Some things to think about before you attend a No Kings rally this Saturday in Grand Rapids
It is likely that several thousand people will gather this weekend in Grand Rapids for the various No Kings events that are planned downtown.
I have been critical of these large gatherings over the past year, such as my post that was written after 6 months of the current Trump Administration around the issue of resistance.
Last October, after the last No Kings rally, I also made several points about what was said prior to the rally and then some thoughts about how it could have been more impactful.
If you attend the No Kings events in Grand Rapids this Saturday you should think of this as an opportunity to invite people to join in on the actual resistance work being done in the community. This weekend could also be an opportunity to influence people or to radicalize them in the same way that many have been radicalized at previous events.
Many of us remember the moment when we first encountered radical politics. Maybe yours was the alter-globalization movement, Occupy, the George Floyd Uprising, or the Student Intifada. Some participants at No Kings are not going to be open to hearing radical critiques of capitalism and the state, but make it your mission to find the ones who are ready to join the struggle, who just need a framework and an idea of where to begin. Talk to them about their views and how those might fit within a larger global history of resistance. It’s not about convincing them, but sharing tools to give a name to their longing for liberation.
There is a good article from Crimethinc with the headline – No Kings, No Masters: Building the Resistance: A Call to Mobilize at the March 28 No Kings Rallies. This article is filled with excellent examples and ideas of how these kinds of rallies can provide people with opportunities to expand resistance work and reduce the chances of people showing up for photo ops or simply performative actions.
What’s Different Now?
Before I discuss a bit about how we can see No Kings as an opportunity to expand movement work that is not limited to just opposing the Trump Administration, I want to say something about what is different now compared to where we were last October.
The Trump Administration kidnapped the President of Venezuela and his family and has been holding them in prison in the US without formal charges. The Trump Administration began bombing Iran recently and continues to assault the sovereign nation of Iran killing thousands and displacing many more. The Trump Administration has also continued to support the Israeli genocide in Gaza, which now includes Israeli attacks on Lebanon. This administration has ramped up the economic blockade against Cuba, with threats to invade the small island nation, along with future possible military interventions throughout Latin America.
On the domestic front people are finally waking up to what undocumented immigrants have been experiencing since ICE was founded in 2003. People saw what happened in Minneapolis, both the brutality of ICE, but also the powerful organized resistance to ICE.
People have seen how Capitalism brutalizes families and communities, often with government collaboration.
People are also seeing how institutionalized racism in housing, employment and the carceral system brutalizes BIPOC individuals and communities. The billionaire class keeps growing while more and more people are living paycheck to paycheck. The Climate crisis continues unabated, wreaking havoc on humans and other species alike. Lastly, it is painfully clear that we do not have an opposition political party in this country, we have the Democrats and they have either been complicit in what the Trump Administration has been doing or they have only been able to offer mild, reformist rhetoric and policies that doesn’t excite the masses.
Things to think about when you show up to the No Kings rally
- Listen to the people who are speaking, especially BIPOC, queer and immigrant speakers.
- Visit the tables and get information from the groups that are actually resisting the shit that is going on in Grand Rapids, in Michigan, across the US and around the world.
- Come with a commitment to provide funds for the groups that are doing Mutual Aid work and supporting grassroots organizers. GR Rapid Response to ICE raises money for families affected by ICE violence and they are seeing an increase in Mutual Aid requests.
- Get involved in pressuring the Grand Rapids City Commission around the demands being presented by the mother of Da’Quain Johnson, the Black man who was murdered by the GRPD. White allies need to step up and leverage their privilege for this family.
- Support the campaign led by Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE to get the City of Grand Rapids and Kent County to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies that have been demanding for over a year.
- Get involved with local queer and trans solidarity work, since state and federal policies are threatening their lives.
- Join the numerous local campaigns to prevent data centers from being built in West Michigan.
- Organize and engage in Direct Action against US Imperialism and militarism in Iran, in Gaza, Venezuela, Cuba just to name a few. Occupy the offices of members of Congress in West Michigan, disrupt the manufacturing of weapons and weapons systems at companies in West Michigan.
- Don’t put your faith in political parties or politicians if you really want to change things. We must resist business as usual and organize in such a way as to radically change our communities that always tolerate – no matter if it is Republicans or Democrats – white supremacy, homophobia and transphobia, ICE terrorism, ecological destruction, the climate crisis, housing injustice, the health care system, capitalism and the massive US Military spending that always takes priority over human needs.
Don’t settle for photo ops or performative actions. Allow yourself to be inspired and radicalized. Join a movement(s) that are led by BIPOC people and then don’t just protest, but resist what systems of power do in this community. We all need to radically imagine a better world!
Monitoring the Rich and Powerful in Grand Rapids – Segment #10: Riverfront development and hosting far right speakers
One of the 10 principles of journalism is that it must serve as an independent monitor of power.
Now, I don’t claim to be a journalist, more of a media watchdog, but I do engage in movement media. Movement media is reporting and documenting what social movements are doing, which is what I have been trying to do with GRIID since 2009.
However, since I have been monitoring what I call the Grand Rapids Power Structure for nearly two decades, it seems like a good idea to do a Monitoring the Rich and Powerful in Grand Rapids segment.
There are three issues in this segment of Monitoring the Rich and Powerful in Grand Rapids that I want to draw attention to.
First, is the issue of the Grand River Revitalization project, which just received $11 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, as was mentioned in a recent Crain’s Grand Rapids Business article. The only people cited in this article are Mayor LaGrand, Rep. Hillary Scholten and Matt Chapman, executive director of Grand Rapids Whitewater.
Grand Rapids Whitewater has been leading the charge on this issue, so it is important to know who these people are. The people involved in the project are mostly connected to or are part of the business community, which makes sense since this primary function of the Grand River Revitalization project is about development along the Grand River and ways to financially capitalize on the new businesses, along with attracting tourists. Plus, their financial backers are primarily made up of those in the Grand Rapids Power Structure.
Then there is the connection to Grand Action 2.0, which produced a study back in 2021. The study also centers the development aspect along the Grand River. With this most recent study, we could discuss what is fundamentally wrong with the process and how it will disproportionately benefit the business class. However, instead to going down that path, I think what we all need to come to terms with is that the land that they are talking about developing along the Grand River, was taken from the Indigenous communities who had been living along the river long before Settler Colonialists arrived.
Maybe we need to start talking about how White Europeans who came to the area we now call Grand Rapids and how they: 1) disrespected Indigenous spiritual traditions by trying to convert them – the earliest Settler Colonialist were Catholic and Baptist Missions; 2) used legalized violence, also known as treaties to take land, such as the Treaty of Washington in 1836, which allowed Settler Colonialists to acquire an additional 13,837,207 acres of land; and 3) to displace most of the Indigenous population through force, coercion and attrition.
In addition to taking this land, Settler Colonialists have been doing serious harm to the Grand River in this area over the past 2 centuries, by polluting the river with industrial waste, constructing damns, using the river for logging purposes during the heyday of the furniture industry and constructing a highway system that crisscrosses over the river. Now, Settler Colonialists want to re-develop the area along the river, despite the decades of harm we have done.
A second example to look at is that the West Michigan Policy Forum will be hosting a representative from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in May as part of their Freedom Series Luncheon. Jonathan Williams is President and Chief Economist of ALEC and used to work for the Tax Foundation, another pro-capitalism entity that also works closely with ALEC and the State Policy Network.
ALEC is a corporate bill mill. It is not just a lobby or a front group; it is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, corporations hand state legislators their wishlists to benefit their bottom line. Corporations fund almost all of ALEC’s operations. They pay for a seat on ALEC task forces where corporate lobbyists and special interest reps vote with elected officials to approve “model” bills. Learn more at the Center for Media and Democracy’s ALECexposed.org.
The third and final example is a video that is posted on the Facebook page of GR& Riverfront, which is a page created by the following entities: City of Grand Rapids, Experience Grand Rapids, Grand Action 2.0, Grand Rapids-Kent County Convention/Arena Authority (CAA), Grand Rapids Public Museum, Grand Rapids WhiteWater, Kent County, Pioneer, Progressive Companies, RDV Corp. and Rockford Construction. GR& Riverfront posted another awful video, with bad lyrics that names the soccer stadium and the Amphitheater.
West Michigan Billionaire Doug Meijer is now selling really expensive balls, golf balls to be exact
In a recent Crain’s Grand Rapids Business article it states:
Doug Meijer is joining actor Mark Wahlberg and a host of others launching The Underground, a society of sorts in which golf-obsessed members get access to branded swag and several dozen new precision golf balls, designed to be a step or two above the already expensive offerings on the market from mainstream brands like Titleist and Callaway.
It costs $2,800 for a year’s worth of high-end golf balls, gear and bragging rights.
So, Doug Meijer, who is worth $6.5 billion (along with his two brothers are worth $16.5 billion) is partnering with other rich people to sell golf balls that will cost more than what millions of people make every payday. This is about as arrogant and ridiculous it is when corporations host golf tournaments and build in a chance for people to donate food items. Oh wait, this is exactly what the Meijer Corporation does.
Meijer and his partners decided to build an invitation-only “golf society” around it, one that signals membership in an exclusive club that exists quietly beneath the surface of the mainstream game, according to a Forbes article.
If you go to The Underground site it uses phrases like:
- An ultra-premium design for those who refuse to compromise.
- Membership is the ultimate statement.
- Created for the inner circle.
None of this should be surprising, since this is how members of the Capitalist Class think, which oozes of arrogance and contempt for working class people.
I leave you with some biting commentary by George Carlin to how golf is primarily played by elitists.
Last month I wrote a piece about how the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce has publicly endorsed Data Centers. I cited a recent report from Data Center Watch there has been $64 billion of data center projects that have been blocked because communities have become organized.
Two weeks ago I wrote a piece about the GR Chamber of Commerce annual Policy Conference, where they hosted a panel of pro-data center apologists. Last week I wrote about how Doug DeVos thinks that AI and Data Centers would be ok, as long as Christians were in charge of them.
In the past few days Crain’s Grand Rapids Business has posted three stories on data centers that are working looking at. The first article is entitled, Michigan’s data center boom offers a lifeline to construction companies post-EV bust. The article is essentially presenting the idea that since the EV projects across the state did not work out for the construction industry, data centers might provide them with construction contracts. The article make this point by talking about data center construction opportunities:
Outlays for general office projects have headed downward, while construction spending for data centers has climbed steadily, U.S. Census data shows. The two crossed paths in December, with roughly $3.57 billion spent on data centers that month, compared with $3.49 billion for offices, according to preliminary estimates.
The article also tells us that Consumers Energy ( a major beneficiary of data centers) commissioned the Anderson Economic Group to craft a study about the economic impact of data center construction. This is always the argument that development projects will “benefit the economy” when in fact the disproportionate beneficiaries are developers and other members of the Capitalist class.
A second article about data centers was posted on March 23rd, with the headline, Construction leaders counter claims that data center jobs are only short-term. This article also touts the economic impact of data centers, using the Anderson Economic Group study once again, but also including support from the West Michigan Plumbers, Fitters and Service Trades Local Union No. 174.
This Crain’s article also cited the senior director of government affairs and infrastructure at Microsoft, said during a March 6 conference in Grand Rapids. This was the same conference that had nothing but pro-data center panelists. In addition, the article cites the president of the Fisen Corporation, which also attributes their recent growth to data centers.
The third and final Crain’s article that focused on data centers is entitled, AI’s expanding footprint comes with a big thirst for water. The headline suggests that there should be public concern, but the article primarily relies on businesses that benefit from data centers, a few government spokespersons and several environmental organizations.
The article also includes lots of data and several graphics on data centers and water use, but there are two important things that are omitted from this article. First, while the article acknowledges that the more recent proposed data center projects will be much larger that other existing ones on Michigan, there is no real conversation or analysis about land use. For instance, Microsoft purchased 340 acres in Gaines Township for a proposed data center, 272 acres in nearby Dorr Township and is pursuing a 237-acre property in Lowell Township. Those three combined would mean that Microsoft will own and control 849 acres in Kent County, all land that is either currently unused or farmland.
There was one useful graphic included (above) in the Crain’s article, which compared how much water data centers use with how much water is used by power plants to generate data center electricity. This is essential public information, which speaks not only to the concerns about the electric grid in Michigan, but how it will further impact the cost of electricity for residents in Michigan.
Lastly, it is important to note that the readership of Crain’s Grand Rapids Business is primarily members of the business sector, most of which support data centers. The other commercial news media sources in West MI are not dedicating enough coverage to this issue, beyond the drama of public meetings. We need lots more public conversation and public awareness around data centers and not leave decisions in the hands of corporations and politicians.
Grand Rapids is moving towards a mediaopoly with WOODTV8’s parent company purchase of WZZM 13
The consolidation of media in the US has been a major issue since the 1980s, when Ben Bagdikian first wrote his book, The New Media Monopoly.
Since the early 1980s there are fewer and fewer media companies, which own more and more of of the entertainment and news media. Part of this is has been due to Congressional policies that have also deregulated the media industry, like the Telecom Act of 1996 that was signed into law under President Clinton. The Telecom Act essentially created radio monopolies that gave rise to the likes of Rush Limbaugh and other right wing shock jocks.
Another dynamic with the consolidation of media ownership has been with non-media corporations buying news outlets, along with members of the billionaire class like Jeff Bezos. Check out this source on media ownership consolidation and how few companies control most of the media, specifically the news media.
WOODTV8/Nexstar Buys WZZM 13
According to a recent Crain’s Grand Rapids Business article from March 20th:
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has granted approval for Nexstar Media Group Inc. to complete its $3.5 billion acquisition of TV station operator Tegna Inc., waiving an anti-consolidation rule that would’ve prevented the combination.
The parent company of WOODTV8 is Nextstar and before the purchase of WZZM 13, their Grand Rapids TV market was 43rd in the country. The purchase of channel 13 will likely propel their control of the GR TV market into the top 25 for Nexstar.
Certainly one of the consequences of the consolidation of media ownership will mean less diversity of how news is reported and what sources are used. There will also likely be a downsizing of staff at WZZM 13, which is often the consequence of media consolidation as well. In addition, since Nexstar owns a fair amount of TV news stations across the country it will allow them to share content from other markets, thus making more of the news look and sound homogenous.
Now, this is not to say that the Grand Rapids commercial TV market was great before the buyout. I have been methodically monitoring local news for the past 30 years and have written dozens of reports on topics such as local media coverage of elections, public safety, public education, war coverage, race and gender representation. My last two reports from 2024 (a 12 month study) and 2025 (a 6 month study) both show that there isn’t much difference between the three Grand Rapids commercial TV stations in terms of content and narrative.
One example from my 2024 report is:
Local TV news coverage of local elections was so bad that all of the 21 Kent County Commission races were not covered, nor were candidates for judicial races, the Sheriff, Prosecutor, Clerk, Treasurer, and Drain Commissioner. Local TV news never reported on campaign finances for all local election candidates.
Another example from my 2025 report is:
Despite the fact that the first half of 2025 was one of the hottest on record, in the 9 local news stories that deal with extreme heat and extreme weather, only once were the words “Climate Change” used.
I understand that people will point to Nexstar’s conservative politics, which certainly plays a role in their news output. However, most of the news monitoring I have done over the past few decades has shown that all local TV news favors systems of power, rarely questions dominant narratives and does more to entertain and pacify people than empower them.
From my 2024 study, I also did a comparative study between local news coverage of local elections and contrasted that to the amount of stories on the annual event known as ArtPrize. I looked at the coverage from MLive, WOODTV8, WZZM13, and WXMI 17 between September 8 and September 29. During that 3-week period, I found the following. There were a total of nine stories done about local elections (by local elections, I mean elections happening for seats within Kent County). This graphic below shows the disparity in election coverage compared to stories about ArtPrize.
Therefore, it is unlikely that a major shift in local TV coverage with WOODTV8 and WZZM 13 will differ, it’s just that they will now share more resources and consolidate staffing in order to capture more of the market in West Michigan.
Here is a wonderful animated piece created for Saturday Night Live in the 1990s, which lays out the ways in which media consolidation is bad for the public.
Recent comments from Rep. Scholten further demonstrates her hypocrisy when it comes to war and militarism
Over the past few days Rep. Hillary Scholten has shared her thoughts and opinions on her Facebook page about the US/Israeli war on Iran and how it relates to US domestic realities.
The most recent post includes a meme – here on the right – which included this commentary:
You’re making tough financial choices every day trying to afford groceries, rent, and gas. You shouldn’t be asked to fund another endless war while doing it. We need to get our priorities straight.
I fully agree with these sentiments. However, how in the hell does Rep. Scholten have the audacity to make such a statement without even acknowledging the fact that she supported the same thing when Biden was president?
Rep. Hillary Scholten has voted for the massive US military budget every year she has been in Congress starting in 2023.
Rep. Hillary Scholten has voted to provide $3.8 billion in US military aid to Israel each year she has been a member of Congress and she voted in 2024 to provide an additional $15.3 billion is additional US military aid to Israel.
Not once did Rep. Scholten post a meme condemning the Biden Administration for funding war, militarism and genocide, while Americans are struggling to make ends meet. According to the National Priorities Project $2.1 billion in tax dollars la year eaves the 3rd Congressional District, Rep. Scholten’s district, to fund US militarism abroad.
In another recent post on her Facebook page, Rep. Scholten once again engages in Hypocritical commentary. Here Rep. Scholten is talking about the US bombing of the Iranian school that resulted in killing at least Iranian school girls. Rep. Scholten refers to this bombing as unconscionable, which she says twice. Again, I agree with this sentiment, but all throughout the time that Rep. Scholten has unconditionally supported Israel”s genocide not once has she condemned the Israeli military killing of Palestinian children or referred to those deaths as unconscionable. On the 2nd anniversary of the Israeli genocide at least 20,000 Palestinian children were killed by the Israeli military.
The hypocrisy of Rep. Scholten is so evident in her recent posts. When the Trump Administration commits war crimes it is unconscionable. However, when the Biden Administration was doing it supplying weapons to Israel, it was always about “defending our ally in the Middle East.” Only people with partisan blinders are dumb enough to not see this double standard from Rep. Scholten.
Infographic above is from https://visualizingpalestine.org/visual/177-school-buses/.
Aric Nesbitt’s recent political ad for Michigan Governor seat normalizes a far right agenda including the criminalization of immigrants
It’s an election year in Michigan, so we are now beginning to see more and more political ads on TV and online.
I recently saw an ad from State Senate Minority leader Aric Nesbit. Aric Nebitt, who attended the far right Hillsdale College, was first elected to the State House in 2010, representing Van Buren County and part of Allegan County. In 2018, Nesbitt was elected to represented the 20th Senate District in Michigan and he was named Minority Leader of the State Senate to begin 2025.
I want to deconstruct Nesbitt’s most recent political ad, which you can watch here. The narrative in this 30 second ad, which features Nesbitt himself says this:
There are a lot of rich guys running for Governor. Me, I grew up shoveling shit and castrating hogs on the farm.
I’m Aric Nesbit and those dirty jobs prepared me to drain the Lansing Swamp. As your next Governor I’ll:
Eliminated the state property tax
Teach Kids the ABCs, not DEI and gender non-sense
Stand with Trump and put working families first
And deport every criminal illegal
Liberals might squeal, but we’re taking Michigan back!
First, while it is true that there are a lot of rich people running for governor in Michigan, but Nesbitt is one of them, regardless of his attempt to present himself as a working class guy. If you look at Nesbitt’s campaign finance data as a candidate for Governor you can see that he is the top contributor so far, putting $383,965.00 into his campaign. The second largest contributor is Growing Michigan Majority Fund giving $166,500.00. However, it is important to note that Nesbitt is the single largest contributor to that fund. In addition, there are dozens of rich people and companies that are contributing to Nesbitt, so even if he isn’t a rich guy, he will be representing the interests of rich people.
Second, the term draining the swamp is an old political phrase, but it was more recently used by Donald Trump during his presidential campaign in 2016.
Third, Nesbitt lists four main actions he will take as Governor. Eliminating the state property tax – On the surface this might seem appealing to working class people, but what it really means is that as part of the far right plan eliminating property tax reduces state budgets, specifically for funding social safety net projects. Far right politicians always want to undermine social safety nets and push for an increase in the privatization of many existing state government functions.
Teach Kids the ABCs, not DEI and gender non-sense – This statement is also part of the far right playbook to win over parents and community members by suggesting that having diversity/equity/inclusion policies is some socialist plot to propagandize students. Nesbitt’s also uses the phrase gender non-sense as a way of saying that he rigidly supports on male and female gender identities, which ultimately means that he embraces homophobic, transphobic and an anti-queer political framework.
Stand with Trump and put working families first – Of course Nesbitt wants to be identified as a Trump loyalist, so standing with President Trump is paramount. However, the notion that he will put working families first is laughable. For verification of Nesbitt’s claim that he will put working families first simply look at his voting record, particularly on economic matters.
And deport every criminal illegal – Again, Nesbitt wants to align himself with President Trump by taking a hard stand on undocumented immigrants. The image (above) from Nesbitt’s political ad states Deport Illegals, but Nesbitt actually says wants to deport every criminal illegal. Now, the anti-immigrant and xenophobic stance in the US in recent decades has been a bipartisan dynamic, with Democrats using less offense rhetoric, but still funding ICE and deporting millions.
However, what Nesbitt’s political ad does is to normalize how we talk about immigrants, by using the term “illegals” and to normalize the criminalization of immigrants, thus deporting them. This fits with what Nesbitt has laid out in his campaign platform under his Public Safety Agenda, which includes:
Launch “OPERATION TUEBOR”: Faithful to Michigan’s motto Tuebor, meaning “I will defend,” I will stand with President Trump and work with local law enforcement officials to launch the largest I.C.E. deployment in Michigan history, and deport all criminal illegal aliens across Michigan.
Ban sanctuary cities: Sign an executive order on day one to ban all sanctuary cities and other jurisdictions in Michigan, and remove state funding for local governments that refuse to comply.
If Aric Nesbitt gets elected as Governor in Michigan it could result in increased state cooperation with ICE and threats against communities that are adopting sanctuary policies that opposes collaboration with ICE.
GRIID will also look at other candidates in the coming weeks and months, both around campaign finances and the critical issues of the day.
How can there be justice for Da’Quain Johnson when so few people show up to demand justice?
Last night there were less than 100 people who showed to protest the brutal GRPD killing of Da’Quain Johnson.
The mother of Da’Quain Johnson expressed gratitude for the people who did show up last night, but she also wondered out loud where everyone else was. She was also joined by several other mothers who have had their sons taken from them by the police. These Black mothers embraced each other and the best way we can embrace them is to show up for them.
Next Saturday there will likely be several thousand people in Grand Rapids attending yet another No Kings protest. Now, I’m not saying that several thousand people shouldn’t show up to protest against the Trump Administration’s imperialist war against Iran, the ongoing US complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza, ICE repression and the ever growing threats to civil liberties and civil rights in this country. But the GRPD killing of Da’Quain Johnson happened right here in Grand Rapids.
Last year a white organizer from Indivisible Greater Grand Rapids asked me how they could get more non-white people to join their protests. I told them that was the wrong question to ask. The question we need to be asking is when are white going to start showing up when Black people are being murdered or thrown in jail for resisting police brutality? When are white people going to practice real solidarity with BIPOC communities and immigrants who are constantly being targeted by state carceral violence?
After the rally that was held at Rosa Parks Circle, people then marched to the GRPD headquarters to demand answers. The protest in front of the police headquarters was lively, included lots of demands at one point people sang along to the words of Fuk Da Police. Speaking of the GRPD, which had limited presence throughout the night and mostly just drove past as people were gathered at Rosa Parks Circle or while we were marching on Division Street. There were some cops present while those demanding justice stood outside of the GRPD headquarters, but they were standing on the roof several floors up monitoring the crowd.
The protest demanding justice for Da’Quain Johnson then marched for another 20 minutes ending up back at Rosa Parks Circle. The demonstration was over, but the GRPD attacks against Black organizers was not. One of the Black organizers involved in demanding justice for Da’Quain Johnson while driving back home was stopped by the GRPD and taken to the Kent County Jail.
Another clear instance of Black organizers going to jail while the GRPD suffers no consequences for killing another Black man in Grand Rapids. When are we going to show up and resist this shit?
Last night about 30 people gathered at St. Dominic’s Church to hold a vigil for Byron Martinez, the young Ecuadorian man who was wrongfully detailed by ICE in February.
Movimiento Cosecha organized the vigil, which has been part of their Free Byron campaign that began in late February, which included a Press Conference. Byron Martinez was stopped by ICE agents on February 3rd in Grand Rapids, with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the GRPD.
At the vigil Gema Lowe with Movimiento Cosecha provided an update on Byron, since several of their members had recently visited him at the ICE Detention Center in Baldwin, Michigan. They shared that after the community pressured the privately own detention center to provide proper medical care for Byron, his health did improve temporarily. However, after finally receiving antibiotics that reduced swelling in his face, Byron was now experiencing a skin condition which he believes to be the result of insects that are emanating from the sinks/drains in the Northlake Detention Center.
Cosecha organizers also told those in attendance that a judge had recently ruled that Byron was wrongfully detained by ICE. One would think that this would result in his immediate release, but that is not the case. In fact, Byron now goes before a judge on Monday for a bond hearing to determine if he is eligible for being released on bond.
A friend of Byron’s also spoke during the vigil and talked about how important it was for all of us to resist state carceral violence. There was also a member of GR Rapid Response to ICE who talked about their work and why it is vitally important that we resist ICE and do whatever we can to make sure that no one has to go through what Byron has gone through at the hands of ICE.
At one point during the vigil another Cosecha member read the name of people who have died in ICE detention facilities since the beginning of 2025.
People were also invited to write letters on Byron’s behalf, letters that would be delivered to the judge as part of the bond hearing on Monday.
When Cosecha members visited Byron on Thursday, they shared that he expressed immense gratitude for all the solidarity and support people were offering for him and that he was praying for everyone and hoping to be released on Monday.
Reversing the Missionary Position: Learning Solidarity on Mayan Time book/film event last night in Grand Rapids
Roughly 70 people attended the event I hosted last night to watch a film a made a few years ago about the work of accompaniment I did in Guatemala, El Salvador and Chiapas, Mexico, along with my book release.
The conversation was uplifting and the questions I was asked were heartfelt and important. Here are five points I wanted to make about the book:
- Reversing the Missionary Position: Learning Solidarity on Mayan Time is the culmination of the work I have been doing since the mid-1980s, around resisting US economic and military policies in Central America and Mexico, and how those policies are the root causes of people coming to the US as undocumented immigrants.
- What I mean by reversing the missionary position is that we need to both rethink how we show up in the world and how we need to take ownership of the fact that when we go to Guatemala, El Salvador or Mexico – either as tourists, Peace Corps workers or missionaries we are not practicing solidarity, but perpetuating white saviorism.
- Instead of telling undocumented immigrants what they should do, we need to walk with them in solidarity, listening to what they want us to do and then to leverage our privilege to resist state terrorism in the form of ICE.
- My book is also about how the people I worked with in Sanctuary in Grand Rapids and the people I did accompaniment with in Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico and how they ultimately became my teachers, my mentors, especially around what solidarity looks like and how we need to show up for affected communities.
- When I was doing accompaniment with people in Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico, it was to reduce the chances of them being disappeared, tortured or murdered by their own military that the US was funding and training. Now, through GR Rapid Response to ICE we accompany people who fled state terrorism in Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico only to be terrorized by the state in the form of ICE here in West Michigan. The reality is that many of the people GR Rapid Response to ICE does accompaniment with here in West Michigan are likely to have been from the same villages, same regions and maybe were even the children or neighbors of people I did accompaniment with in Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico.
I am including the 55 minute documentary here for those who were unable to attend last night.
I am hoping to screen this film again through West Michigan and to use it as a tool to talk about ICE terrorism in our communities. If you are part of community groups or organizations that would be interested in hosting a screening of the film please contact me at sjeff987@gmail.com.
You can also purchase copies of my new book from Schuler Books, you can contact me to obtain hard copies and for those who want it in digital form they can message me for PDF copies.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 