Standing for Refugees, Immigrants and Muslims: Protest Defies Airport by not complying with designated “Free Speech” area
On Sunday, hundreds of people from West Michigan converged on the Gerald R. Ford International Airport to protest the recent Executive Order from the Trump administration which attacks the travel rights of individuals from more than a half-dozen Muslim-majority countries – Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
This latest Executive Order has resulted in protests at airports all across the country and in some cases, shutting down business as usual, in places like JFK and O’Hare.
The call was put out on Facebook on Saturday afternoon and people quickly responded that they would attend. However, there was some push back from a few people around the question of whether or not this would be a permitted action or not. Without checking in with the organizers of the action, someone who has strong ties to the local Democratic Party decided to contact the airport themselves and “work out an agreement about where to protest.”
This person sent the following to the main organizer, who shared it with us:
We will be protesting OUTSIDE on the north east corner of the airport entrance off of Patterson and 44th St. It is the airport exit lane. We can park in the economy lot or in the empty business lots across the street. We will be able to protest in the area as cars are exiting. We will also be able to extend a march from the protest area to the economy lot. This is a pretty good distance. We need to remind people that the focus is bringing attention to the cause, We are not there to disrupt or in impede those traveling in our community who are at the airport for travel. There will be security that will assist us in this process. In addition to that folks should be cautioned that should they try to enter the terminal area it is not only counterproductive but they will be reminded that we agreed upon to these terms. WE WILL NOT BE ENTERING THE TERMINAL BUILDING. Anybody who is doing any action in violation of federal law which includes encounters with TSA check points will be arrested and subject to federal prosecution. This is extremely serious.
You can see from the picture above where this designed protest area was set up, which would have made it difficult for people to interact with those coming and going from the airport. In addition, this designated protest area would have undermined people’s ability to stop business as usual, which is exactly what was happening at airport protests across the country.
Undeterred by the effort to undermine the action, several people began to let folks know that there would be a march, but not in the limited space that the airport authorities were allowing. After most people had arrived for the demonstration, the march began, but then crossed the road and took over one of the entrance lanes into the airport. Most of the several hundred people who came out joined the march and people began to walk and chant towards the airport. There were several attempts by the few police officer that were present, to get people off the road and to turn around. The crowd was not having it.
Then, the same person who on their own contacted the airport to set up the “designated protest area,” took the bullhorn and attempted to tell people to get out of the road, doing the very same thing that the cops had asked the crowd to do. Again, people were not having it.
Eventually the crowd made it to the main terminal and again refused to get out of the road, taking over both lanes, chanting and holding signs.
In addition to the chant from this video, other prominent chants were, No Ban, No Ban, no Ban on Stolen Land; and Fuck White Supremacy.
After about 30 minutes, the crowd then extended the protest the other two lanes, closest to the parking area with the intention of trying to stop business as usual. By this time more cops had showed up and were forming a line to prevent both lanes by the parking ramp from being shut down.
There was also an attempt to enter the terminal itself, but the airport security had locked most of the doors and were only allowing those traveling to come and go.
However, most of the airport workers that this writer talked to were very supportive of the action that was being taken. In fact, there was virtually no opposition from those who were at the airport. The only opposition was from the police, which was outnumbered the entire time the action took place.
What the action signaled in many ways was that enough people were not going to make nice and follow the rules established by those in power. It was very encouraging to see people defy the pleas from cops to stay off the street or away from the terminal. What this kind of defiance can result in, is to give people a sense that they have power by participating in direct action and that in the future they might be willing to take bolder actions against policies that brutalize people, particularly those who are already vulnerable in this society.
Eventually, people marched back to down the road they had taken to the terminal. The protest lasted just shy of three hours.
Grand Rapids Protests Trump’s New Immigration Policy
Yesterday, several hundred people gathered in downtown Grand Rapids to express their opposition to the newly signed Executive Order from President Trump on immigration policy.
The protest in Grand Rapids was one of dozens that have taken place across the country in the last fe days, since President Trump signed the Executive Order.
The executive order would essentially do the following:
- Securing the southern U.S. border “through immediate construction of a physical wall” to stop immigrants that are undocumented, the flow of drugs, human trafficking and acts of terrorism
- Detaining “individuals apprehended on suspicions of” law breaking and expedition of claims of their eligibility to stay in the U.S.
- Swift deportation of “individuals whose legal claims to remain in the United States have been lawfully rejected”
- DHS Secretary John Kelly to “take all appropriate steps to immediately plan, design and construct” the wall
- Projections for “long-term funding requirements,” including the preparation of congressional budget requests for current and future fiscal years
- Completion of a “comprehensive study” of the southern border’s security to completed within the next 180 days
- Construction and operation of detention facilities at or near the border
- Termination of the catch-and-release border policy, a directive to Border Patrol agents not to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants
- Repatriation of immigrants who have been deported
- The hiring of 5,000 Border Patrol officers and the tripling of the number of ICE officers
- A report of “Federal aid or assistance” to the Mexican government over the past five years to be completed within 30 days
- Termination of “the abuse of parole and asylum provisions currently used to prevent the lawful removal of removable aliens”
- A public monthly report “on aliens apprehended at or near the southern border”
- Crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities, locales that don’t prosecute immigrants for living in the country without documentation
- Denial of federal funds to “jurisdictions that fail to comply with” federal law, unless deemed necessary
- “Prompt removal” of immigrants who have been ordered to leave the country
- A DHS office whose aim is to support “victims of crime committed by removable aliens and the family members of such victims”
The protest on the Blue Bridge in downtown Grand Rapids was organized by the Office for Social Justice of the Christian Reformed Church. Organizers welcomed people and made to following statement.
Now more than ever, the Grand Rapids community must demonstrate its support for Muslims, refugees, and immigrants. We must loudly oppose all changes to our refugee resettlement system that ban Syrians, reduce the number of refugees we welcome, halt the resettlement of Muslims, and pause the processing of refugees for any period of time. As we witness the largest displacement of people in modern history, we must continue to extend welcome, not turn our backs. Grand Rapids stands in solidarity with immigrants and refugees, and will not support Donald Trump’s policies to hurt them and divide us.
Several other speakers were given an opportunity to address the crowd. One speaker was a young woman who is a refugee and came to the US thirteen years ago.
Another speaker was Fr. Steve Cron, who is the pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Catholic Church, a congregation made up most of immigrants from Latin America. Fr. Cron spoke just after the crowd engaged in a chant of, Bridges, Not Walls!
Other speakers included someone from the Micah Worker Center, Bethany Christian Services and a representative from Senator Gary Peters office. The Senator has a mixed history when it comes to voting for immigration policies that reflected the sentiment of the crowd on the Blue Bridge, a record you can look up here. There is also no formal statement from Senator Peters on his website about the President Trump’s Executive Order. https://www.peters.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases
Towards the end of the short protest, people were encouraged to send a text that would allow them to then easily send messages to Senator Peters, Senator Stabenow, Representative Amash and Representative Huizenga. View the voting record on immigration policy these elected officials by clicking on their name.
While holding politicians accountable for their stance on immigration is one tactic, another tactic is for people to defy the current Executive Orders and engage in acts of solidarity with refugees and immigrants. One effort that is underway in West Michigan is a growing coalition of individuals and organizations who would offer sanctuary to those targeted under the new Executive Order.
Grand Rapids has a history with the Sanctuary Movement and there seems to be lots of positive energy around offering sanctuary for those most vulnerable under the current immigration policies.
At the end of the protest, people walked hand in hand across the Blue Bridge in downtown Grand Rapids, chanting and making a statement about how they will stand with refugee and immigrants.
Rich People Applauding Billionaires at Grand Rapids Econ Club event: Betsy and Dick DeVos share a moment
Yesterday, MLive ran the following headline, Shinola leader’s comments about Detroit education draws applause for Betsy DeVos.
The article was based upon a talk given by billionaire businessman Jacques Panis, founder of Shinola, a manufacturer based in Detroit.
After his lecture, Panis was joined on stage by Dick DeVos, since this was an Econ Club of Grand Rapids event. However, MLive doesn’t bother to mention it was an Econ Club event until about half way through the article.
Panis was critical of the Detroit Public School system, which is why he got such an applause. The very same people who support the privatization of public education and the Great Lakes Education Project are the same people who have endorsed Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary. So, of course the people who make up the capitalist class in Grand Rapids (those who are members of the Econ Club) applauded the Detroit businessman for making critical comments about Detroit’s Public Education system.
The MLive reporter did fail to mention that Betsy DeVos through her Great Lakes Education Project was the leader behind the campaign to get the Michigan Legislature to further influence public education in Detroit, based on solid reporting by the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.
However, the MLive story goes on to quote Dick DeVos:
“I dare say you have a partner in your quest for a better education for all Americans right here in the room with us,” he said in a nod to his wife, Betsy DeVos, who was sitting in audience.
Ok, so you have an event that is hosted by the Econ Club, which is made up of the Grand Rapids capitalist class, who invites a speaker that trashes Detroit Public Schools and then is joined on stage by Dick DeVos, who, along with Betsy are two of the biggest proponents of privatizing public education in the country. The audience of local elites applauds the Detroit billionaire and the West Michigan billionaire and that is what is called journalism in this town.
The Wealth and Deception of Betsy DeVos
One good thing about Betsy DeVos being chosen as Donald Trump’s choice for Secretary of Education, is that we are now getting some glimpses of the vast amount of wealth she and her husband Dick have.
On Friday, MLive reported that Betsy DeVos, “in a letter to ethics officials at the U.S. Department of Education, said she would divest from 102 entities within 90 days of her confirmation.”
This is one of the first times we have seen this level of disclosure from any member of the DeVos family. MLive even posted the letter that Betsy DeVos send to ethics officials at the Department of Education, which included the list of entities she claims she would divest from. This disclosure is required by the federal government, but it is worth reading.
MLive, however, did not provide any additional information on the companies that Betsy DeVos currently has investment in, nor of the entities that she is either a trustee of or a director of. MLive also failed to mention what seemed obvious in the Senate confirmation hearings, where she said that the 990 form that listed her as on the board of her mother’s foundation (Elsa Prince) was a “clerical error.” Jeremy Scahill, author of the book on Betsy’s brother’s former mercenary group, Blackwater, made it clear that Betsy lied during the confirmation hearing.
In the most recent 990 (2015) provided on Guidestar, Betsy (Elizabeth) DeVos is clearly listed as a Vice President of her mother’s foundation, as you can see below.
In addition to the letter that Betsy DeVos sent to the ethics officials at the Department of Education, we were able to find another document, which also lists entities that she has either investments in, is the director of or a trustee of. This list is much more detailed and actually provides (in some instances) the value of the entity and the income that Besty DeVos gets from her association with said entity. You can find that document here, which we encourage our readers to share.
On Tuesday, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce held it’s annual meeting featuring Dr. Jonah Berger, Author of the books Contagious: Why Things Catch On and Invisible Influence.
People reading this blog might find it strange for GRIID to be at the Gand Rapids Chamber annual event. The fact is that part of the work we hope to accomplish through GRIID is to present information and analysis of those with power, specifically in West Michigan.
It is problematic for those who identify as being in favor fighting against systems of oppression, to ignore those who perpetuate and benefit from the same systems of oppression.
The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce is one of those entities that perpetuate and benefit from systems of oppression, particularly neoliberal capitalism. Rick Baker, the President and CEO of the local chamber, is also one of the main organizers with the West Michigan Policy Forum, which is a major lobbying group representing the elite private sector.
In addition, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce does its own lobbying in West Michigan and at the state level. According to their 2016 annual report, 93% of Chamber endorsed candidates won in the 2016 General Election, which included candidates running political office at the city and county level. Lastly, according to the Michigan Campaign Finance Network, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce spends tens of thousands of dollars on an annual basis to influence public policy at the state level.
2017 Annual Meeting Keynote Speaker
As mentioned, the keynote speaker for this years annual meeting was Dr. Jonah Berger. Berger teaches marketing at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. The basic message of his presentation to members of the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce was this – How we are influenced and how we can use those same techniques to our advantage.
Berger was funny, spoke well and in a way that was engaging. he told jokes and presented his information with slides and video. The author talked about embracing the ways in which we are influenced by others, products and public opinion and then figuring out how we can use that “to our advantage.”
Berger talked about how it is important for us to be chameleons and to imitate or mimic what other do that is effective in terms of how well it influences others. Most of what he presented had to do with how our behavior is influenced, but also how products and brands are are influential.
One example from history that Berger gave was how the auto industry influenced people to want to buy cars. He cited the work of Uriah Smith, who assisted the auto industry with finding ways to help people get over their mistrust of buying cars. Smith came up with the idea for the horsey horseless, which was a car with a fake horse attached to the front (pictured here).
While we recognize that Uriah Smith’s horsey horseless may have played a role in normalizing the use of cars as transportation in the US, the larger reason why the public eventually succumbed to depending on cars was due to the fact that General Motors bought up the street cars across the country, forcing people to either ride the bus (which were inefficient) or buy cars. This topic is investigated in the powerful documentary, Taken for a Ride, which you can watch here.
What the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce keynote speaker did not talk about was his own role as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies to assist them in being more effective in influencing consumers.
Berger’s own website says he assists corporations in doing the following:
• Why products and services catch on
• Understanding customer behavior
• Marketing and advertising in the digital age
• Making ideas spread
• How to be more influential
Berger also lists some of the companies has consults for, companies that have a track record of engaging in censorship, collaborating with state surveillance, profiting from the military industrial complex and human rights violations.
The speaker encouraged those in attendance to use his workbook with the staff that those in the audience were in charge of.
Essentially, the primary reason for bringing Berger to speak at the Chamber’s annual meeting was not just to share some quaint ideas about how to influence people, rather the speaker’s role was to get those in attendance to think about how to more effectively sell their products, manipulate public opinion and influence public policy. This is exactly why GRIID was there to report on what it is that the organizations and individuals with power in this community are up to so we can be better prepared to counter whatever it is they have in mind to do.
Buying Endorsements: Rep. Huizenga and Betsy DeVos
On Thursday, Michigan Republican Congressman from the 2nd District, Bill Huizenga stated on the House floor that he endorsed Betsy DeVos as Donal Trump’s choice for Secretary of Education.
MLive reported on Friday that Huizenga was endorsing DeVos. The MLive story has the GOP Congressman as saying that DeVos was, “passionate and dedicated servant with a big heart for kids” who has made it her life’s mission to ensure access to education for all children.
However, there was no concrete evidence provided by Huizenga to support such a statement and MLive didn’t bother to verify the claim either.
That Huizenga endorses Betsy DeVos as Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education is in no way a surprise. You can see in the graph below that over Huizenga’s career as the 2nd Congressional Representative, he has received more money from DeVos Family-owned entities (Amway & Windquest Group) than any other source as a candidate, at a total of $128,200.
This information is not included in Rep. Huizenga’s Press Release from last week, nor in the MLive story, even though it seems pretty essential to understanding why the Congressman would enthusiastically endorse Betsy DeVos for Secretary of Education.
On Monday, we posted a critique of an MLive story focusing on the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation. The story on Monday from MLive created the narrative that the couple’s election/candidate contributions is “purse change” compared to their Charitable contributions.
We argued that the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation’s contributions were also primarily motivated by a political agenda, considering who the recipients on those dollars are. The MLive reporter also claimed that the couple had “lifted the veil” on the foundation’s spending, even though the information they release was minimal and did not reveal much.
Earlier today, MLive ran another article focusing on Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation contributions, specifically on one recipient of the foundation’s funding, Potter’s House. The headline reads for the MLive article reads, Betsy DeVos’ support of urban school goes beyond writing checks.
First, the headline is a bit misleading. Potter’s House presents itself as not only an urban school, but a Christ-centered school. More specifically, the mission statement reads:
The Potter’s House provides a Christ-centered education to children of all ethnic heritages and income levels, equipping them to serve God and society to their fullest potential.
There is a big difference in calling yourself an urban school, as opposed to a Christ-centered school. Plus, one of the main objections from educators across the country to Betsy DeVos being chosen as Donald Trump’s Secretary of Education, is that she and the DeVos family are primarily interested in promoting religious education, along with blurring the lines between church an state with DeVos funded programs like Believe to Become in the Grand Rapids Public Schools. A source who worked closely on that campaign told me recently that the DeVos family was the primary funder of the Believe to Become project, which was connected to the Grand Rapids Public Schools.
Secondly, the only sources in the article are the Dick & Betsy DeVos and the superintendent of Potter’s House School, John Booy. There are no critical voices in the article and nowhere does the reporter contest or really verify the claims made by those interviewed.
At one point superintendent Booy makes the statement, “They do their research on an organization and when they fund, it’s with no strings attached.”
Third, of course there are strings attached, even if they are not overt and in writing. As we stated in Monday’s critique in Part I those who are recipients of the foundation’s money would never dream of saying anything critical of their politics, even if it had nothing to do with the work of the organization receiving funds from the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation. Money, particularly in the amount the the Dicl & Betsy DeVos Foundation gives to Potter’s, always buys silence and complicity.
One other interesting point from the MLive article was this revelation:
For years, Dick DeVos took seniors on an annual insider’s tour of Grand Rapids, explaining the role planning and philanthropy played in revitalizing the city’s downtown.
Who wouldn’t love to sit in on that tour. I can imagine that there would be a great deal to talk about from Dick’s perspective. especially as it relates to the Grand Action projects he has been involved in with the rest of the GR elite, like the arena, the convention center, the civic theater and the downtown market. He also would no doubt talk about the number of hotels he and the rest of his family own downtown, along with all the other kinds of developments that they have a stake in.
However, it is not likely that these students would learn how much public money was funneled into such projects, either outright funding or tax breaks provided, equaling millions of dollars in the downtown alone.
So, once again, MLive has demonstrated that they don’t ask hard questions of those in power, don’t verify claims that are made and don’t offer critical perspectives. They truly are stenographers to power.
Yesterday, MLive ran an interesting piece about the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation. I say interesting, because the MLive reporter frames the issue this way:
There’s no question Dick and Betsy DeVos garner lots of attention — and criticism — for their outsized political donations. But those are pocket change compared to their charitable contributions, which add up to nearly $139 million over their lifetimes.
What the MLive reporter has done is to somehow separate the direct political campaign contributions from Dick and Betsy DeVos from the foundation giving, suggesting that their foundation giving is merely charitable and not political. In addition, the MLive reporter then makes the claim that couple gives way more money that is charity-based, unlike the political contributions, which the writer refers to as “pocket change.”
Ultimately, the reporter from MLive, has either failed to understand the nature and function of foundations or they are compromised into protecting power, or maybe both.
As we have noted in previous postings, foundations run by the capitalist class have clear agendas that are often ideologically and politically motivated. We have also written about the nature and function of foundations and their relationship to the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, which is so well articled in the book by the radical women of color organization, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond The Non-Profit Industrial Complex.
Limited Transparency
Part of the impetus for the MLive article was the recent posting of a report on the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation website. This reported is carefully crafted to convey a message that the Dick & Betsy want to convey, which has little to do with transparency. The “report” does not provide a detailed account of the recipients of their $11.6 million in contributions, just an overview that provides extremely limited information.
The report from the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation is only 6 pages long and 2 of those pages are the front and back cover. The report provides some numbers and general categories, like what can be learned from the graphic they use shown above.
The MLive article follows the information provided in the report and then choses to focus on the amount of money the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation have directed at education.
In addition, the article sites the power couple, a DeVos spokesperson John Truscott and one of their critics. In fact, the only critic, is Mark Brewer, the former chair of the Democratic Party in Michigan. Brewer falls into the same trap as the MLive reporter and refers to the foundation giving as a “smokescreen” to divert attention away from their electoral contributions, instead of seeing the foundation contributions as equally political.
Looking at Their Track Record
In order to make a more honest assessment of the so-called charitable contributions that the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation has made over the years, one can at least look at database provide by Guidestar.
The most recent year available on Guidestar for the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation in 2013. In that year here are some of the “charitable” organizations they contributed to:
Acton Institute $250,000
Alliance for School Choice $250,000
Bethany Christian Services $25,000
Endeavor Global Inc $162,500
Foundation for Excellence in Education $100,000
Great Lakes education Foundation $200,000
Mackinac Center for Public Policy $50,000
Northwood University $200,000
Pregnancy Resource Center $20,000
Right to Life Michigan $25,000
Willow Creek Association $1,000,000
Each of these organizations have highly ideological and political agendas, since they attack unions, attack reproductive rights, seek to inject religion into public policy and attempt to undermine public education. Willow Creek Association, which has been the largest recipient in recent years, hosts an annual Global Leadership Summit that weds christianity with global capitalism. Check out the main speakers from the 2016 Summit. 
Buying Silence and Obedience
Lastly, it is important to note that there are plenty of entities that are also recipients of the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation money. Whether this money ends up in the hands of entities like GVSU, ArtPrize, Bethany Christian Services or the Inner City Christian Federation, it is money that is given strategically and always with strings attached.
In the case of Bethany Christian Services, the function they play in relation to DeVos funding was demonstrated in 2015, when legislation was passed at the state level to make it so that only heterosexual couples could adopt. Bethany is one of the largest adoption agencies in Michigan and they comply with the anti-LGBT funding coming from the DeVos family foundations.
Other entities, even if they “do good” in the community, play the role of being silent on the political and ideological agenda of the Dick & Betsy DeVos Foundation. Many of these organization may even be opposed in principal to the anti-worker, anti-LGBT, anti-reproductive rights and anti-public education agenda, but they chose to say nothing because they do NOT want to jeopardize future funding.
Therefore, the MLive story not only perpetuates a myth about DeVos foundation giving as charity, they fail to understand the more complex function of foundations that are both highly political, often acting as a way to engage in population management. Once again, MLive demonstrates that they are indeed stenographers to power.
Hunger is a major problem around the world and it is no less of an issue in West Michigan. Tens of thousands of people receive some form of food assistance in the Greater Grand Rapids area and the number of people living in poverty is embarrassingly high.
In fact, according to a report released earlier this summer by the Economic Policy Institute, Grand Rapids has the largest wealth gap in Michigan. In addition, child poverty has grown in Michigan, according to a 2016 Kids Count report. The report states that:
Child poverty is even higher among minority groups: Forty seven percent of Michigan’s African-American children and 32 of Hispanic children live in poverty.
So how are organizations responding to this issue of poverty and hunger in West Michigan? There are a variety of responses, but most organizations fall under the category of engaging in social services or charity.
One example of the charity model is Feeding America West Michigan. Their website and Facebook page are filled with images and messages about ending hunger, fighting hunger, solving hunger and slashing hunger.
According to the 990 records for the organization, their budget keeps going up and the amount of food they are distributing has increased on an annual basis for more than a decade. When I interviewed the Executive Director of Feeding America West Michigan in 2013, he got excited about how much more food the organization was giving away. I was puzzled by his response in many ways. However, he then went on to tell me that the new freezer they installed was paid for by Wal-Mart. When I asked him if donations from retail giants came with any strings attached he avoided the question. When I asked him if receiving support from Wal-Mart prevented them from having a critical analysis of the retail giant or making statements to challenge the poverty-level wages they pay, he again remained silent.
False Solutions to Ending Hunger
The exchange I had with the Executive Director from Feeding America West Michigan demonstrates is why a charity based model that addresses hunger will never succeed. The charity-based model that claims to fight hunger is too connected to the very food system that is rooted in profit making, which makes it impossible in this model to actually fight hunger. The food charity model is essentially a false solution to ending hunger and what follows are some of the reasons why it is a false solution.
First, it is important to look at who sits on the Board at Feeding America West Michigan. The president of the board is a representative from Amway, which has no commitment to economic justice. Other organizations represented are Francis Marketing, Inc., Spectrum Health Medical Group, Star Truck Rentals, Inc., the law firm of Warner, Norcross & Judd, Chase Bank, Meijer, Calder Investment Advisors, Inclusive Performance Strategies, Sysco Food Services of Grand Rapids and a few representatives from the non-profit sector. The board of Feeding America West Michigan is essentially a corporate board, which like many non-profits, makes it difficult from them to think outside of operating within a Neoliberal Capitalist model.
A second reason why Feeding American West Michigan embraces a false solution has to do with where they get most of their food from. According to the organization’s website, they list the Top Food Donors in 2015, which is made up of the businesses that see food as a commodity for profit, as opposed to food as a fundamental human right.
A third reason why the food charity model is a false solution is that it doesn’t address the root cause of hunger, which is poverty and the existing economic system we live in. It should come as no surprise that those who make minimum wage or near minimum wage are the very same people who rely on some form of food assistance for food charity. If businesses like Wal-Mart were really interested in food justice, their employees would be paid a living wage, so that they could afford to eat healthy, whole foods. However, Wal-Mart is simply just one manifestation of the pathological economic system we live in, which creates the poverty and thus creates hunger.
Too often food charity agencies want to focus on the individuals and the families who are “in need” instead of looking at the food system which is the real culprit in creating hunger. But entities like Feeding America are unable or unwilling to see the problem through this lens, since organizing under a food justice model would be a radically different approach to how we truly end hunger.
A fourth and final reason that food charity is a false solution has to do with who is making the decision(s) on how to “fight hunger.” Those who are disproportionately involved in organizations like Feeding America West Michigan are well-meaning, economically comfortable, white liberals who want to “help people.” Food Charity is often another manifestation of the White Savior politics, where people want to do good, but fail to look at their own privilege and how their comfort and wealth contributes to other people’s poverty.
It is the problem of a great deal of how we respond to social issues in the culture, which is to have those who hold lots of privilege make the decisions about how to address the problem, which more often than not just ends up perpetuating the problem.
What needs to happen is what most food justice organizations around the globe do, which is to practice food sovereignty. Food sovereignty is essentially means that each community should be able to determine the kind of food system they want, which under food sovereignty would mean that it would be local, just, ecologically sustainable and based on food sharing. (See an article we wrote earlier this year that begins to look at what food justice/food sovereignty might look like.)
I know there is an impulse for us to say that at least Feeding America West Michigan is making sure that people are getting food and not going without. This is an understandable tendency, but one that also relies on false solutions. It will be necessary to have safety nets for people who are experiencing hunger and poverty in the interim while we develop and practice more food sovereignty, but only if those same organizations that are acting as a safety net are also committed to changing the food and economic system which currently is designed to keep a certain amount of people hungry and malnourished.
It is hard to go a week in Grand Rapids without one of the news sources celebrating the latest development project around town. The news media are rushing to praise whatever new project that is being proposed, so long as it means more growth.
One recent example is a posting on the site GRNOW.COM, which ran a headline on December 27 that read, The Most Anticipated Projects of 2017.
The piece in GRNOW is not so much a news piece as it is a listing of the development projects expected to come to fruition in 2017. Besides the cheerleading narrative for each project, the article does begin by saying:
After years of planning, Grand Rapids city leaders and developers are gearing up for a big year in Grand Rapids, probably the biggest boom in the city in 10 years; maybe ever. Here are some of the projects that we’ve been keeping an eye on, and what we might expect to see this year.
The list of development/gentrification projects cited in the GRNOW article is fairly long and each of the projects comes with a shiny picture, usually a rendering of what each of the completed projects will look like. We have included our own images that paint a different picture of what these projects really mean. Our images make the case that these projects:
- mostly private projects, use public money,
- make available market rate housing 98% of the time,
- displace working class families,
- promote institutionalized racism
- cater to the professional class and
- promote tourism
- while thousands struggle with poverty
Here is the list of expected 2017 development/gentrification projects:
- the downtown Celebration Cinema, that will include parking, a hotel and market rate housing.
- the Rockford Construction Bridge/Stocking project, which will include a Meijer store and mostly market rate housing, along with the new WMCAT headquarters.
- the new MSU Research facility on Michigan street.
- the new GVSU Health Science facility in the Belknap neighborhood, where numerous houses were torn down last year.
- the Switch Communications facility in the old Steelcase Pyramid.
- Warner Tower on Ionia and Ottawa.
- the new hotel on Fulton and Ionia.
- the new BOB Concert venue.
- the new Embassy Suites/Hilton Garden Hotel on Monroe.
- the new Hotel at 50 Monroe.
- Lyon Square and Riverfront makeovers.
- the 601 Seward/Lake Michigan Dr. apartments
- Diamond Place
- Renovation of the Kingsley Building
- Market rate housing between Benson and Grand off of Michigan
- New Wealthy Street market rate housing
- Founders Brewery expansion.
- and at least 11 more breweries expected to be open in 2017 – because we can never have too many places to drink alcohol.
The GRNOW article ends with talk of more projects, along with an assumption that “most Grand Rapidians will be satisfied with all these projects.
“That would keep most Grand Rapidians satisfied for a while, but we hear there may be other news to bring you this year, including another new hotel and conference center downtown, exciting changes coming to Calder Plaza, and big changes coming to Woodland Mall.”
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 