Lizzle Q. Singian

Polarized society ignores other races

When two races dominate the limelight and attention, other enthnicities often fail to become noticed by the media and the masses of America

am not white, and I am not black.
I am Filipino. Teresa is Latina. Naveed is Indian. Santiago is Spanish. Greg is Armenian. Tony is Chinese.
Together, we "non-whites" and "non-blacks" make up almost half of the undergraduate population at USC.
Give us some role models. Give us people to look up to--people we can identify with.
This month is Black History Month. It is a celebration of African Americans, of their contributions to America and of the black experience.
This month we also celebrate the birthdays of great American presidents Abraham Lincoln and George Washington.
I think it's great to have a Black History Month and holidays to honor our most important presidents.
This month, both black and white children will prepare oral presentations on famous men and women they look up to and are inspired by.
I'd like to know who my seventh-grade brother will pick. Martin Luther King, Jr. or Abraham Lincoln? Along with the fact that there is no way he will ever be able to resemble them, how well will he be able to identify with them?
We are the Asians, Latinos, Native Americans and others. Where are we in the public spectrum? How recognizable are we?
We hardly appear in American history textbooks. But every one of them includes Thomas Jefferson and Booker T. Washington.
You won't see many of us endorsing Nike or Pepsi, like Troy Aikman and Michael Jordan. The only "small" minority sports figure endorsement I can think of is Kristi Yamaguchi in a contact lens advertisement.
Movies still portray predominantly black and white characters. Tom Cruise and Denzel Washington seem to land all of the major roles.
Heck, we can't even make it into the controversy spotlight. In both the criminal and civil trials of O.J. Simpson, all of the "main characters,"--the lawyers (Johnnie Cochran and Marcia Clark), the victims (Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman) and the defendant (O.J. Simpson)--were black or white. The judges, playing the neutral role, were both Japanese.
The problem, I think, lies in what the historians, the corporate executives, the movie producers and the media all perceive to be public demand.
I remember one sitcom about a Korean family, All-American Girl, which ran for one season. I thought Margaret Cho was hilarious, and so did many of my friends.
But before I could even thank ABC for finally adding diversity to its prime-time lineup, the station pulled the plug. The early television ratings weren't convincing enough to make it continue another season.
Life can be so unfair.
Back in elementary school I remember sitting around one day, listening to a black classmate complain about how the only shows about black people were comedies making fun of their culture.
In defense, the white kids would lash back with claims that things were indeed equal between blacks and whites and that they were sick of others complaining that things were not. This argument continued for about an hour.
I got so sick of the fighting that I screamed, "At least you have your comedies! At least you're on TV! How many Asian TV shows do you see? That's right--none!" I was angry. I was crying.
Their argument seemed so trivial to me at that young age. I had a brother who was 2 years old. Why couldn't there be an Asian guy on TV who he could look up to? Why are there no comedies about Latino families?
Looking back at that experience, I now understand why my black classmate had a right to complain. Today the argument continues about how black people barely have a foot in the door of a society dominated by white culture.
Well, at least they have that foot in the door. Everyone else just gets to sit and watch.
The American public spectrum is seriously lacking diversity.
Yes, Kim Basinger, Nicole Kidman, Vanessa Williams and Halle Berry are very beautiful. But beauty isn't just black and white.
It's only recently that we see trickles of the likes of Tia Carrere and Salma Hayek. That trickle needs to become a downpour.
Movies with Antonio Banderas need to be seen. Books by Amy Tan need to be read. Songs by Selena need to be listened to. Our political representatives should reflect our society's diversity.
Movie producers, corporate executives and the media need to recognize that Asian Americans, Latin Americans and other minority groups are as much a part of American society as are Europeans and African Americans.
America is historically a country made up of immigrants--a natural melting pot. Other than the descendants of Native Americans, everyone here has an ancestor who came off a boat.
Why must everything be either black or white? Can't it be brown, yellow and red as well? I want my children to grow up with famous Asians they can look up to and relate with.
It is time we move away from black and white. It is time to add some color to our society.

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Lizzle Q. Singian is a sophomore majoring in international relations and psychology.