Vigil Marks Human Rights Anniversary

A young man who’d just purchased a copy of an old Life magazine from the Dawn Treader Book Shop asked The Chronicle, “What are they protesting?” So we clarified for him that the group holding candles and signs at the corner of Liberty and Main streets in downtown Ann Arbor were there to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly.

We counted at least 20 people last night at 5 p.m. who braved 23-degree temperatures and a brisk 10-mph wind to stand at the corner of Liberty and Main streets for the vigil. Participants in the vigil had heard about it in a variety of ways. Jeff Gaynor had learned it was happening when he attended a panel discussion held on Nov. 13 at the UM Hatcher Library on the social protests of 1968. Gaynor said that one of the panelists, who were drawn mainly from a prominent set of UM alums, was his high school biology lab partner: Cynthia Stephens, judge in the Third Circuit Court in Detroit. At that panel discussion, one of the organizers of the vigil, Alan Haber, had been passing out fliers for it.

Gaynor helped light the candle for Majida R. who described herself as a Muslim woman who had been profiled often in airports by being asked to step out of line for additional security inspections. She said she’d helped with the organization of the vigil and worked with the Interfaith Council for Peace and Justice.

Some folks who were walking past hadn’t heard about it beforehand, but stood and watched a while anyway. One of those was Larry Brayboy, who said, “Those are the people who should be nominated for citizen of the year!” This, after playfully directing the following reference to “Twas the Night before Christmas” towards the folks standing vigil: “Human Rights for all, and to all a good night!”

The occasion was not just taken to commemorate, but also to call attention to particular areas that participants had identified as problematic with respect to human rights, ranging from the Congo to Gaza to the United States. While some held signs, Michelle Zellers was handing out leaflets to raise awareness around the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, near Columbus, Georgia. She’d traveled to Georgia a few weeks ago to join a protest there. She confirmed the obvious: it’s warmer there than it is here.

But Zellers noted that Dec. 10 just happened to be the day that the United Nations adopted the resolution, so commemorating the anniversary standing outdoors generally meant getting a little cold if you’re in Michigan. Zellers is a student at UM, and works with the Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality. Like the rest of UM’s students, she’s in the middle of taking final examinations for the semester – for Zellers, an exam on Jane Austen looms on Dec. 18.

The vigil was followed by a teach-in held on UM campus at 7 p.m. The Chronicle didn’t attend that event, but would be interested in reading comments from readers who were there.