The DeVos-created organization, AmplifyGR, will be hosting a meeting on June 29, from 6 – 7:30pm at the Living Word Church, located at 1534 Kalamazoo Ave. SE.
In the past two weeks, we have posted two stories about the DeVos/Rockford Construction plans to re-develop parts of Southtown.
In our May 29 article, we primarily provided information on the meetings and planning that AmplifyGR has been participating in, meetings that have largely been limited to planners and policy makers. The May 29 article also provides details of the vision that the DeVos/Rockford Construction tandem has for parts of the southeast area of Grand Rapids.
On June 1st, we reported that AmplifyGR had canceled a scheduled meeting they were invited to that was being hosted by GR Homes for All. That meeting was cancelled in part because of the fact that AmplifyGR was clearly presented as a DeVos-created entity, something that they were not transparent about on either their website or their Facebook page.
Last week, we then posted part two of our initial article on the DeVos/Rockford Construction collaboration to redesign parts of Southtown, with details on how many properties they had purchased in preparation for their development plans.
Now the June 29 meeting has been scheduled. The AmplifyGR facebook page says that the meeting is being hosted by the two Third Ward City Commissioners (Lenear and Allen) and AmplifyGR. The description also says that Doug DeVos, from the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation will speak, followed by the CEO of Rockford Construction, Mike VanGessel.
The Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation are financing this re-development project, although we do not know how much money they are investing in the project, since their foundation will not have to legally post their 990 financial disclosure documents for another two years. However, we do have information on what the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation has been funding in recent years that are relevant to the AmplifyGR discussion. 
First, the person who is working for AmplifyGR, Willie Patterson, used to work for LINC, which has received more funding from the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation since their founding than any other source.
Second, the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation has invested significantly in “educational” projects in Grand Rapids, often in conjunction with the Grand Rapids Public Schools. Their foundation has been the primary funding source for the Believe 2 Become project, which has been a way for the DeVos family to inject religion into the local public schools, along with the Grand Rapids Initiative for Leadership, which is an even more overtly faith-based program that works with the GRPS. This “educational” funding is relevant, since one of the components of the Southtown development vision is education. Education, with the DeVos context means private, charter or faith-based programing with a public school system.
Lastly, the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to ideologically driven organizations, such as the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which has been a leader in opposing marriage equality in the US. More importantly, the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation regularly funds groups like the Acton Institute, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute, all of which support neoliberal economic policies that harm working class families and communities, like the neighborhoods being targeted in the AmplifyGR plans.
After Doug DeVos and Mike VanGessel speak at the June 29 AmplifyGR meeting, there will be a presentation of the development plans, “followed by the opportunity for neighborhood residents and business owners to ask questions and learn how to stay involved in the ongoing planning in the community by the City of Grand Rapids and AmplifyGR.”
This last sentence suggests that what is being developed is more or less a done deal and that the June 29 meeting is designed merely to inform people what they will be doing. Let’s face it, a meeting that only lasts 90 minutes, includes comments from politicians, Doug DeVos and the CEO of Rockford Construction, followed by a presentation of the AmplifyGR project, won’t allow for much time for people to speak up. In reality, the June 29 meeting is a managed meeting, like so many other meetings led by developers, and is not really designed for public input, rather it is just to create a perception that they want to hear from the community.
With more assets than Koch or DeVos, the Bradley Foundation also impacts policy in Michigan and the Midwest
We all know what influence that the Acton Institute and the Mackinac Center for Public Policy had in making Michigan a Right to Work state a few years ago. Funding from the DeVos Family certainly played a role in pushing for Michigan to become a Right to Work state.
However, new research coming out of the Wisconsin-based group, the Center for Media & Democracy (CMD), has uncovered the influence of a little known entity known as the Bradley Foundation. According to the CMD:
Documents examined by the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) expose a national effort funded by the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation to assess and expand right-wing “infrastructure” to influence policies and politicians in statehouses nationwide.
The documents open a window to the behind-the-scenes workings of one of America’s largest right-wing foundations. With $835 million in assets as of June 2016, the Bradley Foundation is as large as the three Koch family foundations combined, yet receives much less attention as a significant funder of the right.
CMD has examined thousands of these documents, including Bradley board documents between 2013-2016. The documents indicate that Bradley has a new stream of funding to build this “conservative infrastructure” and is using a metric to assess the strength and depth of that infrastructure in individual states — including “receptive” politicians, right-wing “think tanks,” symbiotic “grassroots” groups, friendly media, litigation centers, and opposition research — to guide Bradley’s strategic funding initiatives.
Watch this Bradley Foundation video, which seeks to recruit others in their efforts to maintain Blue Lakes and create Red States.
One area in particular that the Bradley Foundation has focused their energy is on attacking and undermining labor unions. One of their partner organizations in this work is Berman and Co,, founded by Richard Berman.
Berman came to Grand Rapids in 2010, to present an anti-union strategy at the West Michigan Policy Forum Conference.
This is consistent with the CMD documentation on Michigan and Right to Work, where the Bradley Foundation has essentially bankrolled the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.
Since 1993, Bradley has provided $1,357,000 in support of Mackinac Center for Public Policy’s (MCPP) activities, almost all for its anti-union “Labor Education Project.” Mackinac, a member of SPN, has also worked aggressively to roll out and defend ALEC-style “right to work” legislation in Michigan and other states (Mackinac, Grant Proposal Record, 2/24/15).
In 2015, Bradley gave the group $175,000 to support general operations. “Mackinac is among the most aggressive and, as the right-to-work victory shows, successful state think tanks in America. With many Bradley-supported allies, Mackinac and its labor, legal, and educational efforts provide good programmatic and organizational models for the rest of the country.” Bradley has funded the group’s app, called VoteSpotter, which”provides a concise, neutral, ‘plain-English’ descriptions [sic] of specific legislative actions, in real time” (Mackinac, Grant Proposal Record, 2/24/15).
In 2014, Bradley gave Mackinac $50,000 to support general operations. The grant describes some of Mackinac’s activities: “Bradley’s recent support of Mackinac has been styled as for its Labor and Education Project. Mackinac would also like to use some of any continued Bradley support for its Mackinac Center Legal Foundation (MCLF), the attorneys of which do most of their work on labor- and education-related matters. Mackinac’s director of labor policy is Vincent Vernuccio, who chairs a committee of the labor task force of the Bradley-supported American Legislative Exchange Council and previously has worked at the Bradley-supported Capital Research Center and Bradley-supported Competitive Enterprise Institute… MCLF spent much of last year helping to defend the new right-to-work law, in policy and legal arguments, as well as in the larger public discourse in the state and nationally… MCLF is working with the Bradley-supported National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation on this and several other legal matters surrounding implementation of right to work in Michigan… On education, among other things, Mackinac is analyzing mroe [sic] than 200 collective-bargaining agreements (CBAs) in the state, covering some 75% of the state’s public-school students, to see if and if so, how, they are adhering to the teacher-tenure and -evaluation policy changes. The results will be an important, in-depth, one-state version of the larger, national study of CBAs being done by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute…” (Mackinac, Grant Proposal Record, 2/25/14).
“Its labor and education work in particular has been funded by the Dow, Earhart, Herrick Foundations and Chrysler,” say the Bradley files (Mackinac, Grant Proposal Record, 2/25/14).
Like Bradley, Mackinac is a tax-exempt “charitable” organization. It is prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities and can only engage in very limited “grassroots” lobbying. It reported zero direct or grassroots lobbying to the IRS in 2012.
Yet audio released by Progress Michigan reveals Mackinac Director of Labor Policy F. Vincent Vernuccio telling supporters at an Americans for Prosperity gathering in 2012 that he had met with Michigan lawmakers to make a plan for ramming a “right to work” bill through the state legislature during a lame-duck session. Right-wing pundit and Trump campaign advisor, Stephen Moore, also wrote that Mackinac “persuaded Lansing lawmakers to pass a right-to-work law in the Wolverine State.”
The Bradley Foundation also has a long history of funding charter schools, school privatization and opposing marriage equality. With this new information, it is an important reminder for any social movement to always do a power analysis and understand what forces are organized to push back against the current freedom struggles.
Meijer Golf Tournament Fights Hunger? Another example of the Charity Industrial Complex in West Michigan
The Charity Industrial Complex is not something new. It has been around for decades, but it has evolved over the years in an attempt to supplant the hard work of social movements.
The Charity Industrial Complex is essentially the business and philanthropic community’s attempt to convince the public that what they are doing is “making a difference.” Virtually every week, events are hosted by businesses and sometimes by non-profits, with the purpose of getting the public to donate towards whatever cause is popular and trendy.
One of the most popular causes these days is “fighting hunger.” People can go to their favorite bar or restaurant and a portion of what they spend will go to a local charity that claims to be fighting hunger. Lots of people participate, because they don’t have to do anything other than be a good consumer. People get to drink beer or eat fish tacos and still feel like they are contributing to efforts to end hunger. What’s even better, is that they don’t even need to interact with people who are experiencing poverty.
However, the activities of the Charity Industrial Complex is fundamentally based on a lie. All of businesses and non-profits that claim to be fighting hunger are really just offering another bandaid to the deeply systemic problem of hunger and poverty. In fact, many of the same businesses that participate in the anti-hunger campaigns are the same ones that are profiting from the current food system that is designed to keep people malnourished and hungry.
Last month, we posted an article about the fallacies of food drives. Food drives are really designed to distract us into think that we are making a difference, when in fact we end up perpetuating the problem by not addressing the root causes of hunger and poverty.
Golfing Fights Hunger???
Next week, West Michigan will play host to the Meijer LPGA Classic at the Blythefield Country Club. The annual golf tournament is one way for the Meijer Corporation to con the public into thinking that they care about the community, through their Simply Give program.
In the upbeat video, we are told over and over again that this whole effort is to “help feed the hungry” and to make sure that “no one goes to bed hungry.” Amazing! Those with power have been able to manipulate the public into believing that a huge corporate golf tournament will actually fight hunger. So, how do they do this?
First, the Meijer Corporation spends a ton of money on their Simply Give campaign, in much the same way that they market their business image. Meijer is seen as an important resource in West Michigan and banks on the idea that people can’t imagine a West Michigan without the food retail giant.
Second, the Golf Tournament enlists celebrities and thousands of volunteers through the local news media, which has been promoting this event for years and begins promoting months ahead of the actual golf tournament. In addition, the news media participates as sponsors of events like the Meijer LPGA Classic and presents it as a fun, family opportunity that will also do some good, by fighting hunger.
Third, this event (and the Charity Industrial Complex as a whole) is normalizing the way in which society solves problems, which is through charitable efforts for the “less fortunate.” We are not allowed to ask the question, “why are so many people going hungry in our community.” We just have to accept that those who are in need, are struggling because of some misfortune. We cannot allowed to have any discussion that seeks to understand the root causes of hunger and the systemic forces that are the beneficiaries of hunger and poverty.
I mean, look at the list of co-sponsors of the Meijer LPGA Classic in the graphic below. These are all corporations that are part of the food industry. These corporations have made billions off of an unjust food system and primarily sell and market products that make us unhealthy. They are also corporations that have spent millions to support political candidates and to lobby members of Congress to maintain an unjust food system and to line their pockets with billions of dollars in subsidies.
It is important that we not buy into these lies and that we expose the Charity Industrial Complex as just another way to maintain systems of oppression and exploitation.
The Michigan legislature will be hearing testimony tomorrow about House Bill 4015, also known as the Sanctuary Policy Prohibition Act.
This legislation will make it law that will prohibit and city, county or township government in the state of Michigan from enacting a sanctuary policy, particularly a policy that would make it illegal for local law enforcement to NOT cooperate with federal officials as it relates to undocumented people.
Section 5 of the proposed legislation reads:
Section 9 of the proposed legislation is equally problematic. It reads:
House Bill 4051 also means that local governments must provide in writing to the state of Michigan that they have complied with this legislation, should it pass, and if it does not do so, the “state treasurer shall withhold the total annual payment amount that the 5 local unit of government receives under the Glenn Steil state 6 revenue sharing act of 1971, 1971 PA 140, MCL 141.901 to 141.921, 7 for each year or portion of a year that the local unit of 8 government fails to comply with the requirements of this act.”
The sponsors of this legislation are Representatives Pamela Hornberger, Tim Kelly, Jim Runestad, Gary Glenn, Peter Lucido and Tom Barrett. Rep. Hornberger was only elected to the Michigan House in 2016 and she was the primary sponsor that introduced this legislation.
According to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network’s data base, Rep. Pamela Hornberger’s number one campaign contributor is the DeVos Family.
There is also subsequent legislation that is being proposed and will be discussed in Lansing, House Bill 4334. The language of this legislation is very similar to HB 4051, but is more broadly advocating for local law enforcement to fully cooperate with federal officials.
There is a rally being held in front of the Capital on Wednesday, June 7 at 10am, followed by a Press Conference. In addition, individuals and organizations will be submitting comments and letters in opposition to this legislation during the hearing, which is scheduled for noon.
If you are unable to attend and want to send a letter in opposition to this legislation, you need to do it TODAY. Email your testimony to the Committee Clerk: Angie Lake alake@house.mi.gov.
In addition, it is important to get as many people trained in Rapid Response to ICE. The next training is Thursday, June 15, from 6:30 – 8:30pm, with more details at this link.
The DeVos Family now wants to remake part of a southeast Grand Rapids neighborhood: Part II
Last week we reported on the organization known as AmplifyGR, an organization that is a non-profit, 
created by the DeVos family’s RDV Corporation.
We reported that AmplifyGR was working with Rockford Construction Company and the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation to develop parts of the Southtown neighborhood area, particularly, the Boston Square area and part of industrial area surrounding Cottage Grove SE.
In the March 15, 2017, Southtown Corridor Improvement District meeting minutes it states in part, “Longer term they are asking how do they reposition the properties in Boston Square and Cottage grove in a way that provides employment to people living in Southeast Grand Rapids.”
While these minutes reflect the notion that AmplifyGR and Rockford Construction want to provide employment opportunities to people in the area, Rockford Construction had purchased more than two dozen properties in these neighborhoods more than a year before these pronouncements were made at the Southtown Corridor Improvement District meeting.
We Call it a Land Grab
In the first map (below), you can see that Rockford Construction (according to the most recent data available on the Grand Rapids Parcel Viewer map) owns thirteen properties in the Boston Square area. The land that Rockford Construction owns in this area is fairly substantial and makes them the largest land owner along the Kalamazoo corridor in the Boston Square neighborhood.
In this second map below (according to the most recent data available on the Grand Rapids Parcel Viewer map), one can see that the Rockford Construction Company now owns fifteen lots in the Cottage Grove area between Jefferson and College SE. In this instance, Rockford Construction, along with the Notions Marketing Corporation.
This means that as of right now Rockford Construction owns 28 properties in the target area for development, as proposed through the information presented by AmplifyGR. In addition, what this information suggests is that for at least a full year before AmplifyGR began to “engage” the community, Rockford Construction was quietly buying up property with the intention of developing the Boston Square and Cottage Grove areas.
Here is where resident are at a disadvantage. Developers, like Rockford Construction, do not come to residents in neighborhoods to present an idea before they develop plans or buy property. It seems that the only just thing to do would be for residents to have an equal say in what happens to their neighborhoods before plans are being developed or property is being purchased by an outside entity.
Now, this may seem unrealistic in a world where property ownership is held sacrosanct, but such a process would limit the power that developers, land speculators and investors have in the process.
What AmplifyGR is really doing, and what it was designed to do (in my opinion), is to amplify the voices of developers and investors who have purchased land in the Southtown area, without telling residents, thus creating a power dynamic that favors those with wealth.
In this instance, with an imbalance of power, what recourse do residents have if they do not want what AmplifyGR, Rockford Construction or the Doug & Maria DeVos Foundation is selling? Residents could organize and ban together to create and community land trust, which takes time and is no easy task or they could organize to publicly resist these forces through an informational campaign that would seek to get the larger community behind them to stop the proposed plans laid out by AmplifyGR, as we reported on last week.
AmplifyGR already pulled out of a scheduled meeting with Grand Rapids Homes for All that is scheduled to be held at the Baxter Community Center on June 8. However, this seems like an important opportunity for people who are concerned about the economic and political forces like Rockford Construction and members of the DeVos family who want to redesign an entire neighborhood. One of the best ways to defeat power is by shinning the light on what they are doing, along with resistance to whatever plans they want to impose on residents of that area.
Yesterday, the Grand Rapids Cosecha Movement engaged in their latest action in their campaign to demand respect, dignity and permanent protection for all immigrants.
At the 54th street Walmart, Cosecha GR members participated in what they were calling a “penny action.” The action involved adults and children buying milk and paying with pennies.
People went to the checkout lanes, each with 2 gallons of milk, and paid with pennies counting them one at a time.
Clogging up the checkout lanes caused them to backup, creating long lines of shoppers, as you can see in the pictures below.
This process played out for about 30 minutes, including people the returning the same milk they had just purchased. Eventually, Cosecha members took out a banner that said we will stop disrupting you, when you stop disrupting our families. Then, another member of Cosecha GR, with the use of a megaphone read a statement, which you can see in this video:
One of the things that the Cosecha GR action was attempting to draw attention to was the fact that there are literally thousands of immigrants working in the agricultural sector. Migrant workers pick the food we eat and milk the cows we drink. These migrant workers don’t make a livable income, which is why the Cosecha Movement is calling for a strike. A strike, even if it only involved immigrant workers, would cause tremendous financial harm to businesses all across the country.
The Cosecha GR members were also appealing to Walmart workers who don’t make a livable wage, often relying on food assistance.
Cosecha members also handed out information to customers with some explanation of the action, along with an invitation to be part of the local movement. In fact, they are inviting anyone with a commitment to immigrant justice to text the word Huelga or Strike and the number 41411.
Walmart management attempted to silence the action and to prevent Cosecha GR members from filming, but were unable to do so. Walmart called the local cops, who showed up just as the Cosecha GR members were leaving the store.
Yesterday, the DeVos-created group AmplifyGR sent an e-mail to the group Grand Rapids Homes for All cancelling the meeting that was scheduled for June 8 at the Baxter Community Center.
Here is the message that AmplifyGR sent:
I wanted to let you and the Grand Rapids Homes for All team know that we will need to reschedule our June 8 meeting scheduled until July/August.
We have been working with City Commissioners to host a neighborhood meeting in late June to share information with residents on Amplify GR’s goals, planning process, partnerships and real estate transactions. Once that meeting happens, we would like to reschedule with Grand Rapids Homes for All and work with you to maximize attendance and discuss how our goals align for creating and maintaining quality housing for all.
I apologize for the disruption, but hopefully we can identify an opportunity to continue the conversation in July/August.
Sincerely, Jon Ippel
The GR Homes for All Facebook event made it clear that the AmplifyGR group was funded and created by the RDV Corporation, which is part of the DeVos family holdings.
The fact that AmplifyGR canceled this community meeting raises questions about what it is that they don’t want the public to know, particularly those who will be most impacted by the development plans they are working on as it relates to the Boston Square and Cottage Grove neighborhood areas, as we reported on Tuesday.
If indeed a public meeting will be taking place in the Southtown neighborhood area, how will that meeting be run and who will be facilitating it? Once a meeting date is known, we will post information about it so that people can attend, ask the necessary questions and raise concerns about the process so far, which appears to favor the Rockford Construction/DeVos-led development project at the expense of residents.
It is not yet known if the Grand Rapids Homes for All meeting will still be held on June 8. Once we know for sure, we will update this post.
Over the past several years, we have seen the impact that developers and investors are having on the gentrification of neighborhoods throughout Grand Rapids.
The Wealthy Street corridor, Michigan Street, the Belknap neighborhood, Bridge Street and West Fulton are just a few examples of neighborhoods that have seen the cost of rent rise dramatically, houses being torn down, families being displaced and the new development projects primarily benefiting the business/professional class.
There are now plans under way in the Southtown area of Grand Rapids, specifically the area that is bordered by Hall St. to the North, Burton St. to the South, Division St. to the West and Fuller/Kalamazoo to the East. Some people also refer to this area as the Boston Square neighborhood and the Cottage Grove business district.
One of the entities that is pushing for the re-development of this area is the Rockford Construction Company. Last year it was revealed that the major Grand Rapids development company had already drafted a blueprint for the area without the knowledge of those who actually live in that neighborhood.
The other major player to surface with an interest in the Boston Square neighborhood/Cottage Grove business district is a lesser-known organization called AmplifyGR. AmplifyGR is a non-profit organization recently created by the DeVos entity known as RDV Corporation.
AmplifyGR has a website, but there is very little content found at the site. However, there is more information about what AmplifyGR has been up to, based on city documents, mostly from the Southtown Corridor Improvement District minutes. Those minutes (1/18/2017) include the following information about AmplifyGR:
Jon Ippel and Brad Mathis shared that over the last nine months, Rockford Construction, in partnership with the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation, has been developing Amplify GR. Their focus area, which overlaps the Southtown CID, is from Burton St SE to 28th St SE and S Division Ave to Kalamazoo/Fuller Ave SE. Amplify GR will be opening an office in the community and partnering with existing organizations to address issues faced by the community. They developed this model based on the Purposeful Communities model in Atlanta. They plan to begin community engagement in February, 2017. This is anticipated to long term work (15+ years). (Full presentation added to the agenda packet.)
Commissioner Senita Lenear talked about the long-term, community benefit of ownership, both of homes and businesses. Commissioner Lenear asked Mr. Mathis to speak to the property acquisitions that they have made in the focus area. Mr. Mathis shared that Rockford Construction has purchased roughly 12 buildings, the most visible being the former Dexter Lock factory at 1601 Madison Ave SE.
It should be noted that the Doug Maria DeVos Foundation have also been the primary funders of LINC.
This new partnership between Rockford Construction and the DeVos family should raise lots of red flags to anyone who has seen what Rockford has done on Bridge St and the near westside of Grand Rapids in recent years. Such a partnership should also raise red flags for those who are aware of the pro-capitalist, anti-worker, anti-LGBTQ, anti-public schools history of the DeVos family.
What follows is the AmplifyGR presentation that was mentioned in the minutes of the 1/18/2017 meeting:
What is most alarming about the AmplifyGR presentation information is the neo-liberal capitalist language such as entrepreneurship, “defined neighborhood” and “cradle to career educational excellence.” The cradle to career educational excellent is code for charter schools, schools of choice and privatized education and the rest of the language reflects a certain form of paternalism, which suggests that those who currently live in the neighborhood just can’t improve their situation on their own.
In the March 15, 2017, Southtown Corridor Improvement District meeting minutes it states:
Jon Ippel gave the update of Amplify GR hiring of Willie Patterson, formerly of LINC, to continue the work of identifying key areas of partnership. Amplify is focused primarily in the Boston Square and Cottage Grove areas. They are working on partnering with communities on developing and repositioning underutilized properties, working with the local schools, and increasing affordable housing. J. Ippel emphasized that they want to respect the work that has been and being done by others. They are looking to partner with orgs and people such as LINC, Seeds of Promise and Oakdale Neighbors already doing this work.
First phase of community engagement led by W. Patterson is a survey in partnership with Seeds of Promise and Oakdale Neighbors. In spring larger meetings looking to identify the opportunities and assets available to see out the vision.
Longer term they are asking how do they reposition the properties in Boston Square and Cottage grove in a way that provides employment to people living in Southeast Grand Rapids.
Helen Harp asked about a timeline of when things start. J. Ippel stated that the survey begins in April. They will move into office space in Boston Square in 2 weeks. They hope to have a better sense of when community meeting can be set within the coming few weeks.
H. Harp asked about joining the Area Specific Plan (ASP) surveys with Amplify GR’s survey. Com. Senita Lenear noted that it may to be done at the district level.
Pat Pulliam voiced the concern of the ongoing planning process with the ASPs while at the same time developers are going forward with their projects and their own visions. Without the ASP vision being laid out and developers already moving ahead, particularly on parcels that are being built by right, there is potential for conflict.
It was suggested that it would be good to have Amplify work closely with Planning Dept. to get the concerns and vision of the communities as well as sync up the different timelines.
P. Pulliam noted that given that they are beginning the process again this was an opportunity to get the communication, planning and engagement right. Concern of development getting ahead of the actual planning and solidifying the vision, particularly given that the CID is large and each Business district is unique. Com. S. Lenear recommended that Amplify be sure to work closely with the CID and get the timeline together in order to give Amplify more credibility when engaging the community as a new organization.
J. Ippel spoke on the urgency given the needs of housing and employment but was willing to work in partnership. Com. S. Lenear noted that it may be necessary to do the project well and correctly since there will always be urgency and the ramifications of getting it wrong will be felt for a long time.
It seems clear from these minutes that AmplifyGR wants to move forward quickly and not have to be bothered by the tedious process of public and resident input, because there is an “urgency.”
All of these developments are taking place somewhat under the radar and should concern all of us who care about justice and equity. The group Grand Rapids Homes for All is hosting a meeting with AmplifyGR on Thursday, June 8, from 6 – 8pm at the Baxter Community Center. Come with questions, come with concerns and lets not allow the DeVos family to dictate the future of yet another part of the city of Grand Rapids.
The funding scheme of ArtPrize
Yesterday, MLive reported that the City of Grand Rapids has a new event policy, which changes the payment structure for events held in Grand Rapids.
The MLive article states:
The change will impact ArtPrize the most, which will now be paying at least $9,000 in new fees to the city this year, said Tom Almonte, managing director of public services.
The change was a part of a large new fee structure the commission passed in order to make it easier for smaller community events to afford permit applications. However, the change doesn’t fully account for the lowered cost as $75,000 from the city’s general fund will be used to cover the difference.
The MLive article frames the issue as if entities like ArtPrize are being penalized for having an event with large crowds, when the reality is just the opposite. Like most coverage of ArtPrize, there is no critical inquiry and no context for actual costs.
First, the City of Grand Rapids is saying that they are contributing $75,000 of taxpayers money. Does this use of money from the general fund also include the cost of having members of the GRPD police the event?
Second, the additional $9,000 it will cost ArtPrize might seem like a lot of money to the public, but to the DeVos family, this is simply a drop in the bucket.
According to the most recent (2015) 990s for the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation, it states:
In addition to this loan, the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation contributes money to their son Rick’s annual event. Again, according to the 2015 990 document for the foundation, his parents gifted $750,000 and an additional $400,000 in two separate line items.
The Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation has assets listed at $55 million and change. Foundation money is a way for rich people to hide their wealth from being taxed. However, if the Dick & Betsy Foundation want to pay the $9,000 fee the City of Grand Rapids is now asking, that is essentially like asking the rest of us to pay 90 cents.
In addition to the large sums of money that the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation provides, several other family foundations make sizable donations to ArtPrize, along with dozens of other sponsors.
Then there is the fact that each individual artist must pay $50 to register the art they have created for ArtPrize. In 2015, there were 1,742 artists who entered ArtPrize, which at $50 a pop comes to $87,100.
To top it off, while a few artists win cash prizes, all of them give their labor for free. Imagine having several thousand artists create all kinds of art pieces, in various mediums, and not get compensated one penny.
It seems that the DeVos family has figured out another way to redirect public funds to cover some of the cost of ArtPrize, use non-taxed foundation money to underwrite the event, have sponsors pony up thousands more and get 2,000 artists to give free labor and pay money to enter this damn contest. Isn’t capitalism wonderful!
A closer examination of what Betsy DeVos said about the Education Budget cuts yesterday
On Monday, we posted a critique of the proposed budget cuts that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has proposed. These budget cuts amount to roughly $10.6 billion and would negatively impact students of color, working class children, public schools and children with disabilities.
Yesterday, DeVos spoke before Congress about these proposed budget cuts. Here is a link to her opening statements made before the House Appropriations Committee.
One thing about DeVos’s comments is that she uses rhetoric that most politicians use, claiming that, the “budget lays out a series of proposals and priorities that work toward ensuring every student has an equal opportunity to receive a great education.”
Such platitudes are repeated over and over again, yet there is no evidence that this is currently the case or has ever been the case when it comes to guaranteeing that every student receives a great education.
In her comments, DeVos then lists 5 principles that are guiding the education budget proposal.
First, our request would devote significant resources toward giving every student an equal opportunity for a great education. It emphasizes giving parents more power and students more opportunities. Again, platitudes, with no evidence to substantiate the claims.
Second, the Administration’s request recognizes the importance of maintaining strong support for public schools through longstanding State formula grant programs focused on meeting the educational needs of the nation’s most vulnerable students, including poor and minority students and students with disabilities. Just the opposite is the case, since vulnerable students will suffer under the proposed cuts and there is plenty of evidence that States are redirecting funds to charter and other privatized education systems and away from public education.
Third, our request maintains funding for key competitive grant programs that support innovation and build evidence of what works in education. This also means strong support for the research and data collection activities of the Department. Education funding should not be based on competition, but providing equitable funding for all students, particularly those most vulnerable.
Fourth, our request reduces the complexity of funding for college while prioritizing efforts to help make a college education accessible for low-income students. As Congress prepares to reauthorize the Higher Education Act, I look forward to working with you to address student debt and higher education costs while accelerating and improving student completion rates through such efforts as Year-Round Pell, and reducing the complexity of student financial aid. DeVos contends that the budget “makes a historic investment in America’s students,” while at the same time eliminating or significantly changing many of the programs meant to assist future or current students in realizing their dreams of a higher education. 
And fifth, consistent with our commitment to improve the efficiency of the Federal government, our request would eliminate or phase-out 22 programs that are duplicative, ineffective, or are better supported through State, local or philanthropic efforts. Six additional programs were already eliminated in the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. All told, taxpayers will save $5.8 billion. This last point is particularly offensive, since it claims that the states will fulfill some of the programs that are being cut, like Native students in Alaska and Hawaii, plus eliminating Special Olympics Educational programing. The other aspect of the fifth principle is the fact that DeVos included philanthropic efforts, along with State and local. Philanthropic efforts should scare the shit out of all of us, considering the ideological agenda that her family’s philanthropy has support as it relates to education.
The fifth principle also seems like a particularly cruel joke, considering how her family’s foundations, along with the various anti-public education groups she has funded or co-founded, have been about the business of transferring public money into private education systems. This point is made less diplomatically in a recent article by Jeff Bryant entitled, What Betsy DeVos Calls Education Transformation Is Actually Public Theft.
Bryant points out in his article:
A recent op-ed in the New York Times cites a study which found Indiana students using the state’s voucher program to transfer from public schools to private schools voucher students “experienced significant losses in achievement” in mathematics and “saw no improvement in reading.”
But one thing Indiana’s voucher program certainly accomplished is to provide a huge cash infusion to religious schools. As Mother Jones recently reported, of the more than 300 schools receiving voucher money in the Hoosier state, only four aren’t “overtly religious.” The remaining four are for special needs students.
Diane Ravitch, a highly respected education historian and author of numerous books on education, including Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America’s Public Schools, points out in a recent blog post that Betsy DeVos recently posed for an advertisement (see below) for a Christian school that does not accept students with disabilities.
This point about private schools that discriminate against certain students came up during the her education budget discussion in front of the House Appropriations Committee yesterday. DeVos was asked if she would withhold federal funding for private schools that engaged in discrimination against students, and the Education Secretary refused to say she would withhold funding from private schools that discriminate.
Speaking of Diane Ravitch, her most recent article in the New Republic, an article that appeared on Tuesday, provided important analysis that some people are unwilling to hear.
The article is entitled, Don’t Like Betsy DeVos? Blame the Democrats. Ravitch’s main argument is that the Democratic Party paved the way for the education secretary’s efforts to privatize our public schools.
Here are a few important excerpts from that article:
Thirty years ago, there was a sharp difference between Republicans and Democrats on education. Republicans wanted choice, testing, and accountability. Democrats wanted equitable funding for needy districts, and highly trained teachers. But in 1989, with Democrats reeling from three straight presidential losses, the lines began to blur. That year, when President George H.W. Bush convened an education summit of the nation’s governors, it was a little-known Arkansas Democrat named Bill Clinton who drafted a bipartisan set of national goals for the year 2000 (“first in the world” in mathematics, for starters). The ambitious benchmarks would be realized by creating, for the first time, national achievement standards and tests. Clinton ran on the issue, defeated Bush, and passed Goals 2000, which provided grants to states that implemented their own achievement metrics.
Later on Ravitch states:
When Barack Obama took office in 2009, educators hoped he would return the party to its public school roots. By then, even Bill Clinton was calling No Child Left Behind a “train wreck.” Instead, Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan doubled down on testing, accountability, and choice. Their Race to the Top program was, in essence, No Child Left Behind II: It invited states to compete for $5 billion in funds by holding teachers accountable for test scores, adopting national standards, opening more charter schools, and closing low-scoring public schools.
The Obama years saw an epidemic of new charters, testing, school closings, and teacher firings. In Chicago, Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed 50 public schools in one day. Democratic charter advocates—whose ranks include the outraged Booker and Bennet—have increasingly imported “school choice” into the party’s rhetoric. Booker likes to equate “choice” with “freedom”—even though the entire idea of “choice” was created by white Southerners who were scrambling to defend segregated schools after Brown v. Board of Education.
These are important points that Ravitch makes and ones we must come to terms with if we are truly fight for quality education for all students. Partisan politics have systematically destroyed public education and if we are to salvage what is left then we can not rely on either political party to do the right thing, based on their track record. It is too easy to blame Trump and DeVos, when the record shows that the attacks on public education have been a bipartisan affair.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 