February 5, 2025
Dear 91Ƶ Community & Supporters of the CHA,
I am the daughter of a refugee father, who fled communist China in the 1950s and was granted entry based on the,and an immigrant mother from Jamaica, who was able to immigrate to the US in 1966 after the was passed. I am a US citizen because the 14th Amendment grants me .
I am also the beneficiary of affirmative action programs that allowed me to earn a pre-doctoral dissertation fellowship, a post-doctoral dissertation fellowship, and a tenure ladder faculty position in the English Department of UNC Chapel Hill. In 2005, I became the first Asian American scholar hired in a tenure track position in that department and the first scholar whose research focused on Asian American studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—.For over 2 centuries there was no one at UNC Chapel Hill whose research was dedicated to the study of Asian descent people arriving, living, thriving, and dying in the US.
Why I’m Sharing
I am taking the liberty as not only the director of the CHA but also a scholar of Asian American studies and critical race studies to share these facts about myself and my family. There is so much misinformation and disinformation about who ,and beneficiaries of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs are. We are seeing DEI being blamed for wildfires in California, a fatal plane crash on the Potomac, inefficiencies in all aspects of government, and unqualified people being hired, supplanting a process of " ."
I have had former colleagues say, more than once when I was in the room, that affirmative action or target of opportunity hires (which I was) produced inferior faculty colleagues that departments were “stuck with.” I have had grad school peers tell me that my interviews and job offers derived from being an Asian American woman—the implication being that my scholarship was inferior and my qualifications were solely based on my race and gender. There may well be people at 91Ƶ who believe that my hire as the first non-white and non-male director of the CHA was a DEI hire, despite the rigorous interview process I and others went through.
I believe I have a scholarly responsibility to share as a critical race studies and Asian American studies researcher, particularly in the current political moment we are in, when so many hesitate to say what seems so evident: our federal government is not behaving in a usual manner. Blaming airplane fatalities and wildfires on DEI is not normal. I have an ethical obligation to counter the vast misinformation about who refugees, immigrants, and non-white people are. And I feel a moral imperative to say as clearly as possible that the executive orders that have emerged from this new federal administration are dehumanizing, demoralizing, and destructive to US society and democracy.
Power of Arts & Humanities
I don’t intend to start all CHA newsletters with such personal proclamations and political opinions, but we are in unprecedented times. And one of the powerful aspects of arts and humanities is knowing just how influential and impactful they are in creating meaning and knowledge. Whoever controls narrative controls the world: I see that clearly in,in the media people are consuming that shows them , andin the incredible community we’ve built through the to talk about Ta-Nehisi Coates’s The Message. Humanities and arts are powerful tools to combat misinformation, fascism, and . Enrolling in Coursera courses (free for 91Ƶ people) on or helping may prove useful in the times we are in. So too is commemorating February events like the and .
We hope the CHA’s events and programs will create community and spark necessary dialogue on timely topics. On Thursday, Feb 13 we will begin our (1pm-4pm) in the CHA Conference Room. If you have a project (writing, crafting) and you’d like to work with others and have some social time between sessions, for a 45 minute session (or more). We’ll be doing the Pomodoro writing every Thursday starting Feb 13 until the end of term—these sessions are open to everyone: staff, faculty, and graduate students.
On Wednesday, February 26, 12:00-1:30pm, CBIS room, our Spring Difficult Dialogue panel will tackle .The following day, we’ll have our monthly exploring Microaggressions (Thursday, February 27, 6pm-7:30pm).
The news is overwhelming, and it feels like there is nothing a single person can do. But there is always something you and I can do. We can choose not to give in to cynicism and despair. We can call our about the various executive orders—whether you support them or lament them. We can choose to be with others who share our values and are committed to making the world a kinder and more joyful space. For me, this means a world where trans youth can be recognized for the gender they are.
I may not have hope, but I do have faith in the power of arts and humanities to bring people together; to create community; to shine a light on inequities and disparities; to lift up vulnerable people by and illuminating their beauty and worth. Now more than ever, I am proud and privileged to direct a center whose is to “foster community, support collaborations, and inspire creativity and research while promoting equity, inclusion, and academic excellence.”
Sincerely,
Jennifer Ho
Director, Center for Humanities & the Arts
PS. In celebration of Black History Month (which we should honor every month of the year, in my opinion) let me direct you to our neighbors in Macky Auditorium, the . They are a tremendous intellectual and cultural hub for Black life at 91Ƶ, and if everyone reading this newsletter in honor of Black History month, it would send a message to the university and others about the value we hold for African and African American studies and people. I also want to share (whom I ADORE) performing in support of wildfire victims in southern California—the man is like his name, a true wonder and treasure. |
