Last night, Trevor Noah came on air in collaboration with the University Musical Society and the Ford School of Public Policy to speak on issues of today- voting, racial discrimination, and the great divide that our country is currently under. He received questions from University of Michigan students and spoke eloquently and distinctly to answer them.
Four students asked questions, and they were clearly well prepared. The questions were thoughtful and complex, and all different from each other. They covered a wide range of topics, from the role of black women in today’s society, to voter suppression, to making a found family when your blood family is not there for you. Each student asked two questions, and then there was a quicker, rapid-fire round at the end where the students each took turns asking one more, simpler question.
I am not sure if he had gotten the questions beforehand, but Trevor Noah had great answers for each one, no matter how difficult the question. A couple of the answers he said I feel really are worth sharing, in case you did not get the chance to watch this event.
First, a question that was posed to him concerned how black women can play a role in our society today. Noah described a story he had learned about a 90-something-year-old black woman who asked her son drive her hundreds of miles so that she could vote early for this election. He then described how the policies created by the American government that are negative almost always affect black women specifically in a negative way, and how important it is for them to have a voice and to vote to perhaps change these policies.
Another topic that I really felt resonated with me was when he answered a question about the importance of young people voting, especially speaking to those who feel disillusioned with the pace of governmental change and feel that voting does not make a difference. He described how a majority of the population who votes is older people, who do it out of habit. Which is silly, because the policies that are being voted in or voted out will not affect them for much longer, it is the young people who should be concerned with the policies being put into place! We are the ones who will be living with them for the rest of our lives. He also went on to say that voting may not bring about change as fast as you like, but not voting at all will mean that things will go the opposite direction, and the policies you believe in will be further away than before. So it is always important to vote, which can be as simple as finding an issue that you feel strongly about and voting for the candidate who moves that policy in the direction you believe is right.
In conclusion, Trevor Noah did a great job at answering questions and speaking clearly to voice his opinion on the issues brought up, as well as explaining them in a simple way that helped me gain more knowledge about the issues of today.
If you want to watch the lifestream, it is available to be watched on-demand for 10 days starting Wednesday, October 21 at 12 noon. If you register for the event, you can receive a link and password to the on-demand video. The link to register is here: https://universitymusicalsociety.activehosted.com/f/7
Thank you for this concise and articulate summary! I wasn’t able to watch the interview, so I appreciate the way you thoughtfully summarized his answers on identity, inequitable legislation, and the need for action.