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Anand Teltumbde on the contested legacy of B R Ambedkar: Southasia Review of Books podcast #21

As a towering figure of the twentieth century, B R Ambedkar symbolises a monumental movement towards the annihilation of caste and the emancipation of Dalits. Ambedkar’s story becomes the story of this struggle. But like any human being, Ambedkar too had his share of limitations.  In contemporary India, Ambedkar’s iconisation goes beyond the devotion of people; it is being exploited by politicians across the spectrum in a project of ultra-nationalist myth-making. In his new book, Anand Teltumbde argues that it is important now more than ever to engage with Ambedkar as he defined himself, as an “iconoclast”, a breaker of icons.Teltumbe’s biography educates us about the radical core of Ambedkar’s thought and action through the different phases of his social, political and intellectual trajectory. Cautioning against iconisation, he invites readers to critically dissect the past and to assume agency in understanding the present. He writes that Ambedkar’s greatness lies in challenging the hegemonic social order, for standing for India’s most oppressed people, for fighting the establishment from the belly of the beast, and for changing the course of history of Dalit lives from the eye of the storm – making this legacy one for the people and not the state.

Literati Bookstore hosts author Bernadette Atuahene to discuss her book ‘Plundered’

On Friday evening, more than 20 people gathered at Ann Arbor’s Literati Bookstore to hear Bernadette Atuahene, author and property law scholar, discuss her newly released book, “Plundered: How Racist Policies Undermine Black Homeownership in America.” The event is part of a nationwide book tour highlighting Atuahene’s research on the connection between race and homeownership. 

In her novel, Atuahene examines how policies like redlining, blockbusting and inequitable property taxation have disadvantaged Black homeowners and widened the racial wealth gap through stories from Detroit residents. 

Atuahene began the event by sharing her background and how she got into the ethnographic research her book focuses on. A Yale Law School and Harvard Kennedy School alum, Atuahene said she knew early on the type of research she wanted to focus on. She began her research on squatters in Detroit but found that her research quickly revealed deeper injustices in the city’s property tax system. 

“I discovered that since 2009, one in three homes has completed the property tax foreclosure process in the city of Detroit,” Atuahene said. “We haven’t seen this number of property tax foreclosures in American history since the Great Depression.”
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Atuahene then told Myresha Brown’s story, a Detroit homeowner featured in her book who lost her grandparents’ home due to tax foreclosure. Brown, like many other homeowners, blamed herself for the loss. Atuahene emphasized that despite Detroit policymakers’ criticism of individuals, the foreclosure was the result of a larger, unjust system. 

“(The) former Detroit treasurer, he had the audacity to tell me and also at a large gathering, that the problem was (that) instead of paying their taxes, Detroiters decided to buy purses,” Atauhene said. “But my research tells a different story. It is not a story about personal irresponsibility. It’s a story about structural injustice. In researching this book, I have interviewed hundreds of homeowners, government officials and investors, and I’ve combed through reams and reams of property tax assessment data.”

Following her presentation, Atuahene joined Patrick Cooney, vice president of Michigan Future Inc., for a discussion connecting the themes of her book’s to broader societal contexts. The pair then held a Q&A with the audience, where Atuahene addressed how focusing on the intent of the policymakers can distract individuals from real racial issues.

“Our obsession with intent is a red herring. … What we need to be focused on is if these processes, procedures and policies cause racial inequity,” Atuahene said. “Part of the work of this book is getting us to shift from looking at the racist to looking at racial inequality and fixing it up.”

As the event wrapped up, conversations about housing inequity continued among attendees. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, Clare McAlister-Raeburn, Literati bookseller and event coordinator, reflected on the lack of awareness about unequal access to homeownership.
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“We take for granted that everyone has the same access to education, same access to owning their own home,” McAlister-Raeburn said. “And that just isn’t true.”

Even though he did not attend the event, Engineering freshman Alain Zhou echoed the talk’s sentiment and reflected on the ongoing connection between race and housing. In an interview with The Daily, Zhou said while living in Ann Arbor, the continued impact of discriminatory policies can be easy to overlook.

“People just aren’t aware of current racist policies that are in play because, even though obviously it’s still a very big thing, it still kind of feels a little bit like a thing of the past,” Zhou said. “Especially living in Ann Arbor, you don’t really see it that much.”

Joseph Summers, a community member who attended the event, spoke with The Daily about the importance of understanding the history behind these issues and the value of reading books like “Plundered.” 

“Knowing the story of Michigan and knowing how we got where we are, that’s a story we all need to know,” Summers said. “Because it’s a story not just of Detroit, but of our suburbs and where we are today.”
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Daily News Contributor Zooey Raux can be reached at zraux@umich.edu.

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UMass Amherst library hosts webinar on the First Amendment and book banning

On Thursday April 3, the University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries held a web seminar titled “Book Bans and Your Right to Read.”
The webinar featured a lecture from UMass librarian Laura Quilter about the First Amendment followed by a discussion. The seminar began with an introduction into what the First Amendment is and what it encapsulates.
Quilter became a librarian in the 1990s after growing up with relatives who were very conservative. She faced censorship from her family members and knew when she was a teenager that she wanted to advocate for the protection of books and individual’s rights. In addition to being a librarian, Quilter is an attorney.
“My passion and mission in life is to help people know their own rights and how to express them,” Quilter said.
The First Amendment in the Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
Quilter explained how the amendment is broken into separate clauses and what those clauses mean. She stated that the First Amendment constrains what the United States government can do. She also emphasized the importance in understanding that it doesn’t only protect verbal speech, it protects any speech.
“It’s not just speech. [It’s] the right to receive information, the right to hear things … it includes all kinds of communication broadly,” she continued. This idea comes into fruition when speaking about issues like book banning.
According to PEN America a book ban is “any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials, that leads to a previously accessible book being either completely removed from availability to students, or where access to a book is restricted or diminished.”
Additionally, PEN America states, “Book bans impede the freedom to read, limiting students’ access to a diversity of views and stories.”
Since state’s have their own constitutions, they have autonomy over what can be done with certain books. Quilter also added that not only is there the U.S. Constitution, but every state has their own constitution as well.
“People don’t often realize or think that all of our states have a constitution,” she stated. “[I want] people to understand there are separate constitutional grounds that apply differently.”
For example, in states like Florida, the Board of Education passed “[a] trio of laws … [that] bar instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in kindergarten through third grade (HB 1557), prohibit educators from discussing advantages or disadvantages based on race (HB 7), and mandate that schools must catalog every book on their shelves, including those found in classroom libraries (HB 1467).”
Towards the end of the lecture, Quilter expressed how students at UMass Amherst can protect their First Amendment rights. The most important point she stated was to assert your rights either verbally or in writing. She also mentioned that the First Amendment applies to everyone regardless of citizenship status.
Sydney Warren can be reached at [email protected].

A new devotional book features writing by two local Anabaptist authors

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To commemorate 500 years of Anabaptism, Harrisonburg-based MennoMedia has published several books, one of which is a devotional called “Drawing Near: A Devotional Journey with Art, Poetry, and Reflection,” which features writing by two local authors.The devotional, which MennoMedia’s trade imprint Herald Press published in February, includes 40 works of original art, 40 Scripture readings, and 40 original poems.”Drawing Near,” which was edited by John D. Roth and Eileen R. Kinch, can be used as a companion to the new Anabaptist Community Bible, or it can be read on its own.
The local authors whose writing is featured in the devotional are Esther Yoder Stenson of Harrisonburg and Kirsten Beachy of Briery Branch.Stenson, who teaches in the Intensive English program at Eastern Mennonite University, grew up in Stuarts Draft but spent several years outside of the United States teaching English in places such as El Salvador and China. She has a master’s degree in linguistics, teaching English as a second language, from Georgetown University and a master’s degree in creative writing from James Madison University. Stenson is the author of several books. One of them, “Doors Through the Great Wall,” which was published by Masthof Press in 2022, is a memoir about Stenson’s time living in China.Beachy, who is an associate professor of English and program director of the core curriculum at EMU, grew up in Indiana and earned her undergraduate degree at EMU before pursuing a master’s of creative writing degree at West Virginia University. Beachy also just published a memoir in essays called “Martyrs and Chickens: Confessions of a Granola Mennonite” with Dreamseeker Press.  That book came out this month.”Drawing Near” is a book that uses art and poetry to reflect on Scripture.”I think this is a book that brings together the visual and the poetic and the Biblical,” said Roth, project director of the Anapaptism at 500 Initiative at MennoMedia. “It’s recognizing that there are ways of connecting with the divine that go beyond argumentative forms of speech. So this is an invitation to reflection, to pondering.”The book, which is divided into eight parts, features a Scripture reading followed by a work of art and a poem written by a contemporary Anabaptist author that reflects on the Scripture and the art. It also includes questions for reflection.Each of the authors whose writing was included in the book was assigned a piece of Scripture paired with a thematically linked piece of art.The poem Beachy submitted reflects the story of Rahab, the prostitute in the Book of Joshua who assisted the Israelites.The poem that Stenson submitted reflects on the New Testament story of the woman with the hemorrhage.
Roth said that the devotional is not meant for those who are looking to consume Scripture in a hurry.”This is a text that is meant to be savored and to spend time looking at the image, reflecting on the Biblical passage, reading the poem once, and then reading it twice, and then looking at the image again, and then asking what does this text mean for me?” Roth said.Roth said he feels that the book offers a unique approach that will appeal to people who want to slow down.”This invites you into a discipline of breathing deeply and thinking, reflecting, being, opening yourself to something that might surprise you,” Roth said.Stenson said that the book will appeal to a wide range of audiences.”It’s not just for Mennonites,” she said. “It’s for anyone who enjoys engaging with stories, thoughts, and creativity. There’s also room in the back for drawing. There’s room for art as well as writing.”Stenson said that she feels that using imagination as a tool is essential, especially during stressful times.”I think with imagination you can go beyond despair, beyond hopeless,” she said. “You can find the hope.”Both Stenson and Beachy said that they have enjoyed participating in the project as writers and readers.”I’ve been kind of savoring it,” Beachy said.  “I think there’s a really great opportunity for that creative expression and engagement. And it’s really pretty. It would be a beautiful gift to give anyone, too.Beachy said that she’s excited about being part of the project’s approach to honoring the 500th anniversary of Anabaptism. “I think the value in having this book as a companion is to tap into the creative side of spirituality, and it was really cool to be a part of that project,” she said.”Drawing Near” is available for $20.99 in hardcover and $14.99 for an ebook. For more information, see heraldpress.com.

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