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Faith Andrews-O'Neal, a Columbia University Laidlaw Scholar, on popular culture, American divas and the importance of communication.

Research title: The American Diva by Deborah Paredez

The American Diva is a book project authored by ethnicity and race studies professor, artist, and feminist performance critic Deborah Paredez. It details the impact of American divas on American culture at large, whether that be via media representation, gender performance, or socio-political climates at the time. The project is rooted in Prof. Paredez’s life experiences growing up as a young Latina woman in Texas and the ways she interacted with these divas throughout her life, as the work is centred around divas of the modern era. American divas are largely under-researched and underrepresented in academia, as well as underappreciated in the American conversation for their vast impacts on culture and society as we, especially women, experience it.

Through the project, The American Diva is able to give a platform to people from Beyoncé to Rita Moreno, backed by the experiences Paredez gained. As such, I helped Prof. Paredez with creating a content calendar, as well as researching different podcasts and people to follow that represent what it means to be a diva in the modern internet age. While the work that women have done is being more and more appreciated within the public sphere, Paredez sought to add to that by centring her social media presence around those contributions to reach a non-academic base. As such, I researched specific divas, as well as what it means to be a diva in general, then summarized those contributions through a Gen-Z lens and utilized the language and vernacular that felt as though it could come from a professor but still appealed to a broader audience.

Where did your passion for this research originate?

I am someone who is very passionate about representation and giving not only acknowledgement but credence to marginalized voices. Divas, as they are understood in the American imagination, are largely women of colour who dare to take up space. The word is often connoted with negative attributes; to be a diva is to be difficult or arrogant. What Professor Paredez has done with her project is to centre these powerful women as cornerstone figures in modern American culture, and done so in a way that not only humanizes them but places herself and her experiences within this narrative.

My passion came from growing up as a Black woman and looking to these women and their art as inspiration and comfort; of walking to class listening to Beyoncé and Aretha Franklin and feeling a sense of protection over them and their stories and the right to take up space and demand to be treated with respect and dignity. The book project and being able to see some of the processes that went into it is something that also helped me understand my role within academia, something that has felt out of reach for as long as I can remember. Through the interweaving of personal narrative, prose, and poetry, Prof. Paredez created a body of work that I can see myself in and has inspired me to think about academic writing more broadly as I start thinking about my own senior thesis. 

What is the most memorable moment from your Laidlaw experience? 

The most memorable moment of my Laidlaw experience was definitely having the opportunity to lead a workshop on formations and experiences of race on a global scale. My workshop included other American students, French citizens, people from various countries in Africa, as well as two people who zoomed in from Egypt and India. To be able to share my own experiences and knowledge I’ve gained as an ethnicity and race studies major, as well as offer a listening ear to everyone else who lives in spaces much different than my own, was so exciting and informative.

There have been times when this topic has become so heated that it was very difficult for productive discourse to take place, but in the workshop, everyone was receptive and encouraging and there to learn and listen. I facilitated a discussion and offered knowledge about race that applies on a global scale, as well as offered the opportunity for others to share the ways in which their cultures are celebrated and then discuss the ways race does show up in all of our different societies, in a country where the very concept of race is seen as a non-issue.

What is the biggest challenge you came across, and what did you learn from it?

The biggest challenge I came across came in my first summer, during which I had surgery in the first week of my fellowship. I am someone who doesn't like asking for help or saying I am unable to do something. However, what I learned, which is a lifelong lesson I continually benefit from since then, is the idea of communication of my own bandwidth. This is something I am still working on, but the ability to set boundaries within myself and then work with my supervisors to ensure we are all on the same page has taught me an important lesson.

What does it mean for you to be a Laidlaw Scholar?

To be a Laidlaw Scholar means to be a part of a community of people who are globally minded and dedicated to using our academic resources to make the world a better place. It means having access to resources and people in so many different industries and working together to be the best leaders we can be in our respective spaces. Through workshops, research, and global community engagement, and our abilities to share what we have learned and the knowledge we have helped produce, we all walk away from our two years with a stronger grasp on the world around us and the ways in which we can help enact progress through service and intellect working in tandem.

Which leaders inspire you and why?

The leaders that inspire me the most are Dr. Angela Davis, and Toni Morrison. Both are Black women who are pioneers in their field, whether that is through social activism or telling stories of the people who did not have the chance to tell their own. In the summer before I came to Columbia in 2020, I read Davis’s “Are Prisons Obsolete?” while in quarantine, and it helped me better understand my own role in the period of mass social unrest happening all around me.

To see her as an elder who is still entirely dedicated to the movement for Black liberation serves as a daily inspiration to me, and every time I have the chance to come across her work in a class setting, I am constantly in awe of her ability to acknowledge a problem and identity solutions without being pedantic or leaning too heavily on theory. Her work helped me realize that critical thought, and expressions of that thought, can (and should) be accessible to everyone.

Toni Morrison’s written work, outside of being stunning prose, centres Black voices and the Black experience through weaving gorgeous narratives and using them to advocate against the injustices her characters face while still humanizing the people and stories that she is telling. 

Briefly describe a scene from the future you are striving to create.

In the future, I would like to live in, I exist in a walkable community in which the public has access to quality education, universal healthcare, healthy food, and spaces for recreation. When existing in these spaces, I am friends with my neighbours and my loved ones, and I feel safe no matter the time of day or night. At the end of the day, we watch TV, and the shows we see have people that look like us without feeding into stereotypes and trauma, and we go to sleep in a home that is affordable in a neighbourhood that is diverse. The future I would like to help create is not one that is so out of reach and is a reality in many places around the world to an extent, but I would like it to be a global and universal truth.

Something personal to add

If you find yourself in Paris, I highly recommend checking out Serve the City! They are an amazing place to engage in community service and meet people from all over the world.

Quick-fire Questions

📺 Currently binging: Gossip Girl

📚 My top book recommendation: All About Love by Bell Hooks

🎵 My current anthem is: Church Girl by Beyonce

 🎧 Podcast obsessions: The Dissect Podcast

🌈 Something that made me feel joy recently: My roommate brought us Macarons last night, and we ate them and watched TV together!