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News & Michigan in Color
Thursday, November 17, 2016 — 3A
out and said he cared about diversity
and marginalized students, we
are here to show so many students
at the University, people who are
living in Ann Arbor, support the
University of Michigan becoming a
sanctuary campus,” she said. “And
if President Schlissel really cared
about (protecting) marginalized
students, this is one concrete way he
can do it besides showing up.”
Protesters cited a number of
concerns
during
the
walkout,
including the two hate crimes in
downtown Ann Arbor that have
been reported to police since
Trump’s presidential win last week.
On Friday, a woman was threatened
and forced to remove her hijab. On
Saturday, a woman was pushed
down a hill and verbally harassed.
Additionally,
many
speakers
discussed anti-Black, anti-LGBTQ
and anti-Muslim posters, many of
them promoting themes of white
supremacy, that have been found
posted on campus several times in
the past few months.
LSA junior Alyiah Al-Bonijim
spoke to the crowd about her
frustrations
with
Islamophobic
comments triggered by her choice to
wear a hijab.
“For what? Because you want
to see my hair? Is that what is
important to these fucking white
people?” Al-Bonijim asked the
cheering crowd, saying that forcing
a woman to take off her clothing,
including the hijab, was sexual
assault.
Protesters
also
touched
on
the failure of a Central Student
Government vote Tuesday night to
divest from corporations that have
allegedly committed human rights
violations
against
Palestinians.
Many in the crowd yelled negative
chants about CSG during the
walkout.
Following the initial assembly on
the Diag, the protesters marched
throughout Central Campus, also
entering buildings to continue their
chants.
As the march moved through
campus, student organizers, as
well as Jackson, led the crowd
in a number of chants condemning
racism, sexism, islamophobia and
xenophobia.
Chants included slogans such as:
“No justice, no peace,” “Hey Hey, Ho
Ho, these racist folks have got to go,”
“No Alt-Right, no KKK, no fascist
USA” and “Black Lives Matter.”
“Thanks for stepping up and
fighting back,” Jackson told the
crowd. “Do not let any election
oppress your dreams … Red, yellow,
black and white, you are all precious
in God’s sight. We must learn to
live together. This land is a land of
multiculturalism.”
Jackson led student chants,
showing solidarity with those all
of those who felt marginalized in
the past months, including Black,
Muslim and Mexican-American
students.
“We are all sanctuary,” he said.
“We love each other. We care for
each other. You take one of us, you
must take all of us. We are not going
anywhere. This land is our land.
We will outlast the meanness, we
will outlast hate. We will outlast
violence. Love will conquer hate.”
According to the event page on
Facebook, the walkout was part of
a national walkout movement at
universities across the country.
“This walkout is a national
movement that is happening in
response to the election, as well
as the increase in hate crimes and
other forms of violence against
marginalized (folks).” The event
description says “We are doing
this to hold President Schlissel
and our Regents at the University
of Michigan accountable for their
claims of valuing diversity and
student safety and well-being.”
There was a brief moment of
silence at the Burton Memorial
Tower, where students told stories
of their own personal struggles.
At the end of the walkout,
organizers
asked
for
white
supporters to block State Street so
protesters could safely gather at
Angell Hall for the speakout.
White students were asked by
organizers to peacefully block the
roads and talk to the police in order
to protect the lives of brown and
Black people, who were said to be
targeted more at student gatherings.
Rackham student Vikrant Garg, a
walkout organizer, asked for a non-
violent protest and for all students
involved to march peacefully.
“We see a lot of white folks
here,” he said. “We need you on
the sidelines to protect us … there
are going to be parts where we
shut down the street. We need you
all to be there to protect us. This
is nonviolence, we recognize that
violent acts you may commit will, in
the end, hurt us the most.”
The walkout is one of the largest
events to take place after the
election on campus. On election
night, an impromptu vigil consisting
of roughly 30 students coalesced
on the Diag at about 3 a.m., an
hour after Trump was declared
victorious. The next night, a vigil
attended by about 1,000 students
took place, during which University
President Mark Schlissel and CSG
President David Schafer, an LSA
senior, called for campus unity and
inclusivity. Multiple protests against
the president-elect and in reaction to
the hate crimes has since occurred.
At Wednesday’s walkout, LSA
junior Victoria Johnson said she
came to the event in hopes of
reaching
the
administration’s
attention regarding the problems
facing minorities on campus.
“These problems have been
boiling up for a long time — this isn’t
anything new,” she said. “But I think
the election, I think what happened,
has been tipping the scale. Now
these people who have always been
against the rights for me and my
rights and who I stand as a person,
my identity. They feel empowered
to speak out and act on these hateful
feelings they have. And that’s why
I am here, because my rights are at
stake. And not just my rights, but my
safety. And I feel like it’s important
to make the University be held
accountable for it all.”
WALKOUT
From Page 1A
about face taken by world around
us. As events unfold rapidly, this
world seems increasingly against
us, our prosperity, our joy and
our
very
existence.
Tuesday
morning, Michigan in Color was
given the opportunity to reflect,
to connect with the living and
breathing history of civil rights
activism in the United States by
interviewing
Reverend
Jesse
Jackson. MiC editors discussed in
depth the impact of these recent
elections with Reverend Jackson.
We inquired about the future of
this country, of activism and the
continuing the fight to dismantle
our interconnected oppression. We
wanted to know what this moment
meant to him in the context of a
lifetime of activism. How had he
been making sense of the larger
sociopolitical implication of the
recent election of Donald Trump?
The
conversation
unfolded
into a narrative of struggle,
perseverance, and perspective.
Although not religiously affiliated,
all of the editors can attest to that
fact that the experience was in
fact spiritual. His words, etched in
over half a century of experience,
spoke to our past, present and
future. A better future.
Four themes emerged from
our
discussion:
accountability,
responsibility, action and hope. No
words could ever fully encapsulate
the experience and we continue
to process our conversation and
its implication for our lives and
the lives of those around us.
However, the senior MiC editors
present you with short reflections,
intentionally weaving in the words
of Reverend Jackson and the
experiences of our campus climate
and world. These messages we
share with you all.
RESPONSIBILITY
“They were hoping students would
be indifferent by telling them ‘you’re
our future’. You are not our future.
You are right now. What you do or
going to do matters right now.”
Reverend Jesse Jackson guided us
through the tumultuous journey of
social and political change in a time
where today’s climate is extremely
hostile
towards
marginalized
communities. He instilled a great
sense of urgency upon us. In a time
of violent oppression, it is no longer
an issue of building the future,
because the future is now.
“What you do or don’t do matters
right now. Whether you finish school
or not matters right now. If you’re
developing skills or not developing
skills it matters right now. If you vote
or you don’t vote, it matters right now.
So you put political options on hold.
No.”
Apathy has no place in the now.
Making the passive decision to
be silent is the active decision to
accept oppression in the case that
the tools are available for us to
create change as individuals at the
university. Yes, there is a struggle
to build and protect resources, but
simply witnessing it is definitely not
enough. As individuals, we cannot
let our grief, our anger, discourage
us. It must liberate us to learn,
develop and take political action.
In light of the presidential
election, Reverend Jackson told us,
in response to Colin Kaepernick’s
decision to not vote, that the most
important weapon combating the
enemies of systemic oppression,
prejudice and discrimination is
voting.
“One weapon is marching feet.
One weapon is voting. One weapon is
boycotts. One weapon is intellectual
strengths. One weapon is mass
organization. The strongest of these
weapons is voting, because it sets
laws.”
We have the tools to us as
communities to initialize change,
but we cannot forget our civil duty
to let our voice be heard through
our vote — a right we have been
afforded through the struggle of
great visionaries.
“We marched too long and bled
too much for the right to vote to walk
away from it as if it does not matter.”
It is our responsibility to learn
from those have paved the way for us
to continue their cause. They have lit
the torch to illuminate the darkness
and they have passed it onto each
and every one of us to get us out of it.
We have a duty to make a change. It
starts with ourselves. It starts with
you, and it’s happening. Right now.
— Christian Paneda, Michigan in
Color Senior Editor
ACCOUNTABILITY
“If (a woman’s) hijab is snatched
off, it’s like someone else is putting
Blackface on. We should all be
offended by each other’s burden. We
should share the burden. The more
you share, the easier it is to bear.”
As a nation we have to hold one
another accountable for the America
we want to be and for the values we
have espoused. In his final months
in office, President Obama urged the
American people to hold their next
president accountable, to make them
better like we did for him. This is
true now more than ever.
More than ever, we need to be
engaging with our elected officials
— and not just about the issues that
affect us personally. We should all
be disgusted by the hate crimes
happening in our country. We
should all be appalled by the idea
of legislation that would militarize
police, register Muslims, threaten
women’s
autonomy
and
strip
LGBTQ rights. We have to organize
and demand that our elected officials
do not turn the clock on progress, no
matter their political affiliation. As
Reverend Jackson said, “we’ve got to
protect the gains we’ve made.”
To the Republicans and Trump
supporters who are quick to say
they aren’t racists, misogynists
or xenophobes, prove to us by
your actions that you are not. As
your candidate takes office, the
onus is on you to make clear that
you will not stand for the violent
dismantling of minority rights.
As Reverend Jackson poignantly
stated, “to vote for Trump you’ve
got to excuse an awful lot of mean
things. You’ve got to excuse attacks
on Muslim immigrants, excuse
attacks on Black people. You’ve got
to excuse misogyny… and so, when
people make their choices there’s
consequences for their choices.”
If you don’t stand for racism,
misogyny and xenophobia, stand
up for the rights of your fellow
Americans.
For those of us most negatively
impacted
by
the
upcoming
presidency, it is often difficult to
engage with the other side. It should
not always be on us to advocate
for our lives and our rights to exist
peacefully in this country. But that
doesn’t mean we can disengage from
the collective history our struggle
for civil rights in this country.
We cannot altogether disregard a
political system, that without our
protest, will continue to perpetuate
our oppression. In this democracy,
a system where the loudest voice
rules, we cannot be silent.
— Sabrina Bilimoria, Michigan in
Color Senior Editor
ACTION
“As long as there’s massive
direct action that’s nonviolent and
disciplined with a point, you can be
heard.”
The fight for civil rights is not
over. The Voting Rights Act may
have passed in 1965, but the 2016
election was marred by the success
of laws aimed to suppress Black
and other marginalized voters. In
addition to still fighting for the right
to vote, xenophobia, racism and
sexism are now being turned into
policy. People question our Muslim
friends’ loyalties and the Latinx
community’s right to be here. The
fight for civil rights is not over.
We face social, political and
economic concerns, but if we do
not mobilize we will not be heard.
Reverend Jackson said, “If they
attempt to undermine protections
to the right to vote, that’s cause
for direct action. If they threaten
Roe vs. Wade and women’s rights
of self-determination, that’s cause
for action. If there’s thoughts for
increasing student loan debt, that’s
cause for action.” If we stay silent,
our hopes and dreams for a more
equal America can not, and will not,
be realized. We have two options,
our vote and our voice. With our
vote, we choose those who represent
us. With our voice, through direct
action, we represent ourselves and
the causes we want righted. We
must act to protect the gains we have
made and to fight those who wish to
take them away. However, the call
to action is not a call to violence.
Reverend Jackson said, “We need
constant disciplined direct action,
nonviolent because when action
becomes violent, violence becomes
the subject line instead of the subject
itself.” Through peaceful protest we
begin to raise awareness, through
violence we create reason to disavow
our actions. The stakes are too
high to permit others to hijack our
message.
Fifty-one years ago, Reverend
Jackson, Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr., and other members of the Civil
Rights Movement marched to end
Jim Crow laws and create a better
America. Today, we are privileged
to follow in their tradition of using
nonviolent direct action to fight for
our cause.
— Ashley Tjhung, Michigan in
Color Senior Editor
HOPE
“At the end of the day, we must go
forward with hope and not backward
by fear and division.There’s a tug of
war for the soul of America. We’ve
survived apart, but living together,
that’s the great American challenge.”
Reverend Jackson has seen it
all. He has labored in the trenches
for decades and endured a lifetime
of systemic oppression, prejudice
and discrimination. He’s witnessed
first hand some of our greatest
historical victories as people of color,
but he’s bore first hand some of the
consequences of our failures. Yet,
despite every obstacle, every failure,
every challenge, he has remained
steadfast in his fight for civil rights
and social justice.
His life and experiences are are
a testament that today, we must
not lose hope. Just as he and the
activists who have come before us
were longsuffering in their struggle
for justice and equality, we too must
continue our struggle to be seen,
heard and understood. What our
society faces now is yet another
changing tide in America’s racial
and political climate that we must
overcome. As Martin Luther King Jr.
said, “The arc of the moral universe
is long, but it bends towards justice.”
Reverend Jackson tells us we
must acknowledge the challenges
that face us and work together to
address them. We must learn to
share the burdens of marginalized
communities. We must recognize
the selling of fear and false hope by
those in power and work to find our
own genuine hope.
The heart and soul of America is
at stake, and the greatest challenge
ahead of us lies in our ability to unify
to fight this good fight for justice.
Will we continue to be divided or
are will we learn to work and live
together?
— Alyssa Brandon, Michigan in
Color Senior Editor
“You must position yourself with
your moral weaponry. We intend not
to marginalize apartheid, we intend
to eliminate it. We don’t attempt
to marginalize those opposed to a
woman’s right to self-determination,
we intend to fight for the women’s
right to self-determination. The lines
are drawn clearly.” — Reverend Jesse
Jackson.
JACKSON
From Page 1A
student advisers to the committee.
Hyde received 1,152 responses
from seniors by midnight Monday,
of which 97 percent expressed a
negative opinion about replacing
speakers with videos.
She
said
she
decided
to
circulate
the
survey
as
part
of a larger complaint to the
bicentennial
committee
and
the subcommittee dedicated to
planning
the
commencement
ceremonies because she anticipated
a more traditional celebration to
commemorate graduation from the
University.
“You could do it in addition, but
it shouldn’t change the program
because people have been looking
forward to potentially being a
student
speaker,”
Hyde
said.
“They’ve been coming with all
these different ideas to talk about
and be inspiring to their fellow
classmates and future colleagues.
And they want to have some big-
name, inspiring person coming
and talking with them to inspire
them for their future as well. This
is supposed to be a celebration and
you’re supposed to be excited about
it, but I feel like a video doesn’t do
that justice.”
The press release, University
spokesperson Rick Fitzgerald said
the aim of the University is to make
the event memorable for attendees.
“One voice is not enough
to fully celebrate this historic
commencement,”he said. “We want
to make this a truly memorable
experience for the students of
our bicentennial class and their
families.”
According to the release, the
ceremony will include a music
performance
by
a
nationally
recognized individual or group,
as well as speeches from and
recognition of alumni and a video
created
by
current
students.
Graduating students will also sit on
the field for the event, a break from
tradition.
Details of the ceremony are
slated to be announced in early
2017.
LSA senior Francesca Sands
who was sent the survey this
week, said in an interview before
the University release she was
surprised and angry at the thought
of replacing either speaker with a
video.
Sands
said
she
anticipated
commencement
speakers
who
would address current events,
especially in light of the recent win
of President-elect Donald Trump.
She said she felt a video could not
sufficiently address the particular
salient issues facing soon-to-be
graduates currently on campus.
“Especially with the climate
after the election, with everything
socially and politically, we’re going
to be graduating terrified, pretty
much, and I think that needs to be
addressed,” she said. “I feel like a
video highlighting parts of other
speeches from past years isn’t
addressed to us or the time we’re
going to be entering the world in. I
was disappointed.”
She also voiced her concern over
the perceived lack of transparency
and student input in the planning
process.
“I’m worried that people will be
caught off guard by this decision in
March, whenever they’re supposed
to release the speaker,” Sands said.
“And then there’s nothing they can
do about it.”
Hyde closed the survey Monday
night after receiving additional
information from the Bicentennial
Advisory Committee that it would
not entirely replace both speakers
with videos. However, she said the
committee had not communicated
this to the student advisers she
knew on the committee at the time
she released the survey.
She
said,
in
general,
she
felt the committee could have
communicated more with students
from the start to confirm this
was an acceptable change to the
traditions of the ceremony.
“Even if they were planning on
changing it, the students should
have been consulted,” Hyde said.
BACKLASH
From Page 1A
MICHIGAN IN COLOR
“For what?
Because you want
to see my hair?”
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com