The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Wednesday, February 10, 2021 — 3

Activist, scholar LaTosha Brown hosts 
Black History Month kickoff event
Speaker encourages students to “reimagine how we can better our world”

To begin this month’s Black 

History Month celebrations, 
LaTosha Brown, co-founder of 
the Black Voters Matter Fund 
and a 2020-2021 American 
Democracy Fellow at Harvard 
University, 
discussed 
civic 

engagement, voter suppression 
and political power in the 
21st century at a virtual event 
Monday evening. 

Hosted by the University 

of Michigan Office of Multi-
Ethnic Student Affairs, the 
event marked the start of a 
month dedicated to honoring, 
informing 
and 
recognizing 

the important role that Black 
people 
play 
in 
American 

history. 

Brown not only spoke on the 

significance of Black History 
Month but also shared personal 
experiences. She began her 
lecture 
by 
singing 
a 
song 

discussing how her hometown 
of Selma, Ala., influenced her 
political activism today. 

 “Well, the first thing I did 

right was the day I started to 
fight,” Brown sang. “Keep your 
eyes on the prize and hold on.” 

Brown’s vocals and use of 

music during her talk resonated 
with many attendees, including 
Music, Theatre & Dance senior 
Jack Williams III. 

 “It was really beautiful to 

not only hear her sing, but to 
also hear her stories about 
how music has helped shape 
her life and shape her work, 
and about the ways in which 
music is being used time and 
time again,” Williams said. 
“If you look at old videos from 
the Civil Rights Movement, 
you will see them singing as 

they’re marching. It just makes 
me think of the ways in which 
Black people have used their 
voices time and time again to 
enact change.”

Despite the bleak history 

that often accompanies her 
tune, Brown said this song is 
also optimistic because it is an 
anthem for political activism. 

 “It was being created and 

raised within the context of 
people who had that song in 
their 
heart 
that 
ultimately 

shaped me into the person I am 
today,” Brown said. 

Brown 
carried 
this 
tone 

of positivity into addressing 
President Joe Biden’s victory 
in the 2020 election. She said 
people have a responsibility 
to be civically engaged and 
cognizant of the policies that 
impact their day-to-day lives.

 “We want people to believe 

that they have agency and the 
right to govern themselves,” 
Brown 
said. 
“Every 
single 

aspect of our lives is impacted 
by policy. We’re not asking you 
to believe in the system. We’re 
asking you to believe in your 
agency and power. You’ve got 
to show up.” 

Brown urged the audience 

to 
continue 
fighting 
for 

democracy, 
noting 
that 

democracy has always been a 
threat to white supremacy.

“Democracy 
has 
been 

a 
vehicle 
for 
American 

exceptionalism 
to 
hide 

behind,” Brown said. “At the 
same time that we were having 
lofty ideas that all men are 
created equal and endowed 
by 
their 
creator, 
we 
saw 

the genocide of Indigenous 
people 
in 
this 
country 

and 
the 
exploitation 
and 

dehumanization of Africans. 
However, 
democracy 
allows 

us to use our leverage and our 
collective voice to reduce some 
of the harm that has happened 
in our communities. If Black 
people were not voting in this 
country, we would not have a 
democracy.” 

Brown also commented on a 

more recent event: the Jan. 6 
Capitol riot. Brown said current 
economic 
uncertainties, 
as 

well as blatant racism and 
scapegoating, contributed to 
the attempted insurrection.

“There 
are 
some 
larger 

structural 
issues 
that 
are 

driving the frustration that 
is rooted in the current state 
of the country and economy,” 
said Brown. “However, Black 
people and immigrants are 
consistently 
the 
scapegoat 

and receive most of the blame. 
There is an expectation that 
America is supposed to serve 
the interest of white comfort. 
So 
when 
there 
is 
white 

discomfort, there has been 
a history of society blaming 
people of color.” 

LSA senior Josiah Walker, 

vice president of LSA student 
government, 
asked 
Brown 

about the influence that Black 
college students have on the 
future of democracy. Brown 
responded by posing a question 
of her own: “What would 

America 
look 
like 
without 

racism?”

 “98% of people cannot see 

anything 
when 
doing 
this 

exercise,” said Brown. “Spend 
more time radically envisioning 
what this world can be. There 
is nothing that has ever been 
brought into being that was 
not first envisioned. We can 
radically 
reimagine 
every 

system as founders of a new 
America. Spend more time 
not just reacting to what is 

happening around us, but to 
reimagine how we can better 
our world.” 

This exercise was powerful 

and 
eye-opening 
for 
many 

attendees, 
including 
Music, 

Theatre & Dance associate 
professor Antonio C. Cuyler, 
who moderated the event.

“I’ve 
heard 
of 
this 

experiment before and I’ve 
been thinking about it more,” 
Cuyler said. “If we remove 
racism, if we remove sexism, 
if we remove all forms of 
oppression currently in our 
society, what would that look 
like? And the answer I came 
up with is a more prosperous 
society, a society that allows all 
of us to prosper unencumbered 
by these artificial differences 
that we placed too much value 
in.” 

Walker said he wanted to see 

the University raise awareness 
of Black history during all 
months of the year. 

 “Black people still exist 

outside the month of February,” 
Walker said. “I want to see the 
University continue to promote 
Black 
history 
further 
and 

highlight 
the 
contributions 

that the Black community has 
made 
in 
American 
society 

throughout history and today.” 

Chief 
Diversity 
Officer 

Robert Sellers spoke on the 
panel and echoed Walker’s 
sentiments, urging the audience 
to celebrate Black history and 
recognize 
the 
contributions 

Black people have made to the 
country.

“You 
can’t 
understand 

American 
history 
without 

understanding 
African-

American history,” Sellers said. 
“I would like for everybody — 
regardless of race and cultural 
background — to have a better 
understanding 
of 
the 
role 

of African Americans in the 
world.” 

Williams said he wished 

the University would spend 
more time and resources to 
events supporting the Black 
community on campus.

“I think having consistent 

programming 
that 

acknowledges Black students 
on 
campus 
is 
important,” 

Williams said. “Members of 
my Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity 
Inc., Epsilon Chapter in the 
past were really influential in 
starting organizations such as 
the Black Student Union and 
things of that nature. So, I 
think that it’s important that 
the University acknowledges 
the work that Black students 
do because part of the Black 
experience on campus is not 

just the hardships of being 
the only person of color in the 
classroom. It’s the fun things 
too — it’s the things that we do 
to constantly uplift students on 
a day-to-day basis.”

Public 
Policy 
senior 

Cydney Gardner-Brown, also 
a 
panelist, 
encouraged 
the 

University to pay students who 
speak on panels and offer their 
knowledge to the University 
community.

“It seems that the University 

recognizes the importance of 
having student panelists and 
having the voice of student 
activists on their panels, but 
they don’t see the necessity of 
making sure those students feel 
compensated for their work,” 
Gardner-Brown said. “A lot of 
the work that student activists 
do are things that people in the 
workforce get paid to do.”

Throughout the event, Brown 

urged attendees to advance 
humanity in a direction where 
equality reverberates through 
every community. According 
to 
Brown, 
commitment 

and perseverance form the 
foundation 
of 
successful 

movements. She encouraged 
the audience to welcome the 
tension 
and 
pressure 
that 

accompanies producing radical 
change.

“Pressure 
either 
destroys 

you or stimulates you,” Brown 
said. “You have to radically 
recreate what you want to 
see. 
Every 
generation 
has 

something to offer. Tension is 
normal. As long as you have 
mutual respect, change can 
happen.” 

Daily Staff Reporter Janice 

Kang 
can 
be 
reached 
at 

janicegk@umich.edu.

Students of Color Liberation Front releases 
anti-racist demands for U-M administration
Coalition of racial/ethnic justice organizations calls on University to increase funding, decolonize curricula and more

CAMPUS LIFE

CAMPUS LIFE

JANICE KANG
Daily Staff Reporter

The University of Michigan’s 

Students of Color Liberation Front 
— a coalition of racial/ethnic 
justice organizations — released 
a 15-page document of demands 
Monday calling on the University 
to take concrete steps to address 
and dismantle racism on campus. 
Almost 100 community members 
have signed in support of the 
statement by time of publication.

The SoC LF is made up of the 

Black Student Union, United Asian 
American Organizations, La Casa, 
Arab Student Association, Native 
American Student Association, 
the 
Student 
Community 
of 

Progressive Empowerment and 
Students Allied for Freedom and 
Education. 

The demands cover a wide range 

of issues, some new and many 
longtime demands from each of 
these organizations. The goal of 
these demands is to improve the 
experiences of students, faculty 
and staff of color on campus while 
positively impacting the entire 
U-M community, the statement 
said.

Some of the demands call 

on the University to support 
the leadership of racial justice 
organizations 
on 
campus 
in 

their work. This includes the 
Office of Student Life giving each 
organization $1,500 in funding 
starting this semester, as well 
as 
offering 
other 
sustainable 

funding 
models 
particularly 

for Arab Student Association. 
The statement also asks that 
student leaders from SoC LF 
member organizations be able 
to 
recommend 
candidates 
to 

fill 
administrative 
positions, 

particularly those that impact 
students of color on campus.

Some of the demands pertain to 

academics at the University: they 
ask the University to decolonize its 
curriculums, echoing sentiments 
from 
last 
semester’s 
United 

Statement; reassess the Race 
and Ethnicity requirement; and 
provide more support for faculty 
of color.

One category of demands are 

increasing staff for students of 
color in key support areas, such 
as Counseling and Psychological 
Services — particularly for 
Indigenous, 
LGBTQ+ 
and/or 

undocumented students — as well 
as at the Spectrum Center. 

Other demands ask for making 

Indigenous People’s Day a U-M 
holiday, abolishing the Office 
of 
Enrollment 
Management’s 

40-day clause for in-state tuition 
and 
disaggregating 
Asian/

Pacific Islander American data 
for climate surveys. The latter 
two have been long-time asks 
of 
SCOPE, 
the 
organization 

advocating 
for 
undocumented 

students on campus, and AAPI 
groups, respectively. Additionally, 
the demands include mandating 
that 
Student 
Legal 
Services 

provide 
training 
for 
Arab/

Palestine student activists and 
that the University commit to 
transparency 
regarding 
secret 

societies’ access to administrative 
resources, among many other 
asks. 

LSA 
junior 
Rebeca 
Yanes, 

external director of La Casa, 
wrote in an email to The Michigan 
Daily that these demands are 
empowering 
because 
they 

encourage students of color to 
actively participate in discussions 
about anti-racism.

“The 
Students 
of 
Color 

Liberation 
Front, 
along 
with 

the 
collective 
leadership 
and 

membership of the organizations 
that make it up, should be regarded 
as stakeholders in conversations 
about anti-racism on campus,” 

Yanes wrote. “I believe that 
University 
leadership 
should 

equally and meaningfully consult 
all the demands if they seek to 
create a truly anti-racist campus.” 

Yanes also wrote that the 

power of these demands lies in the 
collective action of these different 
organizations to make campus 
better for all students. 

“As the Students of Color 

Liberation Front, we are a united 
front, equally invested in the 
empowerment of each other’s 
communities and demands for 
University 
leadership,” 
Yanes 

wrote. “Each demand is made as 
equally valuable and significant in 
the University’s work that impacts 
students of color.”

Policing demands

The executive board of Students 

Allied for Freedom and Equality 
wrote in a statement to The Daily 
that SoC LF is a platform for people 
of color to collectively address 
racism at the University, especially 
after members of the Graduate 
Employees’ Organization, faculty 
and 
undergraduate 
students 

called for demilitarization and 
diversion of funds from local and 
campus police during their strike 
last semester. 

The demands include that the 

University cut all ties with the 
U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement and the Ann Arbor 
Police Department, commit to 
investigating alternatives to police 
intervention and reexamine how 
the University currently utilizes 
alternative methods to policing. 
The statement writes that these 
demands are non-negotiable. 

“Accordingly, 
these 
action 

items will cultivate a safe campus 
climate for all students,” the 
demands read. “Especially Black 
and Brown students who are 
disproportionately placed at risk 
when the University relies heavily 

on police presence on campus.” 

These demands followed a 

summer of protests to end police 
brutality. In response to GEO’s 
anti-policing 
demands, 
the 

University created the U-M task 
force on public safety to evaluate 
the operations of the Division 
of Public Safety and Security 
and recommend improvements, 
though a member of the task force 
told The Daily the group is set on 
police reform. 

The demilitarization demands 

also arose out of the University’s 
choice to introduce — and soon 
after repeal — the controversial 
Michigan Ambassadors program, 
which had armed police officers 
walking 
around 
campus 
to 

monitor student behavior during 
the pandemic. Many cultural 
associations said they were not 
consulted about the creation of the 
Michigan Ambassadors program.

“SoC LF is a coalition space 

made up of various racial justice 
organizations 
that 
have 
had 

existing relationships, but our 
organizations 
came 
together 

under this name in response to the 
University’s decisions regarding 
policing last semester, and the 
lack of consultation with our 
organizations,” 
the 
statement 

reads. “In response, our coalition 
banded together to resist shallow 
consultation of students of color, 
and over the course of the last few 
months, developed these demands 
for this anti-racist vision.” 

Outreach to prospective 

students of color

The demands also call on the 

University to restructure outreach 
initiatives to underrepresented 
students 
of 
color. 
In 
their 

statement, SoC LF said this is a 
necessary step toward creating an 
equitable campus. 

The steps for achieving this 

include increasing the population 

of 
staff 
who 
can 
speak 
to 

experiences of students of color 
in the Office of Financial Aid, 
meeting the 10% Black student 
enrollment 
benchmark 
as 

originally demanded by the Black 
Action Movement and hiring full-
time staff members who are well-
versed in experiences of people 
of color to coordinate the 2006 
Proposal 2 adherent recruitment 
strategies. 

It also asks the University to 

recommit 
the 
Comprehensive 

Studies Program to its original 
purpose of serving Black students 
and giving “students — primarily 
in-state 
minority 
students 

from 
inner-city 
high 
schools 

— an opportunity to attend the 
University of Michigan during 
the summer to achieve a solid 
academic foundation for success 
in the fall term.” Other programs 
meant for Black students, like the 
Bridge Scholars Program, has also 
seen a decrease in Black student 
enrollment.

“The University of Michigan 

must commit to an extensive 
restructuring 
of 
outreach 

and 
recruitment 
methods 
in 

enrollment 
management 
and 

outreach offices,” the demands 
read. 

The 
University 
previously 

offered the Provost Award, which 
fully met out-of-state students’ 
demonstrated needs who typically 
had expected family contribution 
below approximately $11,000. Last 
year, the award was discontinued 
and the Victors Award was 
introduced, which includes a 
merit component and provides a 
flat $8,000 per year. The award is 
given in addition to other aid for 
which a student might qualify for. 

Last month, after seeing a drop 

in Latinx enrollment, La Casa 
released a statement opposing 
the 
discontinuation 
of 
the 

Provost Award. According to the 

statement, the reduced financial 
aid packages did not provide 
sufficient support for out-of-state 
Latinx students who were unable 
to afford University tuition. The 
University has countered that the 
drop in Latinx enrollment could 
be due to the pandemic, but La 
Casa maintains that it believes the 
end of the Provost’s Award also 
played a factor. 

“The policy sends a concerning 

message to the Latinx community 
and 
prospective 
out-of-state 

students who experience financial 
hardship that the University of 
Michigan is not accessible,” the 
statement reads. 

Climate demands

SoC LF also asks that the 

University reassess its relationship 
with the fossil fuel industry and 
divest from companies that violate 
the rights of Palestinians in order 
to demonstrate a commitment 
to sustainable, ethical and moral 
spending. 

In December, the President’s 

Commission on Carbon Neutrality 
— created after sustained student 
activism — released its draft 
recommendations 
to 
reduce 

greenhouse 
gas 
emissions 

associated with the University. 
However, activists — particularly 
those involved with the Climate 
Action 
Movement 
— 
have 

criticized the PCCN for not 
including divestment from fossil 
fuel industries under the scope of 
its work.

“Rather 
than 
be 
purely 

profit-driven, 
the 
University’s 

investments must be built upon 
ethical and moral considerations 
for sustainable investment,” SoC 
LF’s list of demands reads.

Daily 
Staff 
Reporter 
Paige 

Hodder can be reached at phodder@
umich.edu. 

PAIGE HODDER
Daily Staff Reporter

“Spend more time radically 

envisioning what this world can 
be. There is nothing that has ever 
been brought into being that was 

not first envisioned.”