4 OPINION Page 4 Tuesday, April 4, 1989 The Michigan Daily 4 Stand, remember and resist igil for victims of racist violence By Nikita Buckhoy and Kimberly Springer April 4th marks the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most notable figures in U.S. history. Some may ask, "Why a vigil for a murder that occurred more than two decades ago?" April 4th has been chosen as both the national and international Day of Action Against Racism and Apartheid. At this time of year our minds are usually filled with fantasies of fun in the sun. But on this day we are encouraged to remember and honor the people of color who's beat- ings and deaths serve as examples of the brutality exacted against our people. We must vow to learn about and never forget our foreparents who waged battles before us, for our benefit; and those who have been silenced by repression and/or mur- dered as a result of their commitment to justice, and equality. We seek not only to honor activists or people who are well Nikita Buckhoy and Kimberly Springer are members of the United Coalition Against Racism. known like Martin Luther King, Emmett Till, and Malcolm X; but also to call at- tention to the deaths of Eleanor Bumpers, Vincent Chin, Michael Griffith and the survival of Tawana Brawley. Historically, millions of people of color have been killed, beaten and dehumanized at the hands of racists and fascists in, for example, many African nations, the U.S., and Chile. Many of us have encountered racist violence in our daily lives, as the death of Mulugeta Seraw illustrates. Seraw, an Ethiopian man, was beaten to death right outside his home in Oregon, by White Pride skinheads. Fannie Lou Hamer of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Student Non- Violent Co-ordinating Committee; Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman, SNCC and Congress Of Racial Equality student organizers; for example, encountered racist violence as a result of committing them- selves to a set of principles which include liberation of their people from domination and exploitation. Chaney, Schwerner and Goodman were murdered by southern law enforcement officers and their KKK allies. Our foreparents saw this violence as en- demic in the system they challenged and sought to change as they played their roles in the struggles for civil rights, economic equality and justice. This violence contin- ues today, on an hourly basis, from mo- ment to moment, as you read this article. It is imperative for us to understand that individual acts of violence committed by the police, homophobes, skinheads, sex- ists, and racists, have historically been and are presently condoned by a system of economic, social and political domination of people of color. The comprehension of these dynamics should inform our analy- sis, and play a significant role in, and be expressed our campus, community and national organizing. Not only is it an act of violence for a skinhead to assault a person of color on the streets of Ann Arbor, it is also an act of violence for auto plants to close local factories and move production to the Philippines. The violence comes from both exploitation of U. S. workers as well as the removal of people's livelihood. The fact that Filipino workers are paid signifi- cantly less illustrates the true motivations behind this practice; to exploit Third World people by forcing them to work under horrible conditions and for low wages. The United Coalition Against Racism in conjunction with more than 20 campus and community groups, will come to- gether to pay our respects to the victims and survivor's of racist violence. We seek not only to honor and voice our outrage and sadness for those who have been murdered, but also for those who have and continue to survive; nu- merous progressive activists of the 60s and 70s, Palestinians on the West Bank and in Gaza, supporters of the Allende Please join the Black Student Union, United Coalition Against Racism, University of Michigan Asian Student Coalition, Free South Africa Coordinating Committee, Minority Organization of Rackham, Black Law Student Assoc., NAACP, Black Medical Assoc., and Black Greek Assoc., among others at this Vigil for Victims of Racist Violence. The vigil will be held on the Diag, at 8 p.m., Tues- 4 'Our foreparents saw this violence as endemic in the system they challenged and sought to change as they played their roles in the struggles for civil rights, economic equality and justice.' 4 government in Chile, Jews after the Holocaust; and those like Nelson Mandela who have been silenced yet remain sym- bols of long term, unwavering commit- ment. Paying our respects, yes; but not our last respects, for this is not a funeral; nor is it the only action we must take if we truly want society in which racism, sexism and economic oppression no longer exist. day, April 4. This year we must stand together to re- member Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death and all the others who have been and con- tinue to be victims of racism and bigotry. At the same time, we must seize the legacy of the progressive struggle and reaffirm our commitment to continue the struggle against racist violence and other forms of oppression. 4 Edited and managed by students at The University of Michigan 420 Maynard St. Vol. IC, No. 126 Ann Arbor, MI 48109 Unsigned editorials represent a majority of the Daily's Editorial Board. All other cartoons, signed articles, and letters do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Daily. Ignorance and violence A case in admissions at the University: Where's ti By Kathleen Mattic This is a letter for my student con- stituency, but especially President Duder- stadt and the Admissions Board Officers. I'm an LSA Junior here at the Univer- sity of Michigan. I'm very proud of that. I am also a Black female, and am proud of that as well. I consider myself to have been extremely fortunate, to find out about this sort of place. It had been successfully hidden from me for must of my life. I had always know that there must be a way out and that there was more to life for me than unemployment, sprinkled with occasional dead-end jobs. I can happily put all that despair behind me now, for I know that I am on my way. I realize that it won't be easy, and these past three years indeed have not been easy, but I do have the opportu- nity now, the one that my father was de- nied in the 1940s in rural Mississippi. I've taken what I've learned, and I've tried to spread it around. I've encouraged my brother to think about college. That was not easy however, even though he sees me doing it, the idea is so very for- Kathleen Mattic is a junior in the College of Literature, Science, and Arts. ie Michigan eign to his everyday life. No one in his 1 neighborhood is planning, or even consid- ering such a bold move. His school hasn't t encouraged him in that direction. The day-t to-day pressures he faces are quite different. He doesn't have the money to dress like his peers, and worries about not being t cool. He doesn't drive the type of car the kids in his neighborhood drive. If you cant imagine being a teenager, and how it feelst not to be in. According to my mother, t some of his friends deal drugs. I believe 1 that he is trying hard to resist dealing or using them. My question is how long will t he be able to if he stays locked in that world.; He was finally convinced. I took him to the Commemoration of a Dream opening service at the Monroe Trotter House this 1 past January. I told him about the flag on the moon, and how NASA is just bursting with U of M alumni. My brother worked t hard. He hasn't had a grade below a B in the past three semesters, and he's taking the most challenging math and science- courses available at Truman High School. His ACT and SAT scores were highly competitive. He applied here. I told him to Mandate? be as honest as possible in his essay, I said that they would understand. He wrote that "I'm trying very hard to make some- thing out of my life." His rejection letter arrived Friday. Needless to say, I am worried. I haven't talked to him yet, but I sit and try to think about what to say to him. Surely I'll be as encouraging as possible. What was he. thinking Friday night as he walked past> the drug dealers driving new jeeps with handfuls of money, and him with hiss- rejection letter in his hand. The University told him that they had at least four appli- cants for each available spot, and thus he* had to be rejected. What I really want to say to you, Mr. President, and the Admis- sions Board Officers, is this: that when someone writes to a university which brags on its commitment to diversity say- ing that "there's a good possibility that I could drown in society's evils,. but I'm trying real hard to make something out of my life, and would like the privilege of obtaining an education from your fine in- stitution, to use as a step towards making a better life for myself," then please think very carefully about how you respond to him. THIS WEEKEND, racist fliers were placed on kiosks and shanties on the Diag and the recently rebuilt anti- apartheid shanties were once again torn down. These acts demonstrate all too clearly that racism on this campus does not just exist on an institutional level but continues to be manifested in the violent acts of individuals. On Saturday morning the Free South Africa Coordinating Committee (FSACC) rebuilt the shanties, which have been repeatedly vandalized over the last three years. By Sunday morn- ing the shanties were destroyed. Mem- bers of FSACC reported seeing "hashbashers" violating the shanties, and it is probable that the riots after Saturday's Michigan basketball game contributed to the destruction. The shanties are a symbol of the in- stitutionalized racism which oppresses people of color in South Africa and their destruction indicates, at the very least, an appalling disregard for this re- ality. The distribution of the fliers was an :overtly racist act. The fliers included 'statements such as calling for "white pride" by celebrating "cool white presidents,,all the kids we know are our own..." and exhorting people to bring "your handgun and shoot the first five moolies you see who look like they might ask for money." In February "Nigger bitch don't slam doors" was written on a student's door in Stockwell and similar fliers were distributed last year. These actions un- derscore the racist climate which exists at this university and the degree to which the university's refusal to ad- dress issues of institutionalized racism exacerbates that climate. Both direct racist actions and the de- struction of symbols of the struggles of people of color contribute to an envi- ronment which is hostile and inhos- pitable to people of color. Even if the administration increases minority en- rollment and minority faculty repre- sentation, replaces racist admission standards, and changes the curriculum to include issues critical to the lives of people of color, this will not be a school which people of color will wish to attend unless the overt acts of racism end. Shanties are destroyed and racist acts are perpetrated because the majority of the student population are ignorant and unconcerned about the experiences and struggles of people of color. They are ignorant because the University rein- forces eurocentric beliefs which ex- clude the experiences of people of color. This weekend's events demon- strate the need for education around the issues of racism. It is clear that this education cannot be overseen solely by the administra- tors of this university. While the ad- ministration has responded to the fliers, in the past they have trivialized racist actions. Provost Vest, then Engineering Dean, condoned the destruction of a shanty by several engineering societies on the grounds that it was "just a I rank.". It is vital to implement a graduation requirement on racism such as the one outlined in the original proposal put forth by Professor Peter Railton. The class must be overseen by people who have expertise in and sensitivity to the issues of race and racism rather than people involved in the administration. If President Duderstadt is serious about his commitment to increase mi- nority enrollment he will condemn these racist acts and call for the original graduation requirement on racism. 4 Letters.tothe.edito I Reader responds to letter To the Daily: I feel compelled to respond to Randy Schwartz's column of Monday March 13. Among all nations there have been those. willing to dissociate them- selves from their own coun- trypeople and slander their own people. The Jews have been no exception to this. But all too often these same Jews who once reviled their own have themselves come to suffer the consequences of the same anti- Jewish malice which they em- braced. The following instance is a case in point. In 1949 an Is- raeli immigration official found himself being asked to smug- gle out a group of Iraqi Jewish refugees then in hiding in Iran. Like the Jews of Germany, the Jews of Iraq had been success- ful, prominent contributors to their country's welfare. Like the Jews of Germany they had felt secure, and safely integrated into their society. And like Randy Schwartz, this particular group of Iraqi Jews had actively its victims. What mattered was that they were Jews. The Israeli immigration officer expressed his doubt that these Jews, Jews who had so actively maligned and even persecuted their Jewish coun- trypeople would ever accept an offer to emigrate to Israel. The reply of the Iranian Jewish businessperson who had hid and provided for them was revealing: "The fact is that they're fleeing here. And who do they come to for help? Their Arab friends? The local communists? No! They come to their Jewish brothers, who hide them and provide for their needs. So you see, my son, if you can get them out of here, they will kiss your hands. Because only in Israel can they be communists to their hearts' content." I hope you never need a place of refuge Randy Schwartz. I hope you never find yourself hunted and hiding in fear for your life, hounded because you are a Jew. But if you ever are, there will be one nation will- ing to forget all of the misgiv- ings of the past, and welcome you in with open arms: Israel. - Laura Cibul March 14 Wh erP frnm cide where we are headed. Now. is the time when we must take a stand and determine our own destiny. Now is the time when we must decide where we are going: chaos or community? Once again, the hideous beast of racism has reared its ugly head on this campus. This weekend, fliers were posted on campus declaring the month of April as "White Pride Time. Among the events planned are "a celebration of Archie Bunker's birthday on April 16" and "a declaration of April 23rd as Bernhard Goetz Day," whites are reminded "to carry their handguns and shoot the first five moolies they see who look like they might ask them for money." Some may say that the flier was only an "April Fool's" joke. There is nothing funny about a direct threat to lives of any group of human beings. There is nothing funny about the evil in a person(s) heart which would allow for such hatred to spew forth from its murky depths. It must be made clear that Black students do not ask for special privileges or benefits not afforded to every student on campus; we demand that we be treated with the same dignity by whose blood this country was built. It continues with Fredrick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Mary McLeod Bethune, Marcus Gar- vey, Ella Baker, Medgar Evers, Dr. King, Malcolm X, and countless others. We must never forget where we come from and how much sacrifice has been made for us to get here. As Malcolm X said, "So when you select heroes about which Black peo- ple ought to be taught, let them be Black heroes who have died fighting for the benefit of Black people." It is easy to submit to one's mind that we have expe- rienced another "isolated inci- dent;" an act of a select indi- vidual(s). Do not be fooled by such a generalization. Do not be lulled into complacency. It is obvious that there is so much work to be done on this campus. It is crystal clear that the forces which would defeat us are still alive and kicking. Black students unite! It may not be easy for us to fight, but if it were, it would not be called a struggle. When you fight to see this University opened up to more Black stu- --,..... .... _ _ ... . ll - Editor's note: In the editorial "Remember" (Daily 3/30/89) the term "Judaicize" was used in reference to Zionist colonization policies in Pales- tine. Cite the Koenig Report (1976) for the usage of the word "Judaicize." Koenig was the Northern District Commissioner of the Ministry of Inte- rior. Also, according to Israel Shahak - an Israeli human rights activist - "The Hebrew press invented, or re-in- vented, using Hebrew characters, a German Word, Arabrein, which means in German, "clean of Arabs", from the German word employed by the Nazis, Judenrein.