New Media We Recommend
Below is a list of new materials that we have read/watched in recent weeks. The comments are not a “review” of the material, instead sort of an endorsement of ideas and investigations that can provide solid analysis and even inspiration in the struggle for change. All these items are available at The Bloom Collective, so check them out and stimulate your mind.
Haymarket Scrapbook, edited by Franklin Rosemont and David Roediger – If you are looking for any good resources on the history of May Day, this collection of essays, poetry, graphics and reprints of old posters and pictures, is a fabulous resource. This is a re-print of a book from 1986, but its relevance is even more profound today. The oversized book includes a wonderful collection of essays on the Haymarket Affair, the Haymarket Martyrs and other related labor focused writings and reflections from the late 19th Century. The old posters, political cartoons and graphics add so much more to ones understanding of the impact that the Haymarket Affair had on both US and International solidarity. This book is a treasure for radical historians and those wanting to learn radical history.
Hillbilly Nationalists: Urban Race Rebels, and Black Power, by Amy Sonnie and James Tracey – Ever wonder if there were White radicals in the 1960s and 70s who were involved in challenging the systems of power in the US that were not part of SDS or the Weather Underground? Well, there were plenty of groups doing incredible organizing work that, unfortunately, are not known by enough of the dissident community today. Hillbilly Nationalists looks at several White radical organizations that formed in response to the Black Power movement’s call for White people to go organize in their own communities. Relying heavily on interviews with those involved in various groups, this book introduces us to organizations such as JOIN, the Young Patriots, Rising Up Angry, the October 4th Organization and White Lightning. Each of these groups were an outgrowth of the radical organizing of the Black Panthers and other liberation groups in the US that did amazing things in cities like Chicago, Philadelphia and New York. An important piece of history that sheds light on what many White radicals were doing that to confront power.
Rebel Cities: From the Right to the City to the Urban Revolution, by David Harvey – This book by radical historian David Harvey is not only an interesting look at urban revolution since the industrial era began, it is also a philosophical investigation into the conditions that have contributed to numerous urban uprisings from the Paris Commune to the current Occupy movement. Harvey also provide sharp economic analysis of industrial capitalism and neoliberal policies that helps frame our understanding of urban revolutions, but in fact acts as a call to new ones. At times it is a little heavy on analysis, but it’s still a valuable contribution to the growing body of literature that is calling for a radical reordering of society.
Introducing Capitalism: A Graphic Guide, by Dan Cryan, Sharron Shatil and Piero – This short graphic guide reads like a comic book, with short excerpts and fabulous illustrations of what capitalism is and has evolved to. Introducing Capitalism provides a sharp contrast to the explanations most of us have been given in the US educational system. The books does a wonderful job of presenting capitalist ideas such as surplus value, the role of the consumer, labor, inflation and state capitalism. In addition, the graphic guide looks at historical manifestations of capitalism and various critiques of this economic model from socialists, anarchists, situationists and other radical thinkers. A wonderful popular education tool for working class people and political dissidents.
Powerful new documentary on US immigration policy
Sin País (Without Country) is an award-winning 20-minute documentary film that intimately follows one family’s journey as they are fractured by deportation after living in the U.S. for seventeen years. This dynamic short film is being used in hundreds of classrooms and communities across the country to spark transformative conversations and put a human face to the immigration debate. 
Sin País attempts to get beyond the partisan politics and mainstream media’s ‘talking point’ approach to immigration issues by exploring one family’s complex and emotional journey involving deportation.
In 1992, Sam and Elida Mejia left Guatemala during a violent civil war and brought their one-year old son, Gilbert, to California. The Mejia’s settled in the Bay Area and raised their family for the past seventeen years–until one morning immigration agents stormed the Mejia’s house, looking for someone who didn’t live there.
Sin País begins two weeks before Sam and Elida’s scheduled deportation date. After a passionate fight to keep the family together, Sam and Elida are deported back to Guatemala.
With intimate access and striking imagery, Sin País explores the complexities of the Mejia’s new reality of a separated family–parents without their children, and children trying to succeed in life without their parents.
Through April 15th, you can now watch the entire film for FREE…find out more HERE. There is also a new discussion guide that has been made available for free at: www.sinpaisfilm.com. Both the film and the discussion guide are great resources for those who want to transform the oppressive immigration policy of the US.
This Saturday, there will be another march/walk in Grand Rapids in response to the brutal murder of Trayvon Martin in Florida on February 26.
Last week, an estimated 1,000 people marched in Grand Rapids to protest the shooting and murder of Trayvon Martin. Students at GRCC are holding a silent protest today at 3:15pm and GVSU students are holding an event on Thursday at 5:30pm on the Allendale campus. All these events clearly demonstrate that people are outraged by what happen and want to demonstrate some sort of solidarity.
The event in Grand Rapids begins at 222 S. Division at 5pm. People are asked to bring signs and wear a hoodie or all black. More details of the event can be found on Facebook.
Peaceful Assembly and Walk for Trayvon Martin
Saturday, April 7
5:00 – 7:00PM
People will gather at 222 S. Division
Gay Christian Yes campaign goes public in Grand Rapids
Earlier today members of the group GIFT – Gays in Faith Together – went public with a new campaign to generate more support for those who identify as Christian and as members of the LGBT community.
The group kicked off their campaign by putting up a billboard and hosting a Press Conference at Westminster Presbyterian Church near downtown Grand Rapids.
Theresa McClellan, the Christian Yes Campaign coordinator, welcomed those in attendance and announced the online resources available to faith communities and individuals wanting to explore the possibility of becoming an open and affirming church.
Some of the resources available include:
- listings of 30 area gay-friendly churches
- articles and affirming sermons from pastors and theologians
- books, videos, and stories from gay Christians, as well as friends, family, and allies
Rev. Jim Lucas, the founder of GIFT also spoke about the campaign and the significance of kicking off the campaign during the Christian Holy week. You can watch the brief presentation from Rev. Lucas in the video below.
After Rev. Lucas spoke, several area clergy then addressed the media and talked about their personal journeys and what the congregations they represent have done to address what some of them referred to as a justice issue.
Dump Rush Campaign/Protest continues this Friday
The Dump Rush on WOOD Radio campaign continues with another protest planned for this Friday, April 6 at 1:00 pm outside the Clear Channel office in downtown Grand Rapids at 77 Monroe Center.
People are invited to bring signs, handouts and letters to deliver to WOOD Radio demanding that they remove Limbaugh’s program from their regular lineup of syndicated shows.
For those who cannot attend we are asking them to do the following things, which are absolutely necessary for this campaign to be effective:
1. Send e‐mails to WOOD Radio Station Manager Tim Feagan at TimFeagan@clearchannel.com or write letters to: WOOD Radio 77 Monroe Center Grand Rapids, MI 49503.
2. Pressure local businesses that advertise on WOOD Radio to pull their funding until WOOD Radio removes the Limbaugh show. Here is a list of local companies and their contact information:
Grand Rapids Lighting
616-949-4931
Kyper College
kcapisciolto@kuyper.edu 616-988-3676
Kent Equipment
(616) 675-5368 http://www.kentequipment.com/contact.htm
River City Reproductions
616.464.1220 info@rivercityreproductions.com
Life EMS
1-888-543-3367 info@lifeems.com
Mercantile Bank of Michigan
616.406.3604 https://www.mercbank.com/contact.asp
Silver Bullet Firearms
(616) 249-1911 silverbulletfirearms@gmail.com
West Michigan Office Interiors
(800) 964.0201 sales@wmoi.com
Granite Transformations
(866) 400-1594
http://grandrapids-granitetransformations.aiprx.com/grandrapids/contact-us/
AMR-West Mi
(616) 459-8228
http://www.ems-education.com/page5/
AAA Turf
616-669-7715
sales@aaaturf.com
West Michigan Glass Block
616.243.3700
http://www.wmgb.com/contact.asp
Bartlett Tree Experts
616-245-9449
Spectrum Health
(616) 391-1382
http://www.spectrumhealth.org/body.cfm?id=57
Family Fare
616-878-8350
http://familyfare.spartanstores.com/contact-us
3. Share this campaign information with as many people and organizations you are affiliated with.
Second round of Farm Bill hearings in Washington continues to be dominated by Agri-business
Last month we reported on the Farm Bill hearings that had already taken place in Washington, hearings that were chaired by Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow.
In those first two hearings we noted that those invited to address the Senate Agriculture Committee were disproportionately people from Agri-business and trade agencies, not small farmers.
Since then, an additional two hearings have been held by the Senate Agriculture Committee in DC, also hosted by Senator Stabenow.
The first of the two Farm Bill hearings held last month, was on March 7, with the theme of Healthy Food Initiatives, Local Production and Nutrition. This hearing included the least amount of invited speakers compared to the other three hearings on this topic.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack began the testimony and addressed the importance of supporting local farmers, especially with the increased interest of buying local food. However, despite Vilsack’s rhetorical support for local small farmers, there was nothing in his testimony to suggest that there would be financial assistance available or financial incentives that would make it possible for small farmers to compete in the market. When agri-business gets billions in subsidies, how can we expect small farmers to be able to make a living?
The invited guests who addressed the Senate Agriculture Committee was a mixed bag, consisting of a 1,00 acre farmer, a representative from WalMart, a CEO of a food bank, the Executive Director of the Food Trust and the head of the Eastern market in Detroit.
The farmer from Arizona talked about the CSA they have developed over the years, but spent more time talking about Food Hubs, this idea that we need centralized locations where food can be stored and distributed. Food Hubs are part of the growing trends with local food consumption and it is even the language that Dick DeVos used when describing the now in construction Urban Market in Grand Rapids. However, if this is what is meant by food hubs, then people should be very concerned about who will have access to these food hubs and who will really benefit from them.
The representative from the Food Trust not only talked about their groups work on trying to increase the access of fresh, healthy food for everyone who lives in the Philadelphia area, he talked about how they hosted meetings for people – hunger advocates, farmers, environmentalists and health workers – to discuss and design what they would want the 2012 Farm Bill to look like. The Food Trust representative also talked about their farm to school program.
The representative from WalMart talked about everything from the company’s sustainability policies to anti-obesity initiative, but the bulk of their time was spent talking about their local food program. It is no secret that WalMart has been trying to cash in on the growing interest in local food buying. The retail giant has come under serious scrutiny, but has even convinced the White House that they can be a solution to urban “food deserts.” One food justice advocate’s response to WalMart’s claim of being a solution to food deserts was, “Walmart is using the term ‘food desert’ as a Trojan horse to get into our communities and bring about more corporate control of our food system.”
The other Farm Bill hearing that took place in March was on the 15th with the theme of Risk Management and Commodities. This hearing included more invited speakers, but the list of those invited was dominated by the agri-business sector.
Those who addressed the Senate Agriculture Committee were the American Soybean Association, the National Corn Growers Association, the National Association of Wheat Growers, the Western Peanut Growers Association, the National Cotton Council, Farmers Mutual Insurance Company and the American Farm Bureau.
There were representatives from the National Farmers Union and Future Farmers of America, but their voices were small compared to the agri-business sector, which dominated the fourth Farm Bill Hearing.
There were also two farmers who addressed the committee. One farmer from Kansas, ran a 7,000 acre farm and the other farmer was from Bangor, MI. However, the farmer from Michigan didn’t speak much about their blueberry farmer. Instead, this farmer was at the Farm Bill hearing to speak on behalf of MBG Marketing, also known as the Blueberry people. MBG Marketing represents 300 blueberry farmers from several states, but its headquarters is in Michigan.
Like the previous Farm Bill hearings, these two hearings did little to challenge the power of the agri-business sector or the future of the national food system. However, considering who was invited to the table, it makes complete sense that the food system would remain under the influence of the agri-business sector, despite a growing grassroots call for a more democratic food system.
HCC concludes Middle East film series this week
The group Healing Children of Conflict is hosting the third film in its Spring series this week, with showings at both GVSU and Calvin College.
The last film in the series is the documentary film Encounter Point. Encounter Point is an 85-minute feature documentary film that follows a former Israeli settler, a Palestinian ex-prisoner, a bereaved Israeli mother and a wounded Palestinian bereaved brother who risk their lives and public standing to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict. Their journeys lead them to the unlikeliest places to confront hatred within their communities. The film explores what drives them and thousands of other like-minded civilians to overcome anger and grief to work for grassroots solutions. It is a film about the everyday leaders in our midst.
GVSU Screening of Encounter Point
Wednesday, April 4
7pm
Lake Huron Hall #142 Allendale Campus
Calvin College Screening of Encounter Point
Thursday, April 5
7pm
Bytwerk Theater, DeVos Center
Both screenings are free and opening to the public. A discussion will follow both film screenings.
Yesterday, the editor of the newly formed MLive Group, Paul Keep, wrote an editorial on what he called he legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Keep was writing in anticipation of the April 4 anniversary of King’s assassination while in Memphis in 1968 to support the sanitation workers strike for racial and economic justice – a critical point that Keep omitted in his editorial.
Keep began his editorial by saying that Dr. King would not likely be surprised at the recent shooting of Trayvon Martin. He then went on to say that King, “spoke about having seen the promised land — a land in which the color of people’s skin made no difference in how they were treated.”
While it is true that Dr. King mentioned the Promised Land in his last speech on April 3, 1968, he didn’t really make statements about the color of people’s skin. King’s speech was a history of struggle and resistance that was continuing in Memphis, where he talked about the sanitation workers strike and boycotts against companies like Coca-Cola.
Keep then went on to say, “We’re the kind of nation that can rise above prejudice to break new ground in the political world, but we are so often reminded that we’re also a nation that cannot seem to put a sordid chapter of its past completely behind it in the area of race relations.”
This statement is very revealing, because what it indicates is that Paul Keep has no idea what the history of racism in the US is really about. By calling it a “sordid chapter of its past,” he minimizes the brutality of systemic racism of the past like slavery of Africans and genocide of Native Americans. This notion of putting this history behind us also ignores and denies the current systems of institutional racism that plague communities of color throughout the nation, such as the Prison Industrial Complex, major health and economic inequities that exist for communities of color, the anti-immigrant practices of racist groups and the government, which detain and deport thousands every year.
Keep further demonstrates his White privilege by recounting a conversation he had with a young Black woman in Flint about 10 years ago. Keep wanted to acknowledge how far the US has come over the years in terms of eliminating some forms legal segregation, but the young woman wasn’t, in Keep’s words, “satisfied.” Keep acknowledged that she had a right not to be satisfied, but then he doesn’t go further in terms of trying to understand why this young Black woman felt the way she did.
Instead, Keep ends his editorial with reflections on visiting the Lorraine Hotel and the National Civil Rights Museum in February with his wife and son. Keep writes, “It was haunting to look at the motel balcony and the spot where Dr. King fell. He was only 39 years old when he died. Think what he might have done had he been given more years to work on his causes. Or did it somehow take his death to wake up a nation? We’ll never know the answer to that, but we should all be able to agree that we aren’t yet in his promised land.”
These final comments again reflect the tremendous privilege he has, since he doesn’t take any personal or professional ownership for the ongoing struggle for racial justice. He could have taken the opportunity on the anniversary of Dr. King’s death to commit the MLive Media Group to doing stories on the current manifestations of institutional racism in West Michigan.
Instead, Keep chooses to write in vague language about whether or not the death of King woke up the nation. The assassination of King and the subsequent uprising that took place all across the country was a wake up call to the Black community, which understood that even someone who preached non-violence was a threat to the power structure. King and the movement had moved beyond segregation and were now demanding economic justice, because that was how racism was most often manifested, by keeping Blacks in poverty through exploitation and limited opportunities.
We will never get to the “promised land” as long as people with privilege and power like Paul Keep aren’t willing to give it up and join in the struggle for racial and economic justice.
McDonald’s Now Using Goats to Exploit Children
This article by Michele Simon and Kelle Louaillier is re-posted from Appetite for Profit.
To call McDonald’s latest advertising campaign aimed at children cynical doesn’t give enough credit to the fast food giant and its ad agency, Leo Burnett. The company says the new series of ads starting this month is part of McDonald’s “nutrition commitment to promote nutrition and/or active lifestyle messages in 100 percent of its national communications to kids.”
How will the purveyor of Big Macs, fries and Coke accomplish this lofty goal? Perhaps by explaining that McDonald’s is an occasional treat? Or that sharing home-cooked meals is one of the best ways for families to ensure good eating habits? Perhaps McDonald’s could educate kids about the federal MyPlate recommendations to make half your meal fruits and vegetables?
Not even close. McDonald’s idea of nutrition education is simple: just eat at McDonald’s.
In the first animated ad, a child’s pet goat is derided for eating everything in sight, from the kid’s baseball to his father’s hair. The solution? The goat needs a “better diet,” defined by fruit and dairy the ad says—but where to find such strange items? Jump in the car and head to McDonald’s, where the goat becomes “strong as an ox” from downing the apple slices and chocolate milk contained in Happy Meals. The ad ends with the goat chomping on the Happy Meals box. (Apparently, the goat does not eat the child’s toy.)
Problem solved.
The message sent to children? Everything at home is bad to eat. The place to find healthy food is at McDonald’s. In a matter of seconds, McDonald’s manages to circumscribe the entire universe of healthy foods to the two items found in a Happy Meal, all under the guise of “nutrition education.” You can’t get much more twisted than that.
For McDonald’s “balanced eating” is accomplished within the confines of the Happy Meal. But apple slices and chocolate milk don’t balance out chicken nuggets and French fries, the other two components of the Happy Meal depicted in the ad. (Moreover, by most nutrition standards apples and chocolate milk are actually treats, not staples of a healthy diet in a way that broccoli is, for example.)
Even if the ad campaign was less self-serving and actually attempted to educate children about healthful eating in a meaningful way, this is not McDonald’s job.
I don’t know any critic of McDonald’s that has been begging the company to “to promote nutrition and/or active lifestyle messages” to children. Quite the opposite: We want McDonald’s to stop targeting children, period. Stop using toys to lure children, stop promoting Ronald McDonald in schools and communities, and stop marketing to children as young as age two online at websites like Ronald.com, McWorld.com, and HappyMeal.com. We want McDonald’s to just get out of the way to let parents do their job to teach children how to eat right.
Notably, in its press release announcing the new campaign, McDonald’s felt compelled to reassure the public: “Ronald McDonald will continue to be an ambassador of happiness and joy for children of all ages in ongoing McDonald’s advertising and local community programs.”
That’s a relief, because I was really worried that goat was taking over.
With this new campaign, McDonald’s is making a desperate attempt to silence its critics by appearing to care about children’s health. But what the fast food giant has actually accomplished is yet one more way to exploit children’s emotional vulnerabilities through the use of animals and cartoons.
And parents, your job to help your kids eat right just got even harder.
Please sign this letter urging McDonald’s CEO Jim Skinner to stop marketing children.
CBS Detroit 4-part series on Amway: news or PR?
Earlier this week MiBiz included in their weekly e-blast of news on Michigan Manufacturing a link to a series of stories done on Amway by the Detroit CBS affiliate WWJTV.
The Detroit CBS affiliate did a 4-part series for their program Michigan Matters. Each segment was roughly 5 minutes in length and were essentially promotional pieces for the privately owned company.
Segment one dealt with the beginnings of the company, that in many ways looked like the promotional videos that Amway has produced themselves about the founding of the company. Steve Van Andel and Doug DeVos were interviewed for this segment and both talked about their earliest memories of the business that was started by their dads.
The first segment also included information about how the company has evolved and now does 90% of its business outside of the United States, with $9.2 billion in sales for 2011. Near the end of that segment Michigan Governor Rick Snyder refers to Amway as “a real standup player,” which has helped his administration to look to China for future markets for Michigan companies.
In the second segment the CBS reporter simply asks DeVos and Van Andel, “How does your business work?” Both DeVos and Vandel claim it is all about having a good product to sell and for distributors to find new customers. The current board chair and President of Amway failed to mentioned that the wealth that is generated for the company is predicated on getting other people to sell the products for them, while the two families and the higher level distributors make most of the profits. This is what many critics refer to as a pyramid scheme.
At one point Van Andel says that not everyone is “wired” to be a distributor and that those who don’t do well are not to blame. In fact, Van Andel says no one is to blame, which is a message that differs from those who felt cheated by the company, some of which can be found in Steve Butterfield’s book Amway: The Cult of Free Enterprise.
The second segment also includes a lengthy portion in one of the Ada manufacturing plants where viewers hear from the plant manager who enthusiastically talks about what they do there. This segment also addresses the company’s China controversy in 2006 when Dick DeVos ran for Governor and the Democratic Party made an issue of the company’s business deals in that country. The news reporter responds that other companies like GM and Ford did the same thing so why pick on Amway? This was not only another example of how the CBS station in Detroit was unwilling to critically look at Amway, it was just bad journalism since none of the claims made by Amway executives were ever challenged in the series.
The third segment highlighted the company’s recent business partnership with the Detroit Red Wings, where the Amway company logo will be prominently displayed at the arena where the NHL team plays. This fits in with the DeVos family’s venture into owning sports teams locally and abroad like the NBA Orlando Magic. This segment featured an executive with the Detroit Red Wings who talked about how this partnership was just one more way for the Amway business to give back to the community. Again, there were no other perspectives provided, such as the critique that left sportswriter Dave Zirin offers about the DeVos Family’s ownership of sports teams in his groundbreaking book, Bad Sports: How Owners Are Ruining The Games We Love.
The third segment concludes with a mention of the company’s One by One Campaign and their money making project with Cascade Engineering to sell a water filtering system for third world countries which are struggling to have access to clean water. What this portion of the segment does not address is what are the root causes of people not having access to clean water in those countries. Instead, the segment makes it seem as if Amway was partnering with Cascade Engineering purely out of a humanitarian interest.
The last segment also features the generosity of Amway and the DeVos and Van Andel families. In this segment the news reporter says that millions have been given in West Michigan. The segment mentions ArtPrize and how many young entrepreneurs have been the recipients of the company’s money. One young entrepreneur (at least that is how they refer to him), is Rob Bliss. Bliss says that Amway is, “letting people like him have the money so they can do what they are passionate about.” Bliss also mentions that the DeVos Foundation gave him $6,000 for his water slide project from 2 years ago. The news story failed to mention that Bliss has not fully paid the City of Grand Rapids for previous projects and that his events are primarily a means to bring money to the downtown businesses, some of which are owned by the DeVos family.
In the end, this 4-part segment was such a fluff piece that had no investigative journalism aspect to it at all. The CBS reporter did not mention or pursue the tremendous political influence the company and its founding families have had locally and nationally for decades, nor did they address some of their foundation funding efforts, which include anti-gay campaigns, anti-union campaigns, privatizing schools and funding right wing entities such as the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. With such a series, TV viewers on the eastside of the state will have just as distorted a view of the Amway company as TV news viewers on this side of the state.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 