We should be concerned about all corporate contributions in the 2020 Michigan Senate Race
Last Thursday, the Detroit News ran an article about how the DeVos family has channeled $800,000 to a Super PAC that is targeting Michigan Senator Gary Peters.
The article breaks down how much each member of the DeVos family has contributed to the Super PAC that is backing the GOP candidate running against Peters, John James. The Super PAC uses the name Better Future MI Fund.
The bulk of the article is typical of how mainstream media deals with the conservative/liberal binary, with comments from both sides, polling data and a brief assessment of the DeVos family influence in electoral politics.
What is missing from the story is information on who has contributed to the re-election campaign of Senator Peters, which should be a basic element of journalism within the framework of electoral politics.
I have seen numerous people posting the Detroit News article on social media, with lots of people expressing concern over the DeVos family’s support for John James. This is completely understandable, considering that the DeVos family has contributed more to political candidates in Michigan than any other family in recent decades. If people read this blog, then they are well aware that GRIID has written a great deal about the DeVos family, possibly more than any other online entity in the past decade, which includes our 400 plus page document on the DeVos Family entitled, We’re Rich and We Do What We Want.
However, it is highly problematic to not look at who has been contributing to the Peters campaign, especially since his campaign has raised more money as of the last election finance reporting ($11,578,659), which is $3 million more than what John James has raised at $8,238,521.
Senator Peters is not being funded by benign entities, but many from the corporate world, particularly the military industry. This should not be surprising since Peters is a member of the Homeland Security Committee and the Armed Services Committee. In addition, Peters has been a staunch defender of US empire and US imperialism since he took over for Senator Carl Levin.
Some of the major contributors to Senator Gary Peters in recent years are: General Dynamics (military), Blackstone Group (global real estate), Dow Chemical, DTE Energy, Goldman Sachs, Ford Motor Company, Visa Inc and CMS Energy.
The problem with the failure to provide robust reporting on political contributions during an election year is that it often perpetuates the liberal/conservative binary and doesn’t challenge the problem of corporate influence in electoral politics, regardless of which party a candidate belongs to.
In response to Pope’s comments about the global wealth gap, the Acton Institute’s founder says the poor are better off than they were 10 years ago
Earlier this month the leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, addressed a group of global financial leaders, calling out the growing wealth gap around the world.
The Vatican News posted a summary of the Pope’s comments directed at those who have a great deal of power to direct global economic matters. The Pope’s comments came during a a seminar entitled, New Forms of Solidarity:
“The world is rich, and yet the number of poor people is swelling all around us.”
Hundreds of millions of people, said the Pope, are struggling in extreme poverty, and are lacking food, housing, healthcare, schooling, electricity, and drinkable water. Around 5 million children will die this year of causes related to poverty, he said.
The Pope went on to acknowledge that there are solutions, stating:
Poverty can be overcome, said the Pope, if an economic system is put in place that includes, feeds, cures, and dresses those left behind by society. “We have to choose what and who to prioritize,” he said. Our choice will lead either to increased social injustice and violence, or to “humanizing socio-economic systems”.
Pope Francis then identified what he referred to as Structures of Sin:
Currently, the 50 richest people possess the equivalent of US$ 2.2 trillion. The Pope said that, on their own, they could finance “medical care and education for every poor child in the world, either through taxes and/or philanthropy” and save millions of lives every year. And he condemned recurrent tax breaks for wealthy individuals as “structures of sin”. “Every year hundreds of millions of dollars – which should be collected as taxes and go to finance healthcare and education – instead end up in offshore accounts,” he said.
Acton Institute Founder Rev. Robert Sirico responded to Pope Francis’s comments in a recent Acton podcast. Rev. Sirico says that the Pope’s claim that poverty is growing is wrong, yet the Acton Institute founder offers no countering evidence, other than to say that all of the organizations that analyze economics have a different take on the matter. Sirico goes on to say that, “the poor are better off today than they were 10 years ago.”
The Acton founder then respond’s to the Pope’s comments about Structural Sin. With a sort of mental jiu jitsu, Sirico states that there is an unfair tax burden on the poor, because it doesn’t allow them to be creative with what they have. Sirico then goes on to say that the tax burden on the rich is also a problem, since, “the rich own the means of production and are the ones providing the poor with jobs.” The Acton founder thinks that businesses shouldn’t be taxed.
Sirico continues the be dismissive of the Pope’s comments, which included his comments about welfare and social services as being problematic. The Acton founder completely avoids any real challenge to the wealth gap that the Pope addressed or any serious policy discussion about capitalism or other forums of solidarity.
Of course, for anyone who is familiar with the Acton Institute’s history, they would know that the organization founded by Rev. Sirico acts as an apologist for capitalism. This defense of capitalism is underscored by who sits on the board of directors and the regular attacks against an economic policy that threatens the system of capitalism. Interestingly enough, in looking at the 990 documents for the Acton Institute, the most recent being from 2017, Rev. Robert Sirico made $259,269.00 as the President. I guess making over a quarter of a million dollars in annual salary is a good reason to be an apologist of wealth and capitalism.
MLive celebrates the new Amazon distribution center, omits the company’s exploitation of workers and profits from oppression
In the past few days, MLive has run two articles on the new Amazon distribution center in Gaines Township.
The first article, from February 10, talks about how many people Amazon plans on hiring for the facility which will likely open this Spring. The MLive story states that those hired in will make $15 an hour, plus it acknowledges that Amazon received a $4 million grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund, to assist in opening up the new fulfillment center.
There was a second MLive article that appeared on February 12th, with the focus being on what kind of partnerships the company hopes to create with the opening of the new distribution center in Gaines Township. Amazon says they want to “give back to the community.”
The only partnership the article mentions is a possible partnership with the Kent Intermediate School District. The KISD Superintendent states:
“For example, we could envision having an instant relationship due to the complexity of the distribution center with the automation such as with our Megatronics program. Hopefully, as they get settled we can nurture and develop a partnership for the students we serve and for Amazon.”
Such a statement is rather disturbing, especially coming from the Superintendent of the ISD.
The February 12 MLive article goes on to talk about how Amazon is committed to becoming a sustainable business, by implementing a net zero carbon policy by 2040. Unfortunately, there are no details about how the company plans on achieving these goals. For instance, Amazon distribution centers rely on a massive fleet of vans to deliver the items that people purchase online. These vehicles are all currently gas powered, which means that hundreds of vans from the new Gaines Township facility will be deployed daily, powered by fossil fuels, thus creating more pollution.
What the MLive articles failed to acknowledge were the following:
- Amazon does not support labor unions, as was reflected in a leaked video that was sent to management without the Amazon corporate system.
- Amazon is owned by Jeff Bezos, the richest person on the planet, with an estimated wealth of $126 Billion. He makes approximately $2,489 per second — more than twice what the median US worker makes in a week.
- The Amazon Web Services’ cloud computing platform is the host for Palantir’s Investigative Case Management (ICM) software. ICM is then used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to manage their caseload and facilitate the tracking down and deportation of undocumented immigrants. Palantir, a data analytics firm, receives taxpayer dollars to provide these algorithms to government agencies, with its ICE contract being worth over $51 million. For its part, Amazon in turn receives $600,000 a month from Palantir. In addition, Amazon’s new home-security company (Ring), works with hundreds of law enforcement agencies and ICE to provide video from the Ring system that can also be used to target the undocumented community. Source: https://mijente.net/2018/10/whos-behind-ice-the-tech-companies-fueling-deportations/
Amazon will being paying low wages to the 1,000 new employees at the Gaines Township distribution center, even though the owner of Amazon (Jeff Bezos) will make more in one second than what these new Amazon employees will make in a week. Plus, Amazon is profiting from the oppression of undocumented immigrants that ICE is targeting, through the government’s partnership with Palantir and Amazon. And we are supposed to be excited, even grateful, that Amazon is opening this new distribution center?
Betsy DeVos Watch: 2021 Education Budget proposal will do for public education what Citizen’s United did for the electoral process
On Monday, Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, posted a a press release about President Trump’s proposed education budget. DeVos refers to the budget proposal as. “a transformative, student-first budget.”
The press release goes on to say:
“This budget proposal is about one thing—putting students and their needs above all else,” said Secretary DeVos. “That starts with creating Education Freedom Scholarships and helping 1 million more students find the best educational fit for them. We know education freedom helps students succeed, and it’s long past time for Congress to act to give students and their families more choices and more control.”
Once again, Betsy DeVos loves to claim that the Department of Education is all about “putting students and their needs above all else.” She supports this claim by suggesting that Congress pass the Education Freedom Scholarships bill, which essentially allows people and corporations to donate to a designated scholarship granting organization (SGO) and be reimbursed in the form of a tax credit. With the DeVos plan, states would designate the eligible SGOs, but the federal government would fund the tax credit reimbursement, up to $5 billion total. Once again, public money (in the form of tax credits) would be used to support Charter and Private school systems.
Equally disturbing is the fact that the proposed education budget would consolidate, “nearly all existing K-12 formula and competitive grant programs into one block grant to States, called the Elementary and Secondary Education for the Disadvantaged (ESED) Block Grant.”
This means that programs like Migrant Education, Neglected and Delinquent Education, English Language Acquisition, Education for Homeless Children, Rural Education, Native Hawaiian Education, Alaska Native Education, Arts in Education and a whole list of programs have NO money allocated to them in the 2021 Education Budget. Instead, States and local school districts would have complete control over how the ESED Block Grants would be spent, which means that States and local school districts would have the power to channel funding to the projects they support, which many NOT include funding for some of the most vulnerable students in the country. For a full list of the programs impact in the proposed consolidation, click here. Notice that in the 2021 Budget Request there are no funds that are earmarked for these programs.
At the end of the press release, DeVos includes comments from 10 supporters of the proposed education budget. Some of those included are politicians, while others are CEO’s of organizations that embrace the Neo-Liberal Education model such as Project Lead the Way and the National Skills Coalition.
Interesting to note that there are already numerous entities that are speaking out against the Trump/DeVos proposed Education Budget. The Council for Opportunity in Education says that the proposed budget would slash overall funding for the TRIO programs by 13% or $140 million.
Americans for the Arts wrote a critique of the proposed Education Budget and is calling on Congress to not only reject this misdirected budget request, but further increase funding for these important cultural agencies.
The American Library Association said:
The White House proposal to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) again dismisses the value of America’s 120,000 academic, public, school and special libraries. The administration’s new budget not only brushes aside IMLS, it decreases funding for other library-eligible education programs.
Even the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, an entity which has benefited from the Neo-Liberal Education Model, came out against the proposed Education Budget with this comment:
“President Trump has consistently said that school choice is a priority for his administration, but this budget, if enacted, would leave families in need with fewer school options. The education vision put forward by this budget is chilling. It would provide—through the proposed ‘Education Freedom Scholarships’ tax credit—extra federal financial help for families to access private schools, while withdrawing support for public school choice for our most vulnerable families by doing away with the Charter Schools Program (CSP).
We must not be fooled by Betsy DeVos’s claim that the budget is all about empowering students and parents. The proposed Education Budget for 2021, will continue to push the Neo-Liberal Education model, especially if Congress passes the Education Freedom Scholarship bill that will do for education what Citizens United did for the electoral process.
How to Win Driver’s Licenses for All in Michigan
As we reported, last fall legislation was introduced in the Michigan House and the Senate to allow those who are 
undocumented to obtain a Driver’s License in Michigan. (Senate Bills 631 & 632 and House Bills 5192 & 5193)
The fact that this legislation was introduced was the result of the immigrant-led mobilization to force the issue in the larger community and within the realm of electoral politics.
Across the state of Michigan, the push to win Driver’s Licenses for All is being led by Cosecha Michigan, the immigrant-led movement that has made this a central issue for the past two years. This movement has been gaining momentum in Michigan and believes that this campaign can be won. Those involved in the work to get Driver’s Licenses for All in Michigan believe this because:
- They believe in the power of social movements
- Several states have passed Driver’s Licenses for All recently, which were campaigns led by the immigrant community
- Obtaining Driver’s Licenses for All is what the undocumented community wants right now!
This campaign still has lots of work to do in Michigan and there are a variety of approaches being taken by different components of the larger movement. Here are things that people can do right now to be part of winning Driver’s Licenses for All in Michigan:
- Attend meetings being hosted by Movimiento Cosecha GR to learn about what work that the immigrant community and allies can do. Go to their Facebook page to find dates and times for meetings https://www.facebook.com/cosechagr.
- Work to get your faith community to endorse the campaign
- Work to get your city or county commission to endorse the campaign
- If you own a business, you can publicly display that you support the Driver’s Licenses for All campaign
- Find out how to participate in the upcoming May 1st activities, again by contacting Movimiento Cosecha GR https://www.facebook.com/cosechagr.
- For Allies, attend a Crowd Safety Training, which is a direct way to support the immigrant community when they do public actions. The next Crowd Safety Training is Wednesday, February 26th. https://www.facebook.com/events/169899957641176/
- Contact members of the House Transportation Committee – Please contact each and ask them to give the Drive SAFE bills a public hearing (House Bills 5192 and 5193).
Jack O’Malley (R) Committee Chair, 101st District, Phone: (517) 373-0825,
Email: JackOMalley@house.mi.gov
Gary Eisen (R) Majority Vice-Chair, 81st District, Phone: (517) 373-1790,
Email: GaryEisen@house.mi.gov
Triston Cole (R), 105th District, Phone: 517-373-0829 Toll Free: 855-DIST-105,
Email: TristonCole@house.mi.gov
Jason Sheppard (R), 56th District, Phone: (517) 373-2617,
Email: JasonSheppard@house.mi.gov
Julie Alexander (R), 64th District, Phone: (517) 373-1795,
Email: JulieAlexander@house.mi.gov
Joseph Bellino (R), 17th District, Phone: (517) 373-1530,
Email: JosephBellino@house.mi.gov
Gary Howell (R), 82nd District, Phone: 517-373-1800,
Email: GaryHowell@house.mi.gov
Lynn Afendoulis (R), 73rd District, Phone: (517) 373-0218,
Email: LynnAfendoulis@house.mi.gov
Tim Sneller (D) Minority Vice-Chair, 50th District, Phone: (517) 373-3906, Toll-Free: (844) SNE-LLER,
Email: TimSneller@house.mi.gov
Cara Clemente (D), 14th District, Phone: (517) 373-0140,
Email: CaraClemente@house.mi.gov
Tenisha Yancey (D), 1st District, Phone: (517) 373-0154 Toll-Free (888) 254-5291,
Email: tenishayancey@house.mi.gov
Jim Haadsma (D), 62nd District, Phone: (517) 373-0555,
Email: JimHaadsma@house.mi.gov
Nate Shannon (D), 25th District, Phone: (517) 373-2275,
Email: NateShannon@house.mi.gov
Together we can win Driver;s Licenses for All! Hasta La Huelga!
Journalism to inform or journalism to make West Michigan seem appealing?
Is it the job of journalists to provide critical information and analysis to the public or is their role to present information that will make the area in which they are reporting seem more attractive?
There is an increasing trend within journalism to make the regions in which they are reporting on seem more attractive. Think of all of the stories that have appeared in recent years about Grand Rapids being on various lists. In addition, this type of story rarely includes voices or perspectives that challenge the claim(s) being made in those stories.
A recent example of a story that leans towards making West Michigan more attractive, was an MLive article from February 2nd. The article, headlined, West Michigan’s most affluent ZIP Codes for senior citizens, presents data on 62 zip codes in Michigan, where the 2017 tax returns for those over 60 had claimed an income of $100,000 or more.
The MLive article then lists the zip codes in West Michigan that have the most affluent senior citizens, which include:
- 49008 Kalamazoo
- 49460 West Olive
- 49117 New Buffalo
- 49506 Grand Rapids
- 49453 Saugatuck
- 49546 Grand Rapids
- 49083 Richland
- 49060 Hickory Corners
- 49301 Ada
The article is also accompanied by several pictures, some of them area specific, mostly of scenery, some on the lakeshore, but only with white people.
The racial make up of senior citizens who are affluent is just one area of the article, which is problematic.
First, why is MLive just focusing on affluent seniors and not senior citizens as a whole? Wouldn’t it be more relevant to report on senior citizens that are financially struggling? Reporting that senior citizens are struggle could have the benefit of not only raising public awareness, but also to generate enough interest in organized efforts to change that reality.
According to the National Council on Aging, Over 25 million Americans who are 60+ are economically insecure – living at or below 250% of the federal poverty level (FPL) ($29,425 per year for a single person). These older adults struggle with rising housing and health care bills, inadequate nutrition, lack of access to transportation, diminished savings, and job loss.
Second, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation data, “at least 6 out of 10 older black and Hispanic adults have incomes below 200% of poverty under the Supplemental Poverty Measure, compared to 37.2% of older white adults.” In looking at gender, more women over 60 at living in poverty than men over 60.
Third, even if a senior citizen has an income over $100,000, that is no guarantee that they are living comfortably. According to a Washington Post story last April, senior citizens spent $22 billion on health care costs, which average out to about $4,000 per person. The rising costs of health care are disastrous for most people, but it is particularly problematic for those who are most vulnerable, which includes seniors.
These are only three reasons why this type of news reporting is problematic. We didn’t touch on the issue of housing costs or the reality that many seniors face when they have to go into some form of assisted living facility. This is the type of reporting that the public should demand and it is the type of reporting that would likely motivate people to be more engaged in civic matters.
What We Can Learn from Strategic Goals: The Right Place Inc. and Neo-Liberal Capitalism in Grand Rapids
At the beginning of a new year, it is common for organizations and businesses to set strategic goals for the future, whether that would be the next 6 months, 12 months or 2 years.
You can learn a great deal about any entity, non-profit or business, by looking at their strategic goals. We recently came across the 2020 strategic plan for the Right Place Inc, and thought it would be useful to dissect. The Right Place Inc is one of the primary business-centered entities in the greater Grand Rapids area, along with the GR Chamber of Commerce, even thought they have significantly difference goals.
The Right Place Inc. works with thousands of businesses in West Michigan, offering to connect them to a variety of services, but primarily to assist those businesses with accessing assistance programs. These assistance programs consist of connecting businesses with local and state governments to find ways to reduce investment risk, which is just a fancy way of saying, how to utilize public money and allow businesses to expand their profit margins. One recent example was when the Right Place Inc put together an incentives package for the City of Grand Rapids with the intent of trying to get Amazon to build a major facility in this community. However, most of what was crafted to lure Amazon to Grand Rapids, was not made public, even though roughly a billion dollars in incentives was offered.
It’s also important to look at who makes up the Board of Directors at the Right Place Inc. It is a mix of some of the largest companies in the area, with several colleges/university leaders and local government representatives.
The 2020 Strategic Plan of the Right Place Inc., also provides a window into their short and long-term goals and how this fits into the larger Neo-Liberal Capitalist agenda. You can read the strategic goals here, which is a 5-page document and only 3 pages of content.
The strategic plan of the Right Place Inc includes:
- Business Retention, Expansion, and Attraction
- Economic Inclusion
- Regionalism
- Talent Growth and Attraction
- Strategic Foundations
- Thought Leadership
- Business Intelligence
In addition, the Right Place Inc also lists 4 Strategic growth areas: Advanced Manufacturing, Information Technology, Health Sciences and Food Processing & Agribusiness. Health Sciences is included, mostly because several universities have committed to creating career tracks for the growing medical industrial complex in Grand Rapids, as can been seen on the Medical Mile. Food processing & Agribusiness are included, because Grand Rapids now likes to see itself as a major food hub in the state, despite the fact that a great deal of the labor done in the food industry in the area is done by immigrants (documented & undocumented), with poverty wages.
Talent Growth and Attraction is another interesting strategic goal, which is why there are several college/university presidents on the board of the Right Place Inc. So much of local education now caters to the business community’s desire to fill the “talent gap.” This dynamic also includes K-12 education, as is evidenced in a 2017 report by the DeVos-created and funded Believe 2 Become project, which puts an emphasis on developing talent for the West Michigan business community. A more recent example is the GRPS creation of a variety of job training classes that will be hosted at Ottawa Hills High School, such as the Hospitality & Tourism Academy.
It is significant that the Right Place Inc. identifies talent growth as part of their strategic plan. Talent growth is really just another way to use public funding, in this case for education, to train and incentivize students to be directed towards filling employer needs in West Michigan. Essentially, we (the public) pay for the Neo-Liberal Education and the business community will reap the benefits with a trained workforce. This is exactly why the Right Place Inc, the Chamber, Talent 2025 and the West Michigan Policy Forum want to influence the education system, since their members will financially benefit from business-influenced curriculum. It is one of the main components of Neo-Liberal Capitalism, which we should be rebelling against.
Betsy DeVos Watch: Deconstructing Trump and DeVos after the State of the Union address
On Tuesday night, President Trump gave his State of the Union address. He touched on several topics, including education in the US.
In addition, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, released a brief statement in response to what the president had to say. Actually, DeVos had nothing to really add to Trump’s comments, other than to continue using the same Neo-Liberal Education buzzwords and to plug the Education Freedom Scholars.
We offer this brief deconstruction of Trump’s comments and the Press Release sent out by Betsy DeVos from Tuesday, February 4, 2020.
The entire State of the Union address can be found here.
In her Press Release, Betsy DeVos continues to use the political right’s playbook strategies, attacking government with the phrase:
Every student, parent, and teacher should be excited by this bold agenda to free them from a government system that limits their success.
DeVos then points out that, “one in four eighth graders is functionally illiterate.” While this is true, there is no evidence that suggests that Charter Schools or other Neo-Liberal education models are working. In fact, there is plenty of documentation demonstrating how Charter Schools are failing, both in academic terms and in wasting money. See the report Still Asleep at the Wheel: How the Federal Charter Schools Program Results in a Pileup of Fraud and Waste.
In her Press Release, DeVos ends with a push for Congress to pass the Education Freedom Scholarships proposal. The Education Freedom Scholarships would do what the Opportunity Scholarships are already doing, which is to allow people and corporations to donate to a designated scholarship granting organization (SGO) and be reimbursed in the form of a tax credit. With the DeVos plan, states would designate the eligible SGOs, but the federal government would fund the tax credit reimbursement, up to $5 billion total. Once again, public money (in the form of tax credits) would be used to support Charter and Private school systems.
Lastly, it is interesting to note that while both Trump and DeVos are critical of government involvement, they want Congress to pass the Education Freedom Scholarships, which means they want the federal government to be involved in how schools are funded. Apparently they have no problem with government intervention, especially when it promotes the Neo-Liberal Education model.
When undocumented immigrants tell us they live in fear, we really need to hear them
On Monday night, members of Movimiento Cosecha GR and some allies came to the Wyoming City Commission meeting to get them to adopt a resolution in support of the Driver’s Licenses for All.
More than a dozen members of Cosecha addressed the city commissioners about why being able to obtain a driver’s license was so important to them and to the community. Some people addressed the safety aspects of being able to obtain a driver’s license, while some talked about the economic benefits. However, there was one theme that was present throughout most of those who shared their stories, it was the theme of fear.
Undocumented immigrants live in constant fear, especially of law enforcement officials, whether they are local cops or ICE agents working for the Department of Homeland Security. Those who spoke talked about the fear they have of being pulled over by the police and asking for a driver’s license or other forms of identification. This fear exists when they go to work, when they stop off at the grocery store or when they are picking their children up from school.
This fear that immigrants have is well founded and well documented. During the eight years that the Obama administration occupied the White House, some 3 million immigrants were deported. Under the current administration of Donald Trump, the arrest, detention and deportation of immigrants has escalated, along with the racist rhetoric and policies from border walls, increased restriction on who can immigrate to the US, the addition of more ICE agents and the further expansion of state and private detention facilities across the country.
However, despite more than a dozen emotionally charged testimonies from immigrants, government officials told those same immigrants that they shouldn’t fear the police or elected officials
Towards the end of the public comment period, State Rep. Tommy Brann said that he was not there to support or oppose Driver’s Licenses for All, but that the immigrant community should not be afraid to come and speak to him. Really? What has Rep. Brann done to demonstrate that he is an ally to immigrants? Has he introduced legislation that would support Driver’s Licenses for All? Has he introduced legislation that would support Sanctuary Cities or prevent ICE from terrorizing the immigrant community? The truth is that Rep. Brann has not introduced or voted for legislation that would demonstrate that he is committed to immigrant justice.
Then, at the end of the commission meeting, when commissioners have an opportunity to respond to anything that came up during the public meeting, there were two Wyoming elected officials who told immigrants that they should not fear the Wyoming police. Both of these city officials said this after they had just taken part in a ride along with Wyoming cops. The Wyoming commissioners said that Wyoming police have good hearts and that they see no reason why immigrants should be afraid of them.
This display of white privilege was astounding. Were they not listening to the heartfelt statements from the immigrants who had just spoken? Look, if the Wyoming City Commission wants immigrants to trust them, then they need to take action instead of offering advice. The Wyoming City Commission can start winning the trust of immigrants by passing a resolution to support Driver’s Licenses for All. After they adopt such a resolution, they can adopt a policy of total non-cooperation with ICE and then declare themselves a sanctuary city.
Until these things happen, stop telling immigrants how they should feel. Listen to what immigrants are actually telling you. By ignoring immigrant testimony, the Wyoming officials that told them to not fear cops completely dismiss the lived experience of the immigrants who spoke. Licencias sí, promesas no!
Grand Rapids for Education Justice presents a list of demands to the Grand Rapids Public Schools
Last night, members of Grand Rapids for Education Justice (GREJ), presented a list of demands to the Grand Rapids Public Schools, demands that they had attempted to present last month.
The GREJ had a meeting scheduled for January 6 of 2020, with the President of the School Board and the acting GRPS Superintendent. However, when members of the GREJ requested that they be able to live-stream that meeting, the GRPS said they did not want that conversation recorded. GREJ believes that transparency is a priority and that the public has a right to know what the content of conversations that the GRPS is having.
The GREJ has also been presenting a great deal of data and an analysis of what they refer to as the two-tiered educational system within the GRPS. Over the past several months the GREJ has attended school board meetings and send communication to the GRPS, who has either been dismissive of their concerns or has ignored them.
The three demands the group laid out are:
- An increase in teacher salaries
- An end to the two-tiered system in the GRPS, a system which disproportionate impacts students experiencing poverty and students of color
- An end to all privatization of GRPS services
You can read a more detailed articulation of each of the three demands at this link and watch the video below of the Press Conference held last night outside of the GRPS administration building.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 