Fund community needs not cops: Students host rally and pressure GR City Commissioners to adopt sanctuary policies and justice for Da’Quain Johnson during public hearing

Roughly 75 people gathered at Calder Plaza, which included some 30 students, most of which are students in the Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS) system.

Students invited people to use sidewalk chalk to express their concerns and their demands. Several students then spoke about the demands they were presenting, as well as speaking about their own lived experiences as Black, Latinx and immigrant students. There was also a student that spoke about the history of student organizing in Grand Rapids, with his comments making it clear that students have always been involved in organizing and an essential part of social movements.

Before going up to attend and speak at the City Commission meeting I was able to interview one of the student organizers, a bright and articulate student named Colette.

At the City Commission there were several opportunities for people to speak, but most people and the students chose to speak during the Public Hearing that was held specifically to the issue of the FY2027 Budget, which I wrote about in a previous post.

One student begins by asking people to raise their lands if they feel unsafe around police, with half the room raising their hands. This student then went on to demand that less money go to the GRPD and more funds be invested in public safety models that are not based on fear and force.

Another student talked specifically about an encounter she had while going to school, an encounter with cops. She also said she came to use her voice to speak for her parents and for her immigrant community.

A third student spoke about the need to reduce funding for the GRPD and redirect funding to community needs, like housing, mental health resources, and long term sustainable efforts that truly promotes community safety.

One of the students got up and said that they were dedicating their time to the families who have had loved ones deported.

One theme that emanated from several students was the fact that they were frustrated that the needed to come to the City Commission meeting instead of focusing on their studies, by talking about the horrific realties of harm and danger that is happening in this city, specifically at the hands of cops.

There were also several members of Together West Michigan who have spent the past two years working to get safety on Kalamazoo, safety for street calming, lights and better signage to keep residents safe. Residents in that neighborhood are jaded and feel ignored. At the same time billionaires get a free pass when the city agrees to use millions in taxpayer dollars to support the DeVos/Van Andel Three Towers Project.

Another resident brought up the irony around the issue that of the $2.9 million for Oversight and Public Accountability, $1.7 million of this is for Axon contract including body cameras. How is it accountability when $1.7 million goes to a private corporation? That is nothing more than a corporate handout.

While many of the dozens of people who spoke during the Public Hearing on the FY2027 budget were inspiring with sound arguments, especially the comments from students, I don’t expect that this City Commission will actually hear what people have said. As I wrote yesterday, “holding one public hearing on this matter is a pitiful display of public engagement and what people should be demanding is a full blown participatory budgeting process that would essentially allow for a full year of discussion, debate and development of a budget that would truly meet the public’s needs.”

As always I don’t invest hope or faith in government officials, but in the people who do the hard work, people in the streets, people who organize and resist state carceral violence. La Lucha Sigue!