According to author Claudia
Rankine, the inception of her
book-length
poem,
“Citizen:
An American Lyric,” began
with the question: “How did
that happen?” Something of an
investigation, the poem opens
with secondhand prose poetry
cataloguing the lived experience
of racism among Rankine’s
friends and colleagues.
“I just wanted to see if people
were sensitive to the fact that
every day in small ways, they
were themselves engaged in
actions that were annihilating
other people’s human rights,
their rights to be here as a
citizen and as a person in the
world,” Rankine said in a phone
interview with the Michigan
Daily.
As part of the Martin Luther
King Day Symposium, Claudia
Rankine,
poet,
professor
and MacArthur fellow, will
present on “Citizen” published
in 2014. The event will take
place in Rackham auditorium,
hosted by the U-M Racism
Lab. “Citizen” is the first and
only book of poetry to ever be
named on the New York Times
nonfiction bestseller list as well
as the recipient of the NAACP
award and PEN Open Book
Award. The poem explores
the brutal lived experience of
structural racism against Black
More than 100 people gathered
in the freezing rain Monday
afternoon on the Diag for the
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Symposium’s 11th annual Circle
of Unity, an event intended to
celebrate Dr. King’s dedicated to
racial justice, nonviolence, and
unity.
The Circle of Unity consisted
of several performances, from a
dance circle led by Detroit native
Julie Beutel and Joe Reilly, a
University of Michigan alum,
to renditions of “Lean on Me”
and “We Shall Overcome” led
by the Smile Bringer Singers, a
University club, all designed to get
the audience to participate.
Event
organizer
Amani
Echols, an LSA sophomore, was
encouraged by the number of
people that attended the event
despite the rain.
“On a smaller level, within
our learning community, we
sometimes don’t always have the
best turnout to all of our events,
and I really think this shows that
people really are interested,”
she said. “So I just hope this on
a small scale will trickle down
into bigger things, people just
going out of their way to help out
unexpectedly.”
Reilly, has performed at the
Circle of Unity for the past five
years, agrees that the event has
grown over the years. Referring
to the upcoming inauguration of
President-elect Donald Trump,
Reilly noted that this Circle of
Unity felt different from past ones.
“The circle has gotten bigger,”
he said. “And I think this year
it’s in a new context with the
political changes happening in
this country. It takes on a new
meaning, a deeper sense of
urgency and importance that we
recognize and celebrate diversity,
that we are inclusive and that we
support one another.”
Echols also lauded the ability
of the event to forge connections
between
different
University
organizations and within groups
such as the Michigan Community
Scholars Program.
“A lot of times the people we
reach out to have connections
within our program, so it’s
always been a way for us to come
together through our different
organizations,” she said. “And I
know David Schoem, the director
of our learning community, is
really big on unifying events
and inclusion, so it seems a
little cheesy, but the whole in-a-
circle-holding-hands-dancing is
something he really likes.”
She added despite the novelty
of the event, she still preferred
it to a lecture or another event
that did not include audience
involvement.
“There are so many events,
but I like this one especially
with the theme this year being
sounds of change, and all of our
performances are music and
dance,” she said. “It’s different
because we’re in a circle, moving
around, and most of the other
events are in an auditorium
listening to a speaker.”
Engineering
sophomore
Audrey
Henry
attended
the
performance and agreed the
unique format of the event fit well
with Martin Luther King Jr.’s
legacy.
“I think that Martin Luther
King Day is about people realizing
that we’re all one unified group
of Americans, and of just people
in the world,” she said. “So all
coming together in one circle
kind of represents what Martin
Luther King stood for.”
In conjunction with Martin
Luther King Jr. Day festivities
and
lectures,
approximately
25 students and community
members marched through Ann
Arbor to protest the upcoming
inauguration of President-elect
Donald Trump. The protest,
organized by the University of
Michigan chapter of BAMN
—
the
Coalition
to
Defend
Affirmative Action, Integration
and Immigrant Rights and Fight
for Equality By Any Means
Necessary
—
predominantly
opposed Trump’s plans to change
immigration reform.
BAMN
frequently
hosts
protests
on
campus.
Most
recently, BAMN held a protest in
response to ethnic intimidation
attacks
on
campus
since
Trump was elected president.
Additionally, in early 2014 and
again in 2015, eight BAMN
protesters were arrested at a
University Board of Regents
meeting after demanding the
University
exercise
on-site
admissions at Detroit schools.
According to Art & Design
michigandaily.com
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Tuesday, January 17, 2017
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVii, No. 9
©2016 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
SPORTS...........B SECTION
Poet speaks
on racism in
US at MLK
Day lecture
Amy Goodman, Issa Rae deliver
speech on social justice, journalism
See AUTHOR, Page 3A
MAX KUANG/Daily
Journalist Amy Goodman interviews TV producer Issa Rae at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium at Hill Auditorium on Monday.
CAMPUS LIFE
Claudia Rankine interprets exerpts of
bestseller “Citizen: An American Lyric”
KAELA THEUT
Daily Staff Reporter
Curent political climate, media significance outlined to over 3,000 attendees
Over 3,000 people gathered
Monday
morning
in
Hill
Auditorium to listen to the
University of Michigan Martin
Luther
King
Jr.
Symposium
keynote memorial lecture given
by
renowned
investigative
journalist Amy Goodman and
filmmaker Issa Rae.
Amy Goodman — also the
host of Democracy Now!, a news
organization that focuses on
various aspects of world news
and
investigative
journalism
— has covered a wide range of
topics from the Dakota Access
Pipeline protests to the Santa
Cruz massacre. Issa Rae, a
writer, producer and star of the
HBO series “Insecure,” who was
recently nominated for a Golden
Globe, participated in a sit-
down interview-style discussion
following Goodman’s remarks.
University
President
Mark
Schlissel introduced the event,
talking
about
the
Diversity,
Equity
and
Inclusion
plan
proposed last fall. He mentioned
diversity as a key to excellence,
noting its importance in light
of the University’s upcoming
bicentennial and in relation to
the goals of Martin Luther King,
Jr.
RHEA CHEETI
Daily Staff Reporter
See MARCH, Page 3A
Protestors
march in
support of
DACA laws
CAMPUS LIFE
Students, locals express
concern for immigration
reform under Trump
JENNIFER MEER
Daily Staff Reporter
AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily
Gatherers stand in the Diag during the 11th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. rally on Monday.
Michigan Community Scholars host
11th annual “Circle of Unity” gathering
Event honors legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. with student performances, speeches
ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily Staff Reporter
Momentary relief
Recovering from a blowout
loss to Illinois, the Michigan
men’s basketball team
defeated Nebraska, 91-85,
Saturday at Crisler Center.
» Page 1B
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See KEYNOTE, Page 3A
Despite freezing temperatures,
thousands attended U.S. Sen.
Bernie Sanders’ (I–Vt.) rally
Sunday held outside Macomb
Community College to hear him
speak alongside both Michigan
senators,
several
Michigan
representatives
and
Senate
minority leader, U.S. Sen. Chuck
Schumer (D–N.Y.).
Sanders
called
upon
Americans to fight the repeal of
President Barack Obama’s health
care plan in one of multiple
Democratic rallies across the
country
held
to
encourage
opposition.
President-elect
Donald
Trump vowed to repeal and
replace Obama’s health care law
throughout his campaign. This
week, Congress took its first
steps in dissolving “Obamacare”
by approving a budget resolution
that would cut down large parts
of the health care law.
Sanders,
like
many
other
congressional Democrats, said
he intends to fight for the law to
remain intact.
“If you think you’re simply
See SANDERS, Page 3A
Sanders,
Schumer
host health
care rally
GOVERNMENT
Thousands unite in one of
nationwide rallies against
appeal of Obamacare
CARLY RYAN
Daily Staff Reporter