The criminalization of dissent in Grand Rapids
It has been very interesting to see how the City of Grand Rapids, through the use of violence workers (also known as the GRPD), has been responding to organized social movements and acts of public dissent.
Shortly after the May 30th, 2020 uprising in Grand Rapids, the GRPD has been somewhat more tolerant of public dissent, at least in the months that followed. However, this has not been the case with BIPOC organizers and activists, whom have been the primary target of GRPD monitoring, harassment and arrests.
This same type of repressive and threatening posture from the GRPD was also directed at Movimiento Cosecha and allies in the immigration justice movement even before the COVID pandemic began, specifically in 2019, when the GRPD threatened to arrest people on May Day of 2019 if they marched in the streets. To be clear, Movimiento Cosecha had marched in the streets on May Day in 2017 and 2018, but the GRPD decided they would no longer tolerate disruption of traffic and commerce. Cosecha and their allies obtained FOIA documents that verified that the GRPD was prepared to use force against people marching in the streets. Here is the Dispersal Announcement the GRPD made:
I am (Rank and Name) of the Grand Rapids Police Department. I am now issuing a Public Safety Order to disperse and I command all those assembled at (specific location) to immediately disperse, which means leave the area. If you do not do so, you may be arrested (cite ordinance or law) or be subject to other police action. Other police action could include the use of Chemical Agents or less-lethal munitions, which may inflict significant pain or result in serious injury. If you remain in the area just described, regardless of your purpose, you will be in violation of city and/or state law. The following routes of dispersal are available: (provide escape route details). You have (provide a reasonable amount of time) minutes to disperse.
The targeting of primarily BIPOC organizers and activists began with actions organized by Defund the GRPD and Justice for Black Lives in the fall of 2020 and throughout 2021. The City of Grand Rapids then hired Eric Winstrom to be the acting Chief of Police for Grand Rapids. Winstrom came from Chicago, a city which has a long and brutal history of repression by the police. (See the book, Chicago’s Reckoning: Racism, Politics, and the Deep History of Policing in an American City.)
Shortly after Winstrom began his tenure as the head of the GRPD, a cop murdered Patrick Lyoya on April 4th of 2022. The very next day, Chief Winstrom, along with other City leaders, held a Press Conference. What was instructive about that Press Conference is how polished Winstrom was as a PR man.
Two months after Patrick Lyoya was murdered, there was another “officer involved shooting, so Chief Winstrom once again held a Press Conference where he started to use the phrase, “the Ferguson Effect.” Winstrom was using that term to make the claim that whenever there is an “officer involved shooting,” that crime usually goes up, especially crime in the Black community. Of course, Winstrom offered to verification of this claim because when people in positions of power make such claims they must be true, according to the dominant narrative used by the commercial news media.
The phrase “Ferguson Effect”, was coined by Heather MacDonald, which Chief Wonstrom named during the Press Conference. What Winstrom didn’t mention is the fact that Heather MacDonald is a senior fellow at the right-wing Manhattan Institute. The use of the phrase, the “Ferguson Effect” was looked at in an article by the media watchdog group, Fairness in Accuracy & Reporting in June of 2015. The article states:
The point of the “Ferguson effect,” though, is not to be accurate. It is instead to distract us from the growing evidence about the magnitude and extent of police use of lethal violence in the United States—as powerfully documented just this week by the Guardian and the Washington Post—and to besmirch the #BlackLivesMatter movement.
It’s a strategy that Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater inaugurated in his campaign in 1964, almost single-handedly turning crime into a political weapon against the civil rights movement.
This is exactly what Chief Winstrom was doing, which the local media seemed to be eating up. WOODTV8 repeated the Ferguson Effect claim in their coverage on Friday.
Since last year, the GRPD is targeting more dissident groups and calling un-permitted marches illegal. When the Comrades Collective joined Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids for a march that began at MLK Park, then went to Rep. Scholten’s home, the GRPD showed up in big numbers and arrested the safety car driver. Safety cars have been used in recent years during marches as a means of protecting those marching from motorists that want to ram into people who are in the streets, just like what happened in Charlottesville in 2017.
The same thing happened during the march for Patrick Lyoya, which took places 2 days after the second anniversary of his murder on April 6th. The GRPD arrested the safety car person and then impounded their car.
However, a few weeks after that happened, two BIPOC activists then received calls from the GRPD to turn themselves in, since one was being charged with a misdemeanor and the other a misdemeanor and a felony.
Just last week, during a protest organized by Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids, the GRPD once again showed up and arrested 4 people, specifically those that were acting as crowd safety. Here is what the GRCC students newspaper reported:
After protesters marched around the downtown area and disrupted traffic, around 35 Grand Rapids police trailed behind the group stating that they could be subjects of arrest if they didn’t comply with the law. Protestors moved over to the sidewalk while going down Monroe Avenue but marched down the middle of Monroe Center Street.
After Protesters made it back to Monument Park on the corner of Fulton Street and Division Avenue, Police detained four individuals after they were blocking roads according to GRPD Police Chief Eric Winstrom.
“This group has had probably 20 marches since Oct. 6 when Israel was invaded by a group of terrorists,” said Winstrom when referencing when the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas killed around 1,200 Israeli citizens on Oct. 7. “They (protesters) have not had a permit at any point in time. They continually block streets, creating traffic hazards for individuals. We have been extremely tolerant in accommodating them in their activities, even though they have been illegal…”
It is instructive to note that Winstrom clearly has a Zionist view of what happened in early October, failing miserably to understand the historical context of the actions of Hamas. Winstrom’s lack of clarity on US foreign policy regarding Israel and Palestine aside, what is most important is what he said that is in bold in the previous paragraph. What is at issue here is that Winstrom will not tolerate people engaging in un-permitted marches, especially if those marches are disruptive in nature.
In Kristian Williams’ book, Life During Wartime: Resisting Counterinsurgency, (a book which discusses the history use of counterinsurgency by police departments – something they learned from the US Military), the author states that one of the primary tactics of counterinsurgency is to engage in “preserving order” and “social management.”
Alex Vitale, in his book, The End of Policing, confirm’s this function of social control, when he writes:
The reality is that the police exist primarily as a system for managing and even producing inequality by suppressing social movements and tightly managing the behaviors of poor and nonwhite people: those on the losing end of economic and political arrangements.
We should all expect the repression of social movements and organized dissent to increase in Grand Rapids. We need to expect the worst and plan accordingly when we engage in public acts of disruption. Disruption is a long-held tactic of social movements. Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement used disruption, which he wrote about:
“We do not need allies more devoted to order than to justice,” Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in the spring of 1964, refusing calls from moderate Black and White leaders to condemn a planned highway “stall-in” to highlight systemic racism in New York City. “I hear a lot of talk these days about our direct action talk alienating former friends,” he added. “I would rather feel they are bringing to the surface latent prejudices that are already there. If our direct action programs alienate our friends … they never were really our friends.”
It would be understandable, in light of the increased GRPD repression, for people to pull back on direct action. However, we also know that if we are committed to systemic change and collective liberation, we cannot afford to lessen our resistance. We do need to take care of each other and protect those that are the primary targets of this repression, but we must not diminish our resistance, no matter the cost.
I’ll just end with this observation from Kristian Williams’ book, Gang Politics: Revolution, Repression, and Crime, he writes:
“The challenge for liberatory movements, then, is not merely to launch an insurgency capable of overturning the existing power structure but to create new ways of relating, of organizing, of exercising and sharing power, that do not themselves reproduce the logic of a protection racket, like the police.”
GRIID Interview with Ky: Police repression happens especially when activists want to hold the GRPD accountable
I sat down with Ky last Thursday to talk about why the GRPD contacted them two weeks after they participated in a march demanding Justice for Patrick Lyoya, and then charged them with a felony and a misdemeanor.
The march, which took place on April 6th, just two days after the second anniversary of the GRPD murder of Patrick Lyoya. The march was organized by the Comrades Collective, which included several members of Patrick Lyoya’s family.
There is also a GoFundMe to raise funds for legal support because of these charges. Please contribute if you are able to and share with your circle.
Below are the six questions I asked Ky during the 12:50 interview:
- Can you tell us what your involvement was during the April 6th Justice for Patrick Lyoya march organized by the Comrades Collective?
- How many days after the march were you contacted by the GRPD and what were they charging you with?
- If you weren’t doing anything different than the dozens of people who participated in the march on April 6th, why do you think the GRPD is targeting you?
- It’s not lost on many of us that the two people that the GRPD have targeted with charges after the protest are BIPOC. DO you think that the GRPD’s actions are in part racially motivated?
- Why do you think what happened to you is important for people to know?
- In what ways can people support you and be involved in the campaign to fight for justice for Patrick Lyoya?
On Thursday night, Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss delivered her final State of the City speech to a crowd of supporters at an invitation only event in the Fulton Street Farmers Market. You can read the Mayor’s speech here.
I want to provide a counter-narrative to what the Mayor of Grand Rapids had to say and challenge many of her claims she made during her speech. However, I first want to address how the local commercial news reported on the Mayor’s speech.
Stenographers to Power
In his book, Stenographers to Power: Media and Propaganda, David Barsamian interviews several media scholars and practitioners who discuss the issue of how the commercial media in the US tends to act as stenographers for those in power instead of challenging what they say and do. Just recording what people who hold positions of power isn’t enough, journalism should verify their claims and challenge those same claims, especially with counter sources and narratives.
All of the major daily commercial news outlets “reported” on the Mayor’s State of the City speech. I put the word reported in quotes because they primarily acted as stenographer, rather than reporters.
For example, all three TV stations (WOODTV8, WZZM13 and WXMI 17) covered the event, but all three simply provided a summary of what the Mayor said, and never verified, questioned or challenged what she said. The MLive article also was a form of stenography, just a more refined version reflected in the headline, 4 takeaways from Grand Rapids mayor’s final State of the City address.
The MLive article is reflective of how local commercial news agencies don’t hold people in power accountable. In the beginning of the MLive story it was all celebratory commentary, which is not surprising, since this was an invitation only event, so naturally the Mayor’s office only invited people who are loyalists.
However, the article focused on 4 issues – the upcoming Hotel Tax ballot initiative, Addressing homelessness, past and future accomplishments and tree planting.
Hotel Tax – It should be no surprise that Bliss supports the Hotel Tax, which GRIID has written about. As I stated in that post: Don’t be fooled by yet another scam to get the public to pay for more of the development projects that are owned and operated by members of the Capitalist Class in Kent County. Let them pay for these projects. They have more than enough money to cover the cost of soccer stadiums, amphitheaters and aquariums. Don’t be fooled by the narrative that they want to provide entertainment opportunities for the public. They want to get the public to pay for their downtown profit-making playground.
Addressing homelessness (the Mayor’s language) – On this issue the Mayor primarily spoke about public/private partnerships or providing funding to Community Rebuilders. However, the issue of the unhoused, indeed of housing insecurity, is much more complex. More importantly, what Bliss embraces is a false solution to the housing crisis, which is essentially a market-based solution, which will never address the housing crisis, but it does not deal with root causes. For example, look at the proposal from Grand Action 2.0 to build apartment complexes by the Amphitheater and the soccer stadium. The market-based model says, use $318 million in Brownfield Redevelopment Authority money, which is public money, but the apartment buildings will be privately owned. Plus the cost of the apartments in prohibitive to lots of people, as I noted in a recent article.
Past and future accomplishments – under this section, the Mayor is primarily talking about development projects, buildings and neighborhood revitalization, which is many cases has led to gentrification and resident displacement.
Plant the future – Mayor Bliss ends with the celebration of adding to the tree canopy in Grand Rapids. This has been one positive outcome in recent years, but these sorts of things always come at a cost, which I noted in a post in 2016.
During the Mayor’s Tree Planting event, one saw Peter Secchia being photographed with Grand Rapids Mayor, Rosalyn Bliss. In the photo here, you can see Secchia with the mayor, but what is more interesting is that they are holding Thank You cards expressing gratitude for Rich and Helen DeVos. Why did the city find it necessary to say thank you to the local oligarch’s?
Secchia did participate in the tree planting event, but more importantly he was engaging if the politics of access. During the last campaign for mayor in Grand Rapids, Secchia, along with several other members of the local power structure (JC Huizenga, Kate Wolters, Scott Brew, Bill Bowling, Robert Woodhouse, Sam Cummings, Doug DeVos, Steve Van Andel, Scott Bowen, Dan Bowen, Sharon Bowen, Mark Breon, Friends of West Michigan Business, Ray Kisor, Mark Murray, Scott Wierda, Thomas Cronkright, Josh May, Lawrence Duthler, Arnold Mikon, Mark Sellers, Realtors Political Action Committee, GR Firefighters Union, GR Police Officers Labor Council all contributed between $500 and $5000 to Bliss’s campaign, according to Campaign Finance records through Kent County.
An incomplete record of the oppressive or anti-justice actions by Mayor Bliss since the she first ran for Mayor
- In early February of 2016, some members of the group Healing Children of Conflict met with Mayor Bliss to see if she would endorse a City effort to divest from companies profiting from the Israeli occupation and Israeli Apartheid. The campaign began in October of 2015. Mayor Bliss refused.
- In March of 2016, GVSU students, who were supporting the bus union campaign for a new contract, were being targeted by the GRPD and Mayor Bliss supported this.
- In late March of 2016, the United Farm Workers sent a letter to Mayor Bliss condemning her participation in the annual Cesar Chavez march, but not supporting bus union workers and allowing the cops to harass GVSU students.
- In April of 2017, GRPD officers pulled guns on several Black youth because they “fit a description.”
- On May 1st, 2017, Movimiento Cosecha held a march on May Day, with clear demands from political leaders. Mayor Bliss did not participate but the GRPD showed up to threaten and harass the 2,000 who marched.
- In May of 2017, 100 Black men came to a Grand Rapids City Commission meeting calling for a state of emergency regarding systemic racism in Grand Rapids. No action was taken by the City.
- In October of 2017, Movimiento Cosecha took part in a solidarity action with the bus driver’s union to demand a new and fair contract during a City Commission meeting. They were ignored by Bliss and the City Commissioners.
- In December of 2017, an 11 year old Black girl was handcuffed and detained by the GRPD.
- In May of 2018, Movimiento Cosecha once again had a large march from Roosevelt Park to downtown Grand Rapids. Again, Mayor Bliss did not participate and the GRPD had a massive show of force that again tried to dictate the direction of the march route.
- In late 2018, a GRPD cop who was off duty, saw a story on TV about a man – Jilmar Romos Gomez, who was suffering PTSD and started a fire at Spectrum Health. The GRPD cop called ICE and said that this man was an undocumented immigrant, when he fact he was a former Marine. Under Mayor Bliss’s leadership Captain VanderKooi was never held accountable for this incident over a two year period.
- In February of 2019, immigrant justice activists disrupted the Grand Rapids City Commission meeting, because Mayor Bliss would not allow the same amount of time to community members that the Chief of Police was given to defend Captain VanderKooi.
- In March of 2019, a coalition of groups held a press conference with a list of demands around the GRPD and the lack of accountability regarding their actions against Black and Latinx communities.
- May 2019 march by Cosecha, was once again not attended by Mayor Bliss, plus the GRPD were now threatening people if they marched in the streets.
- GRIID obtained FOIA documents regarding the GRPD’s monitoring, spying, harassment and intimidation leading up to the 2019 May Day march.
- In May of 2020, Grand Rapids also had a George Floyd protest that erupted with thousands of people in the streets and the response from the GRPD was repressive. Mayor Bliss called for a State of Emergency, brought in the Michigan National Guard and instituted a curfew for downtown Grand Rapids. There was an effort to Defund the GRPD in late June/early July, which the Mayor derailed and numerous other repressive tactics used by the GRPD to target activists. You can check out our visual timeline of all this.
- In July of 2020, Defund the GRPD protested in front of the home of Mayor Bliss. (Pictured here below) She was not there, as she primarilY stays with her partner in Caledonia, which was verified by several of her neighbors who came out to talk with those protesting.
- In November of 2020, the community organized a campaign to defeat the GRPD from obtaining Shot Spotter technology. Mayor Bliss voted for it.
- In late December of 2020, Mayor Bliss gave the GRPD the green light to evict unhoused people who set up an encampment at Heartside Park.
- In April of 2021, the City of Grand Rapids sent out a Press Release saying that anyone protesting the outcome of the Derek Chauvin trial would be arrested.
- In May, the group Defund the GRPD was organizing to pressure the City of Grand Rapids to not only reduce funding for the GRPD, but to allow more public input on how public money would be used in the City Budget for 2022. In early May, the City held a one hour virtual town hall meeting on the 2022 Budget, which was an insult to those who have been organizing around how public money would be used. Defund the GRPD had posted their own demands on what they wanted to see happen with the funds, as well as the process for determining the 2022 City Budget. Defund the GRPD also organized people to call in during the City Commission meeting later in May, right before they voted on the 2022 Budget.
- Throughout much of 2021, the group Justice for Black Lives were targeted for demanding Police accountability in Grand Rapids.
- In November, at a protest following a not guilty verdict for Kyle Rittenhouse, several JFBL activists were arrested again, after the protest had finished. Once again, JFBL held a press conference to respond to the arrests and to counter the claims made by the GRPD.
- On April 4, 2022, the GRPD shot and killed Patrick Lyoya in the back of the head, execution style. Mayor Bliss has done nothing to further justice for the family of Patrick Lyoya, but has repeatedly allowed the GRPD to target activists who are demanding justice.
- In late December 2022, the Chamber of Commerce wanted to impose ordinances that would essentially criminalize the unhoused. During the last Grand Rapids City Commission meeting for 2022, Mayo Bliss and the other commissioners refused to denounce the Chamber’s proposal.
- Throughout 2023, Mayor Bliss fully supported the GRPD’s desire to purchase and use drones, plus she fully endorsed the Grand Rapids ordinances that has criminalized the unhoused in this city.
- After the brutal Israeli assault in Gaza, GR residents tried to get the City of Grand Rapids to pass a resolution demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and to call on members of Congress from Michigan to not use federal tax money that does to Israel but to use those funds to benefit our community. Mayor Bliss and the other commissioners said calling for a resolution is not what they do.
This is just a partial list of the ways in which Mayor Bliss has opposed efforts to promote justice, especially efforts that were led by BIPOC organizers. The legacy of Mayor Bliss is fundamentally rooted in servitude to the Grand Rapids Power Structure and in opposition to movements demanding social justice amidst systemic racism in Grand Rapids, the ongoing housing crisis and the lack of accountability with the GRPD.
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of May 19th
It has been more than 7 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
450,000 Civilians Flee as Israeli Assault on Rafah Enflames Tensions With US
Israel Continues Unfettered Colonization of the West Bank Amid Genocide in Gaza
Gaza Solidarity Encampments Interactive Map
AN ISRAELI COMPANY IS HAWKING ITS SELF-LAUNCHING DRONE SYSTEM TO U.S. POLICE DEPARTMENTS
THE STATE DEPARTMENT SAYS ISRAEL ISN’T BLOCKING AID. VIDEOS SHOW THE OPPOSITE.
On Gaza, Is Biden Choosing Donors Over Voters?
Analysis & History
The Arsenal of Genocide: the U.S. Weapons That Are Destroying Gaza
‘Are You Going to End the Genocide, President Biden? That’s the Central Question’
Local Events and Actions
Power to Palestine: Weekly Rally in Grand Rapids
Wednesday, May 22 from 12 – 1pm, Monument Park
Graphic used in this post is from https://visualizingpalestine.org/#visuals
Monitoring the most powerful family in West MI: Update on the DeVos Family Reader – 2024 edition
It has been six months since we last update the DeVos Family Reader. As always, there has been plenty to report on regarding the most powerful family in West Michigan.
In Howard Zinn’s monumental book, A People’s History of the United States, he constantly juxtaposes the amazing things that people did to fight for liberation and the people behind the systems of oppression that social movements were fighting against.
This is exactly why I have spent years monitoring, investigating and critiquing the DeVos Family. They are the most recognizable and powerful manifestation of the systems of power and oppression in West Michigan. Now, I know there are plenty of people who share the belief that without the DeVos Family, Grand Rapids wouldn’t be where it is today. I fully agree with that belief, but for reasons that are the exact opposite of those who hold the most powerful family in West Michigan in high regard.
This updated version of the DeVos Family Reader includes information and analysis on a variety of local issues, even some that are not directly focused on the DeVos Family, but there are connections.
In early February, I posted an article entitled, Buying Elections: 2024 DeVos family campaign contributions to key Kent County elected positions. This article revealed that the DeVos family had already contributed $264,000 for just 4 political candidates running for seats in Kent County. Then in late February, I posted an article about the role that the DeVos family is playing in the new soccer stadium that will be developed in downtown Grand Rapids.
In March, I posted a critique of Doug DeVos’ podcast Believe!, where he interviewed former GRPS Superintendent Teresa Weatherall Neal. Neal was essentially mentored by Betsy DeVos during her tenure at GRPS. Then in late March, GRIID posted a story about the Grand Action 2.0 plan to build apartments by the downtown Amphitheater and the proposed soccer stadium. Grand Action 2.0 is led by Dick DeVos.
Lastly, when the DeVos family decided to close out the Richard & Helen DeVos Foundation, I wrote a 2 part piece regarding local media coverage and what was completely left out of the local media reporting.
The DeVos Family Reader is now up to 750 pages of history, analysis and information about the most powerful family in West Michigan.
Last week, Senator Gary Peters introduced bipartisan legislation – the United States-Israel Anti-Tunnel Cooperation Act – with U.S. Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) to strengthen anti-tunneling activity in the Gaza strip.
According to a recent Press Release:
The legislation authorizes a $30 million increase in funding to expand Department of Defense (DoD) efforts, in collaboration with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), to detect, maneuver through, and destroy tunnels constructed by Hamas and other terrorist organizations under the Strip and near the Israeli border. As part of the DoD’s collaboration with the IDF, Israel shares its counter-tunnel technology with the DoD and Department of Homeland Security to combat growing threats at our borders, as well as similar threats faced on the Korean Peninsula and in multiple locations in the Middle East.
Ok, so let me get this straight. Senator Gary Peters has voted every year he has been a US Senator to provide over $3 billion in US military aid to Israel, plus he voted for the additional $15 billion in “supplemental aid.” Peters, as a member of the Senator Armed Forces Committee, loves using public taxpayer funds to underwrite the arms industry, whether its domestic or foreign.
Here’s an idea Senator Peters. How about you, Stabenow, Rep. Scholten and the rest of the Democratic Party stop sending more military aid to Israel, call for an immediate ceasefire, end any and all future aid to Israel on the condition that they stop brutalizing Palestinians, that the Israel government stop building settlements on Palestinian lands, that the Israeli government call for an immediate end to their military occupation of Palestine and pay massive reparations for all the harm that has been done to Palestinians since 1948, when Israeli murdered countless Palestinians and displaced some 900,000 from their lands in order to create the State of Israel.
Now, of course the main Israeli lobby group AIPAC loves the idea from Sen. Peters, based on a recent Press Release of their own. Not surprising that Senator Peters has received $626,444 from Pro-Israel groups since he first ran for a Senate seat in Michigan, according to OpenSecrets. Republican Senator Ted Budd, who co-sponsored this legislation with Gary Peters, has received a much smaller amount in campaign contributions from Pro-Israel groups ($159,035), but then again Budd only became a Senator in 2023, so his proposed legislation will no doubt pay off big dividends from Pro-Israel groups down the road.
Lastly, does Senator Peters really believe that providing $30 million additional funds in US military aid to detect and destroy tunnels is a solution that will reduce any animosity that Palestinians might have towards the US? Instead of coming up with new ways to get people from other countries to despise the US, how about putting an end to this shit. Of course Senator Peters won’t, since he, like virtually all members of the US government, are deeply committed to US hegemony and US imperialism.
This Know Your Rights SkillShare is at the Grand Rapids Pride Center. From the event description:
The police have a long history of targeting 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, especially where they intersect with BIPOC and disabled communities. Join us for a workshop to talk about your rights when interacting with the police. We’ll work through scenarios, as well as various options for community safety without police involvement. Presented by the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy and the Grand Rapids Pride Center. Facilitated by Jeff Smith, Ames Carpenter, and Nikita Miner.
Registration is optional, but helpful for the facilitators, especially if you have accessibility needs or burning questions! 
We encourage you to register so we have an accurate count for food as well.
Here is a link to the registration.
This SkillShare will be using the lived experiences of the three facilitators, Know Your Rights information from the American Civil Liberties Union and some really good information from the book, Beat the Heat: How to Handle Encounters with Law Enforcement.
The Beat the Heat: How to Handle Encounters with Law Enforcement excerpt not only has great advice, but it includes wonderful illustrations for tactics you can use with cops.
On Tuesday, about 75 people held a picket out in front of the Lansing Center, just east of downtown Lansing, where people were attending a conference hosted by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA).
The picket was organized by the Rent is Too Damn High coalition, made up of people from across the state that are part of tenant unions and other housing justice groups. Inside the Lansing Center was a totally different crowd, made up of MSHDA staff members, bankers, non-profit housing groups, developers and other people who believe that the market will fix the housing crisis.
The morning keynote speaker was a GOP Strategist and the closing keynote speakers were 2 guys who have a show on HGTV. Plus, all of the panel speakers were people who embrace the housing crisis from a market perspective. One of the panelists was Brooke Ossterman the Executive Director of Housing Next, an entity that was created by the GR Chamber of Commerce, which GRIID has previously written about.
I would also like to point out that MISHDA is essentially a mechanism that provides large public subsidies to developers and to non profit housing entities, what I like to call the Non-Profit Industrial Housing Complex, because they only want to provide piece meal housing solutions, but never want to address the root causes of the housing crisis.
Before the conference happened, MSHDA got wind of the planned picket and sent a letter to the Rent is Too Damn High, trying desperately to present themselves as the “good guy.” The Rent is Too Damn High sent a response that read in part:
Our choice to demonstrate at the Building Michigan Communities Conference was deliberate. As the leading state agency responsible for housing, MSHDA bears responsibility for housing conditions in the state of Michigan. As you acknowledge, the housing supply shortage remains severe. Most renters also lack any form of rent stabilization, right to renew their contracts, or right to counsel in eviction proceedings. Two million Michiganders with criminal or arrest records are subject to legalized discrimination in housing access, and others are discriminated against for their source of income. All of these factors are driving more renters into homelessness.
The response from the Rent is Too Damn High coalition also stated:
We understand that you are trying, but for renters on the brink of eviction, it’s not enough. Our demonstration at the conference intends to raise the ambitions and increase the tangible actions of MSHDA, its nonprofit and municipal partners, and the governor. Only with uncommon courage, administrative creativity, and outspoken political leadership will this crisis be solved.
Throughout the four hour picket, some of the people who were attending the conference did come out to offer support or at least were willing to engage in conversation. However, there were also several people who came out to make nasty comments directed at those who were protesting.
The Rent is Too Damn High picket involved lots of chanting and some marching in from of the Lansing Center. There were a few banners and most of the picketers held up signs demanding Social Housing, Renters Rights, Housing First and Rent Control, which also happens to be the four main demands of the statewide coalition.
More importantly were the short speeches and testimonies made by people from across the state. There were people from Washtenaw County, Kalamazoo, Detroit, Lansing and Grand Rapids who spoke about both the urgency of addressing the housing crisis from the perspective of renters and how the housing industry and the government has failed to seriously address the current housing crisis. All of the speakers had great things to say and help get the crowd pumped up during the nearly 4 hours of picketing.
The Rent is Too High coalition also talked about next steps and some upcoming actions for the rest of the year. They made it clear that despite the Democrats having control of the State Legislator they have not embraced housing justice nor the four demands by the coalition.
Lastly, people were encouraged to push for the passage of four pieces of legislation which would certainly benefit tenants and eliminate some barriers for those seeking secure housing.
- HB 4878 – Fair Housing for Returning Citizens
- HB 5237 – Tenants’ Right to Counsel
- SB 205-207; HB 4062-63 – End Source of Income Discrimination
- SB 801 – Expunge and Seal Eviction Records
On Sunday, MLive posted an article entitled, Will housing near new Grand Rapids amphitheater, soccer stadium be affordable? The headline should have read, “None of the 735 new apartments that will be connected to the Amphitheater and Soccer Stadium project will be affordable.”
Reading the MLive article was rather instructive, since it was fundamentally an exercise in the justification of over-priced rental costs that will exclude huge sectors of society who do not make enough money to afford to live next to the Amphitheater or the Soccer Stadium. What follows are some of the justifications.
Justification #1 – “We’re hopeful that we will be able to provide some level of affordability within the project, but we understand the challenges that are being faced,” said Kara Wood, Grand Action 2.0′s executive director. What the Grand Action 2.0 spokesperson is really saying is, “Gee, we would love it if poor people could live here, but it wouldn’t make sense to have poor people live next to these amazing transformational projects. Such projects are really designed to bring more money downtown and primarily benefit the members of Grand Action 20 and our friends.”
Justification #2 – “A huge part of affordability right now is lack of availability,” Bliss said. “So, we know that building housing at any price point will increase supply and increasing supply will reduce costs across the board … and we need housing across the entire spectrum.” Really, so Mayor Bliss thinks that the “market” will just magically provide an adequate amount of housing that is current too expensive for thousands of families in Grand Rapids to afford? In the current NeoLiberal Capitalist market, the plan is always to funnel more public money to projects that are privately owned. Get the public to pay for stuff that the professional class and the Capitalist Class will benefit from.
Justification #3 – “What we’re trying to do is provide a path to getting to an affordable housing agreement,” said Jono Klooster, interim economic development director for the city of Grand Rapids. “It’s kind of a reflection of where we’re at in the development of those projects, and a way to provide options and flexibility as we continue to make progress on these and identify the developers we will be working with.” Sounds like trickle down economics, where these people use warm and fuzzy language about affordability, but rarely practice it, and when they do it is merely token.
What is also instructive about this project is that Grand Action 2.0 wants to get the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to provide subsidies to both the apartment buildings for the Amphitheater and the Soccer Stadium. Grand Action 2.0 is asking the City to use the Brownfield Redevelopment Authority to grant $318 million in subsidies – $290 million for the amphitheater housing and $28 million for soccer stadium housing. I mean, why not. The MLive article already says that both Mayor Bliss and 2nd Ward Commissioner Ysasi support such a plan. Not surprising, Commissioner Ysasi sits on the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority board, along with people who are part of the development industry, former elected officials, but all who are committed to NeoLiberal Capitalism.
Another person who sits on the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority board is Brooke Oosterman, the executive director of Housing Next, which is an entity created by the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce. Considering how viciously the GR Chamber of Commerce was able to get the City of Grand Rapids to adopt ordinances to criminalize the unhoused, it would follow that they don’t want more poor people hanging out in the downtown area.
Near the end of the MLive article it states:
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. There are expected to be nine, two-bedroom income-restricted units in the amphitheater housing tower.
OK, so Grand Action 2.0 and the City of Grand Rapids wants us to provide $318 million in subsidies through the Grand Rapids Brownfield Redevelopment Authority, which is public money. Then they want to limit the number of income restricted apartments, which at the numbers listed above shows that what they mean by income restricted is restricted for those who don’t make a living wage.
If you are paying $1,888 a month for rent, that equals $22,656 a year. If you are lucking to make $15 an hour, you would make $31,200 a year as a gross salary. Take out taxes and you pretty much are going to afford much after paying rent for an income restricted apartment, except maybe food and a phone, but that’s about it.
All of this is to say that Grand Action 2.0 and the City of Grand Rapids don’t want poor and working class people to live in this city. On top of that, Grand Action 2.0 is happy to use public money to subsidize these so-called transformational projects, which is really code for – projects that will put more money in the pockets of those who are already disgustingly rich, like members of Grand Action 2.0.
When will the public wake up to this shit and resist the ongoing plundering that the Capitalist Class does to the rest of us, just so they can have their downtown playground for themselves and their cronies? What we need instead is Social Housing, which is one of the demands of the Rent is Too Damn High coalition in Michigan.
As a first term Representative of the 3rd Congressional District, Hillary Scholten has mad it clear from the beginning her time in Congress that she has a deep commitment to Israel.
In 2023, Rep. Scholten, like most members of Congress, voted for the annual $3.8 Billion in US military aid to Israel. In May, GRIID posted a piece that showed the difference between Rep. Scholten and Rep; Tlaib. Rashida Tlaib re-introduced a resolution calling on Congress to recognize “the ongoing Nakba and Palestinian refugees rights.” Rep. Scholten did not support that resolution, but she did post a message on her Facebook page that said, This week marks Israel’s 75th birthday. Happy Yom Ha’atzmaut! #Israel75.
In late July of 2023, Rep. Scholten signed in to a resolution, which stated:
(1) the State of Israel is not a racist or apartheid state;
(2) Congress rejects all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia; and
(3) the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel.
In August of 2023, Rep. Scholten went on an AIPAC-sponsored trip to Israel, which solidified her allegiance to Israel. GRIID posted a piece about that trip, with AIPAC created videos you can find here.
Since the Israeli retaliation for the October 7th attack from Hamas, I have written 17 articles about Rep. Scholten and her unconditional support for Israel and her opposition to those who are opposing genocide. Many of these actions are in violation of International Law, specifically the Genocide Convention and the War Crimes Tribunal. What follows are links to those 17 articles demonstrating that Rep. Hillary Scholten has Palestinian blood on her hands.
Rep. Scholten endorses Israeli War Crimes in Gaza
Yesterday, I was arrested in Rep. Scholten’s office for demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza
Rep. Scholten says she is working hard to make sure US Imperialism wins the day in Gaza
Rep. Hillary Scholten voted for resolution that conflates Anti-Zionism with Antisemitism
Congresswoman Hillary Scholten just voted to for a bill that cements genocide as official US policy
Rep. Hillary Scholten continues to support genocide and she voted to criminalize speech
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 