy of the
character Katana from the video
game Mortal Kombat in an action
packed fight theme routine. The
routine stayed true to the theme
of the game and their steps were
sharply executed.
All the teams kept their
routines lighthearted and fun
by adding in voiceover moments
where they’d stop and narrate on
the action. They also involved the
brothers of the Alpha Phi Alpha
fraternity as characters in their
skits between the dance moves.
In between the performances,
the energy was also kept high by
the light hearted MCs who made
playful jabs at the competition
and
themselves.
Audience
members also got a chance to be
involved in the fun through trivia
contests, lottery drawings, and a
riveting competition to see who
could hold the fraternity’s famous
hand sign the longest without
falling.
Last but certainly not least was
the gold team. Their performance
ended the night with a high-
energy performance that used
vibrant colors and the benefit of
stage lighting to execute their
routine. With a nightclub theme,
they certainly brought energy
that the audience could feel and
the confidence of the performers
with every stomp and clap that
lined their performance.
In the end, the judges seemed
to really admire the gold team’s
ingenuity because the won the
competition.
Each
member
received a gold medal and took
a picture with the giant trophy
that was awarded to them as a
result of their performance. With
every team member on stage as
well as the fraternity members
who helped to choreograph each
routine, everyone joined in to
dance to the organization’s go-to
stroll song, “Knuck if You Buck.”
Even though the gold team
won, it’s safe to say that all of the
dancers still had fun. According
to
School
of
Information
sophomore Leila Akan, a dancer
on the Black Team, the best part
of the competition was getting to
know and work with everyone on
her team. “Our practices were a
lot of long late nights, but in the
end everyone pulled off a great
show and I’m extremely proud of
them.”
The “Train Like an Alpha”
Event was definitely a night to
remember as it succeeded in
making an evening of excitement
and energy to a Wednesday
night for Black students. Current
students and alumni alike, for a
night of dancing, laughing and
merriment. Even though this
was the event’s second time
happening, it’s easy to see that it
will continue for years to come.
LORNA BROWN
& EFE OSAGIE
MiC Editors
DIERRA BARLOW
MiC Editor
ELIZABETH HO
MiC Blogger
“Train Like an Alpha” brings together community
and talent for annual dance and step competition
Creatives of Color holds
annual showcase of Black art
Let’s save TV show “One
Day at a Time”
HARSHITHA BALAJI
MiC Creative Contributor
Queen’dom
Illustration courtesy of author
Photo courtesy of authors
Read more online at
michigandaily.com