I haven't paid attention to the Miss America contest for a decade or two, not since I've stopped being entranced by Barbie dolls and high heels. Yesterday, suddenly I got another slap on the face. A Chinese American friend and the beloved George Takei commented on the incredible explosion of racism toward the first Indian American Miss America: New York's Nina Davuluri.
I guess I was just thankful that people didn't assume Davuluri was Native American. Davuluri is dark-skinned and has dark hair. Davuluri's parents are Telugu and born in India. Davuluri was born in New York. She's American as any white person, but much more culturally aware of her heritage than most. She watches Telugu movies and learned Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dance.
Her aims are not scholarships to finish her bachelor's degree. She has already graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in Brain Behavior and Cognitive Science.
I've complained about whitewashing because in America it seems hard for Asian Americans to play Asians or even Asian Americans. Maybe people don't know what real Asians and real Asian Americans look like.
Check out the Buzzfeed collection of racist tweets. Ironically, some people like Jessica Ayres claims they are not racist, but "this is America." Yes Jessica. This is America where an Asian American has a hard time finding work playing an Asian or an Asian American, but really, we are Americans in this America. Some Asians came over with the first settlers (e.g. Armenians).
Armenia straddles that questionable territory called Eurasia and can be considered European, Asian or both. India and Armenia do have a history. Armenians have been present in India since the time of Alexander the Great. The Telugu people are numerous enough that the language is the second most spoken in India--the first being Hindi (not English).
Telugu designates an ethnic group, but not a religious group. That means the Telugu are not necessarily Hindu, Christian, Buddhist or Jainist. And why would being a member of any of three non-Christian religions or Islam make any person less American?
This IS America. Specifically, this is the United States of America and we do have people of all races beyond black and white. What does being an ethnic India, a Telugu, have to do with 9/11? Is this a problem of selective learning or are these people a product of a poor educational system that doesn't teach people what Islam is and where Arabs live.
Arabs have been in America since the 15th Century. They came with the Spanish explorers. While it is unknown when the first Muslims came to America, it could have been as early as the Spanish explorers or Islam could have come with the slaves that were kidnapped from Africa and brought to North America. Being Arab and Muslim
We do have a black president serving his second term. We haven't had a white woman and we will probably have to wait until we do before we can see an America that might accept an ethnic Asian, particularly one who cannot pass as Caucasian or WASP, for that office.
The first recorded Asians in North America were Chinese and Filipinos in Mexico in the 1600s. Filipinos jumped ship in 1763 and entered Louisiana. The first Asian Indians were in the U.S. in 1790. How long do Asian Americans have to wait for acceptance. How long to Arabs and Muslims have to wait until they, too, can be seen as American?
Vanessa Williams became the first black Miss America in 1984, but had to resign after nude photographs of her were published in Penthouse. Since then seven black women have worn the crown.
Who thought the Miss America pageant would be a sign of progress? Certainly not Gloria Steinem.
Will it take seven Asian American Miss America's until Asian Americans are American as apple pie?
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