Since the movement started in 2018, #MeToo has not lost its relevance. While sexual violence can happen to anyone, it predominately affects women of color, and on November 14, 2024 the Arts Division and Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) at the University of California, Santa Cruz amplified that discrepancy by inviting two major voices in the movement to share their shocking personal stories. The event was part of the Arts Dean’s Lecture Series.
#MeToo Women of Color in the Arts featured two prominent women of color: Rowena Chiu and Drew Dixon, who were victims of film producer Harvey Weinstin and record executive Russell Simmons respectively, and have become vocal advocates on sexual assault. The two women’s stories were each highlighted in feature films She Said (2022) for Chiu and On the Road (2020) for Dixon. The Arts Division and ODEI hosted free screenings of the movies on November 8th as a lead-up to the event.
Chiu (in person) and Dixon (participating via Zoom) were joined on stage by members of the faculty including: Karlton Hester, a professor of Music and the Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Arts Division; Anju Reejhsinghani, the inaugural Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion; Lisa Marie Rollins, a professor of Performance, Play, and Design; and Yiman Wang, a professor of Film and Digital Media. All faculty panelists were people of color who play prominent roles in enacting and maintaining diversity on campus.
Dean of the Arts Division Celine Parreñas Shimizu, who has explored race and gender both in her books like The Hypersexuality of Race (2007) and her films such as Japanese American Racial Inheritance (2022), offered opening remarks for the event. She gave commentary on her own struggles as a woman of color in the arts, and not being taken seriously.
“Organizing this event has been extremely important to me,” said Parreñas Shimizu . “To lead as a woman of color means the guarantee that people belittle you no matter your pedigree, undermine you no matter your expertise and preparation, invalidate you no matter your beyond exceptional productivity. Yet the thing to do is not give them time nor regard nor dwelling in the house of your mind. Correct them, move on, achieve, and memorialize charting your own way of leading as you make the world change. Speak the lessons: when blocked, become braver. If you already lost, change the game to redefine leadership.”
Chiu and Dixon spent the first hour sharing their harrowing traumas experiencing sexual violence in the work place, which led to both of them leaving the entertainment industry. Chiu expanded on the 30-page non-disclosure agreement (NDA) she was forced to sign which included clauses that prohibited her from talking to any form of media including those not yet invented, allowed Harvey Weinstein to monitor her friends and family to ensure they didn’t know or share anything, and barred her from seeking legal counsel. Meanwhile, Dixon told her compelling story of a career derailed not once, but twice after she was later assaulted a second time by L.A. Reid, a record producer who served as president and CEO of Arista Records from 2000 to 2004.
The pair both put a heavy emphasis on the power held by their abusers, accentuating the way these men were seen as above all others in the ‘90s. Their attempts to go to the police or take legal action were thwarted time and time again both by prominent men in the industry, or by simply not being believed.
Senior Assistant Dean of the Arts, Stephanie Moore who attended, said about being there, “While it is easy to feel demoralized at this historical moment of full-scale attacks on women’s and LGBTQI rights – multiplied exponentially for people of color – events like #MeToo are exactly the antidote we all need. Rowena Chiu and Drew Dixon’s relentless activism is nothing short of a call to action to each of us.”
In exploring how sexual violence offers unique challenges to women of color, Dixon, who recognized her privilege as a light-skinned Black woman, also struggled with the idea of reporting a Black man. She emphasized the dilemma of dealing with how Black men in general are wrongly profiled in our society as predatory and violent, and she therefore worried that accusing Russell Simmons could ultimately have a greater backlash on innocent Black men. Dixon’s assault also occurred one week after the end of O.J. Simpson’s trial, which in many ways was seen as a victory for Black Americans who have experienced incarceration at disproportionate rates. Dixon recalled that it wasn’t until years later that she realized at that time that she was empathizing with O.J. while she should’ve been doing the same with Nicole Brown Simpson.
Reflecting on the importance of these speakers, Reejhsinghani said, “Our speakers bring so much wisdom and experience about the challenges that women of all backgrounds, particularly women of color, face as they move up at all levels of the arts industry.” Another attendee, Assistant Dean for Student Success and Chief of Staff, L. Esthela Bañuelos observed, “Drew Dixon’s assertion that ‘gravity is real’ was incredibly powerful. Drew said something like, you can’t expect to fly from a ten story building… Gravity is real. Sexism is real. Racism is real. Don’t think that you are exceptional to these forces. But you prepare for facing those structural issues. I went home and had a great conversation with my daughter about that – the importance of recognizing the structural forces that shape society even as you move toward dismantling those exclusionary forces. It’s a great way to help students understand how to prepare and succeed in our world.”
The speakers’ remarks were followed by questions from the faculty, and later the audience. Chiu and Dixon reflected on the #MeToo movement, especially in regard to questions about whether the movement had lost speed and what the future activism of the movement might include. Both women lamented that despite receiving praise in the late 2010s for raising their voices and being leaders in the movement, the past seven years had not held the same momentum. Both women have created biographical and fictional works covering the experiences of women of color who’ve faced sexual assault, but, so far, all of their projects have faced barriers to being produced.
“Their stories spur us to bring about a better future for all young visionaries, regardless of gender,” said Reejhsinghani. “We must model the worlds we hope to create, and through their stories of resilience and thriving, Drew and Rowena help us to do that.”
The #MeToo event ended with moving closing marks from Dean Celine who talked about the importance of events like this, and the need for donations to keep on-campus awareness going through the Arts Dean’s Lecture Series. “We want to keep making this happen, and bringing the greatest people here,” said Dean Celine. “More stories need to be told, including the hardest ones. Drew and Rowena emanate so much power and I want to bask in it.”