ACC luncheon promotes student activism

Students gathered around pizza Friday to learn methods that may, someday, help them change the world.

The group crammed into a small room at the Asian Culture Center, huddled around a laptop to watch a short documentary about Grace Lee Boggs.

The video showed Boggs, an Asian-American activist who fought for change during the civil rights movement, promoting local activism.

“It’s important to have a space where we can talk about things that sometimes are a little bit uncomfortable or discussions you wouldn’t necessarily have with friends,” event co-chair Derek DiMatteo said.

The author of five books, Boggs wrote her most recent book, “The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century,” at the age of 95.

She’s now 98.

Fellow co-chair Lisa Kwong said events like Friday’s promote dialogue between different groups of people, which can create a better community.

As an Asian-American, Kwong said she believes it helps with forming a sense of identity.

“Growing up in Virginia we didn’t have these discussions, so I didn’t know about people like Grace Lee Boggs,” Kwong said. “It’s awesome to talk about these issues and feel safe.”

Last semester, many student groups paired up with the ACC to put on these discussions. DiMatteo said this semester, no one has asked to.

He said he suspects this may be why fewer students attended Friday’s event.

“I was pleased with amount of participation from the group,” DiMatteo said. “Little bit of a disappointment on how many students came, but with so many things happening on campus, it’s hard to get people to attend different events.”

Third-year doctoral student Morgane Flahault said she thinks it’s important for students to attend these events, and doesn’t want cultural differences to get in the way of students attending events outside their comfort zones.

“I go to ACC events or La Casa and even though I’m not Latino,” Flahault said. “You feel like you don’t belong to the group, but when you go to the events, the people who organize them make you feel like you’re home.”

Flahault said she thought the most important thing Boggs promoted was the idea that everyone is a leader.

“She tells people to be their own leaders,” Flahault said. “It helps us to feel empowered. We can do things locally that help rather than be overwhelmed by the larger goals.”

DiMatteo said Boggs’ point of starting small is what is going to make a difference in our culture.

“There’s a sense of complacency and powerlessness,” DiMatteo said. “It’s inspiring that you don’t have to lead a revolution or be a figure like MLK. You can lead a revolution in a smaller way by doing something like a community garden.” 

DiMatteo said making goals more achievable is less overwhelming for people.

A documentary about Boggs’ life and activism will play at 7 p.m. March 28 at IU Cinema.

“Boggs points out that we need to think about interracial activism,” Flahault said. “We all feel the same effects of oppression. Racial minorities are built up against each other. We need to smash this discourse.”

Follow reporter Suzanne Grossman on Twitter @suzannepaige6.