Below the Median Income by Lesley Payne

June 19, 2020 Installation Audio Components

Hello, my name is Lesley Payne. Welcome to Below the Median Income.

The land on which we gather is the traditional lands of: Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma, Meskwaki Nation: Sac & Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa, and the Sioux People. We pay our respect to elders both past and present.

Below the Median Income was inspired by two quotes: “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” from entrepreneur, author, and motivational speaker Jim Rohn; and on March 12, 2018, Director Joshua V. Barr Esq. of the Des Moines Civil and Human Rights Commission said, “We have seventy-five percent of students experiencing some form of poverty in Des Moines Public Schools, so what can we do to improve that outlook? Research has shown that if a person remains in an impoverished condition up through their adolescent years they are more likely to remain in that position as they become older and become adults.”

These quotes and the information related to them evolved into an art installation of visual and audio components to place the visitor outside the space they routinely travel. The audio components are interview recordings obtained from people involved with public or non-profit organizations. The interviews tell the visitor about where that person routinely travels. The installation contrasts Des Moines ranking as a “Best in Nation” place to live, “Iowa nice” reputation of being overly friendly and go out of our way to help fellow citizens, and the visitors’ personal story.

During the making of the Day One audio, I decided to follow the saying: “don’t ask someone to do something you aren’t willing to do yourself”.

To begin, I was born and raised in Iowa. I moved to a suburb of Des Moines in December 2004 for a job after college. It was overwhelming being in an unfamiliar area. Getting from place to place could be a challenge. It’s a lot easier now with cell phone navigation.

I lived in Des Moines city limits two of the past 14 years in the metro area. My experience of the city during that time was not very exciting. I was balancing creative interests, a 40-hour a week job, and paying down student loans. My first impression of people in Des Moines is limited because of those things.

I have stayed in the metro area because I think it has the best variety of things to do in Iowa. It’s close, but not too close to my family.

When I walk outside the place I live, I see a row of bushes, to my left, further out is a lot of trees blocking my view of the neighbors house to the south, the front yard slopes down to meet the road. As I turn to my right I see the neighbors houses across the street, grass, trees, mailbox, and the end of the street. I hear vehicles, crickets, little dogs barking, cicadas, and once in awhile birds singing. I live in a house on a dead end road with 11 other houses. I regularly waive at people that live in 5 of them. The people in the other six houses have never seemed interested in waiving at me or acknowledging when I waive at them.

If I am going somewhere, I get there by driving my car or as a passenger in someone else’s car. I have used DART, which is Des Moines Area Regional Transit. It was for a week in 2006 when my car decided it didn’t want to start. I made my first car purchase with a down payment and bank loan that weekend.

My schedule Monday to Friday varies. Three or four days, I work 7 ½ hours for someone else in Des Moines. I am volunteering one day a week to see if I can meet new people and put this project together. If I have the other day to myself, it is probably because I am going to an event of interest, half of them are in Des Moines city limits.

My weekends include: visiting family, more events of interest, making art. Stuff that is an option any day of the week: walking my dogs, reading, making art, boring life stuff like: yard work, dishes, laundry, making food, occasionally binge watching tv. Ozarks season 2 on Netflix took a chunk out of my Labor Day weekend.

I buy groceries at Hy-Vee on Merle Hay Rd. I pay for them with my debit card. Occasionally, I use my credit card if the amount owed is more than and the amount available in my bank account. If I need something that is not grocery related, I usually go to a big box store.

If I were to get sick, I would have to look up which medical doctor I can go to. I have health insurance through healthcare.gov, but I try to only use it for things that are covered. My deductible is depressingly high. If it was a serious emergency, I’d probably call 911. I have never had to do that before.

I do vote in national elections, usually the presidential years. I participated in Iowa caucuses for the first time in 2016. It was interesting, mostly standing and waiting. My favorite part was that it was held in Simpson Barn. No, it does not have animals. It is an old barn, but it’s used for event rental now. I did vote for the first time in state primary elections on June 6, 2018.

The trait I admire most in the people closest to me is humor. I prefer laughing to crying to deal with stress.

Success for me is earning an income from art to cover basic needs and some bucket list adventures.

Something that motivates me is this project. It is exciting to put small pieces together and see how it grows and it can continue.

(7:33) Day 8: Davonte

My guest for Day Eight is Davonte. He participated in Movement515, a program offered to students in Des Moines Public Schools. Students and mentors attempt to slow down the world and investigate themselves. They work toward becoming change agents, shedding light on the impact human emotion and connection brings to the global community. Movement515 is an urban arts community where, twice a week, students and mentors come together to create spoken word poetry. Thank you for joining me Davonte. What neighborhood of Des Moines do you live in?

Davonte: Highland Park/Oak Park area

Who do you live with?

Davonte: I live with my mother and my niece moved in with us early this year, so she’s still in high school.

Finish the sentence: When I step outside the place I live I see…

Davonte: not what I want to.

What do you want to see?

Davonte: picket fences, big houses, people actually outside and not peeking through their blinds. I want something that feels friendly.

What public schools did you attend in Des Moines?

Davonte: I went to Madison Elementary, Harding Middle School, and North High School.

Do you go to college in the area?

Davonte: I did attend DMACC (Des Moines Area Community College) the year after I graduated for the first semester. I really didn’t like it. One because, I went to DMACC Ankeny, and I thought being close to home it would still give me kind of a vibe that I am used to. I was trying to avoid the white college experience, and I noticed that as soon I got there it was the same thing. I felt like I was miles from home, even though I was like literally down the street. My Professors would be openly prejudice in front of me. I didn’t feel comfortable, and I ended up dropping out.

Is there somewhere you want to go to school in Iowa?

Davonte: Right now, I am pretty much doing what I want to do, but still on the smaller scale. I want to eventually be able to do more in Movement515, where this is not just a part time thing. It is a full time, where I can actually sustain a living off it, so right now; I am just trying to figure out how I can get more involved.

How do you get from place to place?

Davonte: I drive

Was DART (Des Moines Area Rapid Transit) ever your primary transportation?

Davonte: In middle school and early high school.

Did you go more than just to and from school on it (DART)?

Davonte: I normally walked to school, but it was like going to friends’ houses, close by events, (and) workshops. It was all through bus.

Did you notice a difference when you were able to get your first car?

Davonte: Yea, I didn’t get my first car until my senior year, so it’s a completely different world.

When is the last time you asked for help?

Davonte: Too long ago. Honestly the last time I asked for help would probably have been more towards like the middle of summer. I had just bought a brand new car, and then we had that flood. My car got hit by the flood, and it was only two weeks old. And so, like, I really needed help financially. Asking my mom for that was really hard because like as soon as I got a job I stopped asking my mom for anything. Everything I wanted, I tried to get myself. She would do things like a mother on her own, but asking for help and trying to really figure out what to do after that was hard.

Do you volunteer your time?

Davonte: I do when I can. My mom is really into donating to homeless shelters and stuff, so she puts to go bags and stuff like that and often brings food for homeless people, and she doesn’t normally take it to the shelters. She goes out in the community and directly handing it to people in need, and I have helped her with that before.

Do you go to church or have any kind of religious practice?

Davonte: I would consider myself more spiritual. Through my own family, that are very bible heavy, I see that they are more judgmental, and other things like that, and I try to stay away from that. What’s pushed me away from that is their belief and how they believe in the bible.

What do you like to do in your free time?

Davonte: Writing and helping my niece write, is really something I am interested in.

What’s something you do for yourself?

Davonte: Get haircuts (laughs) that’s what I do for myself, and mainly hair stuff. My hair grows really fast and it gets frizzy really quick, so I have to get my hair done every two weeks.

What trait do you admire most in the people closest to you?

Davonte: How much they love unconditionally, my mom and my girlfriend specifically, like are people who have seen some of the worst things, but continue to love through it all. And like, unconditional love, where like, me looking at it: Is like why are you still giving somebody so much positive energy when they have never given it back to you. That’s something I try to learn from them.

How did you find out about Movement515?

Davonte: I had Ms. Lang as a Drama teacher from 6th grade to 8th grade, and my 8th grade year they asked me to do this program it was called Minorities on the Move. I had no idea what it was, I was like so confused. They just told me it was a leadership, history, hip-hop, mix, and I was just like: I don’t have anything better to do, I guess I’ll go. One of my really good friends, Julio, was doing it as well, so when he said he was doing I was like fine, I guess, I’ll have someone at least else to go through it with me. Literally, the first day, they showed us this poem by Kia Davis, and I lost my mind. I was like: I need this! Everything about whatcha y’all are doing is so dope, and I need to be apart of it.

What opportunities did being involved with Movement515 give you when you were a student participating in the program?

Davonte: I got to go to Chicago for Brave New Voices, which is an international poetry festival. I think that was 8th grade. I performed in front of the Mayor. I have travelled tons. I have done a bunch of paid performances, performed in front of the School Board.

What opportunities have come up for you since you graduated and are participating as a Poet Mentor?

Davonte: I opened for, it’s like a, Mayor of poetry for Iowa, I don’t really know. I forgot what the name of it was because I had never heard of it before I did it, but I got to perform, I got to open for her.

The middle school opportunity was first for graduated students and alumni of the program, so doing that, and working at Harding Middle School, which was the school that I started the program in, and now teaching those kids. Helping mentor the high schoolers and stuff has really been a big thing, cause, when I was in there place, I didn’t have anyone to ask because there was no one above us. There was no one to talk to like..

There wasn’t someone between students and the teacher. The teacher has got….

Davonte: Yea..

It was regular classes plus their extra-curricular

Davonte: Exactly (laughs) and now being like that middle for those kids, and like how like they come to us and like when they send poems and they are like: I don’t know what to do, I am freaking out, like the slam is right around the corner; and like being able to talk them through that, and just like work with them. How this impacted me when I was younger and now how I impact other people, is just insane, it’s a constant cycle. Those kids want to get involved. They want to take over my position, and they want to help kids do exactly what I’m doing, like it’s just an endless cycle of opportunities and doors constantly are opening. As long as you’re asking for it, if you talk to them and you want to do more, they will give you more.

Movement515 is part of RunDSM, did you do any of the like Urban Leadership?

Davonte: Yea, I took… I was in the first two years of both those: Urban Leadership 101 and 102.

What was you biggest take away from those classes?

Davonte: Creating Teen Summit, which is like, a miniaturized version of Brave New Voices, but we do it at Drake and at the Des Moines Social Club. We do different Town Halls about social issues, doing the research to create a whole Town Hall for kids to openly talk about a topic, but not be offended, but still get their deepest feelings out, was like a huge challenge, because how do you get people to feel safe around strangers? I feel like it’s been so successful, and we are actually coming up on our, I think sixth Teen Summit, so I feel like we are doing the right thing.

Do you think you interact differently with people since you’ve gone through Movement515?

Davonte: Ah, (scoffs) yea (laughing), I’m more open to other people’s feelings. I’m more conscious of it. I’m looking for it more. Before the program, I would say I was kind of selfish, and like, caring about only myself really, and when you see how like somebody else who has no idea who you are, and deals with another 200 and some kids. But like, they take their time out of the day to show you an album or like show that they care…is…is different. It changes your thinking, and puts you in a place of reflection, and how do I treat others, like this guy, who I don’t even know, has literally done so much, like it feels like he’s breaking his back for one specific person, but he is helping everybody, so you have to like open your mind to that.

What motivates you?

Davonte: In high school, I would have said being better than my Dad because my Dad’s been in and out of prison my whole life, jail and all that. My goal has always been to be better than him, but lately it’s just been to better my self each year.

(18:49) Day 14: Marlú Abarca

My guest for Day Fourteen is Marlú Abarca. She is the Vice Chair of the Latino Affairs Commission, a part of the Office of Latino Affairs, which streamlines access to services offered by the State of Iowa. The commission is made up of seven Governor-appointed community members who volunteer their time to represent the Latino community in Iowa. During the week, you might find her working as a Bilingual Services Library Assistant in the Des Moines Public Libraries. Through her position, she ensures that the Library is a welcoming environment that engages the community, celebrates culture, and promotes literacy. Thank you for joining me Marlú. What neighborhood of Des Moines do you live in?

Marlú: I live North of Grand.

Who do you live with?

Marlú: My cat named Monkey.

Finish the sentence: When I step outside the place I live I see…

Marlú: medical students crossing the street and people in a hurry to get to work.

When I step outside the place I live I hear…

Marlú: traffic and surprisingly birds.

Where did you grow up?

Marlú: In Hollywood, California.

What languages do you know?

Marlú: Spanish is my first, English, Portuguese, and I’m learning German.

When did you learn English?

Marlú: When I was five years old in kindergarten.

Did you take ESL (English Second Language) classes all the way through high school?

Marlú: I was in ESL up until I tested out in the fourth grade.

What made you want to use you said German and Portuguese. What made you want to learn those two?

Marlú: As I was learning about Latin America in college, I realized that there were so many other different cultures within Latin America. I learned a little bit about Brazil, and I was fascinated with the country and the history, so I decided I wanted to learn Portuguese and maybe visit someday.

How did you get to Iowa?

Marlú: I got to Iowa in 2010, to attend Grinnell College.

What made you pick Grinnell College from California?

Marlú: Yea, I knew I that I was interested in attending a small liberal arts college and in my research with my college counselor in high school, Grinnell seemed like a place that I would enjoy just because of it’s rich history in social justice movements.

What was your first impression of Iowa?

Marlú: That it was the most green I’ve ever seen in my life (laughing).

What made you want to stay in Iowa?

Marlú: The people.

Describe a typical weekday.

Marlú: I will probably get up around 7:30 to 8:00 am and then get up, get ready so I can get to work by 9:00 am. Usually will work a few hours on the desk, providing sometime type of bi-lingual customer service at the East side Library. During my lunch hour, I usually will read a book, or I’ll practice German or Portuguese on Duolingo, which is a cool app that you can get for free. Or I’ll spend it answering emails from the other things that I do outside work. I usually get off work around 6 (pm), and then I will have a Board meeting or some project I’m working on or something. I’ll head home to have dinner and watch a movie, but three days out of the week, when I don’t go to sleep after watching a movie, I work part-time at a bi-lingual radio station. So I’ll do that for a few hours.

One of the core values of the Des Moines Public Library is to focus on their customers’ diverse needs and wants. What challenges do you face working as a Bi-lingual Services Library Assistant?

Marlú: There are different challenges, firstly, when I first started the position, a little over two years ago, I realized that the Latino community and the Spanish speaking community in general wasn’t coming to the library because they didn’t see themselves in the staff. There are very few people of color that work at the library and an almost inexistent number of that speak Spanish, so what happens is that people come into these spaces feeling like it’s not for them, like they don’t belong. I don’t believe that anyone ever was told you don’t belong here, but there are ways that you can show someone that you don’t want them there that doesn’t include words. When I first joined the Library staff full-time, I realized that there are a lot of things systemically that we could do to make the Library more accessible and more welcoming. Growing the Spanish language collection, and showing that we care about folks who speak Spanish and that we encourage bilingualism because it has so many benefits. That was a big barrier for a lot of people who want to be in these spaces, is that, there’s nothing for them here. We didn’t have programs that were in Spanish, for example, but I see now that so many other Library systems are realizing that, and they don’t want to keep anyone away, partly for their own livelihood and longevity. They know that the population in Iowa is changing, and there are more and more people who are growing up here who are bilingual and interested in learning different languages, and so it’s important to sustain that patronship and to develop in these younger generations that look and sound different.

Describe a typical weekend.

Marlú: When it’s not my Saturday to work at the Library since we all rotate which weekend we work. The Library stays open on weekends. I will probably sleep in, and I might go to the gym, go to a Zumba class at the downtown Y(MCA) that’s at 10 (am). I’ll probably go and get a slice of pizza at Costco while I do grocery shopping. If it’s a Sunday, I’ll get Menudo, which is like this delicious tripe soup from Mexico.

Do you vote in elections?

Marlú: Yes, I vote in every election if I’m able to.

Why is it important to you?

Marlú: I think about my family. My mom did not become a citizen until 2017, and for her to not be able to voice her values and her opinions, in the way that I have the privilege to because I was born in the U.S. was really important to me. Whenever I have an opportunity to vote on something whether it’s a special election, or local election, or a national one, then I take that civic duty very seriously.

What motivates you?

Marlú: My family and my families journey for sure.

Where is your family originally from?

Marlú: Both of my parents were born in Mexico.

Do you know how they travelled from Mexico to the United States?

Marlú: My dad came on a Visa. He arrived in California and was a farmworker. After a certain time, my understanding is that he had the opportunity to apply for a Green card. Sometime later, before I was born, he applied for citizenship, so I grew up watching him vote. I think that was a huge influence on me too.

My mom was undocumented until she married my dad and then a few years later is when she applied for her permanent residence, but it had been something that was just in accessible due to price. It wasn’t until last year, when I had told her that I wanted to pay for her application, which is almost $700 that she said that: yes, it was a step she wanted to take.

Do you follow a religious practice or go to a place of worship?

Marlú: I stopped going to church about a year ago. I identify as agnostic currently, and it’s because I have an open mind, and I’ve also studied a lot of religion. I grew up in a Catholic church and then switched over to a Lutheran church and then actually a nondenominational church, several of them, Baptist church (laughing), and most recently a United Methodist church. All of which I’ve found rejects some part of my identity, and I’ve lived a life full of, like, shame and guilty. I realized a few years ago that I didn’t want to live that way, and that it’s not really a concern of mine what happens to me after I die. It’s not a concern for me whether there is a heaven or not, and I want to focus my life on is making sure other people get to be as comfortable as I am while we’re alive.

How has volunteering your time made an impact on your life?

Marlú: It’s hard to date (laughing). I’m currently single, and I have been seeing someone for a couple of months, but we met on a dating app. We realized very recently that we would’ve never met, if it had not been for that app because our circles would’ve never crossed. We are in different fields of work and live in different parts of the metro area, so yea, volunteering is very…it brings me a lot of joy and satisfaction, so I wouldn’t change that for anything. So, I’m glad that there are dating apps out there (laughing).

What do you do for yourself?

Marlú: I like to go out dancing. Des Moines surprisingly has a really big salsa scene and so I have a few friends that have bands here in Des Moines. I like to go watch them play. They have, like, monthly nights at different bars around town. I also like to travel, nothing International, I haven’t done that in a long time, but I like to travel for music festivals both in English and in Spanish.

What trait do you admire most in the people closest to you?

Marlú: I would say resilience. I have friends who have had enough reasons to either give up or to just live a comfortable life and not worry about anybody else around them. They have all shown resiliency, and have put themselves and even risked their triggering traumas just so they can give others opportunities too.

How did you find out about the Office of Latino Affairs?

Marlú: It was 2016, early 2016 I want to say, and Sonia Reyes-Snyder, who’s the acting Officer for the state of Latino Affairs was hosting a table with another woman from the Department of Human Rights at the Leadership Institute that I was apart of. It was the Latino Leadership Initiative. I walked around to different info tables, and I talked to them and they said that there were over a 100 different Boards, Commissions, and Councils that the Governor appoints people to every year and there were openings for the Latino Affairs one. I’d never heard of it; I’d never met anybody who was a part of it. So, I applied, I was 23 at the time. I applied not thinking that anything was going to happen because I was young and I didn’t think that anyone cared what I had to say, but you fill out a form application, you write several essays, send in a resume and a few months later I received an email from the Office of the Governor. It listed under Latino Affairs Commission, my name and two other new Board members. I thought that was the coolest thing ever (laughs).

What work have you enjoyed most as a Commissioner for the Office of Latino Affairs?

Marlú: That’s a hard question. We’ve done a really really good amount of fun things. My favorite thing was probably the Latino Hall of Fame. I remember being at a coffee shop with Sonia, and we were just talking about kind of lack of moral in the community. There had been an increase in raids here in Des Moines, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) raids, and we were thinking about how we can increase moral, but also teach people that it’s okay to celebrate your own culture and to celebrate people in the community. So we said: what about having a Latino Hall of Fame? (laughing) I had never done anything to that scale before, even though I’d planned, you know, events since I was in college and high school and all that, but we had a great team on the Commission and had a bunch of support from the community.

What challenges do you see that the Latino community faces with your work for the Office of Latino Affairs?

Marlú: There’s several. I don’t want to call it a crisis, but within identities, are second generations of Latinos that live in Iowa. There’s a difficult in understanding and also trying to fit into Iowa culture, as someone of Latino heritage and decent. What I mean by that is for first generation Iowans, no matter what the age, you know, there is a process of learning and adoption of culture while trying to keep your own roots alive and thriving. For second and third generation Iowans that are Latino, what I’ve noticed is that there’s also this idea that not only is there pressure from the main stream Anglo community to be more Americanized, which means more White. There’s also a side from the Latino part that shames you if you don’t speak Spanish, which is not even Latino’s native tongue, you know, (laughing) that’s a different subject, but there’s a lot of shaming in not being able to have those roots connected to your culture. That part resonates with me because I realized in moving here and working with these communities that I have a lot of privilege in having grown up knowing and actively proudly fiercely celebrating my roots, in every language that I speak. Growing up in California, sixty-five percent of the state currently is some type of Latino, with different countries represented, with that I didn’t realize how much of a privilege that was and how that also affords you some cultural capital here too.

(35:00) Day 25: Morgan Nicole

My guest for Day 25 is Morgan Nicole. She is a student and active advocate for anti-racism with The #PaintitBlack Project at Drake University. The University was founded in 1881 to provide a learning environment open to all without distinction of gender, religion, or race. Thank you for joining me Morgan Nicole. What neighborhood of Des Moines do you live in?

Morgan Nicole: I live in the Drake neighborhood.

Who do you live with?

Morgan Nicole: I’m currently a Resident Assistant in a first year residence hall, so I live with a lot of first years and my own hall staff.

Finish the sentence: When I step outside the place I live I see…

Morgan Nicole: a city that…..has a long way to go.

When I step outside the place I live I hear…

Morgan Nicole: laughter cause despite everything that’s going on in the world right now, I’d like to think that people would still take the time to smile, laugh, and you know, share in the good things that are going on.

What languages do you know?

Morgan Nicole: English(laughing) and then I’ve been learning Spanish since I was about ten years old. I went to a language immersion middle school. I’ve been still taking it in college as well, and I’m also.…I just started learning Arabic.

What made you want to learn Arabic?

Morgan Nicole: I’m an international relations major so part of my studies is focusing on Middle Eastern countries, Middle Eastern cultures, so I thought Arabic was kind of a natural (to) go along with that.

How do you get from place to place?

Morgan Nicole: Here in Des Moines, I don’t really leave campus much, but when I do, I usually take the D.A.R.T (Des Moines Area Rapid Transit) bus. Depending on where I’m going, I might take an Uber, but a lot of my friends have cars on campus, so depending on where were going we often carpool.

Where did you grow up?

Morgan Nicole: I grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, more towards the Menomonee Falls area of Milwaukee, which kinda differs from the inner city of Milwaukee where I went to school at, and where I spent most of my time. Milwaukee is a great city to live in, but it is very segregated and that’s just kind of a result of, you know, gentrification, redlining, that kind of thing, but it is the place that I call home.

In 1935, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board created the Home Owners' Loan Corporation, an entity sponsored by the Federal government, to look at Des Moines and 238 other cities. They were tasked with creating residential maps to indicate the level of security for real-estate investments in each surveyed city. On the maps were 4 areas —those considered desirable for lending purposes—were outlined in green and known as "Grade A: Best”. Neighborhoods, outlined in blue, were known as “Grade B: Still Desirable", whereas older areas known as "Grade C: Definitely Declining" were outlined in yellow. The lowest rated areas were outlined in red and labeled "Grade D: Hazardous”. These decisions were arbitrarily based on the area’s racial composition rather than income levels. The sociologist, John McKnight, coined the term “redlining” to describe this discriminatory practice in the 1960s. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968, theoretically outlawed redlining; however, its impact is still seen today.

Do you follow a religious practice or attend a place of worship?

Morgan Nicole: I grew up in a Christian household, but I don’t necessarily consider myself super religious. Um.. I’m very…I’m a very spiritual individual, but you know, that’s kinda a very personal journey that I am still figuring out.

What trait do you admire most in the people closest to you?

Morgan Nicole: Wow! Um… I definitely think that I’ve noticed that the people who are closest in my life, they are very strong willed individuals. They are so…kinda just determined to do whatever they are doing, and I think that’s really great because I…I think that’s one of the qualities that I admire most about myself is my ability to kinda hone in and focus on one area of my life, and just you know, give my all into it. I think they are just that, and they are extremely loving and caring individuals. They have some of the biggest hearts that I’ve ever come across.

What motivates you?

Morgan Nicole: I’m very motivated by the people in my life that I have lost and who sadly aren’t around anymore because I feel like I owe it to them to be something and to do something that’s worth mentioning and worth other people kinda modeling after. So I think that, you know like I said with my whole career thing in International Relations, I kinda of use that as, you know, have the biggest impact that you can on the most amount of people, so that, you know, the people that I have who aren’t here are proud and can feel that they did something good by impacting me to do that.

How did you find out about Des Moines?

Morgan Nicole: Well, I never really knew much about Des Moines at all, up until my Senior year of high school, in like, December when I randomly decided: Hey! I think I am going to Drake. That was the first time actually I ever mentioned, had even heard about Drake University from a guidance counselor who her son actually happened to have the same major and wanted to come to Drake, and so I came down for a tour in January, and I came around the city, came around the campus and I loved it. It kinda modeled Milwaukee a little bit, in the way that there are very, like, tight knit pockets of community and it’s relatively diverse, although Milwaukee is fairly segregated, and although I have seen remnants of that in the Des Moines community, I do think that it’s growing in a way that is more positive and in a way that is more focused on community, and I’m excited to see that and be a part of that.

What was your first impression?

Morgan Nicole: You know I thought Iowa was like all corn fields (laughing), sadly that’s like a huge stereotype that people have about Wisconsin too. I was fairly surprised, I was like okay, you know, this is different, a bit of a culture shock especially within the whole Drake bubble, you know, coming from a high school that’s largely a black population and coming from a city that has a high minority population of people of color.

Undergraduate domestic student demographics at Drake University for the 2018-2019 school year was 81% white, 6% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 5% Black, and 3% identifying as two or more ethnicities.

Do you vote in elections?

Morgan Nicole: Yes

Which ones? Local, national?

Morgan Nicole: Both, I actually just became of legal age to vote about a year ago….um, so yea, I actually am only registered to vote in Iowa.

Why is it important to vote?

Morgan Nicole: It’s part of our duty as American citizens to share our opinions and also to elect individuals who can fight for the causes that we believe in, and regardless of what side of the aisle you are on, I think it’s very important that you use your right to make a difference no matter what way in which you think you are making that difference.

What is something you do for yourself?

Morgan Nicole: I definitely don’t do enough for myself; I will say that, I’m always very stretched way too thin. When I do get the time to do things for myself, sleeping is one of them. I love to write. I am a kinda self-titled spoken word artist, I guess you would say, so I use that time to reflect and write about issues that I face, issues that other people face, and just use it as a way to express my creativity and myself.

How has volunteering your time changed your outlook?

Morgan Nicole: With my work with Movement515, working at Hillis Elementary School last year, I think that showed me a lot of respect for teachers for one because I was put in the position to guide students and help them learn something and that definitely shaped my outlook on how integral and vital teachers are to making this world what it is. It also gave me a new respect for the younger generation, which is kinda weird for me saying that considering I am eighteen years old, but kids younger than me they are so receptive and so intuitive. These are some of the smartest kids I’ve ever come across in my entire life. They are so far beyond their years. They’re able to have real conversations about real issues that they face and real issues that other people face in this world, and I think that’s extremely important.

When is a time you asked for help?

Morgan Nicole: I definitely think that’s one of the things I need to work on is asking for help and reaching out when I need it because I don’t. I’m very (laughing) I’m very self-reliant, which is one of my flaws sometimes. A time that I asked for help…it was probably around the time of second semester last year, when you know, everything was kind of at it’s busiest. I had my hand in like 12 different organizations, and clubs, and activities. People were asking me to do all of these things, and I have a hard time saying no to people. It came to a point where I have a preexisting traumatic brain injury from multiple concussions that I’ve had, and so that just kinda spiraled out into a huge migraine that put me in the Emergency Room for like two days, and kinda took me out of my normal activity for about a week. It was just kinda about asking for help from my professors and from my friends to take some of the burden of, you know, school, and clubs, and work off of me so that I could regroup and come back into things and do them to the best of my ability.

What opportunities became available to you while at Drake?

Morgan Nicole: My freshman year, I definitely had a very untraditional experience, being thrust into these leadership positions that I didn’t expect, but I was able to not only make moves that were integral for myself as a black woman, but also as a black woman going into International Relations. I had the opportunity to attend a lot of conferences starting with the StratCom conference, which is the Deterrence and Assurance Academic Alliance Conference, at the U.S. Strategic Command. That was amazing I got to talk to a lot of foreign dignitaries’, leaders and military professionals, and you know, get to interact and learn about subjects that I’m going to be talking about in my career and that was extremely amazing, especially considering I was probably the youngest person in the room.

I’ve also had the opportunity to attend the United Nations Association Conference in Washington D.C. Doing work with the U.N.A. on Capital Hill, kinda lobbying for, you know, United Nations support as an International organization, something which I find extremely important, the work that the U.N. does. I got to be a part of that, you know, just learning that I get to be a part of something bigger because of Drake University and because of the position that I have had in my freshman year; I get to do a lot of things that other second years don’t get to do.

Going back to November 2018, students of color living in Drake campus dorms received racist letters slipped under their doors. When did you find out about the letters?

Morgan Nicole: I actually found out about the letters about…probably about 24 hours after they were sent, the first one at least. The first one I got a picture of it sent to me from someone. After seeing that letter, we went into a meeting, supposed to be a shared space for students of color on this campus to kinda process their feelings about it, and so we decided to jump into action from there on after that.

Obviously we know that the letters after the initial one were sent by a different student of color, who I can’t presume to know there motives but it kind of shifted the focus a little bit from the original intent of The #PaintitBlack Project and our efforts to, you know, rally against it and show community support, but I do think that all of the letters definitely showed the dangers of racism and the dangers of, you know, white supremacy and kind of just stereotypes that people have. It was a huge emotional toll on everybody on this campus, especially students of color, so I think that the notes were…in a. I don’t want to say that they needed to happen, but I definitely think it opened a lot of eyes.

As a result of the actions began by The #PaintitBlack Project and supported by many others at Drake University, a coat of black paint was put on the wide sidewalk between Forest and University Avenues. This area is referred to as The Painted Street. It remained that color until the 2019 Drake Relays. Traditionally, every student organization paints a design on a concrete square of the street before the track and field meet. How did volunteering your time for The #PaintitBlack Project change your outlook?

The #PaintitBlack Project, although it kind of was created out of something negative, we’re hoping to create a more inclusive community on Drake’s campus and be a part of more equity and inclusion initiatives, and we have been. It has definitely opened my eyes to a lot of the aspects of community that go unnoticed sometimes. When people need something, sometimes that’s when community is pushed to the forefront. It’s so great to see the support that we have had from not only students, but faculty, staff and people outside of Des Moines and outside of Iowa. I’m really excited to see what The #PaintitBlack Project has for the future.

What have you learned about yourself or the people around you by being an advocate for anti-racism?

Morgan Nicole: I’ve definitely learned that I have a platform, and I have a voice, and I intend to use it. I’m somebody who’s never really been content with being quiet, especially when I know something is wrong, weather it only affected me, or an identity group that doesn’t have anything to me. For some reason people listen to what I have to say sometimes, and you know, if that’s the case great, I might as well take advantage of it and say what needs to be said.

I’ve also learned I think to be content with the fact that everyone won’t agree with you because we did get a lot of backlash. The good definitely outweighed the bad, but I kinda had to, you know, reign myself in and be like listen: The people who don’t agree with me. I can’t really change their minds. They’re set in their ways, and they’ve been set in their ways, and that’s not something that I can control. I guess that’s also what I’ve learned is learning when and how to let go.

You’re at the beginning of your sophomore year. Do you think Des Moines is a place you will stay after college?

Morgan Nicole: I’m not somebody who likes to really stay in one place for too long. Even going back home for this summer to Milwaukee, I was itching to come back to Des Moines or go anywhere else for that matter. So, I might stay here for a year or two, but I definitely will come back and visit time to time. Visit Drake, visit family friends, that kind of thing. But I don’t know what the future holds, I might move to D.C. I might move out of the United States, but I’m excited for that.

What does success look like for you?

Morgan Nicole: You know a lot of people say that success should be happiness in life. That you know you are you’re most successful when you are at your happiest, but I think for me success and happiness go along with the career path that I want. I’m hoping that I get to help a lot of people. I’m hoping that I have a huge impact on, you know, this country and this world, as far as eliminating human rights issues.

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