The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, January 22, 2002 - 7A
Author speaks of 'modern
slavery
By Karen Schwartz
Daily Staff Reporter
' present in society
JOHN PRATT/Daily
Members of the Young Americans for Freedom clash with affirmative action demonstrators yesterday,
one of several skirmishes between the two, during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day march across campus.
DAAP mrcrally
holds firm to issues
Randall Robinson remembers being 15 and
hearing Martin Luther King Jr. speak at his
school. He remembers shaking King's hand and
feeling a sense of new hope and new possibility
for the future of civil rights.
"What Dr. King would have us do today is to
use this opportunity, each individually, to talk
about what we're going to do to make our soci-
ety better;' he said yesterday at Hale Auditori-
um. "He had the capacity to see through the
dark shadows of time ... as a great visionary.
He knew the greatest crime of slavery was the
theft from a people of their story of them-
selves."
Robinson, author of "Debt - What America
Owes to Blacks." and former director of the
Trans Africa Forum, stressed the importance of
teaching every American the history of the peo-
ple who have come before them and remember-
ing the often lost stories of Native Americans,
Hispanic Americans, Asians and blacks that are
often forgotten.
"How can a nation be so set against telling
what happened?" he asked, adding that people
have a responsibility to know and to act as part
of a democracy, and that as a nation, the United
States, which criticizes other nations for their
past actions and encourages reparations, needs
to come to terms with its past. "We need to be
willing to learn about things that are unpleas-
ant. We have to remember our history."
Robinson said the past is present in today's
society because. of discrimination policies and
inequalities as far as opportunities for success.
He added that the current struggle for repara-
tions is important baause it makes sure that the
story gets toWi and that young people affected
by these situations beyond their control know
that what happened is not their fault.
"I amafraid that much of America is missing
the development of the social crisis that in the
next 50 years could bring this society down
upon itself," he said.
"A young white male has one chance in 15
of being incarcerated," he said. "A young His-
panic man has a one in 10 chance, a young
black man a one in three chance. This is the
modern slavery. It goes before us and we don't
even see it."
Robinson said the solution comes in the
form of repair and not just in compensation for
what was lost. He called for repair in the form
of an intense focus on education and economic
development. "There's no magic to this, no real
secret. We just don't have any government
commitment," he said.
Change, he added, will have to come from
the bottom up, from the young people he con-
siders the nation's moral compass.
University alum Arreba Stafford, who has
been attending MLK symposiums for 10 years,
said Robinson addressed many important
issues by acknowledging a part of history that
happened and still affects people today.
"He mentioned the cycle of poverty going
unbroken; I can relate to that," she said. "A lot
of people don't understand how deep poverty
can go and how much of an effect it can have
on someone."
Ann Arbor resident Michelle Mann, who
said she has been to MLK symposiums on
campus since they began, said she brought her
children to Robinson's speech so they would
have a chance to understand their history first-
hand.
"It's important that they know that it's not
just a textbook struggle and that the struggle
continues," she said.
"We have to remember our history."
- Randall Robinson
Former director of the Trans Africa Forum
By Maria Sprow
Daily Staff Reporter
Yesterday's Defend Affirmative Action Party-
sponsored march and rally experienced a last-
minute detour due to Diag overbooking.
Scheduled to begin at noon on the corner of For-
est and South University avenues and finish on the
Diag, the march was rerouted to East Hall.
Speakers at the rally included Shanta Driver, a
member of the Coalition to Defend Affirmative
Action and Integration and Fight for Equality By
Any Means Necessary, University English Prof.
Helen Fox and two high school students. They
addressed civil rights issues including the signifi-
Qance of affirmative action in education, the possi-
ble deportation and charges against local Muslim
activist Rabih Haddad and the University's search
for a new president.
"These are the civil rights issues of today," said
DAAP member and Rackham student Jessica
Curtin after the rally. She added that she believes
the issues of integration raised at the rally spread
farther than the University. "It is as segregated as
it's ever, ever been in Detroit."
DAAP members said they chose to rally on the
holiday because they wanted to do more than cele-
brate the memory of Martin Luther King Jr.
"The main reason we are marching today is to
recognize and continue to fight and defend affirma-
tive action and integration," said DAAP member
Agnes Aleobua, an LSA junior. "We are tryipg to
continue his fight for real equality."
One of the main arguments made at the rally was
that real equality and integration can only be creat-
ed through affirmative action and other equalizing
programs.
Young Americans for Freedom members orga-
nized a counter-protest at the rally because they
disagreed with DAAP's decision to further their
political agenda in the name of King and believe
that affirmative action is unconstitutional.
YAF Chairman Peter Apel, an LSA senior, said
his group is "both anti-BAMN and anti-affirmative
action," but YAF supports King's beliefs.
"They take the whole legitimacy of Martin
Luther King - a great civil rights leader - and
use him to judge by color of skin," Apel said,
adding he believes King preached against judg-
ments based on skin color. "Martin Luther King's
holiday should not be the time to promote an agen-
da which is entirely opposite what he preached."
YAF Executive Director Justin Wilson, an LSA
junior, said the group followed King's example of
silence during the protest. "It was Martin Luther
King Day; it's what you're supposed to do."
Service projects honor King legacy
By Shabina S. Khatri
Daily Staff Reporter
Amid the assortment of symposia and lec-
tures honoring Martin Luther King Jr. and his
vision yesterday, one event in particular
expressed respect for King's message of reach-
ing out to others in a very literal way.
Yesterday marked the 7th annual Martin
Luther King Jr. Day of Service, sponsored by
Project SERVE and the Office of Academic
Multicultural Initiatives.
The event fulfilled this year's theme, Acting
on the Dream, in many different ways, said
LSA senior Megan Memmer, one of the pro-
ject coordinators.
In addition to addressing environmental
concerns by writing advocacy letters to the
government, more than 200 student partici-
pants contributed by assisting several groups,
including children, the elderly, and the home-
less, in Ann Arbor and the neighboring cities
of Ypsilanti, Saline and Detroit. SERVE also
offered students the opportunity to work at site
agencies with migrant farm workers and AIDS
patients, Memmer said.
Yesterday's Day of Service was founded
after a speech made by Coretta Scott King,
said Anita Bohn, founder of Project SERVE.
"She said if we really wanted to honor her
husband, instead of talking we should go out
and do service," Bohn said.
LSA freshman Fadeel Mahrrrood acted on
King's dream by canvassing Ann Arbor restau-
rants to collect food for the hungry.
"I want to help people. I want to make a dif-
ference," he said.
Even simple services such as Mahmood's
make a difference, Memmer said.
"Sometimes it's not the most glorious work,
but it's work that agencies can't do themselves.
We're helping them out so they can fulfill their
community's needs," she said.
LSA senior Nicole Rappaport, who has bpen
participating in Project SERVE's days of ser-
vice since she was a freshman, agreed. From
painting houses in Detroit to working with kids
at the local YMCA, she said she has become
increasingly committed to performing commu-
nity service.
"It's real rewarding. There's a lot out there
we take for granted. This day helps me remem-
ber there are a lot of people out there that don't
have things to take advantage of," she said.
HADDAD
Continued from Page 1A
care of and he hoped that he could
meet with Haddad's wife, Salma Al-
Rushaid, who was in the audience, to
help with her current dilemma. He
also expressed wishes that the Immi-
gration and Naturalization Service
could disclose more information
about Haddad's case.
But Collins also said his top pri-
ority is to fight terrorism, and
immigration is a chief concern. In
regard to the tactics that the Justice
Department is using, such as the
interviews of Middle Eastern men
on temporary visas, he said,
"Where would you begin with lim-
ited resources? ... It's countries
where there's an active terrorism
presence. That's where the investi-
gation begins."
Haddad was arrested the same day
that the offices of the Global Relief
Foundation, an Islamic charity he co-
founded, were raided because of a
suspected link with terrorist organiza-
tions.
CIVIL RIGHTS
Continued from Page 1A
from reoccurring, then, in my view, the
interviewing process is totally worth it,"
Collins said.
"When you analyze our policy, yes,
they are deliberate, yes they are pro-
active and yes they are constitutional.
They strike the right balance between
protecting national security and preserv-
ing civil liberty."
Collins concluded his discussion by
reminding the audience that the events
of Sept. I1, amid the adversity and
struggles, have made the nation stronger
and have brought about greater appreci-
ation for family, friendship and faith.
Collins "did an excellent job of incor-
porating and interpreting Dr. King's
legacies and comments to apply to what
is going on right now," said Rasheeda
Creighton, a third-year Law student.
On the other hand, some were critical
of Collins' defense on behalf of the Jus-
tice Department's detaining and inter-
viewing processes.
"'Better safe than sorry' they say is
the excuse they used to round up and
CARSON
Continued from Page 1A
ethnic groups. The United States
became number one because of its
many talents. Diversity is a wonderful,
wonderful thing," he said. "Using tal-
ents to positively affect the lives of oth-
ers is what Martin Luther King was
interested in. The life he lived made the
lives of other people better."
Carson said his mother strove to
make his life better, leading him to
choose a career that would allow him to
help others.
Although Sonya Carson had only a
third-grade education, she wanted life
to be different for her family, her son
said. Juggling three jobs at times, Ben-
jamin Carson said his mother made her
sons read books on a weekly basis and
write a report on each of them, even
though she could not read what they
wrote. "Eventually, no book was safe in
my grasp," he said, mentioning his
voracious appetite for reading that
developed from his mother's rules.
Sonya Carson's strict policies helped
turn her son from the fifth-grade class .
dummy to one of the smartest students
at his nearly all-white high school, he
said. "I could have done anything as
long as I took advantage of my special
gifts and talents. I chose a wonderful
career that allowed me to make a real
difference in people's lives. Medicine
gave me perspective on life. It makes
you not feel sorry for yourself."
Carson and his wife co-founded the
Carson Scholars Fund, rewarding
"smart and charitable" students with the
same "impressive trophies" that athletes
receive. Carson said the scholarship
wants to help young people see that it's
OK to be nice and smart.
"Superficial knowledge is abundant
in society. We live in a society where
people can tell you about the Golden
Globes, but not the capital of
Malaysia," Carson said. "There have
been other pinnacle nations during his-
tory that lost their moral compass and
went down the tubes. That's already
happening here. Will we follow the path
of these countries?"
Carson's speech is one of 65 MLK-
related events that make up the Univer-
sity's month-long celebration.
JONATHON TRIEST/Daily
Jeffrey Collins, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, speaks yesterday
at Hutchins Hall about the Justice Department's fight against terrorism.
intern Japanese-Americans, and in ret-
rospect even those authors of that policy
have regretted," said Phillis Englebert of
the Ann Arbor Friends Service Com-
mittee, a local organization that opposes
the profiling of Arabs and Muslims in
America.
Collins, a native Detroiter who has
served as a Michigan Court of Appeals
judge and a Wayne County Circuit
Court judge, was appointed by President
Bush and confirmed by the Senate as
the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District
of Michigan in November 2001.
the michigan daily
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