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

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-SIX YEARS OF EDITORIAL FREEDOM

GOT A NEWS TIP?
Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail 
news@michigandaily.com and let us know.

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

