Talk discusses current movement, cites need for progressive agenda By EMILY DAVIES Daily Staff Reporter About 30 people gathered Friday to listen to and engage with Matthew Platt, assistant professor of political science at Morehouse College, on the state of Black politics in the modern world. The event emphasized what Platt described as a need to con- tinue to think critically about the strategy the Black commu- nity employs to fight for change. Throughout his lecture, Platt argued that holding protests and drawing on Black representation in politics both fail to effectively advance the “Black-issue agen- da,” which he defined as matters pertaining to anti-racism, cul- ture and social welfare. As part of a research project, Platt examined every bill intro- duced in Congress from 1947 to 1998 and concluded that the vast majority of Black-issue bills have been introduced by non-Black representatives. At the highest point, he said, only five Black members of Congress chaired committees. He said due to this statistic, among other factors, the power of change falls to non- Black representatives. Platt also touched on two popular strategies the black community has used to gain rec- ognition from non-Black mem- bers of Congress: protests and politics. Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Platt said there has been an inverse relationship between the num- ber of protests and legislative impact. “Representation has become weaker post-political empower- ment in terms of getting Black issues recognized by Congress,” Platt said. “After Black enfran- chisement, both protests and politics are less effective tools for gaining white recognition of Black issues. This is what I call the normalization of Black poli- tics.” Platt added this lack of con- gressional impact has little to do with the Black candidates elect- ed. Even those Black members of Congress who Platt labeled as “ambitious” in his research, meaning those who formed an exploratory committee for higher office or ran for a higher office, are no more likely to fur- ther a Black-issue agenda. In a similar vein, Platt said the most important part of pro- gressive politics is not about the votes, but rather about pushing an agenda to make change. “If you are defining Black pol- itics by how many white people you can get to vote for you, I fail to realize what is Black about that,” Platt said. “Instead we need to think about Black poli- tics in terms of how you move forward a Black policy agenda.” Platt did acknowledge, how- ever, that even if race does not matter in Congress, it does mat- ter in terms of ideology — his research demonstrates that in general, Black people in Con- gress are extremely liberal. After his remarks, Platt’s audience, a mixture of under- graduate students, graduate stu- dents and professors, engaged critically with him on several points. Audience members chal- Lecturers talk civil rights, activism in hopes of exploring diverse identities By BRANDON SUMMERS- MILLER Daily Staff Reporter On Saturday, the South Asian Awareness Network’s annual conference hosted two keynote speakers and held multiple semi- nars to discuss activism, inter- sectionality and civil rights. While the first keynote focused on South Asian heritage and its links to the Civil Rights Movement, the second empha- sized the importance of the intersectionality of racial and cultural identities. Both lectur- ers aimed to shed light on social entrepreneurship. LSA senior Fatema Chamak, co-director of SAAN, said the group’s main aim wasn’t just to create a conference that acted as a singular event, but rather to create one that acted as an exten- sion of all the events the organi- zation hosts throughout the year. Of the conference’s many goals, Chamak said she hoped participants learned how to explore the intersectionality and fluidity of their identities. Inter- sectionality refers to the way different identities connect and overlap. “I want them to walk away with the idea that activism isn’t over,” Chamak said. “And that social identity is something that always needs to be reflective and explored.” American Culture prof. Manan Desai, who gave the first keynote speech, focused on the relationships between South Asian identities and the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Desai said African American social activists influenced anti- imperialist activists in Southern Asia, exploring the history of South Asia and subsequently to activism. “It was not only the case that South Asians who came to the U.S. were often drawn to the conflict fighting injustice,” said Desai. “But the history of Afri- can American struggle had long influenced activists back home.” Desai also told the crowd that he wanted to speak at the SAAN conference because dur- ing his time as an undergraduate at the University, there wasn’t a space for students of South Asian descent to discuss the issues that faced their community. Overall, he said he hoped participants could learn where South Asians fit into the nation’s history from his keynote. “I was trying to say something inspiring about people before who showed solidarity towards African Americans or civil rights movements,” Desai said. “I also wanted us to think about where South Asians fit historically in the larger picture.” Naya Jeevan CEO Asher Hasan presented the second keynote speech, focusing on his own racial and social identities. Using his own life as an example, he noted how participants could make a positive impact on the world. Hasan’s company, Naya Jee- van, is based in Pakistan and is dedicated to empowering mar- ginalized communities by giving them access to health care, edu- cation and financial inclusion. While Hasan spoke specifi- cally to his South Asian heritage, he explained he was more com- fortable now as a person who views himself as all his identi- ties simultaneously, whereas he used to think of himself in terms of only one or another at a single time. “We can all have multiple iden- tities,” he said. “It’s just trying to get them to converge together into an integrated whole.” Hasan said he wanted to speak at SAAN’s conference because he 3-News 2-News THREE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW TODAY The Michigan women’s basketball team fell to Nebraska, 93-81, at Crisler Center on Sunday. >> SEE SPORTSMONDAY ON 1B 2 1 3 TUESDAY: Campus Voices THURSDAY: Twitter Talk FRIDAY: Photos of the Week WEDNESDAY: In Other Ivory Towers MONDAY: This Week in History See LECTURE, Page 3A See PROFESSOR, Page 3A 2A — Monday, January 25, 2016 News The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com CAMPUS EVENTS & NOTES Faculty recital WHAT: Jeffrey Lyman and colleagues will perform high baroque by Vivaldi, Rameau and Handel. WHO: School of Music, Theatre and Dance WHEN: 8 p.m. WHERE: Earl V. Moore Building, McIntosh Theatre SPSS workshop WHAT: Instructor Corey Powell will conduct a workshop on SPSS for Windows. WHO: OSCAR Workshops WHEN: 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. WHERE: Modern Languages Build- ing, room 2001A Stories on Islamophobia WHAT: Prof. Evelyn Alsultany and Dr. Adrienne Dessel will facilitate a space for students affected by Islamophobia to share their stories. WHO: Arab and Muslim American Studies Program WHEN: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. WHERE: Michigan Union, Pendleton Room Cities on the East Coast are working hard on clean-up and flood mitigation in the aftermath of winter storm Jonas. Record snowfalls occured at New York’s JFK Airport, delaying flights, the New York Times reported. 1 Discussion on State of the State address WHAT: Rick Pluta and Zoe Clark from the Michigan Public Radio Network will discuss Gov. Snyder’s sixth State of the State address. WHO: Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy WHEN: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. WHERE: Weill Hall, Betty Ford Classroom, room 1110 Following the lack of diversity in the 2016 Oscar nominations, three new seats will be added to the Academy’s Board of Governors to improve diversity, Slate reported. Many artists including Matt Damon and Don Cheadle have commended the move. 3 GRANT HARDY/Dailly Anthesiology Prof. Dinesh Pal protests caste system dis- crimination in India, prompted by the suicide of Rohith Ver- mula, a PhD student at Hyderabad Central University, on the Diag Saturday. Film on Latino migration WHAT: Dr. Jesse Hoffnung-Garskof will host a screening and discsussion of the film “Empire of Dreams.” WHO: Latina/o Studies WHEN: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. WHERE: Ann Arbor Downtown District Library, Multi- Purpose Room Football film and dialogue WHAT: Trotter Multicultural Center will screen “In Football We Trust,” followed by a talk on sports and social change. WHO: Trotter Multicultural Center WHEN: 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. WHERE: Trotter Multicultural Center Digitalizing health data WHAT: Prof. Alexandra Stern will give a lecture on creating digital platforms with Mapquest and Scalar to uncover histories of eugenics and sterilizations. WHO: Department of American Culture WHEN: 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. WHERE: Hatcher Graduate Library, Gallery (room 100) Exploratory Ph.D. process group WHAT: The Career Center will facilitate a process group on career planning for Ph.D. students. WHO: The Career Center WHEN: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. WHERE: Rackham Graduate School Please report any error in the Daily to corrections@ michigandaily.com. 36 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK (JAN. 24, 1980) Greek life loses pet policy After five former members of fraternity Alpha Delta Phi were involved in killing their house cat, the local chapter of the Humane Society decided to temporarily stop giving house pets to University fra- ternities. At the time, fraternities could put in a request for a house pet at the Humane Society of Huron Valley. Although the Humane Soci- ety would not grant the majority of the requests, sev- eral fraternities had house pets they adopted from the organization. After the cat killing occurred in early December and the five stu- dents had been expelled from Alpha Delta Phi after their plea on January 17. Diane Allevato, then- director of the Humane Soci- ety of Huron Valley, said at the time the brutal killing of the cat served as a catalyst for reviewing the organization’s policy. The Humane Society would be “committing organizational suicide” if it allowed fraternities to adopt animals so soon after the cat- killing incident, Allevato said. Mark Nehmer, non-act- ing fraternity president of Delta Chi, said his fraternity sought to adopt an animal but though they had a good record of taking care of house pets and had a recommenda- tion from an LSA assistant dean with their request for a new dog, the request wasn’t granted. According to Nehm- er, a Humane Society worker said his fraternity would not be able to adopt a dog right away but may be able to adopt one in two months. Nehmer was disappointed that all of the fraternities were being punished for the actions of a few members. Nehman claimed that his fraternity could appeal to the state level of the Humane Society and receive a more sympathetic response, but he did not think it would be appropriate to go over the local chapter’s head. — RACHEL COHEN LUNA ANNA ARCHEY/Dailly Matthew Platt, assistant professor in the Political Science Department at Morehouse College speaks about the history of black voting rights as part of his presentation during Political Scientists of Color in Haven Hall on Friday. Speakers highlight South Asian culture and heritage at conference Professor challenges traditional norms in Black political action PROTESTING 420 Maynard St. Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1327 www.michigandaily.com ROSE FILIPP Business Manager 734-418-4115 ext. 1241 rfilipp@michigandaily.com Newsroom 734-418-4115 opt. 3 Corrections corrections@michigandaily.com Arts Section arts@michigandaily.com Sports Section sports@michigandaily.com Display Sales dailydisplay@gmail.com News Tips news@michigandaily.com Letters to the Editor tothedaily@michigandaily.com Editorial Page opinion@michigandaily.com Photography Section photo@michigandaily.com Classified Sales classified@michigandaily.com SHOHAM GEVA Editor in Chief 734-418-4115 ext. 1251 sageva@michigandaily.com EDITORIAL STAFF Laura Schinagle Managing Editor schlaura@michigandaily.com Emma Kerr Managing News Editor emkerr@michigandaily.com SENIOR NEWS EDITORS: Allana Akhtar, Alyssa Brandon, Jacqeline Charniga, Katie Penrod, Emma Kinery ASSISTANT NEWS EDITORS: Riyah Basha, Marlee Breakstone, Desiree Chew, Anna Haritos, Camy Metwally, Lydia Murray, Caitlin Reedy, Alexa St. John Claire Bryan and Regan Detwiler Editorial Page Editors opinioneditors@michigandaily.com SENIOR OPINION EDITORS: Jeremy Kaplan, Ben Keller, Anna Polumbo-Levy, Jason Rowland, Stephanie Trierweiler Max Bultman and Jake Lourim Managing Sports Editors sportseditors@michigandaily.com SENIOR SPORTS EDITORS: Minh Doan, Jacob Gase, Kelly Hall, Simon Kaufman, Jason Rubinstein, Zach Shaw, Brad Whipple ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITORS: Betelhem Ashame, Chris Crowder, Sylvanna Gross, Leland Mitchinson, Ted Janes, Kevin Santo, Kathleen Davis and arts@michigandaily.com Adam Theisen Managing Arts Editors SENIOR ARTS EDITORS: Caroline Filips, Melina Glusac, Jacob Rich, Ben Rosenstock ARTS BEAT EDITORS: Matthew Barnauskas, Christian Kennedy, Rebecca Lerner, Natalie Zak Amanda Allen and photo@michigandaily.com Grant Hardy Managing Photo Editors SENIOR PHOTO EDITORS: Zoey Holmstrom, Zach Moore, James Coller ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITORS: Claire Abdo, Robery Dunne, Sam Mousigian, San Pham, David Song Anjali Alangaden and design@michigandaily.com Mariah Gardziola Managing Design Editors Karl Williams Statement Editor statement@michigandaily.com DEPUTY STATEMENT EDITORS: Nabeel Chollampat and Tori Noble STATEMENT PHOTO EDITOR: Zoey Holmstrom STATEMENT LEAD DESIGNER: Shane Achenbach Emily Campbell and copydesk@michigandaily.com Alexis Nowicki Managing Copy Editors SENIOR COPY EDITORS: Taylor Grandinetti and Jose Rosales Nivedita Karki Managing Online Editor nivkarki@michigandaily.com SENIOR WEB DEVELOPERS: Dylan Lawton and Bob Lesser Levin Kim Managing Video Editor SENIOR VIDEO EDITORS: Michael Kessler, Abe Lofy, Emma Winowiecki Michael Schramm Special Projects Manager Emma Sutherland Social Media Editor BUSINESS STAFF Hussein Hakim Finance and Operations Manager Claire Ulak Production Manager Jordan Yob Marketing Manager Matt Pfenning UAccounts Manager Asja Kepes Local Accounts Manager Chris Wang Classifieds Manager Colin Cheesman National Accounts Manager Anna He Special Guides and Online Manager Claire Butz Layout Manager The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms by students at the University of Michigan. 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