Faces of Equality - Michal Overholts

Michal Overholts is an illustrator and professional florist.

You can follow her floral creativity @paperblossomsbymichal on instagram and order from her shop at https://www.etsy.com/shop/PaperBlossomByMichal

Follow Michal on Instagram @_geishaninja_ and @paperblossomsbymichal and Facebook @paperblossomsbymichal (for flowers) and @michaloverholts (for illustrations).

"⁣Growing up Asian meant not seeing Asian people represented often (if at all!) in leading roles in media or art. It meant getting made fun of for the shape of my eyes. As an adult, it means never being taken seriously, being asked constantly where I’m from (“no, where are you really from?”), and being expected to be silent and happy with being a “model minority”. I hate the model minority myth!!! It’s daily microaggressions like being mocked for accents, culture differences, and it’s fearing profiled attacks from people scared of Covid-19 and looking for someone to blame because of certain xenophobic leaders. For me, my ethnicity is a source of pride: I am proud of who I am and will constantly work towards tearing down harmful stereotypes. I look forward with hope that we as humans can move forward towards true equality and respect for everyone, regardless of their ethnicity."

Thank you Michal for expressing yourself!⁣