Resisting the narratives about Grand Rapids from the DeVos dominated GR A250 committee
We are now less than two weeks from the 250th anniversary of the creation of the United States of America.
For the past nine months GRIID has been writing about and monitoring the group GR A250, the local entity created to get the rest of us to fall in line with the dishonest history of the US that was shoved down our throats since we first started saying the Pledge of Allegiance in Grade School – well since those of us who are older did that.
The GR A250 group has been crafting narrative about the founding of the US and Grand Rapids since they started and GRIID has provided a critique of those narratives, along with counter-narratives. The most recent post on their Facebook page focuses exclusively on creating a narrative about Grand Rapids. Here is what they wrote:
Before we officially reach this year’s historic milestone, we’re taking a look back at historic moments that capture the spirit of community in Grand Rapids across generations. Swipe through to see the evolution of Grand Rapids over the years.
The swiping that GR A250 is referring to is a series of images (in chronological order) with a short “description.” What is instructive about their evolution of Grand Rapids is what these images mean and what they exclude. There are 17 separate images/narratives, thus I will provide 17 separate counter-narrative.
The first image is a plaque of Ottawa Indians that located along the Grand River in 1825, according to the plaque. The caption reads: 1700 – Citing economic opportunities, the Odawa established permanent villages along the Grand River. This plaque is contradictory, filled with misinformation and is presented from a Settler Colonial perspective, not an Odawa perspective.
#2 – 1852, with a caption that reads: This 1852 image is the first known image of Grand Rapids, depicting what was called Grabs Corners at the center of the city, near where Rosa Parks Circle is today. While quaint, this image provides a convenient way of skipping over how Settler Colonialists took Indigenous land and used treaties (legal manipulation with an unbalanced power dynamic) to create the city of Grand Rapids by white settlers. See this article from the Grand Rapids People’s History Project.
#3 – 1874, with a caption that reads: Built in 1874, Comstock Row was tenement housing for employees in Charles Comstock’s pail factory and was located south of Leonard Street on Monroe Ave. NW. This picture depicts several men, women and children outside the building. The caption completely omits the fact that Charles Comstock was one of the early Robber Barons in Grand Rapids, along with the fact that men, women and children were exploited in factories like this one and living in substandard housing that reflected the early massive wealth gap between members of the capitalist class and the working class.
#4 – 1885, with a caption that reads: Construction of the Grand Rapids City Hall. Of course there would be a picture of city hall, but no evidence of construction workers who built it. They GR A250 committee could have shown an image from 1886, where workers organized the first May Day parade, which was organized by the Furniture Workers Protective Association. See chapter 3 of my book, A People’s History of Grand Rapids.
#5 – 1909, with a caption that reads: Frank Lloyd Wright built the Meyer May House in 1909. This is the earliest known photo of the family in front of the home in 1919. Again, the GR A250 groups wants to center members of the capitalist class, when they easily could have inserted a photo and caption of the 1911 furniture workers strike, which impact thousands in Grand Rapids. See Jeffrey Kleiman’s book, Strike!: How the Furniture Workers Strike of 1911 Changed Grand Rapids.
#6 – 1919, with a caption that reads: In 1919, the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, which granted women the right to vote, was passed by Congress. The photo depicts three members of the League of Women Voters and they prepare their car for an election parade. The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution only allowed white women the right to vote, since Black men and women were prevented from voting because of Jim Crow laws and other repressive legal mechanisms. This is why the there are only white women in this photo, specifically economically privilege white women that could afford a car. For more information on the Suffrage Movement go to this link.
#7 – 1928, with a caption that reads: In 1928, Division Avenue was widened to allow bus and automobiles more room on the road. Again, the photo is misleading, since there were also electric street cars in Grand Rapids in 1928, but because of the national push to use cars and the corporate conspiracy to purchase street car and bus companies (see the documentary Taken for a Ride) car transportation would dominate in Grand Rapids, which meant cars use would dominate land use.
#8 – 1932, with a caption that reads: Richmond Park Pool and Bath House officially opened on July 13, 1932. Around 6,000 west-siders attended the opening ceremonies which began with swimming and diving competitions and was complete with a high school band “perched on top of the flirtation plant.” While it is nice that we can see working class families enjoying themselves, the context of this photo is misleading. In 1932 the US and Grand Rapids were in the midst of a depression, where working class families were struggling to survive. The GR A250 committee could have informed people about the New Deal-like program that the City of Grand Rapids created, a public works program, which provided ways for thousands of families to earn a living.
#9 – 1943, with a caption that reads: Grand Rapids South High School Students purchased a Boeing 17 Flying Fortress bomber named “The Spirit of South High” in 1943. They raised $375,000 through the sale of war bonds, exceeding their original goal of $75,000 for a fighter plane. Once again a picture of white people. For 1940s, the GR A250 committee could have talked about the realities that Black people in Grand Rapids were facing, like the red lining policies of housing discrimination, employment rates for Black people or the cost of rent.
#10 – 1958, with a caption that reads: The US-131 S-Curve was announced in 1958. While it is true that the S-Curve construction was announced in 1958, this image and narrative completely omits the roughly 4,000 people that were displaced from their homes to make way for the highway.
#11 – 1969, with a caption that reads: Alexander Calder’s La Grand Vitesse sculpture was dedicated in 1969. While it is true that the Calder sculpture is often the symbol of grand Rapids, the only image from the GR A250 committee for the 1960s is of this sculpture. Why is the Black Freedom Struggle omitted, especially since there was significant Black participation in the 1963 March on Washington, or Black youth organizing at South High, the reason for the 1967 riot or the fact that the Mayor of Grand Rapids would not allow Black people to march after Dr. King was assassinated?
#12 – 1976, with a caption that reads: Yesterdog was founded in 1976 by Bill Lewis. The restaurant gain recognition for its role in the 1999 film American Pie and continues to be a popular Grand Rapids hot dog spot. Really, this is the only thing they could focus on from the 1970s? As a counter-narrative I want to direct you to this interview I did with Delia Fernandez-Jones, Professor of history at MSU and author of the book, Making the MexiRican City: Migration, Placemaking, and Activism in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Latino/Latinx population was engaged in important organizing work, especially around civil rights and education in the 1970s.
#13 – 1981, with a caption that reads: This photo depicts that 1981 the Gerald R. Ford Museum dedication taken by White House photographer Karl Schumaker. This is the only image from the 1980s, despite the fact that there were incredible things that were happening in the 1980s that impacted a lot more people. The anti-Apartheid movement got the City of Grand Rapids, the Grand Rapids Public Schools and Calvin College to divest from South African in the 1980s. Grand Rapids was home to one of three sanctuaries for Central American political refugees in the 1980s. The first Pride Celebration was held in 1988 in Grand Rapids, just to name a few of the important moments in Grand Rapids history in the 1980s.
#14 – 1994, with a caption that reads: West Michigan Whitecaps players tip their hats to the cheering crowd as they leave the field victorious following their first game in 1994. Again, the image is focus on entertainment and not civic engagement of history from the perspective of those who were part of social movements. The 1990s saw the passing of NAFTA, which were devastating for workers in the manufacturing sector in the 1990s. In the early 1990s there was a campaign an LGBT-inclusive ordinance passed in Grand Rapids. It eventually passed in 1994, after lots of grassroots organizing the the LGBTQ community. See the section on the ordinance (at 16:10 into the video) of the film, A People’s History of the LGBTQ Community in Grand Rapids.
#15 – 2009, with a caption that reads: ArtPrise, the world’s largest art competition, opened to huge crowds in 2009. Artists from all over the world came to Grand Rapids to exhibit their art and the public voted for their favorites. This narrative completely omits that ArtPrize was started by a member of the DeVos family, with tons of funding from the DeVos family, with devastating affects on local artists and art associations. Check out these links:
https://griid.org/2021/09/15/artprize-is-back-and-i-still-hate-it/
#16 – 2018, with a caption that reads: The Love sculpture by Robert Indiana was installed in downtown Grand Rapids 2018. As a counter narrative I would say that an important event in Grand Rapids was the creation of a campaign to get Kent County to end it’s contract with ICE, a campaign that was successful 14 months later.
#17 – 2024, with a caption that reads: The Rise are a professional women’s vollyball team in the Pro Volleyball Federation. The team played their inaugural match at a sold-out Van Andel Arena in 2024. How convenient for the GR A250 committee to omit the fact that the DeVos family owns The Rise, the Grand Rapids Griffins hockey team and the yet to be created soccer team. This narrative is a fitting conclusion in their narrative timeline, since Doug DeVos is the most visible member of the GR A250 committee and the DeVos family is the most powerful in Grand Rapids, politically, economically and socially. See my DeVos Family Reader.
This is why it is so vitally important to create counter-narratives, especially when the narratives of those in power center people in power, entertainment and frivolous dates in history that perpetuate a Bread & Circuses environment in Grand Rapids.
The Devil is in the details: Grand Rapids committee appointments and contracts that we shouldn’t ignore
The following information was included in the various Grand Rapids City Committee meetings, along with brief mention during that June 16th Grand Rapids City Commission.
It is my contention that the following information has not received sufficient public attention, although the people, contracts and entities involved should be of concern to anyone who understands how power functions in this city.
Appointments – There are two appointments to the Committee on Appointments that I want to point out and both have to do with appointments to the Grand Rapids Land Bank Authority. The first is Guillermo Cisneros, who happens to be the President and CEO of the West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. There are many who think this is not a problem, but since the intention of the Grand Rapids Land Bank Authority is to use land in responsible and impactful ways, then why would you want people who a focused on business? It is also important to point out that Cisneros is currently on the Economic Development Corporation and the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, the board of Grand Action 2.0, and an Executive Board member of the Econ Club of Grand Rapids.
The other appointment to the Grand Rapids Land Bank Authority, according to the minutes of the Appointments Committee is the Mayoral reappointment of David LaGrand. This means that Mayor LaGrand has reappointed himself. Considering how LaGrand has acted during his 18 months has Mayor I certainly would not want him to be making decisions regarding the use of land in this city.
Contracts – The city was awarded a portion of the grant request for the program, which will provide $4,300,000 for implementation of The Grand Rapids Talent Plan. The Grand Rapids Talent Plan, “aims to invest state funding in public space development projects in central city neighborhoods or concentrated districts designed to increase density, walkability, and vibrancy in Michigan’s central cities to attract and retain talent and create business ownership opportunities for local residents.” So, we are using $4.300,000 to attract and retain talent (for businesses) and create business ownership opportunities? Really, in this economy, when so many people are struggle to survive and living paycheck to paycheck – 4 million and 3 hundred thousand dollars? Imagine how that much money could support people who are struggling to make rent every month, to pay for gas, to have a functioning phone or those that are facing food insecurity….just to name a few. How about we invest in those people and then offer them jobs instead of trying to “attract talent.” What kind of Neo-Liberal Capitalist bullshit is that!
Another contract that has received no attention was a “Resolution approving a Professional Services Agreement with the Greater Grand Rapids Chamber Foundation through Housing Next for Housing Practice Lead services in an amount not to exceed $100,000, according to the June 16th Fiscal Committee records. Granted $100,000 is not a huge amount of money, but it is public money never the less. Why would the City give $100,000 to Housing Next, in partnership with the Greater Grand Rapids Chamber Foundation. First, the Greater Grand Rapids Chamber Foundation board is made up of members/organizations who make up the Grand Rapids Power Structure. Second, Housing Next was created by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce to push a market-driven approach to housing, which has translated into that organization spending a great deal of time influencing state policy makers to change zoning codes and other housing construction regulations that are favorable to developers.
One last contract that isn’t being discussed outside of government committee meetings is a Resolution authorizing execution of a Contract with SeyferthPR for public relations services in an amount not to exceed $50,000. Again, $50,000 is not a great deal of money, but SeyferthPR? SeyferthPR was the agency that was overseeing the group Destination Kent, which was created to get the ballot initiative passed in 2024 to increase the hotel tax to fund places like the Amphitheater and the soon to be open Soccer Stadium. The President of SeyferthPR John Helmholdt signed on to the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce proposed ordinance that would criminalize the unhoused in Grand Rapids. SeyferthPR also has a seat on the board of the West Michigan Policy Forum and often hired to represent the Grand Rapids Power Structure on public relations matters.
All of the appointments and contracts I have highlighted in this post has not only not received sufficient public attention it is using public funds that the public doesn’t get to vote on or even have any say. The devil is certainly in the details and the news media and local government could care less if we know about these matters.
On Tuesday night Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE members both directed comments to the Mayor of Grand Rapids about the 6 sanctuary policies they have been demanding since January of 2025.
The only commercial news agency that reported on Mayor LaGrand’s response was WOODTV8. However, there is no video from channel 8 and it appears that they were just taking comments from the City Commission meeting which is both live-streamed and recorded.
In this post I am including the entire WOODTV8 story, which was posted about 24 hours after the commission meeting, which further suggests that they were not present during the June 16 City Commission meeting. The channel 8 content will be in italics and bolded, with some analysis and background information that follows each section.
Grand Rapids Mayor David LaGrand addressed repeated calls for the city to adopt sanctuary policies at the city commission meeting Tuesday night. This is an accurate sentence, but it omits the fact that this campaign began in January of 2025, where there were over 3,000 messages sent to the City Commission, the Mayor and the City Manager.
Emotions were high as concerned residents spoke out again, requesting Grand Rapids be designated a sanctuary city. While there is no legal definition of a sanctuary city, the term has historically been applied to how an organization — or in this case, city — would cooperate with federal immigration. The first sentence is inaccurate as the campaign that is being led by Movimiento Cosecha is not calling for Grand Rapids to declare itself a sanctuary city, rather to adopt specific sanctuary polices. (See below) If the first sentence actually reflected what people were demanding the rest of this paragraph would be irrelevant.
Some people say they were worried that their neighbors are going to be taken away from them at any time and that the city needs more action. People are being taken by ICE, almost on a daily basis in Kent County, according to first hand accounts from immigrants and from information that both Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE have been collecting the past 18 months.
“The mayor’s repeated refusal to pass very doable sanctuary policies but also the continued lie that he’s met these demands,” one resident said at public comment. The main reason that Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE has been saying that the Mayor is either lying or is misinformed is that they have documented evidence that the GRPD is cooperating with ICE (see top photo in this article and video at this link), as in the case of when the GRPD showed up around the same time as ICE to arrest and detain an immigrant who actually had his asylum application papers with him, which would have been enough to keep him from going to the North Lake Processing Center in Baldwin, Michigan.
“No one has explained to me from that group ever, coherently, how they would like that policy to be changed,” LaGrand said. “They sort of have an empty set, but they keep insisting that they’ve got a full set. And I don’t know how to fix that dynamic.” This is an interesting comment from Mayor LaGrand, especially since at one of his Mayor’s Mondays in December of 2025, many people had conversations with him. Mayor LaGrand said he would be willing to talk more about these demands and specifically said he would be willing to talk with City Commissioners about adopting a policy that would prevent Grand Rapids from entering into a 287g agreement with ICE, which is one of the 6 demands from Cosecha.
Mayor LaGrand said many of the policies are already in place in the city. One GRPD policy adopted in 2019 that states no police officer is permitted to ask about documentation status. If many of these policies have been put in place, no one from the City of Grand Rapids, including Mayor LaGrand has ever produced documented evidence to verify such a claim. On the matter of the GRPD policy adopted in 2019, it should be stated that what is known as the Foreign National policy was adopted after a GRPD Captain called ICE after seeing a news story, even though to person in question was a former US Marine and had legal status in the US. Second, Cosecha is not demanding that the GRPD not ask about the immigration status. In addition, the GRPD’s Foreign National policy states:
The policy allows officers to provide assistance to federal immigration authorities when there is an emergency that poses an immediate danger to public safety or federal agents.
Many of us from GR Rapid Response to ICE and Movimiento Cosecha are all too familiar that the rhetoric of the City and the GRPD is in dark contrast to what they practice. See my article entitled, the criminalization of dissent in Grand Rapids.
“We have enacted all or have already in place policies which address all of the demands that have been made by a couple groups who keep coming and complaining,” LaGrand added. “I’m sorry that this group isn’t engaging in good faith on things we can do to keep our neighbors safe and that they don’t have any actual ideas that we haven’t already engaged in.” Mayor LaGrand can say this all he wants to, but the community is demanding documented evidence that these policies have “already been adopted.” The City of Grand Rapids to provide concrete evidence of policies they claim are already in place. The Mayor goes on to say that these groups aren’t engaging in good faith? Really? People involved in Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE are some of the most dedicated people I know in this city. Then saying these people don’t have any actual ideas is merely another attempt by Mayor LaGrand to dismiss the work that these two groups have been doing, often at great risk to themselves in order to resist ICE.
LaGrand went on to say that he hopes to engage in a meaningful conversation with the group. No action was taken at Tuesday night’s meeting. Not once since the campaign began in January of 2025 has Mayor LaGrand ever reached out to Movimiento Cosecha or GR Rapid Response to ICE to engage in meaningful conversation. Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE initiated opportunities to have meaningful conversation, first in September of 2025, when both city and county officials were invited to a community forum, and second, when the two groups engaged LaGrand at his Mayor’s Monday event in December.
It’s too bad that WOODTV8 did not bother to reach out to Movimiento Cosecha or GR Rapid Response to ICE for their perspective on these matters. Instead, channel 8 decided to treat this story like they are merely courtroom stenographers just recording what was said and offering no context or verification of the claims made.
As a subscriber to Doug DeVos’ online journal Believe, I received weekly insights into what matters most to the DeVos family and their circle of Capitalist Class friends.
In a recent post Doug DeVos writes:
I recently had the opportunity to join Charles and Chase Koch for the unveiling of their new book, Becoming a Principle-Driven Leader: 41 Principles to Build an Enduring Business.
Hearing them share the stories behind these principles, tested and refined across six decades of building one of the most enduring businesses in the world, was genuinely inspiring.
Wow, the Charles and Chase Koch book sounds like an amazing read……sarcasm dripping.
Look, regardless of what the actual content of their book says, I tend to judge people’s actions more than their words. The Koch family certainly has engaged in lots of actions that we can look at, both in terms of how they have made their money and their influence in public policy.
Charles and David (now deceased) Koch built one of the largest privately held companies in the world. The Kochs have built and bankrolled a powerful network of foundations, think tanks, and politically active organizations that also influence elections and policy.
Charles Koch took over his father’s Rock Island Oil and Refinery Company, becoming president and chairman in 1967 and renaming it Koch Industries. Since then, the company’s revenues grew from just over $100 million to over $100 billion in recent years.
The Koch family has a long history of collaborating with far right groups, such as the John Birch Society in the 1960s, but then decided to create their own groups that had a more focused emphasis on promoting and expanding Capitalism as the driving force in all aspects of society.
In 1994, the Koch brothers created the American Legislative Exchange Council, often referred to as (ALEC). According to Source Watch, 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, and check out breaking news on our ExposedbyCMD.org site
Since at least 2006, the Kochs have hosted semi-annual meetings for wealthy right-wing donors. While these Koch network gatherings are carefully guarded, occasional leaked documents and recordings have revealed that they include “titans of industry — from health insurance companies, oil executives, Wall Street investors, and real estate tycoons — working together with conservative journalists and Republican operatives,” as well as prominent public officials, including members of Congress, state governors, and even Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia.The meetings involve fundraising, reportedly in the millions of dollars, as well as discussions about political strategy.
The Kochs also created Dark Money groups to funnel money to political candidates throughout the country and have spent countless millions to influence elections. It is no wonder that Doug DeVos thinks highly of Charles and Chase Koch, since the DeVos family has followed a similar path.
Locally, the Koch family has partnered with the DeVos family on several projects. During the 2020 Covid pandemic one of the Koch family groups Stand Together partnered with the DeVos family and one of their front groups AmplifyGR to offer some restricted relief funds for families in the Boston Square area. I say restricted since here was the criteria for receiving financial relief:
- A registered address in the Oakdale/Boston Square, Madison Square or northern Garfield Park neighborhoods
- Recently became unemployed or laid off,
- Had an annual household income $50,000 or less before being laid off
- Worked at a business with 250 employees or less.
In a more recent example the Koch created group Stand Together is part of the Thrive and Prosper group. Thrive and Prosper is just the latest iteration of the talent development and entrepreneurial pipeline that will allow a small sector of the local population to make money and be successful. The problem with this tired old approach is that it is just another manifestation of Capitalism 101, where given the right opportunity, you too can be financially successful.
You can see exactly why Doug DeVos is endorsing the Koch book, since both both families embraced a version of leadership where those with deep pockets get to expand their wealth, then use their vast sums of money to influence elections and get the kind of public policies that maintains the wealth gap. Needless to say I am not recommending that you read the book, Becoming a Principle-Driven Leader. Instead, you should consider organizing in your community to fight against the like of the Koch and DeVos families.
Last week Congress voted to provide $70 billion more for for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol. According to a story on NPR:
While most annual spending measures provide funds for just that fiscal year, this measure includes lump sums that need to be spent only by the end of fiscal year 2029, including:
- $38 billion for ICE to hire, pay, train and equip its officers and agents. That includes $7 billion for Homeland Security Investigations and $31 billion for immigration enforcement work like hiring more attorneys, supporting local law enforcement who coordinate with ICE and technology like body cameras;
- $22 billion for Border Patrol to pay, train, recruit and equip agents and personnel. That includes $13 billion specifically for immigration enforcement work;
- $5 billion for border security technology and screening, including artificial intelligence;
- $350 million for enforcement in localities that do not coordinate directly with ICE.
It is important to note that all of this money that is itemized here will be used to track, arrest, detain and deport immigrants, whether it goes to ICE and CBP agents, private contractors, local law enforcement and companies that make the equipment used by ICE and CBP.
What a radically imagined budget to support undocumented immigrants could look like
Now, the $70 billion for ICE and CBP are for the entire nation, so lets say that $2 billion could be used in Michigan, considering the size of the state, the level of ICE/CBP activity and what we know regarding ICE/CBP activity in the state.
$2 billion would cover the harm done by ICE/CBP in the last 12 months in Michigan, which would include the cost of family separation for thousands of families, legal fees spent to represent those arrested and detained, and Mutual Aid raised to provide ongoing support to families that have been impacted by ICE violence.
Of course, $2 billion – or any amount – would never be sufficient to cover the trauma caused by ICE/CBP against immigrant families living in Michigan.
$2 billion would also not adequately cover the cost of the time, energy and resources that countless individuals and autonomous groups spent engaged in resisting ICE through direct intervention, patrols, accompaniment, in meetings, demonstrations, marches, creating education materials, strategy sessions, all of which is precious time that people could have spent growing gardens, taking care of children, learning another language, dancing, cooking food, making art, making love, etc.
Another way of looking at $2 billion for Michigan would be if ICE and CBP were abolished and immigrants weren’t being terrorized, then $2 billion could be used for:
- Asylum application fees
- Providing affordable housing for immigrant families
- Making sure that immigrant families had excellent health care and education
- Providing seed money for immigrant families to start their own businesses
- Paying for language classes
- Providing translation services to the more than 100 different immigrant linguistic needs
If the US spent an equivalent amount of money we spend on terrorizing immigrants to support and welcome them, imagine how much better their lives would be. Hell, imagine how much better our lives would be, since immigrants already make our lives better.
Then there is the matter of how much money the US spends on military aid, training and weapons sales to countries that are using that money to repress their own people. Add to that how much US tax dollars are used to subsidize economic policies and corporations that devastate the local economies throughout countries like Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.
Imagine if the US wasn’t spending billions on military and economic policies that displaces people throughout the Americas, thus creating the so-called immigration crisis in the first place. Imagine if people could remain peacefully in their country of origin, living healthy and joyful lives.
Imagine that another world is possible, that we don’t have to settle for what systems of power and oppression give us. As the great Puerto Rican poet, Martin Espada once said, “No change for the good ever happens without it being imagined first, even if that change seems hopeless or impossible in the present.”
Let us radically imagine a better world!
In a recent Press Release Congresswoman Hillary Scholten announced that Bethany Christian Services in Grand Rapids will receive $3,876,529 in federal funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Rep. Scholten then states:
“Every child who arrives in our country deserves safety, compassion, and a path back to their families. Bethany Christian Services has spent decades doing the hard work of making sure vulnerable children in West Michigan are cared for and have access to the resources they need, and I will keep working to protect and expand these critical federal investments.”
Bethany Christian Services has a questionable history regarding foster care services for refugee children and for international adoption, particularly when public funds are involved, such as state contracts that have been in dispute in recent years.
On top of the organization misuse of public funds Bethany Christian Services is once again coming under fire for their bigoted and discriminatory practices. Just last week it was reported that,”Bethany Christian Services has introduced a new Statement of Faith and Belief that condemns abortion, same-sex marriage and non-traditional gender identities.” Bethany has a history of condemning people who identify as LGBTQ.
Bethany Christian Services also released a statement of faith, which requires employees and families who want to foster refugee children to sign on to this statement of faith, an agreement which will go into effect in June of 2027.
It would seem that Rep. Scholten hasn’t done her due diligence with Bethany Christian Services during her efforts to direct $3,876,529 in federal funding to the religious agency that has very clear and very specific discriminatory practices.
Over the years I have documented that many of the DeVos and Van Andel Foundations have collectively provided millions in funding to Bethany Christian Services, particularly because of the rigid religious and ideological principles that the agency adheres to.
The last sentence in Rep. Scholten’s Press Release says:
This funding reflects Congresswoman Scholten’s ongoing work to bring federal investment back to Michigan’s Third Congressional District and expand protections and resources for vulnerable immigrant children.
The question for people in West Michigan should be asking Rep. Scholten is, does the $3.8 million truly provide protection to immigrant children in Bethany’s care?
DeVos-led group GR A250 continues to want to control the narrative about the history of the US
In an April post on GRIID I warned people about how Doug DeVos and the GR A250 Committee was trying to dictate the narratives for the 175th anniversary of Grand Rapids and the 250 anniversary of the founding of the US. In the April blog post I wrote:
When it comes to the dominant narrative about the founding of the US, we all know what we were taught in grade school, particularly about the Revolutionary War. The Zinn Education Project has been working hard to provide teaching tools for educators and the community at large so that we can challenge the dominant narratives about the history of the US, specifically as it gears up for the 250th anniversary of the founding of this country.
In a recent GR A250 Facebook page post that committee hosted a screening of a new film called Young Washington. In that Facebook post the GR A250 committee wrote about Young Washington, stating:
The film offered a powerful look at the formative experiences that shaped one of America’s most influential leaders, highlighting timeless themes of character, perseverance, leadership and service.
This may seem like a harmless attempt to enlighten people about the formative years of George Washington’s life, but it fails to address larger and more structural issues about the founding of the US.
If we wanted to be honest about George Washington we could introduce people to Jerry Fresia’s book, Toward an American Revolution: Exposing the Constitution & Other Illusions. Fresia begins his book talking about the wealth of the founders, beginning with George Washington, where he writes:
His will of 1789 revealed that he owned 35,000 acres in Virginia and 1,119 acres in Maryland. He owned property in Washington valued (in 1799 dollars) at $19,132, in Alexandria at $4,000, in Winchester at $400, and in Bath at $800. He also held $6,246 worth of US securities, $10,666 worth of shares in the James River Company, $6,800 worth of stock in the Bank of Columbia, and $1,000 worth of stock in the Bank of Alexandria. His livestock was valued at $15,653. As early as 1773, he had enslaved 216 human beings who were not emancipated until after he and his wife had both died.
George Washington was one example of what the first Chief Justice of the US – John Jay – said, “Those who own the country ought to govern it.”
However, focusing on personalities can also distract us from the historical roots of the founding of the US. If we are being honest, then we have to come to terms with the fact that the US was founded on the genocide of Indigenous nations and the enslavement of Africans who were forcibly brought to the US for the sole purpose of being chattel slaves for founding fathers such as Washington and Jefferson.
If we want to look at the 250th anniversary, which centers around the Declaration of Independence and the Revolutionary War, then we need to look beyond what we were taught in 8th grade social studies class and engage in further inquiry about the founding of the US. Here are some suggested books and other materials:
Books:
The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord, by Ray Raphael
Founders: The People Who Brought You A Nation, by Ray Raphael
Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past, by Ray Raphael
The Counter-Revolution of 1776: Slave Resistance and the Origins of the United States of America, by Gerald Horne
Teaching Materials:
Beyond Loyalists and Patriots https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/beyond-loyalists-and-patriots/
“Founding” Documents We Don’t Learn About https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/founding-docs-we-dont-learn-about/
Race, Class, and the Constitutional Convention https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/constitutional-convention/
The Color Line https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/color-line-colonial-laws
On Sunday afternoon some 50 people from all over Michigan descended on the North Lake to once again draw attention to the largest privately run ICE detention center in Baldwin.
Sunday’s protest was a follow up action that took place in April when detainees had begun a hunger strike. Since then detainees at detention centers across the country have been engaging in hunger strikes and other forms of protest in order to draw attention to the unsanitary conditions, the lack of medical care, maggot infested food, even physical abuse the guards.
There was a short rally held near the front gate of the North Lake Detention facility, which included lots of chants, a reading of a list of demands from detainees and some reflections by a Cosecha organizer about the work they are doing in Grand Rapids. Someone from No Detention Centers in Michigan also played a message from a Black detainee about the physical abuse they experienced at the hands of a GEO Group prison guard.
After about the first hour of the protest people were invited to enter the North Lake detention area, something that had not been previously done. Nearly 40 people entered through the main gates dancing to music in what was called a Salsa Shutdown – shown here in the video.
The group danced and chanted in front of the entrance to the building where people enter for visits with detainees. This last another 7 – 8 minutes without any response from the GEO Group security.
The group of resisters then moved to another area of the North Lake detention facility, near the guard tower and right across from one of the wings where hundreds of detainees are imprisoned. Here people continued to dance and chant and send messages to the detainees that were in solidarity with them.
Again another 10-12 minutes passed by and still no sign of security guards or local cops. By this time people eventually headed towards the gate they had entered some 30 minutes prior.
People were commenting on the lack of response from the GEO Group and how surprised many were that the local cops were not called to respond. Some speculated that the lack of response demonstrated either how afraid or how unprepared the privately run GEO Group was to this public defiance. If anything, this direct action could provide an opening for other people to continue resisting the North Lake detention facility and boldly say Abolish GEO and Abolish ICE!
Last night a group of people organized by Movimiento Cosecha continued their campaign to boycott Long Road Distillers in order to pressure the Mayor of Grand Rapids to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies they have been demanding over the past 18 months.
Last October, Movimiento Cosecha kicked off a boycott campaign against Mayor David LaGrand, since he is co-owner of Long Road Distillers and Less Traveled. Saturday’s protest was the second one in front of the Less Traveled location.
In April the campaign escalated when people participated in a salsa shutdown inside of the Long Road Distillers building on Leonard St. NW, an action that resulted in the owner being called along with the GRPD.
Now the campaign is using stickers and posters (shown above) to draw more attention to the boycott. Last night organizers went to other businesses in the East Hills neighborhood to share the stickers and encourage business owners to put the posters up in their windows, all with the intention of applying more economic pressure to Mayor LaGrand to adopt the 6 sanctuary policies that would prevent the city from collaborating with ICE in any capacity.
There were a number of patrons sitting on the deck in front of Less Traveled, but you an see from the video that as people were being informed about the boycott campaign and the harm that ICE is doing by taking immigrants throughout the greater Grand Rapids area on a daily basis, people decided to go inside the restaurant/bar.
Movimiento Cosecha is also inviting organizations, grassroots groups, non-profits, churches, unions and any other associations to sign on to the boycott campaign. People can send a message to either Movimiento Cosecha movimientocosechagr@gmail.com or GR Rapid Response to ICE info@grrapidresponsetoice.org if they want receive posters, stickers and to add their name to the boycott campaign.
Earlier this week the far right Grand Rapids-based think tank, the Acton Institute, posted an article entitled, The Fight to Protect Women’s Sports Is an Economic Battle, Too.
The article was written by Carrie Lukas who is the President of the right wing organization known as the Independent Women’s Forum. The Independent Women’s Forum is an anti-feminist organization predominantly funded by right-wing foundations that has a history of opposing issues like paid family and medical leave while supporting the tobacco industry, banning school curricula on Climate Change and defending the environmentally disastrous practice known as hydraulic fracking.
Taking an anti-trans stance is not new for the Independent Women’s Forum. In 2024, they were part of a speaking tour with Betsy DeVos called Our Bodies, Our Sports, which included a stop in Grand Rapids in 2024, where they argued that allowing trans women to compete in women’s sports was a violation of Title IX.
In the article on the Acton Institute website, Lukas writes:
So what happens when “women’s” teams end up with an entirely male roster? Or when young female athletes hear about males winning competitions meant for women and girls? It sends a message to all those young female athletes—and their parents—that it might not really make sense to continue investing time and money in those extra training opportunities and travel teams. These young women and girls are being told that sports may be a dead end for them if they can’t be sure that female competitions are truly reserved for actual females. Entering competitions when you know the game is rigged against you is demoralizing, and that threatens to undermine a generation of female athletes.
What sports is Lukas referring that is or are likely to be made up of all trans women? The WNBA has no trans women athletes, even though she cites the WNBA in her article.
It is instructive that Lukas never uses the term trans women, but always refers to trans women as males. This makes sense, since groups like the Independent Women’s Forum are so anti-trans that they don’t even want to acknowledge that more and more athletes are trans.
However, none of this is surprising considering what Lukas says in her book, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex And Feminism. Here are a few enlightened observations that are in her book:
- “More than ever, women in their twenties and thirties live alone, are discarded by their boyfriends after living together, and are watching their biological clock tick past the point of no return.”
- “Women still prefer men who are breadwinners and can protect them physically.”
It is instructive that the Acton Institute would allow writers like Carrie Lukas to post articles on their website, especially since they consider themselves to be a deeply intellectual think tank.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 