GR history through the lens of those in power vs a people’s history of GR

Last week I posted an article that was critical of the GR A250 group, which was created to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US and the 175th anniversary of the founding of Grand Rapids.

I have also noted in a previous post that the steering committee for the GR A250 group is dominated by members of the GR Power Structure.

The types of posts that the GR A250 group is making continues to represent GR history through the lens of those in power or what insurgent historian Howard Zinn refers to as the “historical winners.”

I want to share recent GR A250 posts and then provide some counter stories and/or analysis.

Cops and Freedom

The first post from GR A250 I want to look at is from 5 days ago, which features a 29 second video where two GRPD cops are asked what freedom means to them. WTF! This video is not only insulting it completely ignores the long standing history and recent history of how the GRPD has brutalized BIPOC people in Grand Rapids, including the murder of Patrick Lyoya in 2022 and the trial for the cop that killed him him just last May. See the GRIID coverage and analysis of how the commercial news media reported on that trial in the GRIID news study report, specifically pages 6 – 10.

Events and growth in GR

The second post from GR A250 was four days ago, with the following narrative – “Grand Rapids has always known how to gather, grow and build from generation to generation. It’s what makes our city special.” The post includes three examples – 1) a balloon race in the early 1900s that took place in East GR; 2) the Christkindl Markt that started in 2023; and 3) Construction on the Amway Stadium for the new professional soccer team that is owned by both the DeVos and Van Andel families.

Not surprising all of these events have primarily benefited the wealthiest families in Grand Rapids. What the GR A250 excluded when talking about events that speak to how people gather could have been the 6000 plus furniture workers that went on strike for months in Grand Rapids in 1911, which was followed by 10,000 Grand Rapidians showing up to support those workers during the Labor Day march that same year. A more recent example of people coming together could be the largest march in GR history in 2006 where 10,000 march for immigrant justice.

Centering the DeVos patriarch

The third post from GR A250 was also four days ago, which celebrates the “Believe! 50th Anniversary Edition is being released with new reflections from Doug DeVos.” The narrative says in part: “The timeless principles that have been a guide for previous generations – free enterprise, human dignity and family – help keep the American Dream alive when everyday people put them into practice. Believe! Helps restore and reinforce those principles for a new generation.”

Of course the GR A250 group would celebrate this bullshit, not only because Doug DeVos is on the steering committee, but because the DeVos family has had the most influence on GR politics in recent decades than any other family, and to the exclusion of thousands of families that are struggling to survive in Grand Rapids. As an alternative check out the GRIID DeVos Family Reader for a very different narrative.

Celebrating Business leaders, not workers

The fourth post from GR A250 was three days ago and celebrates Anna Bissell who was the first female CEO in Grand Rapids. Bissell has a statue honoring her in front of the DeVos Convention Center, which was part of the Peter Secchia-led monuments campaign.  To read an alternative narrative about Anna Bissel check out a post from the GR People’s History Project entitled, Anna Bissell Statue in Grand Rapids: Honoring another Capitalist.

With the direction that the GR A250 Facebook page is going I plan to write articles that counter these narratives where history is made by people with power with narratives from a people’s history of Grand Rapids.