Yesterday, during their annual May Day action, about 100 Movimiento Cosecha organizers and supporters came to the Lansing State Capital to demand driver’s licenses.
People came from different parts of Michigan and arrived in Lansing around 11:00am. The Cosecha action began in front of the State Capital, with some announcements and to inform participants of what would be happening throughout the day.
From the very beginning the energy was high, the banners and signs were plenty and the bi-lingual chants were passionate.
First, the roughly 100 participants marched down Michigan Street, passed the Lansing Police Station and around the roundabout. However, instead of just walking around the big traffic circle, those holding banners were strategically placed at all four exits of the roundabout, which prevented vehicles from entering. This allowed the rest of the marchers to take the streets for the next half hour, which included chants and caused traffic to back up, or in some cases, motorists just turned around and went in the opposite direction. Interestingly enough, the police didn’t even bother to show up and force the marchers off the street.
Eventually, the Cosecha May Day action moved back towards the State Capital, where people re-grouped in front of the Capital steps. At this point several Cosecha organizers spoke about their work and the campaign to win driver’s licenses. Cosecha organizers then invited other organizations to speak about their work and the importance of building cross-movement solidarity, which was delightful to witness.
After about 30 minutes, Cosecha organizers then explained the next part of their May Day action, which was to go up to the 3rd floor about the same time that the Michigan State House of Representatives would be starting a session.
Participants then entered the State Capital one at a time, since the Capital Police require everyone to go through metal detectors. Once we were all in the rotunda area, people began walking up the steps to the 3rd floor where the State House session was about to start.
The area outside of the State House chambers is not terribly spacious, but about 75 people were packed into that space, chanting and disrupting the proceedings. Members of the State House and some of their staffers had to weave through the crowd of Cosecha activists and supporters, while other politicians decided to take pictures of those protesting.
All of this was very familiar, since Movimiento Cosecha has utilized very similar tactics in previous protests at the State Capital. What was noticeably different about yesterday’s action was what people were chanting. People were chanting the phrase, No Licencias, No voto!, meaning if you (elected state officials) don’t pass the driver’s licenses bill, we will not be voting for you! Movimiento Cosecha organizers had made up enough patches for everyone to pin on their shirts, with some in Spanish and others in English. In fact, one Cosecha organizer has shared with me that they will likely follow the model of the uncommitted vote in the upcoming August Primary Election, where people will withhold their vote for State Representatives if they do not pass the Driver’s Licenses bill. As a Cosecha organizer said, “we are leveraging out vote to make demands of politicians. If they want us to vote for them, then they need to give us what we have been demanding for years.”
After another 30-40 minutes those who came to the Cosecha May Day action then descended back down to the ground floor of the State Capital and went outside to share refreshments that had been prepared for them.
The 100 or so immigrant justice activists sat on the grass, shared food, shared laughter and shared affirmations about what the day had meant to them. A few Cosecha organizers then used their portable sound system to offer thanks and gratitude to those who came out to the annual May Day action and those who contributed in a myriad of ways. The Cosecha May Action 2024 action most definitely demonstrated the power of organized people and the hopefulness of constant struggle. Once again, I felt a sense of pride to be part of this movement.
Kent County residents rally against Democratic Party fundraiser, condemn complicity in Gaza genocide
GRIID is re-posting a statement from Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids.
Residents Temporarily Occupy Stairwell at Democratic Fundraiser, Face Physical Assaults from Party Donors
GRAND RAPIDS – On Saturday, April 27, over a hundred Kent County residents gathered at the Kent County Democrats Spring Gala fundraiser at the Eberhard Center in downtown Grand Rapids to protest the ongoing violence in Gaza and the Democrats’ support for Israel and U.S. warmongering.
Inside the venue, a dozen community members chanted for a free Palestine and an end to the occupation, temporarily blocking access to the main stairwell and disrupting the registration process. In response, Kent County Democrats reacted with physical aggression, pushing and grabbing peaceful protestors. One young community member had her hijab pulled, while another organizer was shoved against a wall and pushed into a heavy glass door. The violence perpetrated by institutionalized Democrats onto young peaceful activists is abhorrent and telling of the underlying values system that keeps them funding the genocide in Gaza.
Despite these physical assaults, the anti-apartheid protesters held strong, recited chants and relayed the message that the Democrats are failing their constituents. In the 2024 presidential primary, Grand Rapids voted uncommitted by 17%, and Kent County voted uncommitted by 13.7% in protest against Biden’s involvement in the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Gaza. Democrats–especially Congresswoman Hillary Scholten–should take note of these figures that reflect the support for Palestine and for an end to U.S. aid to Israel in Kent County, a swing-county and bellwether county for the whole nation.
The disruption at the Spring Gala lasted over 45 minutes, delaying registrations and amplifying their voices until the Grand Rapids police dispersed the crowd. Despite attempts to intimidate, community members stood by their anti-colonialist values, demonstrating their refusal to comply with violence by the ruling class.
Thankfully, there were no arrests, but this demonstration highlighted two crucial points: the need for unwavering solidarity to ensure community safety when facing the police and the pervasive white supremacy culture within the GRPD, leading to unequal treatment of Black and Brown organizers and community members.
While several organizers present were white, shielding the demonstration from harsher police repression, the disparity in treatment is stark, as evidenced by the political repression faced by Black and Brown comrades, such as the ongoing incident of a protester facing felony charges for amplifying their voice at a protest against the violence and murders that the police has committed in our city and wider community.
Protesting is not a crime, and all charges must be dropped. We stand with our comrades against police brutality and the heinous murders of Patrick Lyoya and Samuel “SD” Sterling. We echo the demand by the National Alliance Against Racist & Political Repression for community control of the police.
As our conditions worsen, it is crucial to expose the inhumanity within our system and organize to improve the lives of our community members. That is why Palestine Solidarity Grand Rapids has joined the many organizations, unions, and grassroots movements nationwide calling for a march on both the Republican and Democratic National Convention to demand an end to U.S. aid to Israel, freedom for Palestine, community control of the police, advancement on immigrant rights, and to oppose the right-wing policies both parties have embraced at the expense of our communities.
Representatives of members of the Coalition to March on the DNC speaking at a press conference in Chicago on April 13, 2024
Graphic for the anti-war contingent for the March on the RNC
PSGR is organizing a contingent to march on the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on July 15 and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19.
“The genocide in Gaza is waking people up to how the system of electoral politics in the United States works and who it’s really meant to serve,” says organizer Emerson Wolfe. “There is no lesser of two evils when they work together to fund a genocide.”
GRIID interview with Indigenous youth organizer on the May 5th Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Rally
Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing this amazing Indigenous youth organizer, who spoke with me about the upcoming May 5th Missing and Murdered Indigenous People Rally to be held on the Blue Bridge in downtown Grand Rapids, beginning at 4pm.
The flyer you see here on the right was created by the same young woman who is featured in the interview. Here are the questions I asked her. In this 8 minute interview, I think you will be impressed and inspired by the words this young woman shared.
- Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what the MMIP rally is all about?
- When did you decide that you wanted to be involved in this issue…and why?
- It seems that too often Indigenous issues don’t get the attention that other issues do. Why is it important for the larger community to take action on this issue?
- What do you think are the reasons why some many Indigenous women are are disappearing and how is it related Settler colonialism?
- I understand that you made the flyer for this rally, which will be included in my post, but can you say something about the importance of art in activism?
- What message(s) do you have for the people who will be watching this video?
The growing student-led Palestine solidarity movement is an inspiring thing to see as it unfolds. Along with lots of faculty and staff, college students are showing the rest of us tremendous courage and conviction for their willingness to stand up against US complicity in Israel’s genocide and to the police repression that more and more campuses are experiencing.
Just yesterday, police abused and arrested 40 pro-Palestinian protesters at the University of Texas at Austin. After what had happened at Colombia, the students across the country have been mobilizing to engage in their own encampments to not only protest the role that the US government is playing in Israel’s genocide, but in many cases to demand that their university or college divest from the decades-long Israeli occupation and Israeli Apartheid. Students are once again showing the rest of us how to be courageous in the face of US imperialism.
Unfortunately, not everyone is inspired by the courage of college students across the country. West Michigan’s very own Representative Hillary Scholten recently posted on her weekly newsletter the following statement:
“I’m sure many of you have seen the ongoing protests happening on college and university campuses across the country right now. The right to free speech and protest is fundamental, but far too many of these protests have crossed the line into harassment, intimidation, and discriminatory anti-semitism. Colleges and universities do not have enough clear guidance on what does and does not cross the line into antisemitism– which has put Jewish students at risk and at the same time, jeopardizes legitimate free speech. Students have the right to peacefully protest, but antisemitism is never –and never will be– tolerated.
As others rushed to the cameras, I got to work on solutions. This week, my Republican colleague and fellow midwesterner Rep. Rudy Yakym from Indiana and I championed our new bill, the PROTECT Jewish Students and Faculty Act, to require colleges and universities to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s official working definition of antisemitism in student and faculty codes of conduct as a condition of receiving Title IV federal funds for financial aid. This way, we’re protecting students and faculty and ensuring that institutions of higher education can be safe spaces of learning and free expression for all.”
Rep. Scholten, the so-called liberal, once again is demonstrating her allegiance to US Imperialism, to Zionism and her commitment to the repression of free speech. Notice that the Congresswoman provides no evidence of antisemitism. You just have to invoke it to make it a fact, just like Zionists preach. On top of the unsubstantiated claim of antisemitism, Rep. Scholten takes it one step further by partnering with a Republican from Indiana to introduce legislation that in reality is meant to further silence critics of Israel and US policies that support Israel. However, this might be a good time to point out why Rep. Hillary Scholten is on the wrong side of history and the wrong side of justice.
- US students and faculty are organizing to stand in solidarity with the Palestinians and against the US-funded Israeli genocide that has already killed 35,000 Palestinians.
- Many of the campus protests against the Israeli genocide are being led by Jewish students and faculty.
- US students who are organizing encampments across the country are following in the same tradition as previous movements like the Civil Rights Movement, the anti-Vietnam and anti-Iraq War Movements, the Climate Justice Movement, and the South African anti-Apartheid Movement, just to name a few.
- US students and faculty are exposing the political and economic commitment that Higher Education has to conformity, especially when it comes to US foreign policy and Israel.
- US students and faculty are also exposing how the police state functions in the US, especially when university trustees and university donors are pressuring campuses to actively suppress this movement.
Instead, what Rep. Hillary Scholten is doing is taken right from the Zionist playbook to blame the victim or anybody else, but never Israel. Scholten is one of 9 co-sponsors of H.R. 7478, which was introduced by Rep. Rudy Yakym from Indiana. Scholten is only one of two Democrats who cosponsored this shitty piece of legislation that includes the likes of Rep. Elise Stefanik from New York. Stefanik has been the person leading the charge to discredit universities who allow Palestine Solidarity actions or Middle East Studies that question Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian land.
If Rep. Hillary Scholten was on the right side of history, she would recognize a few things about what she is enabling and complicit in:
The McCarthyist Attack on Gaza Protests Threatens Free Thought for All
GAZA WAR, COLLEGE CAMPUSES BECOME FREE SPEECH “TESTING GROUND”
Israel Has Formed a Task Force to Carry Out Covert Campaigns at US Universities
It’s bad enough that Rep. Scholten has consistently voted to send billions of dollars in US military aid to unconditionally support Israel and to participate in an AIPAC funded trip to Israel last year, she now wants to use a right-wing tactic to silence college students across the US for courageously denouncing genocide. Rep. Scholten’s legacy as a member of Congress will be that she defended genocide and the suppression of those who opposed genocide.
Follow the Money: Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce campaign contributions buys political allegiance from both parties in Kent County
It’s no surprise that the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce contributes to political candidates, something they have been doing for a very long time.
According to the State of Michigan’s campaign finance records for the most recent quarterly reporting, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Political Action Committee contributed $20,250 to 24 different candidates and political action committees.
The largest recipients in the most recent campaign finance reporting for the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce are:
- Kent County Commissioner Stan Stek – $5,000
- Kent County Commissioner Dan Burrill – $5,000
- Posthum Majority Fund – $2,500
- Senate Republican Campaign Committee – $1,000
- MI Forward Fund – $500
- Kent County Commissioner Jennifer Merchant – $500
- House Republican Campaign Committee – $500
- Kent County Commissioner Dave Hildenbrand – $500
- Kent County Commissioner Ben Greene – $500
- Kent County Commissioner Lindsey Thiel – $500
The names on this list are not surprising, considering that they are all Republican, except for the MI Forward Fund, which contributes to both Democrats and Republicans. I say this is not surprising, since the GOP not only loves Capitalism, but hates labor unions.
GR Chamber of Commerce plays both sides of the aisle
However, an equal amount of the rest of the candidates and PACs that received lesser amounts of campaign contributions in the most recent political finance reporting records are Democrats.
- Kent County Commissioner Carol Hennessy – $250 – Democrat
- State Representative Matt Hall – $250 – Republican
- Kent County Commissioner Monica Sparks – $250 – Democrat
- Kent County Commissioner Tony Baker – $250 – Democrat
- Kent County Commissioner Lisa Oliver King – $250 – Democrat
- Kent County Commissioner Michelle McCloud – $250 – Democrat
- VanWoerkom Solutions PAC – $250 – Republican
- State Representative Pat Outman – $250 – Republican
- Victory Values Fund – $250 – Republican
- Kent County Commissioner Melissa LaGrand – $250 – Democrat
- State Representative Luke Meerman – $250 – Republican
- State Representative Bryan Postumus – $250 – Republican
- State Representative Bradley Slagh – $250 – Republican
- State Representative Kristian Grant – $250 – Democrat
So, why would the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce make campaign contributions to Democrats? It could be that Democrats are also committed to the economic system of Capitalism, or it could be that these Democrats represent urban districts, which in Kent County are generally held by Democrats. What is clear is the fact that the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce likes to hedge their bets and fund both sides, since it means they will have access and likely political allegiance from candidates they contribute to.
The bigger question is why would Democrats take money from the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce? The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce supports all the so-called Transformational Projects in downtown GR – the Amphitheater, the Soccer Stadium, the proposed Aquarium, etc – all of which rely on lots of public funding and only lines the pockets of the Capitalist Class in this city. The Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce got the City of Grand Rapids to adopt ordinances that essentially criminalized the unhoused last year. Plus, the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce gives the bulk of their campaign contributions to Republicans, which are the sworn enemy of the Democrats, right?
I think the Democrats should return the campaign contributions from the Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce, and send it with a note saying, “we don’t take money from organizations that oppose raising the minimum wage, deny climate change, always work to undermine organized labor and promotes neoliberal economic policies.”
There is no fair housing in Grand Rapids, because there is no fair judicial system: Housing Justice was the focus of Sunday’s events
On Sunday, April 28th, there were two events in Grand Rapids that centered on Housing Justice. There was a rally organized by the group Nation Outside that was pushing legislation that would not create barriers for the formerly incarcerated to access housing, which was followed by a Michigan Civil Right Commission public hearing on housing discrimination.
What was billed as a rally was more of a Press Conference hosted by Nation Outside, which calls itself the voice of the formerly incarcerated. There were a few politicians that spoke, but the most impactful comments came from two members of Nation Outside, pictured here above. Both spoke about their experience of being discriminated against by landlords and property management companies, despite the fact that they served time. They presented those at the Press Conference with information about HB 4878, which would prohibit landlords from asking people about their criminal history. HB 4878 was introduced last year, but it needs to get passed this year before the Democrats could possibly lose control of the State Legislature.
The second event, which was held at the Community Transformation Center, was organized by the Michigan Civil Right Commission. Their event was a public hearing that allowed people to talk about their experience of being discriminated against while seeking or staying in housing. Unfortunately, this event was sparsely attended, as you can see in the picture here below, with lots of empty seats.
There were a number of people representing housing organizations that spoke to the panel of Michigan Civil Rights Commissioners, groups such as the NAACP, the FAIR Housing Center of West MI, Farmworker Legal Services, Linc Up, Nation Outside and the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union. All of those groups spoke about the work they do around housing justice along with providing concrete examples of the struggles that people have to access fair housing.
However, the most powerful testimony came from people who are currently being discriminated against around housing, along with some powerful analysis of why there is limited or little housing justice in the Grand Rapids area.
There was a man who lives in a mobil park home with his elderly mother who stated that they were facing eviction from the mobil home park. The company that bought the mobil home park in recent years had jacked up the cost of renting space in the mobil home park. Another man who took a bus from Flint, Michigan to speak at the hearing, talked about how he has experienced numerous types of discrimination, but the housing discrimination has been the worst, because he has a criminal background and because he is a Black man.
Then there was testimony from an older African American woman who had stayed in one of Degage’s shelter’s and how difficult it was for her with a fixed income to access housing. She said she has been in a fight for the past 2 years just to be able to stay in the place she now lives. There was also a woman who was hearing impaired who communicated how she could not get her landlord to provide basic services to make it easier to communicate with the landlord or receive messages from anyone who wanted to visit or companies that wanted to make a delivery to her apartment.
There were several other area residents who spoke about the fact that the cost of rent in this city is unattainable for most people. Class and income discrimination were the most dominant theme regarding housing discrimination.
Another African American woman began her comments by asking the Michigan Civil Rights Commissioners, “what have they done lately,” referring to whether or not the commission has actually changed policies that would benefit the most vulnerable in this city and across Michigan.
Maybe the most powerful testimony came from an African America man who was born and raised in Grand Rapids. He said, “There is no fair housing in GR, because there is no fair judicial system.” He was kicked out of where he was living and then took the case to court, but the courts dismissed the case, partly because he believed that the landlord at a friendly relationship with the judge who presided over his case.
A coupe of final observations were that not one single politician bothered to come to the public hearing to listen to people talk about being discriminated against, about not being able to afford rental costs, along with the constant threat of eviction. There was one staff person representing State Rep. Glandville, but refusal to make the public hearing a priority speaks volume about what politicians value, which is not really listening to the struggles of people who are constantly housing insecure. There was also no representation from groups like Housing Next, the GR Chamber of Commerce created group, which is the current media darling. Their absence is instructive, since it demonstrates their commitment to a market-driven housing system as opposed to housing justice.
As we have been documenting in recent years, the Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association, the GRPD union, doesn’t shy away from making campaign contributions to candidates that take a very strong pro-police stance.
In 2020, I posted an article looking at how many different local politicians had received funding from the GRPD union up until that point, with campaign contributions ranging from $200 – $5,000.
However, beginning in 2022, the amount of funding that the Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association was providing to candidates increased. The increase was no doubt a direct response to the increasing calls to defund the GRPD and hold them more accountable. In the 2022 election cycle, the GRPD union made $10,000 contributions to Drew Robbins, who was running for a seat in the 1st Ward. Robbins won that election because of the campaign contributions from the GRPD union and contributions from members of the Grand Rapids Power Structure.
So far in the 2024 election cycle, the Grand Rapids Police Officer’s Association has made significant contributions to three candidates, according to State Campaign Finance records:
- $15,000 – Michael Maycroft for Sheriff in Ottawa County
- $12,500 – Dean Pacific for 1st Ward Grand Rapids City Commission
- $12,500 – John Krajewski for 3rd Ward Grand Rapids City Commission
These amounts are the largest for local candidates in the history of the Grand Rapids police union. If you are wondering why they did not contribute money to 2nd Ward candidates, it is partly because Mindy Ysasi is running uncontested and because Ysasi considered voting to reduce funding for the GRPD in 2020, even though she has approved the ever growing GRPD budget in each of the years she has served as the 2nd Ward City Commissioner.
For those who don’t support the GRPD and their continued repression against BIPOC people, immigrants, the poor and political dissidents, you might want to avoid voting for these candidates in 2024.
Palestine Solidarity Information, Analysis, Local Actions and Events for the week of April 28th
It has been more than 6 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
Solidarity from Global North requires understanding
The McCarthyist Attack on Gaza Protests Threatens Free Thought for All
Leaked USAID Document Concludes Israel Impeded Gaza Aid
UN Rights Chief Demands International Probe of Mass Graves Near Gaza Hospitals
“Deadliest days” in the West Bank
Manipulation Politics: Israeli Gaslighting in the United States
“TELL THE WORLD WHAT’S HAPPENING HERE,” SAY PATIENTS IN GAZA
Analysis & History
BIDEN’S INDIFFERENCE TO PALESTINIAN LIVES IS SENDING THE MIDDLE EAST INTO THE ABYSS
Manufacturing Famine: Israel is Committing the War Crime of Starvation in the Gaza Strip
Local Events and Actions
Power the Palestine: Weekly Protest in Grand Rapids
Wednesday, May 1 from 6 – 7pm, Monument Park
Graphic used in this post is from https://visualizingpalestine.org/#visuals
On Tuesday, Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow voted to spend $95 billion of US taxpayers money to fund war and militarism, providing funding to Ukraine, Taiwan and Israel.
It is disconcerting that both Democratic Senators from Michigan voted for more bloodshed, particularly regarding the money being allocated to Israel. Israel has killed roughly 34,000 Palestinians since early October of 2023, with 14,500 of that total being Palestinian children. Both Peters and Stabenow released statements on why they voted for the $95 billion to go towards militarism, war and genocide.
Here is what Senator Peters statement says:
“This legislation is vital, not only to U.S. national security, but to democracy and the future of the free world. As we speak, the people of Ukraine are fighting for their lives with dwindling supplies against Putin’s relentless, brutal war on their country. Israel is facing attacks from Iran and its proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah who seek to destroy it. Meanwhile, the Chinese Communist Party continues its aggression toward Taiwan, one of our key economic allies. This is a critical moment that history will remember, and I voted to stand with our allies.”
It is interesting that Senator Peters uses words like democracy, and free world. All buzz words, which Peters never clarifies or substantiates. Also, how is the funding war and genocide provide security to the US?
Senator Stabenow’s statement isn’t much different:
“Today’s vote sends a message at a critical time in our history about America’s standing in the world – that we are still a beacon of democracy for nations everywhere, that our country remains grounded in our American values of freedom, that our allies can continue to count on our leadership, and that our enemies know our resolve. Although the path to final passage was painstaking, today’s vote is a victory for our national security and democracy across the globe.”
Both Michigan Senators use the same bullshit buzz words, words that are directed at voters here in Michigan. People here still believe that the US is still a beacon of democracy for nations everywhere. However, if you ask people in the Global South they all have a different take on what the US means to them. For people in Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Colombia, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, Indonesia, East Timor, the Congo, Sudan, the Philippines, and many other countries, the US is an imperialist nation that backs dictators and corrupt government, that is the largest weapons trafficker on the planet, that destroys local economies and extracts oil and precious minerals. Check out how many times the US has militarily invaded another country since 1890, as documented by Professor Zoltan Grossman.
I do agree with one phrase that Senator Peters and Senator Stabenow used in their statements, that we are in a “critical moment that history.” We are in a critical moment in history, where the US is providing weapons, billions in other forms of military aid, place diplomatic cover to Israel so they can brutalize a civilian population in Palestine, in what the international community identifies as genocide. This will be the legacy of both Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow, since they have both voted to provide billions in US military aid and weapons to Israel as it prosecutes a genocidal occupation of Palestine. Shame on the both of them!
Rep. Kristian Grant wants to make it easier for developers, but says nothing about tenants in her interview on WOODTV8
One of the most pressing issues facing thousands of people in the Greater Grand Rapids area is housing. Rep. Kristian Grant is the Chair of the Housing subcommittee and she was recently interviewed by Rick Albin for his show on WOODTV8, To the Point.
In many ways the interview with Rep. Grant was rushed and Rick Albin talked entirely too much. The first issue they talked about was housing, but instead of talking about the current crisis in housing, Rep. Grant chose to frame the issue as a shortage of housing.
A couple of other key points that were discussed by Rep. Grant were:
- The need to cut the red tape around new housing and zoning
- Planning Commissions should have people who have experience with housing
- Relax regulations to benefit builders, developers and non-profits
In other words, the perspective that Rep. Grant chose to focus on was the perspective of those who build houses, particularly developers. Rep. Grant suggested if there was less red tape there would be fewer costs to developers and that cost would then not be added to the cost of housing.
What I found somewhat astounding is that this narrative is rather marginal in the larger scheme of things. What Rep. Grant did not talk about were things like:
- How families are being priced out of the housing market, because housing is a commodity and not a human right.
- How being are being displaced because of the market driven housing market or because of gentrification.
- The cost of rent has also skyrocketed, making it impossible for many people to be able to afford even the average rent.
- How the issue is not so much affordability, but the fact that the cost of housing has drastically increased while the income of most people has been fairly stagnant.
There is a statewide movement in Michigan that is being lead by tenants. Tenants are organizing and creating tenant unions to challenge the power of developers, landlords, property management companies and Rental Property Owners Associations. Two weeks ago, there was the first ever Tenant Assembly held in Grand Rapids, an event hosted by the Grand Rapids Area Tenant Union and the Community Owned Safety Coalition.
This statewide tenant movement is organizing under the slogan, The Rent is Too Damn High. This coalition of renters from across the state has a very robust list of demands, which are listed below.
Rent Control – Remove the state-wide ban on rent control so municipalities can take action to stabilize rents and protect tenants. Rent control is any policy that directly regulates or limits landlords’ ability to raise rents on an annual basis. For instance, a city may limit increases to a certain percentage, or according to some other formula. Rent control provides tenants with the security of knowing they won’t be priced out due to arbitrary and excessive increases in rent. These types of local policies were banned by the state legislature in 1988. We support a repeal of this ban on rent control.
Social Housing – $4 billion for social housing in FY25 state budget. “Social housing is a public option for housing that is permanently affordable, protected from the private market, and publicly owned by the government or under democratic community control by non-profit and cooperative entities. Around the world, robust social housing programs have ended affordable housing shortages; expanded democratic accountability and equitable housing access; and raised populations out of poverty and into prosperity.” Social housing is built to house people well, rather than deliver a profit to developers & managers. States and municipalities in the US are initiating social housing programs anchored by a new generation of public-sector housing development agencies. We support a $4 billion state infusion into social housing, to be administered regionally by public developers. This amount could directly support approximately 40-50,000 new social housing units, which would make significant progress towards the state-established goal of building 75,000 total new homes over the next 5 years.
Housing First – $1 billion for people experiencing and at risk of homelessness in FY25 state budget. Housing First is a successful and evidence-based approach to reducing homelessness that focuses on providing housing to people, rather than criminalizing or pathologizing them. We support a $1 billion state infusion into programs of direct service, rapid rehousing, and permanent supportive housing, with a housing first lens. These funds should be distributed and administered regionally.
A Renter’s Bill of Rights – Renters around the country are insisting on more protections against landlord abuse and empowerment of renters as a class. Michigan renters need these rights and protections as much as any. A Renters Bill of Rights may include fair chance housing for returning citizens, tenants’ right to organize and have counsel, relocation assistance in case of red tagging, increased safety inspection standards, legal protection against discrimination based on housing status, just cause eviction, renter agency for repairs, a ban on hidden rental fees, and other such policies.
These are the issues that politicians like Rep. Grant need to be talking about. However, we know that most politicians would prefer to avoid these types of discussions and demands coming from renters working in coalition with The Rent is Too Damn High. The only way that politicians will talk about these issues and take action is if we pressure them to do so.
Rep. Kristian Grant is having a “community conversation” this coming Monday, April 29th from 9 – 10am at the Last Mile Cafe. Details are in the image here below. If you want to see housing be de-commodified and embraced as a human right, then this is an excellent opportunity to engage Rep. Grant. You could also ask her about the rental properties that she owns and why she takes money from the Realtor industry and the Rental Property Owners Association.
