Americans.

“Reading on Martin Luther 

King Day is always for me, 
an honor, because it puts 
me conversation with one of 
America’s greatest leaders, and 
not only a great leader in terms 
of Civil Rights, but for me he 
is a great leader in terms of 
human rights. He’s an example 
to us all,” Rankine said.

It 
is 
more 
than 
fitting 

that Rankine read on MLK 
day, as her work deals with 
the profound urgency of the 
country’s increasing need for 
humanity and reversal of racist 
policy and practice. The way 
“Citizen” 
challenges 
poetic 

form is inseparable from the 
way it challenges the forms 
of 
oppressive 
sociopolitical 

structures in American society.

The form of the poem is 

deeply interdisciplinary and 
interweaves personal narrative, 
image and news-style evidence. 
One section lists names of 
black Americans whose lives 

were taken by police brutality, 
the words fading from the page 
as the poem progresses. The 
poem is haunting and direct, 
elucidating the ways in which 
the recipients of such constant 
and inhumane treatment wear 
the oppression on their bodies.

As a recipient of a MacArthur 

Genius grant, Rankine will be 
broadening her commitment 
to 
interdisciplinary 
work 

in 
founding 
the 
“Racial 

Imaginary Institute” in New 
York, a gallery space to explore 
race.

“Our 
name 
‘racial 

imaginaries’ is meant to capture 
the enduring truth of race that 
is an invented concept that 
operates with extraordinary 
force 
in 
our 
daily 
lives, 

limiting our movements and 
imaginations. We understand 
that 
perceptions, 
resources, 

rights and minds themselves 
flow along racial lines that 
confront some of us and give 
others unchecked power. These 
lines are drawn and maintained 
by white dominance,” Rankine, 
in describing the work of the 
Institute, said.

Although 
many 
read 

Rankine’s work as a call for 
social change, she explained 
that she does not think that the 
artist’s responsibility to elicit 
a certain reaction or response 
from an audience.

She put it simply: “I’m not 

into any prescriptive definition 
when it comes to being an 
artist.”

The 
book’s 
powerful 

statement on the experience 
of racism in America merges 
the personal and political in 
a way that has resonated with 
both timelessness and an eerie 
timeliness. The text places 
present-day micro-aggressions 
against black lives and beside 
text and images that allude 
to the era of Jim Crow laws, 
all 
culminating 
in 
poetry 

that unleashes something so 
personally 
and 
persistently 

felt.

Near the end of the poem 

Rankine writes, “That time 
and that time and that time 
the outside blistered the inside 
of you, words outmaneuvered 
years, had you in a chokehold, 
every part roughed up, the eyes 

dripping.” In this moment, 
the immensity of history and 
politics upholds a visceral pain 
that is at once personal and 
shared.

In this, the poet makes 

no real distinction between 
artistic intention that is or is 
not political.

“I think that politics are part 

of life so they are unavoidable, 
so we don’t need to go out 
of our way to avoid them or 
engage them,” Rankine said. 
“They’re part of our life, our 
history, our day to day living. 
They determine everything. 
I think writers and artists 
need to do what they do for 
themselves, 
to 
write 
from 

the place of most honesty, 
imaginative, possibility that 
they can envision themselves 
in, but they can’t avoid politics 
whether or not they think 
they’re doing it.” 

Rankine will be appearing 

both at Rackham Auditorium 
Monday evening and at the 
Institute for Social Research 
Tuesday morning where she 
will talk about her ongoing 
research on racism in America.

The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
Tuesday, January 17, 2017 — 3A

AUTHOR
From Page 1A

“I hope the University of 

Michigan will always be known 
for social change,” Schlissel 
said, referring to the recent 
measures 
being 
taken 
on 

campus.

During his tenure, Schlissel 

has worked to foster diversity 
and campus climate through 
initiatives such as 49 individual 
unit plans across all colleges 
and 
academic 
departments 

which aim to increase and 
retain student body diversity. 
Additionally, 
Schlissel 
is 

currently overseeing plans for 
the construction of the new 
Trotter Multicultural Center 
and 
the 
expansion 
of 
the 

Inclusive Teaching Professional 
Development programs, which 
include workshops to improve 
faculty awareness about the new 
initiative that allows students 
to 
update 
their 
designated 

pronouns. These programs 
also are aimed at administering 
classroom evaluation surveys 
to gauge the success of more 
inclusive teaching methods.

Musicology Associate Prof. 

Mark Clague then introduced 
a 
reinterpretation 
of 
the 

national anthem to reflect the 
Symposium’s theme, “Sounds 
of 
Change.” 
Following 
the 

performance, LSA senior Alyssa 
Brandon introduced both of 
the speakers. Brandon has also 
been an editor for the Daily.

Goodman began by talking 

about 
the 
news 
program 

she 
hosts 
and 
highlighted 

the importance of featuring 
different 
perspectives 
and 

people, saying it’s an important 

step 
in 
fostering 
mutual 

understanding.

“When you hear someone 

speaking 
from 
their 
own 

experience, 
it 
challenges 

stereotypes,” Goodman said. 
“That understanding is the 
beginning of peace … which is 
why we have to take the media 
back.”

Goodman, who is known 

for her role in civic activism, 
then spoke about President-
elect Donald Trump’s recent 
feud with U.S. Rep. John Lewis 

(D–Ga.), a civil rights leader, 
head of the Student Nonviolent 
Coordinating 
Committee 
in 

the 1960s and member of the 
“Big Six” — a coalition of civil 
rights leaders that also included 
Martin Luther King Jr. She told 
the audience how she found it 
appalling that the president-
elect could refer to an icon of 
the civil rights movement as “all 
talk, all talk, all talk, no action” 
despite his more than 50-year 
fight for civil rights causes.

“No 
matter 
what 
your 

political persuasion, it is hard 
to describe John Lewis as a 
man who does not take action,” 
Goodman said.

Goodman, 
after 
offering 

her thoughts on contemporary 
political climate, then reflected 
on other figures in the civil 
rights movement, like Rosa 
Parks. She stated that the 
modern image of Parks was that 
of an unwitting activist who 
ignited the modern civil rights 
movement; however, Goodman 
refuted this claim.

“Every network talked about 

her, no question, but they got it 
wrong.” Goodman said. “They 
said Rosa Parks was a tired 
seamstress; that was true. They 
said she was no troublemaker; 
that was wrong. Rosa Parks 
was a first-class troublemaker. 
She knew exactly what she was 
doing. She was an activist, and 
the media denigrates activists.”

Goodman highlighted the 

importance of an independent 
press and reporters that are 
engaged with grassroots social 
movements 
despite 
possible 

obstacles, like governmental 
institutions. To stress this point, 
she shared her experiences 
in North Dakota last year 
when officials issued an arrest 
warrant 
for 
misdemeanor 

criminal 
trespassing 
when 

covering the Dakota Access 
Pipeline protests.

“We need a media that gives a 

voice to all of these movements 
today: the Black Lives Matter 
movement, the environmental 
justice movement, the gay-
lesbian-trans-queer movement, 
the war and peace movement.” 
she said. “That philosophy, 
that motto, should be the 
Hippocratic oath of media today 
— we will not be silent.”

Afterward, 
Rae 
was 

introduced by Brandon, who 
emphasized that though both 
keynote speakers came from 

different 
backgrounds, 
they 

share many experiences. 

When 
asked 
about 
her 

personal history, Rae explained 
moving 
homes, 
attending 

predominantly white schools 
and going to Stanford University 
was much of what inspired her 
current work.

“A lot of those experiences I 

mined for my work now,” Rae 
said. “And a lot of my work now 
focuses on just those feelings of 
being out of place and feeling 
uncomfortable and feeling, you 
know, awkward and insecure.”

In 
addition, 
Rae 
spoke 

about her support for Planned 
Parenthood and how though she 
knows entertainers are reduced 
to just the role of entertaining, 
she believes there’s too much at 
stake for her to not respond.

“The 
attack 
on 
Planned 

Parenthood is so bewildering.” 
Rae said. “When I felt like I 
couldn’t talk to my mother 
about something, that’s where 
I went.”

When asked about what her 

message to the audience would 
be, Rae emphasized that she 
focuses on remaining authentic 
and herself.

“For me, I just want to 

continue being authentic,” she 
said. “I want to come from a 
place of truth always, I’m going 
to make a difference in a way 
that is long-lasting.”

LSA 
freshman 
Griffin 

Gonzales said he found the 
keynote engaging, and felt Issa 
Rae was particularly inspiring.

“I just think it was a very first-

hand account of her experience 

KEYNOTE
From Page 1A

senior Keysha Wall, a BAMN 
organizer, the group organizes 
events in the Ann Arbor area 
each year surrounding Martin 
Luther King Jr. Day. This year, she 
said, the events are in an effort to 
oppose the policies of Trump that 
they believe are destructive. 

“It’s part of a larger initiative 

to shut down Trump’s racist and 
violent vision for America,” she 
said.

Immigration 
policies 
have 

been at the forefront of Trump’s 
platform 
throughout 
his 

campaign. Much of the concern 
surrounding these policies stems 
from the anticipated repeal of 
Deferred Action for Childhood 
Arrivals and Deferred Action 
for Parents of Americans and 
Lawful 
Permanent 
Residents 

initiatives, which provide aid 
to 
undocumented 
immigrants 

who arrived in the United States 
as children and parents with 
children who are in the country 
legally. It is expected Trump will 
repeal both policies upon entering 
office.

BAMN organizer Kate Stenvig, 

a University of Michigan alum, 
pointed to the national 2006 
protests for immigration reform, 
in which millions of people 
participated, saying similar action 
must be taken now.

“We need that but much, 

much bigger, because Trump has 
declared war on immigrants,” 
she said. “We have to build that 
immigrant rights, civil rights 
movement to shut down Trump 
and beat him and beat his racist 
movement now.”

In the spirit of Martin Luther 

King Jr. Day, Stenvig said, the 
protest called for “no business as 
usual” until action can be taken 
against Trump. Only those in 
support of this cause were in 
attendance at the protest.

“We’re 
saying 
everything 

should be shut down this week,” 
she said. “Martin Luther King said 
at the March (on Washington) in 
1963 — in his ‘I Have a Dream’ 
speech — he said there would be 
a rude awakening if the country 
returned to business as usual. 
We are saying there should be no 
business as usual until Trump is 
defeated.”

Protesters began at the corner 

of 
South 
University 
Avenue 

and South Forest Street before 
marching 
down 
various 
city 

streets with three police cars 
following the march.

Protesters held signs reading: 

“Open the borders now! No more 
deportations” and “Trump must 
go by any means necessary” along 
with others in a similar vein, and 
chanted phrases including, “No 
Trump. No wall. Full citizenship. 
Rights for all” and “Obama, 
pardon DACA youth now, by any 
means necessary, shut Trump 
down.”

The march ended at the corner 

of North University Avenue and 
State Street, where protesters 
continued to hold up signs and 
individuals voiced their opinions 
to the group.

“Trump 
is 
talking 
about 

destroying the lives of the most 
vulnerable people in this nation,” 
Wall said. “It isn’t just because 
it would be easy because they 
have their information on file, 
it’s because they are the people 
who would be at the forefront of 
destroying his racist, hate-filled, 
violent movement.”

Markeith 
Jones, 
a 
BAMN 

organizer and freshman at Wayne 
State University, said the world is 
at a crossroads in which people 
can choose to organize and build 
a new civilized immigrant rights 
movement or allow a potentially 
fascist regime to take over.

“The time period we’re in 

right now — we’re at a point 
where the world can go either 
way,” he said. “There are two 
sides pushing and pulling. What 
we 
are 
doing 
is 
organizing 

a 
countermovement 
against 

Donald Trump’s movement. If 
we don’t, the alternative is a rise 
of fascism in the United States, 
mass deportations, people being 
dragged out of their houses, 
beaten and killed.”

LSA senior Lauren Kay, who 

was among the protesters, said 
much like how Martin Luther 
King Jr. fought against the 
normalization of discrimination 
against minorities, people must 
fight 
Trump’s 
anti-immigrant 

policies.

“I think the only proper way to 

celebrate MLK Day is to fight and 
is to protest and is to raise hell and 
is to alter people’s consciences and 
consciousness,” she said. “And not 
just have people get trapped in 
normalizing oppression.”

MARCH
From Page 1A

going to throw millions off of 
health insurance, you’ve got 
another guess coming,” Sanders 
said.

Sanders has been one of 

the strongest proponents of 
the health care law, which — 
although it has provided health 
care to about 20 million people 
— has been criticized for its 
high premiums. The senator’s 
rhetoric was aimed toward 
those who may be most affected 
by the repeal — working-class 
individuals and members of 
labor unions, including the 
United Automobile Workers, 
who were a strong presence in 
the crowd.

“Very few Americans want to 

repeal the Affordable Care Act 
without a replacement to make 
it better,” Sanders said.

Kathy Squires, a Chelsea 

resident, came to show support 
for the law, which she says 
saved her daughter’s life.

“My daughter is in remission 

after having cancer and she 
needs continuing care,” she said. 
“I don’t know what’s going to 
happen to her insurance under 
President Trump, so I need to 
be here with other people who 
are hoping for change.”

U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow 

(D–Mich.) said during the rally 
she resonated with the personal 
nature of the health care law. 
She said if we look at all the 
pieces of health care reform, 2 
million people in Michigan will 
lose their health care.

“This isn’t a political issue,” 

she said. “I can’t think of a more 

personal one.”

Shirley Chalmers, a resident 

of Beverly Hills, carried a sign 
at the rally that read, “taking 
away ACA is a death sentence,” 
and said her support for Sanders 
rested largely on his ability to 
mobilize.

“He’s sparking a fire for 

something 
that 
has 
been 

dormant since the election 
season ended,” she said. “Thank 
you, Bernie, for showing the 
way.”

Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D–

Mich.) said mobilization of 
millennials 
is 
necessary 
to 

resist Republican efforts to 
repeal the bill.

“Millennials, 
you 
are 

under attack,” Lawrence said. 
“Millennials, are you ready to 
stand up and fight?”

Sanders agreed that the fight 

to prevent Republicans from 

repealing 
“Obamacare” 
will 

be arduous, but he urged his 
supporters to remain involved.

“This is the beginning of the 

fight, not the end of the fight,” 
Sanders said.

Additionally, 
Planned 

Parenthood 
President 

Cecile 
Richards 
applauded 

“Obamacare” 
for 
its 
part 

in women’s health care in 
particular. 
Under 
President 

Obama’s 
health 
care 
law, 

women’s 
preventive 
care, 

such as mammograms and 
cervical screenings, must be 
covered without cost sharing. 
Richards said with more female 
representation 
in 
Congress, 

more women’s health issues can 
be resolved.

“If there were more people 

in Congress who could get 
pregnant, we could stop arguing 
about birth control,” she said.

SANDERS
From Page 1A

this is really just an extension 
of that. The vehicle is just an 
extension of our expectation of 
connectivity at all times.”

Hoffman agreed with the 

gravity of the autonomous car 
revolution.

“It’s probably going to be 

the next big revolution in the 

auto industry,” Hoffman said. 
“It’s on par with the moving 
assembly line.”

Hoffman also weighed in 

on the mixture of old and new 
technology, stating that other 
iconic cars such as the Ford 
Mustang could soon be coming 
out as hybrids.

“I actually think it’s a really 

cool idea, I’d actually like to 
see more of that,” he said,”the 
same styling you get in classic 
cars, but updated components 

that are made to much better 
standards than the cars of that 
time.”

Joe Mathis, an auto show 

patron from Cincinnati, Ohio, 
was confident the high-tech 
features displayed on concept 
cars will eventually migrate into 
mainstream vehicles. Mathis 
also attested to what the show 
does for public understanding 
and awareness regarding the 
auto industry.

“It’s a great jumpstart, kick in 

the arm; it gets people excited 
about the industry,” he said. “It 
brings a lot of people out as you 
can see (and) gets people talking 
about the industry again.”

The 
auto 
industry 
has 

recently 
been 
under 
the 

microscope because of a series 
of tweets from President-elect 
Donald Trump, who applauded 
domestic 
manufacturers 
for 

creating American jobs rather 
than expanding internationally.

NAIAS
From Page 2A

I hope the 

University of 
Michigan will 

always be known 
for social change

Read more at 
MichiganDaily.com