West Michigan Foundation Watch: Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation
Foundations are a way for members of the Capitalist Class, which made their wealth by exploiting workers, to hide some of their wealth from taxation, only to then turn around and use foundation funds to undermine social movements and generate positive PR for themselves.
“In any case, the hidden hand of of foundations can control the course of social change and deflect anger to targets other than elite power.”
– Joan Roelofs, Foundations and Public Policy
Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation
GRIID has always begun our Foundation Watch work by looking at the foundations associated with the most powerful family in West Michigan, the DeVos family. GRIID has already looked at the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation, the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation, the Dan and Pamela DeVos Foundation, and finally the CDV5 Foundation. Last week, we also look at the other Amway fortune family, with a focus on the David and Carol Van Andel Foundation.
I am using the data from the foundation’s 990 document for 2022, which is the most recent year that is available. The Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation has $97,836,676.00 of assets in the foundation’s account, which is just another way that members of the Capitalist Class to be able to hide their money from taxation.
Before I dive into how the Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation distributed their funds, I wanted to point out that Steve Van Andel is the co-chair of the board of directors of Amway, located in Ada. In addition it is important to point out that the Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation provided Amy Van Andel a $150,000.00 salary for being the Executive Director of the foundation, along with paying Debrah Rushlo $67,677.00 in her role as Executive Assistant.
The Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation made contributions to dozens of entities in 2022, but there are some clear categories of groups they contributed to, such as the Religious Right, Think Tanks, Education-centered groups, and social service entities, to name a few. Below is a listing of each from these categories, with a dollar amount.
Religious Right
- Bethel Community Education – $100,000
Think Tanks/Far Right Policy organizations
- American Enterprise Institute – $20,000
- The Heritage Foundation – $10,000
- The George W Bush Foundation – $4,000,000
Education-centered groups
- Cornerstone University – $15,000
- Davenport University – $25,000
- Grand Rapids University Preparatory Association – $10,000
- Hillsdale College – $7,200,000
- Potters House – $25,000
Van Andel-owned, created or connected groups
- Van Andel Research Institute – $10,000
- West Michigan Aviation Academy (DeVos run) – $50,000
Groups receiving Hush $
- Baxter Community Center – $30,000
- Family Promise of Grand Rapids – $50,000
- Grand Rapids Public Museum – $100,000
- Kids Food Basket – $50,000
One recipient of funding from the Steve and Amy Van Andel Foundation that stands out is Hillsdale College ($7.2 Million). Hillsdale College is know for being part of the larger Charter School movement that opposes Public Education and is on the advisory board of Project 2025.
Hillsdale College has a long history of practicing and promoting far right values. The former President of Hillsdale College, George Roche, was also on the advisory board of the US affiliate of the World Anti-Communist League, according to Scott and Jon Lee Andersen’s book, Inside the League: The Shocking Expose of How Terrorists, Nazis, and Latin American Death Squads Have Infiltrated the World Anti-Communist League.
Hillsdale College has hosted forums over the years with speakers such as Manuel Ayau, a member of Guatemala’s Amigos del Pais, a group linked to the death squads in Guatemala. Hillsdale also houses the late John Bircher Clarence Manion’s tape collection, with lectures from former Nicaraguan Dictator Anastasio Somoza Hillsdale’s magazine, Imprimis, which provides a forum for anti-minority views.
In another book by Russ Bellant, The Coors Connection: How Coors Family Philanthropy Undermines Democratic Pluralism, the author writes:
“Longtime Hiilsdale President Roche is opposed in general to social engineering plans, among which he includes affirmative action and public education. Roche has attacked the Civil Rights Restoration Act as frightening federal intervention. He calls affirmative action “the putrid backwash of all the tired social engineering schemes and complains that its advocates are so hypersensitive that a school’s unwillingness to set up advanced bongo drum programs is called racist.”
Bellant goes on to say:
“The selection of contributors for Hillsdale’s monthly magazine, Imprimis, also relfects the school’s far right political views. In one issue, Gerda Bikales, a founder and former executive director of the English Only organization, US English, condemned the advocates of cultural diversity and bilingual education. She attacked the skilled language planners and other militant advocates who promote bilingual education, as well as those who aggressively pursue diversity and cultural pluralism.”
However, don’t just take the word of Bellant, even a recent article in the New York Times made it clear that the politics of Hillsdale College are reactionary and far right.
Because Hillsdale College does not accept federal money, they do not have to follow federal policy, like Title IX. As a result, the college does not follow Title IX guidelines on sex discrimination and the handling of sexual assault cases and it has refused to engage in the otherwise required reporting on student race and ethnicity, let alone develop an affirmative action plan. Not surprisingly, the school’s “race blind” admissions policy results in an overwhelmingly white student body.
In 2013, Dr. Arnn was castigated by Michigan legislators when, during testimony against the Common Core, he made a remark about officials who questioned Hillsdale’s racial record. Years before, he said scornfully, Michigan officials had come to the campus with clipboards, trying to count faces and prove, he said, that the college “didn’t have enough dark ones.” He later issued a barbed apology: “No offense was intended by the use of that term except to the offending bureaucrats.”
The New York Times article goes on to say:
It is no coincidence that Justice Clarence Thomas, an advocate of strict “originalist” interpretation of the Constitution, delivered the commencement address last spring, likening Hillsdale to a “shining city on a hill” for its devotion to “liberty as an antecedent of government, not a benefit from government.”
On a recent episode of Doug DeVos’ podcast Believe, GRIID provided some analysis on the comments from the current Hillsdale College President, Dr. Larry Arnn, which are here below.
The President of Hillsdale College engages in what most scholars refer to as American Exceptionalism. American Exceptionalism is the idea that the US as a country is unique and special and should be seen as a model for the rest of the world. This sentiment is reflected in the conversation between Dr. Arnn and Doug DeVos, since neither of them mention anything about the US genocidal policies directed at the First Nation’s people that lived here way before the Europeans invaded these lands.
The Hillsdale President does acknowledge slavery, but just in passing. Interestingly enough, Dr. Arnn then spends a great deal of time talking negatively about the 1619 Project, stating:
You know, the New York Times has done that frightful 1619 Project. And they claim that the movement of the founding of America from the colonies forward was in the direction of perpetuating slavery.
The President of Hillsdale College then cites Gordon Wood as the leading US Historian, so as to contradict the claims made by the 1619 Project. This theme is not really explored by DeVos or his guest, since both are not interested in a serious exploration of the more honest history that the 1619 Project explores, particularly as it related to the centuries long practice of systemic racism in the US and how it has impacted the Black community in particular.
While DeVos and his guest make backhanded comments about Critical Race Theory, they fail to mention that Hillsdale College has developed their own curriculum to counter the 1619 Project. The Hillsdale project is called The Hillsdale 1776 Curriculum, which is a very sanitized and whitewashed version of US history.
Hillsdale College is also smack dab in the middle of the Charter School debate in the US, providing curriculum resources and a cadre of ideological apologists for far right values. In fact, a recent investigation by NewsChannel5 in Tennessee, “discovered new evidence that reveals the true Hillsdale connection, including more hidden-camera video from the reception hosted by Hillsdale president Larry Arnn for Lee.
That’s the same video where Arnn famously declared that public school teachers come from “the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges.”
Following the release of that controversial video, three Tennessee school boards voted down applications from the Hillsdale-affiliated American Classical Education to open charter schools in their districts.
All of this is to show that, like so many other wealthy families from West Michigan, the Van Andel family has a long history of funding far right causes and institutions, like Hillsdale College. This example demonstrates once again, that philanthropic contributions are not simply charitable gifts, the foundations of wealthy families are designed to channel massive funds to promote their ideological interests.
Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union confronts landlord that assaulted tenant and is now threatening to evict the tenant
Several members and supporters of the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union (GRATU) showed up at the home Darcy Carter last night. This landlord had recently assaulted one of their tenants, which then lead to the tenant contacting GRATU.
This same landlord came to the last tenant union meeting, demanding that the group remove information about the assault, claiming it was false. One member of the tenant union escorted the landlord out of the meeting, since the group does not allow landlords, property managers or cops in their meetings. The tenant who was assaulted came to the tenant meeting and asked GRATU for support. GRATU has been doing an online pressure campaign for the past week, but the tenant also decided they wanted to do the protest at the landlord’s home.
At the protest people placed makeshift yard signs in the ground, held signs, and wrote messages to the landlord on the sidewalk with sidewalk chalk. The landlord didn’t appear to be at home, but was later spotted coming home in their car. The landlord then backed up and went around the block and parked in a spot where they could see the protest.
The tenant union also made up a flyer to distribute to the landlord’s neighbors. There were some people who were also walking in the neighborhood and stopped by to inquire as to what the protest as all about.
However, there were some neighbors who did not appreciate the protest. One man who lived right next to the landlord’s home came out with a garden hose and decided to hose some of the sidewalk chalk messages of the part of the sidewalk that was on the border of his property. Another neighborhood resident made accusations against those who were protesting in an attempt to get in an argument and potentially escalate things. That neighbor eventually walked away saying that he “didn’t care why people were protesting.”
The tenant who was assaulted also received an eviction notice from the landlord, which means that there will be a court hearing to determine whether or not the landlord has legal grounds to evict the tenant. GRIID was able to do a short interview with the tenant here below. If you are a tenant or know someone who is a tenant who has issues with their landlord or just want to be involved in the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union you can contact them through their Facebook page or by Email gratunion@gmail.com.
Understanding the GR Power Structure – Part X: Why need need autonomous social movements if we want to challenge the local power structure
In Part I of this series I began an updated version of a Grand Rapids Power Analysis, which lays out the ground work for what the Grand Rapids Power Structure looks like and what it means for this community.
When I use the phrase, the Grand Rapids Power Structure and who has power, it is important to note that I mean power over. A local power analysis is designed to investigate who has power over – who oppresses, exploits and engages in policy that benefits them to the exclusion of everyone else – the majority of people living in Grand Rapids.
In Part II of this series on the Grand Rapids Power Structure, I looked at the DeVos family, which I argue is the most powerful family in this city, in terms of economics, politics, social and cultural dynamics. In Part III of this series I looked at some of the other families and individuals that also wield tremendous power in this city, economically, politically and socially. In today’s post I will focus on the private sector organizations that also have tremendous power and influence on daily life in Grand Rapids.
In Part IV, I focus on private sector organizations, many of which have individuals who are part of the Grand Rapids Power structure sitting on their boards. These private sector organizations serve a vital role in dictating local policy, which primarily benefits their own interests. Part V took a critical look at the role that the Grand Rapids City Commission and the Kent County Commission play in representing the interests of the private power sector, along with how they use fear and violence against residents who are actively challenging the local power structure.
In Part VI, I looked at how the major daily local news agencies normalize systems of oppression that protect and expand the Grand Rapids Power Structure. Then in Part VII, I discussed the role that local colleges and universities play when it comes to the Grand Rapids Power Structure. Part VIII focused on religious organizations in Grand Rapids and their relationship to the local power structure. In last week’s post, which was Part IX, I discussed the function of the Non-Profit Industrial Complex and how it primarily acts as a buffer in order to prevent people from organizing to challenge the Grand Rapids Power Structure and work towards collective liberation.
In today’s post, which will be the last in this series on the Grand Rapids Power Structure, I want to look at the existing grassroots and autonomous movements in this city over the past 5 years.
Reformism vs Systemic Change
There is a whole litany of groups working on issues from a reformist perspective in Grand Rapids. Many of these groups are advocating for electoral reform or supporting particular policies that could be adopted through the electoral process. While I think that voting can be a useful tactic in bringing about some form of social change, historically it has not created the kind of changes necessary for systemic and structural transformation.
Those who are part of autonomous movements and fighting for collective liberation are always confronted by those who think that electoral politics is where people need to put their energy. This happens during electoral cycles and it was in full effect during the 2020 election cycle and it is happening right now as we are less than 2 months before the November Election.
In addition to wanting autonomous movements to drop everything and get the “right” people elected, those who believe in electoral politics don’t want grassroots groups to criticize “their” candidates, and are often told to wait until after those candidates are in office. This is non-sensical logic, since the best time to pressure political candidates and political parties is before the elections. Once politicians are elected they are less interested in fighting for the issues that autonomous groups are organizing around.
Grand Rapids does have a rich history of people and movements being involved in direct action, the kind of action that challenges power. There are the examples of the 1911 Furniture Workers Strike, the Socialists who resisted during WWI in Grand Rapids, the Central American Solidarity Movement, the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement to the various forms of black resistance to White Supremacy over the years, as has been documented in Todd Robinson’s book, A City Within a City, and my book, A People’s History of Grand Rapids.
Since 2018, when I first wrote the ten-part series on the Grand Rapids Power Structure, I have annually been documenting social and autonomous movement work in Grand Rapids. From 2019 through 2023, I have provided an overview of the autonomous social movement work in Grand Rapids, which I will include here in chronological order.
2019 Social Movement work in Grand Rapids
2020 Social Movement work in Grand Rapids
2021 Social Movement work in Grand Rapids
2022 Social Movement work in Grand Rapids
2023 Social Movement work in Grand Rapids
I don’t want to rehash the work of all the autonomous groups in Grand Rapids during the past 4 years, which is why I have included these links. I highly encourage people to read all of the links, primarily because there has been a great deal of important work that has been done, along with the relationships that have been built and the collaborative dynamics that has happened.
Right now, the groups included in the graphic above, are the primary autonomous groups doing movement-based organizing. It should be noted that there is also lots of less informal organizing that is taking place as well, even if there is no organization name attached to it. However, for the groups that are listed here, I would encourage people to get involved with them, as they are doing vitally important work, work that is not only issue based, but predicated on abolition, on building relationships, collaboration and working towards a world of collective liberation.
Lastly, I wanted to include some final thought about the power of social movements and what lessons I have learned about them over the years. The following comments are included in the epilogue of my book, A People’s History of Grand Rapids.
Lessons Learned from Social Movements
“Nobody in the world, nobody in history, has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.” Assata Shakur
Direct Action – taking collective action to change our circumstances, without handing our power to a middle person – elected officials, NGOs or political parties.
Horizontal organizing – organizing that is not hierarchical, that tries to build capacity for new “leadership” and believes that all roles in organizing should be shared.
Practices prefigurative politics – which means you want to practice the kinds of equity and relational organizing that doesn’t perpetuate racism, homophobia, ablism, etc., plus it means you want to practice what you preach. If you are organizing against homelessness, you need to practice radical hospitality and offer safe places for people to stay.
Mutual Aid – providing material, financial or emotional support to people who have a need, without perpetuating White Saviorism, policing of people or any other patronizing ways that non-profits often practice.
Abolitionist vision – to get to the root cause of systemic problems and abolish systems of power and oppression, as opposed to trying to “reform” them.
Radical Imagination – imagining that another world is possible, that we don’t have to settle for what systems of power and oppression give us. As the great Puerto Rican poet, Martin Espada once said, “No change for the good ever happens without it being imagined first, even if that change seems hopeless or impossible in the present.”
I wanted to end by saying that over the past four decades of being part of social movements and researching this two century history in Grand Rapids, that when injustice exists, there are always people who will rise up to fight it. I have also seen long lasting relationships blossom between people who have engaged in these struggles for liberation. While at times it may seem like we are not making the necessary changes to create more freedom and justice and equity, please know that you are part of a long standing tradition of fighting for collective liberation, even when we don’t see an immediate outcome.
People I have met in the struggle for justice want to win, but what I have witnessed is that when people engage in these struggles they are transformed because of the struggle. While I was in Chiapas, a young Mayan told me, “my people have not only endured 500 years of oppression, we have never lost sight of who we are as a people.” In the end, maybe that is enough.
“It is better to die on your feet fighting, than to live on your knees in submission.” Emiliano Zapata
The DeVos family has already contributed over $2 million in 2024 to GOP Committees and and Conservative PACs outside of Michigan
In early August, I posted several articles about which candidates running for office in West Michigan had received campaign contributions from the DeVos family. There was an article about DeVos funding in key Kent County races, state house races, and the DeVos money going to the Republican House and Senate Committees in Michigan.
Today, I want to shine some light on the money they have already contributed in 2024 to Republican organizations and PACs outside of Michigan. All of the information provided is sourced on OpenSecrets.org, specifically the Donor Look link https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup.
Dick DeVos
- Eighteen Fifty-Four Fund – $62,500
- Big Sky Opportunity PAC – $5,000
- Common Sense Conservative Values PAC – $5,000
- National Republican Senatorial Committee – $41,300
- Project Rescue America – $12,500
- Sentinel Action Fund – $125,000
- Keystone Renewal PAC – $62,500
Betsy DeVos
- Big Sky Opportunity PAC – $5,000
- Common Sense Conservative Values PAC – $5,000
- National Republican Senatorial Committee – $41,300
- Project Rescue America – $12,500
- Congressional Leadership Fund – $25,000
Doug DeVos
- Sentinel Action Fund – $125,000
- Keystone Renewal PAC – $62,500
Maria DeVos
- National Republican Senatorial Committee – $41,300
- Big Sky Opportunity PAC – $5,000
- Common Sense Conservative Values PAC – $5,000
- Keystone Renewal PAC – $62,500
- Sentinel Action Fund – $125,000
- Congressional Leadership Fund – $25,000
Dan DeVos
- Eighteen Fifty-Four Fund – $62,500
- Big Sky Opportunity PAC – $5,000
- Common Sense Conservative Values PAC – $5,000
- Project Rescue America – $12,500
- Common Sense Conservative Values PAC – $5,000
- National Republican Senatorial Committee – $41,300
- Keystone Renewal PAC – $62,500
- Sentinel Action Fund – $250,000
- Congressional Leadership Fund – $25,000
- National Republican Senatorial Committee – $289,100
- Mission First People Always PAC – $5,000
Pamela DeVos
- Congressional Leadership Fund – $25,000
- Keystone Renewal PAC – $62,500
Suzanne (Cheri) DeVos
- Eighteen Fifty-Four Fund – $62,500
- Big Sky Opportunity PAC – $5,000
- Common Sense Conservative Values PAC – $5,000
- Project Rescue America – $12,500
- National Republican Senatorial Committee – $41,300
- Keystone Renewal PAC – $125,000
- Sentinel Action Fund – $250,000
- Congressional Leadership Fund – $50,000
If you add up all of the money that the DeVos family members are contributing to Republican Committees and Political Action Committees that are outside of Michigan, the total is $2,255,600.00. If you have been paying attention to the DeVos family, then these amounts of money are no surprise. What is unfortunate is the fact that rarely does the commercial media in Grand Rapids or Michigan in general, report on how influential the DeVos family is during election cycles around the country.
Deconstructing Memes: Facts do matter, but only when they are verified and sourced
In today’s Deconstructing Memes, I want to look at another meme that is currently being used on social media, a meme that is meant to make claims about the economy as we approach the November Election.
The meme states:
4 YEARS AGO: Dow at 19,000. Today it closed at 41,250. 4 YEARS AGO: unemployment was 9.2%. TODAY: 4.2%. FACTS MATTER!
This meme is deeply problematic and it might be the dumbest I have seen in recent years, for a number of reasons. However, before I get to the reasons why this meme is problematic, let me just say as someone who tries to think critically and has taught media literacy for the past 30 years, one should never assume that what is presented is factual, especially without any sources to back it up. This meme doesn’t provide any evidence or sourcing so that people can verify the claims that are being made.If facts matter, then so do the verification of said fact.
Besides the lack of sourcing for the meme, the first major issue with this meme is the use of the phrase 4 years ago. Four years ago the US (and the rest of the world) was 6 months into one of the worst global pandemics humanity has ever seen. The COVID 19 pandemic resulted in lockdown policies being adopted (like in Michigan), which saw millions of people unable to go to work and support themselves. Of course unemployment was up, because it was too dangerous for people to be at work, especially at jobs that were not front line jobs like health care workers. Of course the DOW would close at a lower number 4 years ago, since the stock market was in a bit of a free fall because of the pandemic.
Second, people really need to have a better understanding of the economy system. Just because the stock market is doing great doesn’t mean that most of the people are doing great. We know that the majority of stocks are owned by members of the Capitalist Class. According to inequality.org, the richest 1% own a greater share of the stock market than ever before. In fact, only 1% of the stock market wealth is owned by the Bottom half of households in the US. The stability or success of the stock market should not be the measuring stick for how the economy is doing, especially for the majority of the population. Did we not learn anything from the Occupy Wall Street Movement?
Another aspect of the US economy is that even if unemployment is down, it does not translate into people being better off. We should all be asking what kind of wages and benefits people are getting while they are employed, and not just celebrate the fact that they have a job. In July, I wrote about new data from the ALICE report. ALICE stands for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. In that report, it states that 47% for Grand Rapids households are living paycheck to paycheck! Again, just because people are employed doesn’t mean that they are doing ok economically.
Lastly, memes like these are predicated on the notion that “our side is right” or “our side is better.” Too often we want to show that our political party is better than the opposition. Because of the partisan blinders we have on, it often leads to believing anything that affirms our allegiance, no matter what the truth is. Facts indeed do matter, just make sure that they are sourced and and verified.
The harsh realities of the cost of rent in Grand Rapids and why so-called affordable housing is a false solution
For years now politicians and developers in Grand Rapids keep telling us that there needs to be a significant increase to the amount of new housing units in this area. In fact, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce created group, Housing Next, states on their website that in Kent and Ottawa Counties there needs to be 14,618 new rental homes in 2025 and 17,278 new homes to for sale in 2025.
This increase in housing units is based on projections for the growth of Grand Rapids and the rest of West Michigan. And as we all know, within a capitalist economy growth is good, hell bigger is always better.
In the last 9 months there have been several new apartment complexes announced in Grand Rapids, with the cost of said units in the MLive stories I want to look at.
In January of 2024, MLive reported on the apartment building project that is happening on Plainfield Avenue, right next to the former Creston Brewery. According to the MLive article, the one-bedroom units will go for $1,400 to $1,600 a month. The two-bedroom apartments will go for “around $2,200 a month.”
In May of 2024, MLive reported that there will be new apartment buildings that will be built next to the new downtown Amphitheater and the new soccer stadium. These two new projects received received a $290 million subsidy from the City of Grand Rapids.
According to the MLive article, “Estimated monthly rental rates for the amphitheater housing show an income-restricted, one-bedroom apartment would be $1,888 per-month, according to the city. The same unit at the market rate would be a $126 more at $2,014 per-month. A two-bedroom unit in the same building would go for $3,157 per month at the market rate, and $2,267 per-month for an income-restricted unit.”
In the past few days, there have been two new apartment projects announced, one in Boston Square Neighborhood and the other one in the Wealthy Street corridor. The Boston Square Neighborhood project is 57 housing units, and “Depending on household size and income, the apartments could range in price from $453 to $2,500 a month,” according to MLive.
The last example was announced on Sunday, with MLive reporting that, “The three apartments that will be located upstairs will include a one-bedroom unit and two two-bedroom units, starting at $2,500 a month.”
Now, none of these four examples from this year seem to be “affordable”, even within the current area median income (AMI) for Kent County. In the article about the Amphitheater and Soccer stadium apartment projects, 2nd Ward City Commissioner Ysasi made this comment regarding “affordability”:
“I think with every project we want to get to 60% or 80% AMI,” said Commissioner Ysasi, referring to AMI levels that are lower than what’s included in the amphitheater and soccer stadium housing plan. “We also recognize what are the realities of a transformational project.”
It would seem that making apartments affordable isn’t really a priority to the City, especially since transformational projects are the priority. And let’s be clear, when local elected officials say transformational, they mean it will bring lots of tourist dollars to the city, which always trumps affordability.
Why housing affordability is a false solution
As you can see from the graphic below, in order for people to afford the average cost of rent in Grand Rapids – for a 2 bedroom apartment – they would need to earn $26.33 an hour. And that is just to cover the cost of rent, which excludes food, utilities, transportation, health care costs, student loan payments, etc.
Using the term “affordable housing” as a framework is deeply problematic and it will ultimately be a false solution. Affordable housing in Grand Rapids happens only because the developer has received significant state, county or city subsidies or tax breaks. Only through the use of public funding can developers afford to build new housing units and then charge what are labeled affordable prices. However, in many cases, the developer or the company that will own the apartments, can then chose to charge “market rates” a few years down the road. This means that the public makes it possible for developers construct new apartment buildings because they are supposedly affordable, but within a few years they can charge a whole lot more because the market dictates they can.
There are several reasons why using the affordable housing narrative problematic. First, such a narrative makes it seems like poor and working class people are getting special privileges, since the tax breaks and subsidies make it so. However, the fact is, the developers/Property Management companies are the ones receiving public assistance.
Second, if people actually made a living wage, a wage where they could afford the cost of rent, food, utilities, transportation, health care, etc., then affordability is useless. We need to flip the narrative and say…..if people earned a living wage they could afford the cost of housing.
Third, the affordable housing narrative is often used in the same narrative that says that housing is a human right, just like the GR Chamber created group Housing Next says. If housing were truly a human right, then there would be no profitability in housing. We don’t say to people you have a right to free speech, the right to vote or the right to not experience discrimination – only if you can afford it. No, because we view these things as rights and not through the lens of market Capitalism.
If we are serious about making sure that everyone has a right to a place to live, then we should stop using the “affordable housing” narrative. If we want to practice housing as a human right and housing justice, then we need to address the fundamental problem of Capitalism, where everything and everyone is ultimately a commodity.
We obviously need to organize and support tenant unions, like the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union, which fights to build tenant power. I would also suggest that you read the book, Abolish Rent: How Tenants Can End the Housing Crisis, co-authored by Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis. We can continue to pressure elected officials, but the most effective strategy is to be organized, so we can force elected officials, landlords and Property Management Companies into meeting the demands of tenants.
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of September 15th
It has been more than 11 months since the Israeli government began their most recent assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated to what the international community has called genocide, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing. We will also provide information on local events and actions that people can get involved in. All of this information is to provide people with the capacity of what Noam Chomsky refers to as, intellectual self-defense.
Information
From Gaza to the Occupied West Bank, Israel’s Ethnic Cleansing of Palestinians Is Underway
Zionism vs Zionism – Ben-Gvir and the Acceleration of the Collapse of Israel
Witness: Israeli troops in West Bank intentionally killed US activist
“The Brutality Is Truly Unprecedented” in West Bank: Mariam Barghouti on Israel’s Deadly Incursions
The New Antisemitism and Neo-McCarthyism
Israeli Torture Chambers Aren’t New; They Are What Provoked the Violence of October 7
Cartography of Genocide: Why Netanyahu Erased Palestine from the Map
U.S. ARMY IS UPGRADING AN ISRAELI BASE TO HELP FIT BOEING WARPLANES
Analysis & History
BDS impacts in times of genocide
From Sabra and Shatila to Gaza: Never-ending Massacres
Local Events and Actions
Power to Palestine: Weekly Rally in Grand Rapids
Wednesday, September 18th, 6 – 7pm, Corner of Pearl St and Monroe in downtown GR.
Images included here are from a protest in front of Rep. Scholten’s home, where signs were placed calling out the Congresswoman who is complicit in genocide!
What does Rep. Scholten’s Christian faith have to say about her unconditional support for Israel killing over 40,000 Palestinians?
While people were preparing for the US Presidential debate on Tuesday night, several activists were busy putting up posters in the neighborhood where Rep. Hillary Scholten lives.
The posters they were putting up, were wanted posters, which specifically called out Rep. Scholten for her unconditional support for Israel, complicity in Israeli war crimes and the ongoing Israeli genocide against the Palestinians.
GRIID has methodically documented the role that Rep. Scholten has played in Israel’s war crimes and the ongoing genocide, which you can read here.
It is instructive that ever since Hillary Scholten ran for the 3rd Congressional seat on Michigan, beginning in 2020, she has made her Christian faith a central part of her campaigns. In her current re-election campaign page, under the section “meet Hillary” it states:
My West Michigan roots, my family, and my Christian faith have shaped who I am, and inspired me to always think critically, and stand up for what’s right.
My question for Rep. Scholten is, how does your Christian faith makes sense of your unconditional support for Israel, for supporting the Biden Administration’s sending over 600 weapons shipments to Israel in the past 11 months, and the killing of between 40,000 and 186,000 Palestinians, most of which are women and children?
In a recent political ad, Rep. Scholten is seen with a happy, white middle class family, where she says she wants to work to provide more opportunities for middle class families to afford a home. (What about working class and poor families???) This pristine image is in sharp contrast to what Palestinian families are experiencing on a daily basis, in part because of Rep. Scholten’s continuous support for Israel’s genocidal campaign.
For example, what does Rep. Scholten’s Christian faith have to say about the killing of 18 Palestinians at a school in a safe zone? What does Rep. Scholten’s Christian faith have to say about the Israeli military’s killing of at least 8 Palestinians who were standing in a bread line at a United Nations-run school in Gaza’s Jabalia refugee camp? What does Rep. Scholten’s Christian faith have to say about the Israeli massacre of at least 40 Palestinians by bombing tents housing people displaced from other areas of Gaza in al-Mawasi, west of Khan Younis? Rep. Scholten’s political ads don’t talk about what is happening to Palestinian families on a daily basis, like this image below of a wounded Palestinian child following an Israeli bombardment at al-Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip in June of this year.
Now, I am well aware of the fact that the election is less than 2 months away, but elections should never prevent any of us from talking about what kind of policies that any candidate has endorsed or voted for. One major policy that Rep. Scholten has endorsed and voted for is the Israeli genocide being perpetrated against the Palestinians, an issue that I cannot be silent on, regardless of the outcome of the election.
For those who want to use the Rep. Hillary Scholten wanted poster, you can download it here.
West Michigan Foundation Watch: David and Carol Van Andel Foundation
Foundations are a way for members of the Capitalist Class, which made their wealth by exploiting workers, to hide some of their wealth from taxation, only to then turn around and use foundation funds to undermine social movements and generate positive PR for themselves.
“In any case, the hidden hand of of foundations can control the course of social change and deflect anger to targets other than elite power.”
– Joan Roelofs, Foundations and Public Policy
David and Carol Van Andel Foundation
GRIID has always begun our Foundation Watch work by looking at the foundations associated with the most powerful family in West Michigan, the DeVos family. GRIID has already looked at the Dick and Betsy DeVos Foundation, the Doug and Maria DeVos Foundation, the Dan and Pamela DeVos Foundation, and finally the CDV5 Foundation. Today, I am going to look at the other family associated with the creation Amway, the Van Andel family.
I am using the data from the foundation’s 990 document for 2022, which is the most recent year that is available. The David and Carol Van Andel Foundation has $104,586,135.00 of assets in the foundation’s account, which is just another way that members of the Capitalist Class to be able to hide their money from taxation.
Before I dive into how the David and Carol Van Andel Foundation distributed their funds, I wanted to point out that David Van Andel is chairman and CEO of Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, along with numerous other business investments. In addition it is important to point out that the David and Carol Van Andel Foundation paid Adabelle Capital $51,019.00, a hedge fund entity with an office at 250 Monroe Avenue in Grand Rapids, along with paying Donald Smith $52,243.00, with his address being listed on the 990 document as living in Pennington, New Jersey. Both Smith and Adabelle Capital were paid for investment management.
The David and Carol Van Andel Foundation made contributions to dozens of entities in 2022, but there are some clear categories of groups they contributed to, such as the Religious Right, Think Tanks, Education-centered groups, and social service entities, to name a few. Below is a listing of each from these categories, with a dollar amount.
Religious Right
- Cascade Fellowship CRC – $70,000
- Mel Trotter Ministries – $1,000,000
Think Tanks
- Acton Institute – $103,500
Education-centered groups
- Ada Christian School Education Foundation – $1,015,000
- Cornerstone University – $100,000
- Grand Rapids Christian Schools – $400,000
- Hope College – $25,000
- Potters House – $85,000
- Western Theological Seminary – $2,001,000
Van Andel-owned, created or connected groups
- Van Andel Research Institute – $52,600
Groups receiving Hush $
- Bethany Christian Services – $1,200,000
- Home Repair Services – $61,500
- John Ball Zoological Society – $750,000 (a representative of the David and Carol Van Andel Foundation sits on the Board of Directors) https://jbzoo.org/staff/
- Kids Food Basket – $180,000
- Opera Grand Rapids – $285,000 (a representative of the David and Carol Van Andel Foundation sits on the Board of Trustees) https://www.operagr.org/board-of-trustees/
- Salvation Army – $85,000
- Special Olympics Michigan Inc. – $350,000
It is instructive to see that in 2022, the David and Carol Van Andel Foundation contributed $1 million to Mel Trotter Ministries, an organization that supported the original GR Chamber of Commerce proposal that criminalized the unhoused in 2022. It is also worth noting that the David and Carol Foundation provided $1.2 million to Bethany Christian Services, which has reverted back to it’s more ridged and ideological stance on issues like only hiring Christian staff and taking an anti-LGBTQ position. Like the DeVos family, the Van Andel family doesn’t give money just for the fun of it, they use their foundation funds to strategically support the Christian and political right entities, especially in West Michigan.
FOIA request took more than a year to get regarding GRPD surveillance and arrests of those protesting Patrick Lyoya’s murder
On May 4, 2023, I submitted a FOIA request to the GRPD to obtain documents and communication from the GRPD regarding their surveillance and arrests of people who were protesting the murder of Patrick Lyoya. The FOIA request covered the period of April 4, 2022 to April 4, 2023, which was the one year anniversary of Patrick’s death.
The GRPD has been receiving a substantial increase in FOIA requests, so I was told that it might take 8 – 12 months. In November of 2023, the GRPD requested more funding and more staffing to assist with the increase in FOIA requests, which Grand Rapids City Officials approved. I wrote about the city’s decision to provide more funding to the GRPD, but despite the additional staff I did not receive the final FOIA requested documents until late this summer. Therefore, even with the added staffing the GRPD did not released the requested FOIA documents until 14 months after my initial request. You can see a breakdown of the cost of the FOIA request here.
There were 2 main documents that I received, one that was called Additional Incident Reports – Redacted, which provides the GRPD version of what happened during the various protests of 2022. The second set of documents was entitled Combined Additional Documents – Redacted.
I’ll address the second set of documents, primarily because so much of these documents are redacted that it is difficult to address what took place. You can read headings like React Team One, or Operational Plans. In both cases everything but the heading is redacted, except for the maps, the City’s free speech policy, Dispersal Announcements and some of the flyers that the community made for the various protests demanding Justice for Patrick Lyoya. You can see on page 89 of this set of documents, that the GRPD had included a screenshot of the protest organized on May 4th by the Comrades Collective at the spot where Patrick Lyoya was murdered by the GRPD. There were also several pages with the heading Situational Awareness – Saturday Protest, with all details redacted.
The documents that read Additional Incident Reports – Redacted, only redacts names and license plate numbers. This set of documents is 66 pages long and is fundamentally what happened from the point of view of the GRPD. There are a couple of things worth pointing out here, that the GRPD demonstrate contempt for people who engage in disruptive protests, plus they continuously remark that the police officers felt threatened by the protesters and therefore had to arrest them. Many of these documents are also quite repetitive.
What this process tells me, as someone who has requested Freedom of Information Act documents on numerous occasions, is that the GRPD spend a tremendous amount of energy monitoring and harassing people who engage in public protests or forms of Direct Action. Secondly, there are likely documents that the GRPD didn’t release, precisely because of the fact that they can withhold whatever documents they want to, since the only way to try to obtain all documents is to take them to court. Going to court is extremely expensive, especially for those who do not shy away from protesting or disruptive actions.
A third important point to make here is that the GRPD will always redact details of the protests, along with whatever plans they have to contain and suppress organized resistance. This means that we will never know what their plans are ahead of time, which is exactly why much of these documents are redacted. The GRPD, with the backing of the City of Grand Rapids, has most of the power in these circumstances, and they don’t plan on giving up the power to contain and suppress social movements that are demanding justice.
Lastly, it is worth noting that when it comes to holding the GRPD accountable, it is a false notion. The GRPD gets to do what it wants, there is no real transparency and they can act with impunity on these matters. Think about the fact that Patrick Lyoya was murdered over 2 years and 5 months ago and still former cop Christopher Schurr is free and has note gone to trial for his decision to shoot Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head.
Additional sourcing: Below are numerous articles that GRIID posted regarding many of the protests that are cited in the GRPD FOIA’d documents. These post are chronological from the bottom up.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 