DETROIT — U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison, D-Minn., the country's first Muslim congressman, appeared in Detroit on April 6 at an anniversary event for a local civil rights group, where he spoke about uniting advocates of different causes to fight together in an unfavorable political atmosphere.
Ellison keynoted the 27th anniversary celebration of the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights, a group that frequently gathers activists for rallies, lectures and film screenings related to peace, labor, environment and immigrant rights issues.
"Detroit is one of those places where a lot of movements come together," Ellison said.
A Detroit-native, Ellison brought Minnesota labor, minority and peace activist communities together in the 2006 election campaign that made him the first Muslim ever to be elected to Congress, and the first African American congressman from Minnesota.
Ellison spoke out against the Iraq war, which he said continues because of economic incentives for the military industry.
Gloria Rivera, director of MCHR, said that Ellison's presence in Congress is an example of some progress that has been made in the U.S. during the group's 27 years of existence
But in some ways, she said, the human rights record of the U.S. remains "appalling."
"The reasons why we were founded still exist," she said, citing the Iraq war as an example.
Ellison lamented the prevalence of what he describes as "a politics of not enough," in which U.S. foreign and domestic policy is determined starting from the premise that there is not enough wealth to go around.
"There's enough for everyone," he said. "We have to have a politics of 'There's enough for everyone.' We have to have a politics of generosity. Not a politics of fear. Not a politics of scarcity."
He specifically mentioned the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a central world issue that, if resolved, could lead to peace and economic prosperity in other places around the world.
"The U.S. has the power and the economic strength to bring an end to the conflict and we have a moral obligation to do it. If we can resolve this conflict, we can resolve conflicts all over the world," he said
Ellison touted two major plans he hopes to push to fruition in Washington: creating a Department of Peace, to encourage and oversee dialogue and nonviolent resolution to world conflicts; and implementing a "Global Marshall Plan," in which the U.S. would invest heavily in developing countries, establishing them as trading partners for the future, as was done in Europe under the original Marshall Plan after World War II.
Quoting verses from the Bible and the Qur'an, Ellison urged unity to create hope.
"We know that we have a shared common humanity," he said. "We simply cannot afford to maintain the old prejudices that we have come to in the past. We need to squeeze out the artificial barriers that divide us."
Rivera said that because of the wealth of energy but scarcity of resources that activist groups commonly have, organizations fighting for different things can often find common ground and work together in the name of human rights.
"A critical mass can usually get more work done," she said. "Collaborations are a great way to do it… There's a lot of things happening at the grassroots level. We're trying to use the grassroots energy of everyone."
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