The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
News
4 — Monday, August 31, 2020
Thousands protest police
brutality across Michigan
CLAIRE HAO & CALDER
LEWIS
Daily News Editor and Summer
News Editor
Last weekend, The Michigan
Daily reporters went to 11
different protests, driving 269
miles and speaking to almost
100 people in 10 cities about
why they came out. Some said it
was their first time protesting.
Many more said they were used
to protests in big cities, but
they never expected protests
of this magnitude — or even
protests in general — in their
suburban hometowns. When
asked if not before, why now,
almost everyone had the same
answer: People are tired, and
they want change.
This article is the first
installment
of
a
four-part
series
on
police
brutality
protests across Metro Detroit
over the weekend of June 6 and
7. Check back at michigandaily.
com this week for parts two,
three and four.
It was a sight many said
they thought they’d never see.
Ulysses Wright and Charlie
Evans were working at the
Hungry Howie’s in Ferndale
on Saturday afternoon when
thousands started flooding
past their storefront window,
marching in protest of police
brutality.
The
two
went
outside to take in the sight,
which left them speechless
and nearly moved Wright to
tears. Wright said the crowd
meant so much to him because
he is a Black man in America,
but also because he has never
seen people come together
like this.
“It makes me want to cry,
like you don’t really care
about anything else in the
world,” Wright said. “I think
the world kind of stopped
for me, and I’ve never had
that feeling. There was no
existence except taking it all
in. It’s hard to put it in words,
because that’s just cheapening
it. It was like literally if God
himself came to show us he
was God, that was it.”
Over the weekend, tens
of thousands wore masks to
march in suburbs throughout
Metro Detroit against police
brutality,
joining
millions
across the country and around
the world in wave after wave
of protests sparked by the
killing of George Floyd.
Throughout the latter half
of the 1900s, the growth of
the suburbs often came at
Detroit’s expense, as capital
and white residents moved
out of the city in droves
while Black residents were
prevented
from
following.
To this day, Detroit is unique
among
other
metropolitan
hubs across the country in
that much of the wealth is
concentrated in its outlying
suburbs rather than in the
city itself.
The
majority
of
those
arrested in the first several
days
of
Detroit’s
protests
lived in the suburbs. Through
the
week,
protests
began
spreading
to
Detroit’s
suburbs, many of which are
predominantly white.
According
to
Sterling
Heights
resident
Megan
Williams, her ancestors had
been slaves and her mother
had
walked
with
Martin
Luther King Jr. She marched
in
her
very
first
protest
in
Ferndale
on
Saturday
afternoon.
“We don’t want to repeat
cycles,” Williams said. “I
refuse to birth a child into a
world where they have to do
any more than us.”
Below are some of the
protesters
from
Saturday
on their experiences with
racism and what this current
moment means to them. You
can read more from protesters
on Saturday in Part Two of
this series coming soon.
12 p.m. - Bloomfield Hills
- 82.3 percent white and 2.21
percent Black - $187k median
household income
Despite its small size, the
group of about 20 people
standing
in
front
of
the
Bloomfield
Hills
police
station was hard to miss. They
held signs condemning police
brutality as some cars driving
by honked in support.
Southfield residents Nate
and Tamika Taylor brought
their
two
young
sons
to
protest
along
Long
Lake
Road. Both said they were out
to push for a better world for
their kids.
“We just thought it was
disheartening in today’s age
when you see an African-
American male lose his life on
television,” Nate Taylor said.
“That’s something I didn’t
want to show my boys, but it’s
something that they need to
know goes on in this world.
We just want to make sure
they’re treated fairly as they
grow and progress into young,
African-American men.”
Berkley
resident
Starr
Bialk,
a
University
of
Michigan
alum,
said
she
thought the roadside protest
was
important
because
even
a
small
number
of
people showing up is visible.
According to Bialk, because
Bloomfield Hills is a “really
white, upper-class part of the
area,” it felt to her like one of
the more important places to
bring the Black Lives Matter
message.
“If people aren’t here, it’s
maybe easier for people to
avoid it, if they don’t want to
be a part of it,” Bialk said. “If
you bring it to them instead, it
shows them they can’t avoid
it. It’s everywhere and it’s
happening.”
2 p.m. - Southfield - 22.8
percent
white
and
70.3
percent Black - $54k median
household income
A few hundred protesters
met in Southfield at Hope
United
Methodist
Church
before marching down Civic
Center Drive.
Detroit Resident Ronisha
Bannerman
said
the
Southfield protest was more
soothing than the ones she had
attended in Detroit.
“Those
(Detroit
protests)
were rowdy, more upbeat,”
Bannerman said. “This one
was more chill, and I really
appreciated that. There was
gospel music playing, and it
was really calming for me. The
one downtown had me really
pumped up, this one was more
laidback. It was what I needed
today.”
Southfield
resident
Myra
Gracey, a retired Detroit police
officer,
participated
in
the
march because she wants to
see more reform, training and
professional development in
police departments. She said
high-profile police killings like
George Floyd’s are not lost on
officers.
“Being
a
retired
police
officer,
what
happened
probably
affected
us
more
mentally than others, because
we all have the job to protect
people,” Gracey said. “Killing
people with our hands is very
upsetting and disappointing.”
Royal Oak resident Erika
Swilley said she thought it was
important to have protests in
the suburbs to challenge all
the police departments in the
different neighborhoods. To
her, taking a stance by coming
to Southfield’s protest was an
opportunity to not only talk the
talk but also to literally walk
the walk.
“(The protest) was just a
reflection of what our country
can be,” Swilley said. “People of
all ethnicities coming together
for one common goal.”
2 p.m. - Royal Oak - 90.2
percent white and 3.7 percent
Black - $79k median household
income
The
predominantly
white
protesters walked in circles
under hanging flower baskets
on Main Street from 11 Mile
Road to Fifth Street, before
marching down and closing a
portion of 11 Mile Road.
One
protester,
Detroit
resident Karl Jackson, is a
combat
veteran
who
was
deployed in 2013 and now back
in civilian life. He said fighting
for his country is one of the
greatest things an American
can do.
“Now, I’m fighting for my
life as a Black man, and for
my people here,” Jackson said.
“We’re all Americans. When
one of us hurts, we all hurt.”
Growing up as a boy in
Detroit, Jackson said he knew
not to go past certain suburbs at
a certain time. Jackson likened
the protective measures he has
to take to his experience as a
soldier.
“You may not have to take
certain
precautions
driving,
but as a Black man today I
have to. You know, I have a
veteran status on my license,”
Jackson said. “I keep my phone
positioned on the camera just
in case. I keep my wallet where
it’s visible. Those things are
just like me being a soldier. I
have to prepare myself, you
never know.”
As a soldier, Jackson said
he defended everybody’s First
Amendment rights, whether
he agreed with them or not.
When
asked
his
thoughts
on former NFL player Colin
Kaepernick’s controversial act
of taking a knee in 2016 during
the national anthem to protest
police brutality, Jackson said
the national anthem represents
something “totally different”
to him.
“As a Black soldier or a Black
veteran, when I looked and saw
what Colin Kaepernick did, I
wasn’t looking at the fact that
he was protesting the military,”
Jackson said. “It was him using
his right, which is what I raised
my hand and defended the
Constitution up to my life for.”
Among the stream of people
in street clothes walking by, it
was hard to miss the 20 doctors
and medical students marching
in their scrubs and white coats
holding a sign that said “White
Coats for Black Lives.” Many
of them were from the family
medicine unit at the Henry
Ford hospital in Detroit. Those
interviewed said they wanted
to stand with and show their
support for the community that
they serve, one that is largely
Black.
Dr. Alicia Steele is a part
of the inaugural class of the
Wayne State University Urban
Track in Family
Medicine residency, and she
is working to address health
inequities and lack of access
to health care for Detroit’s
minority
communities.
She
said every institution can have
systemic racism and violence,
specifically pointing to the
disproportionate burden of
COVID-19
on
Michigan’s
Black community.
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
UMich community battles
anti-Asian discrimination
FRANCESCA DUONG
Summer Managing News Editor
During the early days of
the
COVID-19
pandemic,
Mary Rose, program manager
in the Office of Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion at the
University of Michigan, felt
her uneasiness grow about
her public perception as she
took her son to their local
urgent care clinic.
“I
remember
purposely
wearing my Michigan t-shirt
underneath my big winter
coat,” Rose said. “As soon as I
got inside I unzipped it. I felt
like I had to consciously make
an effort to indicate that I was
not a recent immigrant, that I
did not just come here off a
plane from anywhere — I am a
part of this community.”
Rose noted her thoughts
were
fueled
by
social
media
and
reports
of
Asian
Americans
being
discriminated
against
and
said sometimes she hesitates
to go out by herself.
“I weigh in my mind, ‘Is
there a chance that I let my
guard down and I go out and
somebody might harass me,
or do something, and I might
not be with my family?’” Rose
said.
Melissa
Borja,
assistant
professor
of
American
culture, said she sometimes
gets
nervous
about
going
outside,
not
only
because
she does not want to be
infected, but also because
she is concerned about racial
harassment.
“It just struck me as this
great irony that in March and
in April, we were living in
lockdown situations and we
were told ‘get out’, ‘get some
fresh air,’ ‘it’s good for your
mental health, once a day just
go for a walk,’” Borja said.
“But, it’s a very stressful thing
to ‘get out,’ ‘get fresh air,’ ‘go
on a walk,’ as an Asian person,
since
Asian
people
were
getting spit on, were having
racist things yelled at them by
drivers passing by.”
According to the Center
for Disease Control, on Jan.
21, 2020, the first case of
COVID-19 was identified in
the United States.
In March, Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo referred
to the 2019 novel coronavirus
as the “Wuhan virus” and
President
Donald
Trump
called COVID-19 the “China
virus.” CDC Director Robert
Redfield condemned the use
of such language, saying it
was “absolutely wrong and
inappropriate.”
As COVID-19 continued to
spread, the Los Angeles Times
reported a rise in hate crimes
toward Asian Americans from
February to April. The article
echoed an FBI warning of the
potential surge in hate crimes
against
Asian
Americans
during the pandemic. The
warning detailed an incident
in Midland, Texas, in which
an
Asian-American
family
was
stabbed
because
the
attacker “thought the family
was Chinese, and infecting
people with the coronavirus.”
Rose,
Borja
and
many
other University community
members are taking action
to combat the rise in anti-
Asian hate crimes and to
raise awareness of racist and
xenophobic acts.
In this article, the acronyms
AAPI
(Asian
Americans
and Pacific Islanders), A/
PIA (Asian/Pacific Islander
American)
and
APID/A
(Asian Pacific Islander Desi/
Americans) will be frequently
used.
Documenting hate crimes
across the U.S.
After
being
established
on
March
19,
the
STOP
AAPI
HATE
Reporting
Center recieved 673 reports
of
COVID-19-related
discrimination in the United
States within the first week of
opening.
Borja
leads
a
team
of
researchers to analyze media
coverage of anti-Asian hate
incidents to understand the
scope of these events for
STOP AAPI HATE. University
alum Jacob Gibson and LSA
sophomore
Amelia
Navins
are assisting Borja with the
project.
“We are going through news
databases
and
identifying
all articles we can that are
related
to
Asian-American
discrimination in relation to
COVID-19,” Gibson said. “And
then
we’re
tracking
what
the news stories are about,
whether it’s about politician
statements
regarding
anti-
Asian American racism or
a statement that has been
racist, or whether it’s been
about individual incidents of
harassment.”
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
Twitter account posts anon
sexual assault allegations
JASMIN LEE & VARSHA
VEDAPUDI
Summer Managing News Editor and
Daily Staff Reporter
Content
Warning:
Sexual
assault, sexual abuse.
A Twitter account created
Wednesday called “Assaulters
at UMich” posted a series of
tweets calling out alleged
sexual
assaulters
on
the
University
of
Michigan
campus, including a professor.
The account asked for direct
messages from students with
claims of sexual assault and
posted these submissions to
their page with the name and
picture of the alleged assaulter
along with any fraternity or
athletic team affiliation.
The Daily reached out to
the creator of the account
via direct message, whose
identity cannot be verified and
asked to remain anonymous
due to safety concerns. The
creator told The Daily via
Twitter direct messages that
they wanted to help survivors
because the University has
failed to protect survivors
from their abusers.
“At first I wasn’t sure if
people would send in their
stories, but once individuals
started sharing their stories
I was shocked at the sheer
amount of individuals who
have
gone
through
these
(traumas),” they said. “It just
shows how prevalent sexual
assaults (are) and that UMich
needs to do a better job taking
action.”
The creator said though
they are not able to verify the
submissions of alleged abuse
that they are receiving, they
are vigilant about deleting
posts that are proven to be
untrue.
The Daily reached out to
the Sexual Assault Prevention
and
Awareness
Center
at
the University, who cited a
statement from Public Affairs.
University spokesman Rick
Fitzgerald told The Daily in an
email they are not able to verify
the validity of the accusations,
and they encourage victims
of sexual assault to report
their
experience
through
University resources.
“We
encourage
anyone
who
experiences
sexual
misconduct
within
our
community to report it to
police and OIE so the concerns
can
be
thoroughly
and
appropriately
investigated,”
Fitzgerald said. “Anonymous
reports
are
very
difficult
or impossible to investigate
fully. We are not in a position
to confirm or deny any of this
information. We offer these
resources
and
encourage
community
members
to
seek any support or other
assistance they may need,
even if they choose not to
report to the university or
police.”
University employees such
as
former
provost
Martin
Philbert, late former athletic
doctor Robert E. Anderson
and
former
associate
professor of music Stephen
Shipps have been accused of
sexual misconduct in the past.
A sex discrimination lawsuit
was recently filed by a former
University athlete against the
University and James Henry,
a track and field coach. There
has also been controversy
surrounding
cross-
examination guidelines with
Title IX regulations, which
can discourage survivors from
reporting assault.
Students
at
other
universities,
such
as
the
University of California at San
Diego and the University of
California at Los Angeles have
created similar pages inspired
by the “Assaulters at UMich”
page to share experiences
of sexual assault on their
campuses.
University alum Joy Boakye
had
her
experience
being
sexually assaulted shared on
the page. Her message on the
page
included
accusations
of people disregarding her
allegations because of the
accused’s prominent role in
the Black community at the
University.
Boakye
told
The
Daily
in an email that she feared
reinforcing
the
harmful
stereotypes
against
people
of color, and that she was
concerned
with
furthering
white supremacy which also
affects women of color.
“I also think that this is an
illustration of how race colors
sexual
violence,”
Boakye
said. “Survivors of color are
discouraged or feel terrified
to report because (it would)
be reporting someone in the
community and that looks like
betrayal.”
Boakye also shared she
did not reach out to any
organizations with her story
because of how exhausting it
was to speak of her trauma.
She said the incident left
her “suicidal,” “broken” and
caused her to “sever ties
with the Black community”
because of how much more she
claimed the accused person
was valued than her.
Boakye
said
having
a
leadership
role
in
the
University
community
has
enabled assaulters to get away
with crimes in the past.
“If you are an athlete, if
you are part of a fraternity, if
you’re part of something that
makes you the leaders and
best, you know that you have
the power to do whatever
you want regardless of the
consequences.” Boakye said.
Read more at
MichiganDaily.com
We just
thought it was
disheartening
in today’s age
when you see
an African-
American male
lose his life on
television.