Members’ ‘identities, voices, and bodies’ were ‘not valued’
The University of Michigan Black Student Union has left a coalition of over 90 pro-Hamas student groups due to its members allegedly being “erased, belittled, and berated.”
The BSU put a statement on its Instagram account late last week noting members had “dedicated their time, energy, and well-being” to the TAHRIR (Transparency, Accountability, Humanity, Reparations, Investment, Resistance) Coalition, but it became “increasingly apparent” their “identities, voices, and bodies” were “not valued.”
Black Student Union members had worked with TAHRIR “with the belief that the work of the coalition would be furthered from their sacrifice — that it would be worth the vitriol they received,” the statement continues.
“However, as Black people, we are not obligated to sacrifice ourselves for any organization that does not value or understand us. The anti-Blackness within the coalition has been too pervasive to overcome, and we refuse to endure it.”
The BSU nevertheless reiterated its support for “Palestinian liberation,” saying the “genocide” in the Gaza Strip is “intolerable,” as is the university’s “complicity” via its investments.
“Our support and allyship with the people of Palestine, and our advocacy for a free Palestine remains unshakeable,” it said.
According to its website, TAHRIR’s mission is to “decolonize” the University of Michigan “in solidarity with the victims of the American empire.” It also wants a reallocation of university funds towards “humanity” and “reparations.”
MORE: U. Michigan regent’s office vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti
TAHRIR says it stands in alliance with the Palestinians “and revolutionaries everywhere working to dismantle global imperialism, capitalism, white supremacy, and patriarchy.”
TAHRIR’s demands of the university include divestment from Israel’s “apartheid” and “genocide,” a “people’s audit” of U-M’s finances, a boycott of Israeli academic institutions, and an end to the campus police force.
U-M groups associated with TAHRIR include the Arabesque Dance Troupe, the Latinx Indigenous Social Work Alliance, Michigan Gayly: LGBT+ Issues, the Muslim Fitness Club, Notably Black and Gay, and Sociologists for Palestine.
Late last month, TAHRIR’s first protest of the 2024-25 school year, a “die-in” at the Festifall event, resulted in the arrest of four activists, three of whom were not affiliated with U-M, The Michigan Daily reports.
A university spokesperson said the demonstrators were given warnings about their disruption of Festifall via “blocking pedestrian walkways.”
TAHRIR’s Assmaa Eidy claimed the warnings to disperse were “an effort to suppress free speech on campus” and “suppress, villainize, and criminalize” activists.
MORE: U. Michigan anti-Israel protesters promise ‘no rest’ in the new year
IMAGE: Dear White People/YouTube
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