The Examination Diversity and Representation
By: DILLON ROMNEY
The start of it all…
Diversity and Representation has been a long outgoing issue all around the world for a very long time now even dating back to a couple of centuries ago. When going into further depth about this, it’s very easy to forget about the long lasting effects, when building new buildings, when raising prices, when thinking about who we’re kicking out, when thinking about who we walk past on the streets. All those things mentioned above happen just about anywhere you can think of because certain groups of people and communities just aren’t well represented enough; or the communities consist of the same people that being diverse will soon become irrelevant. The article “Emissaries of Empowerment” by Kate Cronin-Furman, Nimmi Gowrinathan, and Rafia Zakaria talks about how “publicization and amelioration of the problems facing women in the developing world are one core component of the modern feminist project.” The people involved in this project do their best to try and let the women’s voices be heard and needed. However the women they were trying to empower were mainly those who were victims to sexual acts and violence of others. Eve Ensler in particular was an American playwright and feminist from 2007 who explained her situation and what she did for a live audience. She claims “I have just returned from hell” after describing the amount of hardships these Congolese women faced through her own experience of learning about it. She then says how “women line up to tell me their stories. They come into the interview numb, distant, glazed over, dead. They leave alive, grateful and empowered.” My point is everyone, anywhere could be struggling and going through some rough times because they feel as though they aren’t represented well enough. But projects and acts of kindness like this is a good way to bring the darkness to light! (APA) In this article the empowerment program was a way for women who were victims of violence to be bold and less weary to bring up their confidence. As well as try and make these women more open about themselves and less scared to come out about what has happened to them. Kate Cronin-Furman, is one of the three authors who worked on publishing this amazing article. She is an associate professor of human rights and director of human rights MA department of political science, university of London; who primarily focuses on mass atrocities and human rights. She and her two other colleagues did a phenomenal job displaying the way women were treated. But more importantly highlighting some needed quotes from some individuals who helped bring out the article to a more emotional standpoint to bring out more of the readers, and really a better viewpoint on what’s happening to the world from other groups of people. (https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/colinpowellschool/emissaries-empowerment)
And then we reached here
From the article “ This Climate Activist is insisting on Diverse Representation” by: Olivia Richard, explains that activists of color are being left out of the conversation because of their skin color. Kristy Drutman, who is the creator of the podcast Brown Girl Green, notices how little funding activists of color actually receive and she wishes somehow things could be different. She proudly says “ They are literally so resourceful, and are fighting so hard to protect their communities”; as well as implying that “These communities don’t have a choice. They can’t just shut off the power plant that’s outside their home that’s causing their kids asthma.” It’s emphatically shown that black people are poorly portrayed in their own communities, which is a shame because everyone should be treated with the same respect. Also to note that, just because we aren’t the same skin color or don’t seem to have enough intelligence as the other folks around us; doesn’t mean we have to get treated as less than equals from those superior. It’s like the world is going backwards and the diversity barriers between black, white, latin, chinese, etc is only going to keep on increasing unless more people like Kristy Drutman step up and start to make some changes around in this world. Drutman also said forwardly that “ When we are thinking about building a future that has clean energy, or we are redesigning cities to accommodate for more green space, we have to think about what communities are going to be impacted by that.” Honestly, even after segregation and slavery was over I still felt a hint of uneasy between colored and white folks. I wish all of that could be left behind us and start life anew. (Apa) “In this article about a black climate activist advocating for change in her community, the author Olivia Richard emphasizes her points on what is going on behind the scenes and why it’s so difficult for people of color to gain any momentum. Being a colored climate activist, the author gives insight on how hard she’s working to prosper for her community by fighting for their survival seeing as how hard her community is fighting for it right now. The award winning multimedia journalist and digital storyteller, Olivia Richard is very insightful on what she thinks her readers want her about underrepresented communities, whether it be your own or from across the globe. The way she brings up issues that are not seen as essential just goes to show you what type of author she is, one who cares about those who aren’t cared enough and one who revitalizes issues that others would bypass.
Why we can’t reach the endpoint
From the article “Activists Demand UCLA Amend Hollywood Diversity Report to Document Disabled, LGBTQIA+ Representation” it talks about how certain groups of individuals are being recognized and accepted into the workplace, while others are still being worked and accounted for. Jim LeBrecht who is the co-founder of FWD-Doc and documentary “Crip Camp” firmly states that, “UCLA’s report that stands for promoting diversity is an egregious case of exclusion and perpetuates the misconception that people with disabilities do not exist in the entertainment industry” He’s not saying that UCLA’s report is completely false, he’s saying that it’s inconclusive and leaves out some other groups that should have been included in the study. It’s also noteworthy to add that the FWD-Doc was not in the best mood when UCLA released that report and now wanted a televised report on the disabled in the film industry. UCLA also strongly reports that “ America’s increasingly diverse audiences prefer diverse film content.” FWD-Doc adds that there are a multitude of projects related to people with disabilities. Even if all this was included in the report, you can’t really just rely on one group that is diverse from the rest to back up your article. It’s better you can do multiple groups who are poorly represented and rarely seen in films or tv to the point where you can’t really call it diverse from other shows. But that wasn’t the only misplay UCLA made when making their report. The FWD-Doc went on to mention that they are nearing 500 people in the film industry who are disabled and have allies to support them. It’s very crucial to gather all the facts beforehand, before publishing a report, because some big figures will come out and knock you down for all you have. (Apa) In this jaw dropping, very shocking article for UCLA’s diversity report it explains how minority groups as LGBTQIA+ community and disabled people need to be represented better. UCLA made a slight mistake on how poorly their article was portrayed and the author made sure to shed light on famous individuals of these groups of minority to set their points straight. An awards editor of features and senior VP for Variety Tim Gray, did a remarkable job for setting boundaries on himself, remaining impartial and letting the article flow freely as he shows both sides of the report. He also went on to tell us how well the FWD-Doc community is doing and what type of fundings they will receive to keep on going. Tim Gray is intelligent, in depth and very expressive in his work.
(https://variety.com/2022/film/news/ucla-diversity-coda-disability-activists-1235220403/)
Colored Diversity
The article “The diversity of the recent Black Lives Matter Protests is a good sign for racial equity” talks about the Black Lives Matter protest. In particular, George Floyd’s murder on May 25th 2020. “We have never seen protests like these before, in turnout, perseverance, and the ethnic and racial diversity of those participating” sociologist Doug McAdam remarks. A video of an African American being a victim of police brutality, was the result of people from many diverse groups protesting for a change in the community. Progressive groups don’t normally focus on the issue of racial justice in America. However if it’s to make more awareness of that injustice then they will do everything they can to promote it and gain more allies to help out the cause. “Two-thirds of U.S. adults say they support the movement”, Pew research publishes calmly. It is shown from the survey that a majority of those who supported it were either Black, White, Latin, or Asian Americans. This is very promising news of the survey to show us because it gives the world hope that there is a chance to reach racial equity. 2020 definitely has its ups and downs with the BLM movement and covid arising. However things are slightly looking better today with both racial diversity and representation, whether it’s small or big it’s a step in the right direction. (Apa) In this really inspiring and hopeful article, people of all types started the BLM protest scattered all across the United States. The fact that it wasn’t just mainly African Americans involved in the protest really shows how much America and its people have grown.The author, non-resident senior fellow and professor in the sociology department, Dana R. Fisher is very knowledgeable when it comes to topics on democracy, activism and climate change. She gave the facts, let us know the actual details of what happened, and put quotes of multiple individuals giving their own opinions. Overall a very intellectual and well thought out author.
A Blast from the Past
I observed a zoom call a couple of weeks ago from some long-time Alumni who were a part of the five demands protest. This protest basically summarized the five demands these Black and Puerto Rican students wanted from this college that they overlooked. Those being “a school of Black and Puerto Rican studies”, a freshman orientation for Black and Puerto Rican Students, Seek students having a voice for the seek program, racial composition of the entering freshman class be racially reflective of the high school population, and that all education majors be acquired to take Black and Puerto Rican history and the spanish language. To be more specific Francee Covington was in the zoom call and she gave us some very insightful details on the movement and how proactive it was. Classes were canceled, buildings were set on fire, and even the college president resigned because of it.
