COLOUR THE VISIBILITY ISSUE
ISSUE 5 | DEC 2017
COLOUR EDITORS-IN-CHIEF ISHVINDER KAUR, BRYAN OKELO CREATIVE DIRECTORS JUSTYN HIGGINS, JELANI M-ANDERSON, SARAH YAPO PHOTOGRAPHERS DOMINIQUE SENTEZA, CRISTAL THOMAS STAFF WRITERS EMPRIS DURDEN, ROB HALL, HELEN LI EDITOR CRISTAL THOMAS GRAPHIC DESIGN EDITORS ROB HALL, DOMINIQUE SENTEZA, MAYA ST. CLAIR MODELS TOMISIN AKINYEMI, NAOMI BLAIR, CHRISTOPHER BLAKE, REBECCA BOWMAN, TESS GONG, JUSTYN HIGGINS, ANAYA JOHNSON, ISHVINDER KAUR, DAELEN MORRIS, CHARLYN MOSS, BRYAN OKELO, RACHEL OSEI-OWUSU, CRISTAL THOMAS, LEAH THOMPSON, JANELLI RODRIGUEZ, SARAH YAPO, ALICIA ZHANG
Table of Contents COLORED FACES, WHITE SPACES 4 VISIBILITY THROUGH THE EYES OF INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS 8 FENTY AND YEEZY FOR LESS 10 HERE TO STAY 14 COLOURED VISIBILITY 16 CREATOR’S GALLERY 24 TOP 10 #BLACKINFLUENCERS 28 COLOURFUL MEDIA 32
coloured faces “In my three years at WashU, I had never once felt ashamed of my skin and it took
“I think visibility on campus is very broken and
many students feel invisible,
one frat party
especially when it comes to having their opinions or concerns heard. “
to change that.”
“WashU seemingly likes to cater towards a very specific
group of people.”
“Hypervisible in a sociology class discussion about socioeconomic inequality and minorities.”
“I had to walk outside to see a bunch of white people going on about their day,
appropriation pamphlets
oblivious
and still seeing white peo-
“Distributing cultural
ple dress up as us for a
to what was going on in the world and how hard it is to just exist as a Black person.”
costume.”
white spaces
“I quickly looked around to see if anybody was as shocked or angry as I was.
Nobody. Nothing.
Not even the person I was with seemed bothered by it. Everyone around me was laughing and catching up with their friends. On the other hand, I had never felt so uncomfortable and unwanted. Every time I caught someone’s gaze, I felt like they were looking directly at my skin, judging it for being brown, judging it for belonging to the people that they wanted to keep out of this country with the wall.”
“I think that being part a Chinese-American student at WashU has come with many different experiences, some good, some bad. It is easy to be
overlooked and categorized
in this group, considering that there are many stereotypes that float around in regards to my ethnicity, assumptions about my upbringing, prejudices against people of color in general.” “I think being Asian-American comes with a lot of
assumptions
that we have our lives set up for us... I feel invisible that I am simply satisfying what people think about me and am not seen for how much I really do.”
Visibility through the Eyes of International Students Helen Li Visibility can depend upon the context you are in. Recently Colour interviewed a couple of students on our campus who identify as international students to gain their perspectives on visibility here at WashU.
First, the visibility of the WashU campus was not completely clear until some arrived on campus officially as students. When I asked Rintsen Sherpa ’20, a sophomore studying biology and computer science from Kathmandu, Nepal, why he chose WashU, he admitted that the information he knew about WashU was purely from what he found online beforehand. People described WashU as “collaborative” and “not competitive” which was part of motivations to come here. “Pretty much everything about any university was found online.” This may contrast to students from Missouri or other parts of the United States, who may have been able to get to know the university through on-campus interviews or college road trips. Rintsen’s words remind us of the double-edged sword of coming completely fresh to a new place; on one hand, it may be scary and unpredictable, however, it may also lead to unexpected pleasant surprises. Though Rintsen’s words may paint a picture of distance between St. Louis and cities outside the country, this does not mean that the world is completely disconnected. In fact, a common theme that the interviewees brought up was the preconceived notion that people have about the disconnected nature of the world today. Ayush Jain ‘20, an architecture student from Jaipur, India who currently lives in Hong Kong said that “When I first came to this campus, I’m from Hong Kong. Oh do you speak English or go to an International School? But that shouldn’t be a prerequisite for English. People from India or China may also speak very good English.” He emphasized though that these barriers may exist, but the beauty of a college campus and bringing together people from different backgrounds challenges students to think beyond what they see as visible. “Those ideas are always going to exist, when you meet
someone who has different ideas or is from a different culture. You always question your ideas and what you previously thought about that person.” Ayush highlights how higher education can help us learn more about ourselves and the world around us by creating a productive sense of discomfort. College serves as an opportunity to bring people from all over to one location, to study, to learn, and to network. We expand our horizons and gain an understanding of our current and future role within society. Both Ayush and Rintsen brought up the visibility of elements of American culture abroad. Ayush addressed how there is a preconceived notion that international students aren’t going to get cultural references. “That cultural divide doesn’t exist as much anymore. In real life, when you actually meet people, it’s a much more subtle difference. Cultural references, like politics, like people get to know things because of the internet.” On the other hand, Rintsen mentioned that some things, such as American football, weren’t that visible until he arrived here. “I had never watched football before, occasionally I feel left out of conversations at times because I have no idea what they are talking about at times.” He discussed how his friends invited him over to a Super Bowl party once and explained everything play by play. “I really appreciated that they would explain it to me at the time.” Moments that initially became a source of difference actually brought him closer to his peers. When we think of visibility, we may think of the literal physical ability to see something, however, the methods of which that occurs varies. The three interviewees related “visibility” closely to representation and political participation. “International students are usually the minority in gatherings. In terms of politics and discussions, it’s much more centered on local atmosphere, even if international students have opin-
ions. You don’t have the opportunity to vote,” Ayush pointed out. Visibility may thus occur physically, but there are regulations that influence its expression. In other instances, individual visibility through representation may be difficult simply due to logistics. Haoru Yang’ 18, a senior from China majoring in Chemistry, also noted the influence of scale of politics and the differences between here and his home. “Because of the large population in China, there’s really not a chance for all of the population of 1.4 billion to go vote for one thing or multiple issues, we are just going to have representatives that vote for us.” Haoru described how he thought that maybe the methods of being visible back home affected how students envisioned potential visibility here. Recalling the recent graduate student vote to form a union, Haoru noted how he had heard that some of the Chinese students who were actively involved complained about how other graduate students from China weren’t actively voting or voicing their opinions. “In the sense because of the political background, and that’s losing a chance to be visible.” Although international students may be grouped by their so-called “country of origin”, this label is another layer that affects full visibility of their stories. Visibility relates to what can be seen on the outside; some things like personal identity are more hidden. For instance, Rintsen addressed the various layers within his identity that may not be visible to others. “I might be Nepali, but my identity is shaped by a lot of things. I moved around a lot as a child. It’s difficult for me to identify as Nepali. When I go back home, I don’t really
“[When you apply for jobs you often see]...just green card holders or citizens only. I guess there is a reason for those, you know, to benefit students from the USA more than the international students for funding reasons. But when you’re looking for a fellowship, there is so much that allows for US citizens and green card holders to apply, but not much for international students.” - Haoru Yang ‘18
“[When] Socializing—international students are a lot more prone to consequences of getting caught. Sometimes if people say they don’t want to do something, local students judge us. But we could get deported. You’re so scared of the consequences. The consequences are very different for me than a local white kid from St. Louis. It makes such a difference. Even if in terms that your RA finds out, the fact that the university will have this on your transcript. The fact that you have traveled so far and your parents have these expectations, the risks are higher.” - Ayush Jain ‘20
feel Nepali at all. I’m seen as a foreigner in both places, kind of.” Rintsen has lived in Japan, the United States, China, and then Nepal. “Back home, like when I speak my mother tongue, I sound like a foreigner trying to be Nepali. I feel hard to related to people here and from back home. The main thing that separates home from here is the fact of family. Both places have also been extremely open and welcoming to me though I’m physically a foreigner. I feel that way in both places, so people in both places make me feel at home. I’ve lived in so many different places, that everywhere, it’s hard to pinpoint home for me. So I kind of call home where I feel comfortable at. That goes for Nepal and here in STL.” Our inclination to blanket label people’s experiences as belonging to one nationality or one ethnicity (maybe due to passport categorization) hides how the journey of moving back and forth creates in-between spaces. Haoru noted how moving here for school has affected how he perceives himself: “’Going back’ for home and school, I’m now confused on which way is ‘back’. I guess maybe before I came to college, I wouldn’t have this issue.”These feelings are not directly visible on the outside, but are felt within. Visibility can affect our lives from our first impression of a new place, to the representation of our views in politics, to how we are perceived from the outside and within ourselves. When we meet someone new, whether they be an international student or our own neighbors here in STL, we must go beyond what is visible to us immediately.
REMAKING LOOKS FROM
HERE TO STAY. Rob Hall Occupying our television screens, infiltrating our media, and permeating our streets, it is intrusive and unavoidable. It is something that is unarguably imperative, but so polarizing in its effects that one may wonder if it is necessary at all. It aids the ailing, voices the silenced, and can give a means to an end while still sparking the beginning. Protest is everywhere. It has always been prevalent, but in the technological age where information spreads as easily as sparks fly, the topic has been in the center of many heated debates. It manifests in a multitude of forms, and its goals are equally wide-ranging. With that understanding, it is important to recognize that protest must be accurately defined for one to have a valid opinion of it. Thus, before we dive into the specifics, we must first ask ourselves: what is protest? The dictionary defines protest as a statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something. Thus, means of protest are practically unbounded; however, there are certainly specific images and actions that come to mind when the topic is brought up. When the word “protest” is searched on Google Images, the first few dozen photos are of protesters picketing in large marches. This form of protest is the type most often portrayed by the media, and often involves a large group of people taking to the streets and other public spaces to raise awareness for a specific issue. Because the media constantly focuses on those protests, it is easy to forget the other means that people use to work against the system. Moreover, it is important to find the meaning beyond the protest. Why are people protesting? What is the end goal? To find answers to these questions, I sat down with two WashU students who had a history
of protesting. Instead of conducting traditional interviews which usually attempt to extrapolate information, I aimed to generate engaging discussions to broaden my understanding of protest itself.
It is easy to forget the other means that people use to work against the system. Moreover, it is important to find the meaning beyond the protest. Why are people protesting? What is the end goal? The first student that I discussed protest with was junior Anand Chukka. He defined protest as “acts of defiance against systems in place... [and] an unhappiness with the status quo and using mechanisms to defeat those systems.” When I asked about different means of protesting, Anand pointed out that research can be an effective form of protest. Research is an excellent way to identify trends in society. Some of these trends that are identified through research, such as the correlation between residency north of Delmar and higher child mortality rates, can point us to the
questions we must ask to help create a more just society: is this trend tied to socioeconomic status or could there be a larger issue? What can be done to address this? Furthermore, getting published in journals can bring great visibility to issues that people may not otherwise be aware of. On the topic of visibility, we began to discuss the effects that raising awareness can have. We agreed that visibility was an important initial step in the process of solving an issue. Anand pointed out that it’s much more difficult to solve an issue that nobody knows about than one with wider recognition. With more awareness and attention, pressure is put on the systems in place to change. This pressure would not exist without visibility, and this visibility may not exist without the protests that created it. WashU is no stranger to protest. Between activism in the St. Louis area and on campus, protest has been prevalent around WashU throughout the school’s history. Through discussions about WashU’s recent protest history with Anand, I learned about issues I otherwise would not have known, such as WashU profiting off of private prisons, mishandling the food workers’ contract, and having ties to Peabody Energy. Anand was able to amass this knowledge through conversations with students in various advocacy organizations. Due to protest and activism, the visibility of these issues was greatly increased. This visibility has led to a more accurate portrayal of the corrupt systems in place and allowed for the consideration of solutions to these issues. While my conversation with Anand highlighted the importance of raising visibility for an issue, my discussion with a freshman scholar showed how visibility can lead to
change. He chooses to remain nameless, but this student was born and raised in St. Louis, and was a participant and organizer in the May 2017 Hazelwood School District student protest. This act of activism occurred in response to teachers being stuck in an unfair contract with the district’s board of directors, who were withholding wages from them. On the last day of school for the high school seniors, a few hundred students walked out of class early to picket atop the hill that overlooked the school. The students felt as if it was their duty to stand alongside the hard-working teachers who were being mistreated. That same evening, some students took to social media to spread word about the district’s mistreatment of teachers, generating buzz online. The students even went as far as to reach out to the news media to get coverage of the issue they were fighting for. The school responded by suspending many of the students and prohibiting them from walking for graduation. In retaliation, the students continued to protest on school grounds for the next three days, even though school was still in session for the other classes. They also protested at the board meeting the day after the walk out. Motivated by the visibility of the other students protesting, many of the younger high schoolers soon joined in. The seniors reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union to try to get their suspensions revoked and re-obtain the right to walk at graduation. All of these acts of protest were gaining more and more visibility for the issue that the teachers were facing. After just four days, this visibility turned into change. The board of directors agreed to re-negotiate its contract with the teachers, nullify the students’ suspensions,
With more awareness and attention, pressure is put on the systems in place to change. This pressure would not exist without visibility, and this visibility may not exist without the protests that created it.
and allow the students to walk at graduation. This student and his fellow organizers not only understood the importance of visibility, but also the importance of capitalizing on that visibility and turning it into a means to effectuate change. Similar to protest itself, solutions can manifest in many ways. Sometimes the end goal is the visibility itself. Sometimes it’s policy change. Sometimes it’s to give voice to the unheard. Regardless of its goal, it is undeniable that protest is often a means to raise awareness of an issue, and without that awareness, it is much more difficult to obtain a solution. The definition of protest may be ambiguous and the goals of protest may vary, but one thing is for certain - protest is everywhere, and it is here to stay.
Photo courtesy of Jamelle Bouie
COLOURED VISIBILITY COVER SPREAD
Creator’s Gallery ROB HALL
In November of 2017, WashU’s Skandalaris Center held its first ever creator’s gallery. This event aimed to provide a space for creative people with WashU affiliations to show off their work. This included undergratuates, graduates, alumni, staff, and faculty. As one of the event’s coordinators, I wanted to highlight pieces created by people of color and find out more about their work. I asked each of these artists two questions:
“Why did you create this?” “What’s something you hope people get from your creation?”
Daelen Morris Drama “Tell Us A REAL Story� I wrote the play because I wanted to expose the way black people are so often used in the media today. We are so often seen as static objects and characters with the same backstories and same contributions to the show. We are often shown caricatures of what America perceives us to be instead, rather than being seen as the multi-dimensional individuals we are. I really just want people to see that all black people are not the same. We are not static characters, we are not simply stock photos so stop portraying us as such.
Krishna Vyas Fine Art “Nebula Story,” “Jungle Mania,” “An Attempt to be ME,” “LOST GIRL” I always prefer to look at things from a multi-dimensional perspective. The artwork that I create is a milieux of my love for science fiction, colors and experimentation with different mediums. This artwork is created within maximum 10 minutes to put into perspective the concepts that I visualize. I have never got any training in art or design. I want you to understand that if I can do this, anybody can! Just start painting and experimenting with different mediums as a practice of self care in order to explore, discover, create and aspire. By putting your ideas onto paper; one shall learn innumerable things during that journey!
Mirai Patel Fashion Design “In My Element” I initially created this piece to highlight how much waste was being produced around my high school campus by unnecessary printing. There used to be hundreds of printed on papers floating around my high school’s printer room that would end up in the recycling bin within 24 hours of it just being printed, so I wanted to use all that paper to create some sustainable fashion wear since art has always been my outlet for showing what causes I am passionate about, one of my main ones being the environment. It just so happened that it seemed to be all AP chemistry notes so taking the notes I had left over from when I took chemistry and those from the printer room, I hand-stitched this into a dress. I hope people at WashU can see what creative things can be made on a budget or out of everyday materials as well as show that anyone can repurpose waste into something beautiful.
COLOUR ’s Top 10 #BlackInfluencers by Empris Durden
Nayyirah Waheed, who was called “perhaps the most famous poet on Instagram” by Jet Magazine, crafted this poem. This illustrious “Instapoet” writes about a variety of themes, including healing, romance, womanhood, pro-Blackness, and self-love. She has a short, minimalist style which traditional publishers, in her words “virulently rejected” and “disregarded”. Nayyirah choose the life that was hers -- she self-published her collection of poems salt. in 2013 and Nejma in 2015. Her work has transformed the discipline of poetry and is now in the curriculum of classes. Instagram was always a platform for her to share her work. Now, others emulate her. Indeed, Nayyirah inspired me to be a poet and Instagram blogger. On my own Instagram page, @kaixxa_, I promote messages of self-love, positivity, and Black pride through poetry and fashion posts. Most crucially, during the release of Yrsa Daley-Ward’s book of poetry, bone (2014), Nayyirah flooded her own Instagram account for weeks with support for Yrsa. She is an example of the greatness that can be achieved when people of color support each other. We can apply themes from Nayyirah’s journey to other people of color who have carved out a space for themselves in this new era of social media careers. Just as traditional publishers rejected her book because of a prejudiced mindset, other influencers of color experienced rejection and racism in their niche. Jackie Aina, who is considered by many to be the original beauty YouTuber of color, boasts 1.7 million subscribers. She creates makeup tutorials and reviews for women of color. Jackie brought attention to White YouTuber Jeffrey Star’s racist comments and lack of products for women of color in his makeup line. It takes tenacity to call out White supremacy in one’s workplace. After Jeffrey’s repeated insults, Jackie Aina retained
her success and continues to review makeup lines for women of color such as Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty. Influencers of color also experience less overt racism in the form of being paid less than White influencers. In addition, they often receive fewer sponsorships and brand deals. YouTube is known to promote White content creators more than influencers of color. Akilah Hughes, a YouTuber who does sketch comedy and vlogs, wrote in Fusion that “During Black History Month in 2015, YouTube sent out 15 tweets promoting black creators.” In response, YouTube created a summit #YouTubeBlack to address these concerns. In addition, Hughes has called out Buzzfeed for stealing ideas from influencers of color without giving them credit. This lack of visibility is why I created @blackyoutubers and @blackmodelslay on Instagram, to highlight Black influencers on YouTube and in the fashion industry, respectively, amongst their peers. In a media landscape that reduces people of color to archetypes, token tropes, or worse -- invisible --social media can be a radical, disruptive, and powerful form of visibility. The #BlackLivesMatter political movement and the #BlackGirlMagic philosophy began from Twitter hashtags. The Women’s March in Washington, D.C., the largest protest in United States history, was organized from a Facebook post, by a woman of color. Passion projects are transformed into fulltime careers and empires with the emergence of crowdfunding sites like Patreon and platforms like YouTube. Overall, social media has also become a viable career in a marketplace that undervalues Black employees. “Influencer” and “Instagram model” have become valid job titles and means for individuals to become highly successful businesspeople from their creative gifts. Just like esteemed poet Nayyirah Waheed, many people of color have transformed rejection from traditional industries into their own social media empires.
Below are COLOUR’s Top 10 Influencers of 2017:
1. ShamelessMaya (254k followers @mayasworld), after 7 years, recently achieved one million subscribers on YouTube! She creates videos about achieving one’s goals, fashion, tech tutorials, and fitness workouts. She is truly a Renaissance woman.
2. alexandra elle (382k followers @alex_elle) is a self-help author who posts affirmations, self-love poems, and pictures of her beautiful Black family. Her most recently published book is Neon Soul: A Collection of Poetry and Prose.
3. @TheJonMoody (151k followers) is an artist and athelete who creates largescale paintings. His art has been commissioned for the television show Empire and one painting that honored Trayvon Martin was exhibited in the White house.
4. Nyane Leboaja (731k followers @nyane) is an international model, fashion blogger, and fashion designer who is known for her alternative style and brightly colored wigs. She turned her 750k followers into two businesses: a fashion line (@nyane.co) and wig collection (@moodhairinc).
5. @KieraPlease (595k followers) is a bubbly cosplayer who loves modelling in bright colored hair. She imitates characters of color such as Kida from Atlantis, Storm, and the Legend of Korra.
6. Nayyirah Waheed (409k followers on Instagram) the “Instapoet� writes about self-love, Black pride, feminism, the immigrant experience and love.
7. ELOI (77.8k followers @viteloi) is a Brazilian artist who draws people of color, primarily Black women. Many musicians have reposted him and he even drew the rapper Princess Nokia.
8. Jackie Aina (698k followers @jackieaina) is a makeup guru who reviews beauty and hair products for women of color. She boasts 1.7 million YouTube subscribers.
9. Bobo Matjila (37.1 followers @thisfashionfiend_) is the creator of Black Girl Creative, an example of how social media can be used to create community offline.
10. Jessamyn Stanley (342k followers @mynameisjessamy) is a world famous Body Positivity Yogi and author. Her message is one of self-love, self-care and self-acceptance, at any size.
COLOURFUL MEDIA
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