Expression

Approx. time

Explanation

President Sukarno

1:15

President of Indonesia after independence from the Netherlands

Suriname

1:55

Dutch colony on northeast coast of South America

ethnically Chinese

2:25

Chinese by race (and maybe upbringing) but not by birthplace

resilient

2:50

able to recover from setbacks or problems

dispossession

3:00

having something taken away from you

Dutch colony

4:00

territory under the political control of the Netherlands (as opposed to local control)

immigration quotas

4:25

set limits on immigration numbers

stipulation

4:27

condition or requirement set for an agreement

Lo and behold!

4:45

“Lo and behold, you ended up in West Michigan!”  This is an old-fashioned expression.  It means something surprising or amazing happened.  It was surprising that this Chinese family having lived in Indonesia and the Netherlands had suddenly come to non-diverse West Michigan.

deacons

5:10

In Bing’s church, these are congregation members who are elected to make spiritual leadership decisions.  In some Christian denominations, they may be called elders.  Depending on the denomination, they might be appointed from the congregation or may have spiritual training and official status (below a priest).

poignant story

6:24

moving, sad, or touching story

(CRC) synod

6;36

As a denomination, the CRC has 300,000 members across the U.S. and Canada.  A synod is an umbrella advisory council within a denomination.

stoic

7:04

trying to hide your emotion, not to show everyone that you are suffering

janitor

7:20

employee responsible for maintenance and cleaning of a building

jumped through all the hoops

7:44

Bing’s dad jumped through all the hoops.  He thought all his retraining was a normal part of the U.S. educational system. In the circus, animals are trained to perform tricks, including jumping through hoops, sometimes ones that are lit on fire.  The tricks are not logical, but the animals have to do what the circus master tells them to do.

Don’t create waves.

8:25

not making a fuss, problems, unwanted attention   (Allusion to sailing: Don’t rock the boat.)

clichés

8:29

tired, old sayings that are said reactively, without thinking

Rep. Gerald Ford

8:36

Gerald Ford represented West Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1949-1973.  He was named Vice President and later President of the U.S. when scandals forced the resignations of Spiro Agnew and Richard Nixon.

commensurate with

8:58

equal or corresponding to

humiliation

9:52

making someone feel low, embarrassed, unimportant

speaks for itself

10:15

is obvious or clear, without need for explanation

Institutes for Healing Racism

10:19

http://www.grandrapids.org/institute-for-healing-racism

West Michigan Asian American Association

10:22

http://www.wm-aaa.org

Partners for Racism-Free Community

10:25

http://prfc-gr.org

CRC Commission on Race Relations

10:28

http://www.crcna.org/race

incubation

11:00 

support services and space for small start-up businesses

recruit and retain

11:29

When looking to hire new people into jobs, HR officers have to attract workers to come live in the area (recruitment).  If the new workers do not feel welcome, they will move away.  It is equally important for leaders of companies and communities to make the new workers and their families feel like they belong (retention).

International Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence

11:39

ICEE: www.thegoeicenter/icee

unveiling (not highlighted here)

12:00

publicly showing, uncovering, or revealing for the first time

International Pavilion

12:38

building which houses social and business support systems for international students, workers, and visitors

think tank

13:20

organization providing research and advocacy work for policy and strategy around issues as education, culture, politics, business, military, or technology

flat world

13:24

the view that the world is a level playing surface for global commerce (cf. The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman)

1. higher learning

13:29

must have great universities

2. entrepreneurship

13:33

must welcome creative business solutions

3. welcoming community 

13:37

must include everyone, not allow discrimination or segregation of any groups

(unveiling)

13:58

((publicly showing, uncovering, or revealing for the first time))