In June, Arianna Quan became the first Asian-American woman to be awarded the Miss Michigan distinction. And the internet's response? Cruel, as usual.
"All this negativity came out, especially about my appearance and how I'm apparently unfit to represent the Chinese population because I'm 'ugly,'" she told People. "My goal is to just drive the conversation in an important direction, because there are so many things we have to discuss about immigration and diversity in this country right now."
This Sunday, September 11, Quan will be competing in the Miss America pageant, where she'll be supporting the platform, “Being American: Immigration and Citizenship Education.” The 23-year-old wants to open the conversation on what it means to be American.
"During this election year, I realized how important it was for immigrants, and naturalized citizens especially, to speak out about their experiences in this country," she told Michigan Live. "We are so diverse and it's so important for all of us to embrace that.