Black Lives
400 years later And we’re still asking For our lives to matter I hear the silence The whispers And the chatter About all lives But this is about BLACK LIVES Misplaced BLACK LIVES Stolen BLACK LIVES Altered BLACK LIVES Broken BLACK LIVES Oppressed BLACK LIVES Lost BLACK LIVES Yes I said BLACK LIVES So in this moment My heart aches at the Thought of the struggle My soul cringes At the the thought of pain My tears fall like the rain Of a million thunderstorms Finding it so hard to swallow That not much has changed for BLACK LIVES BLACK LIVES So strong So resilient So powerful BLACK LIVES So royal So intelligent So beautiful
BLACK LIVES So human Yet for so many the lives of animals Are held in higher regards Than our BLACK LIVES They Disregard our Human rights Show no compassion For black life And tell us we’re crazy When we speak About what’s obviously Not right Our BLACK LIVES Have value I said Our BLACK LIVES Have value Don’t let anyone tell you Anything different Our BLACK LIVES Are Extraordinary Our legacy is Legendary We must take a Stand Make them understand And Never apologize for Saying that Our lives matter Our Black Lives Matter
-Kyd Kane
A Recap of #UnsafeAtK “I love Kalamazoo college, but my love is a critical love.” On March 7th students, faculty and members of the Kalamazoo College community gathered to bring the issues of interpersonal and systemic racism as well as the need for an Intercultural Center on campus to the consciousness of the administration. After threats of murder and physical harm were made to students and faculty of color with little done by the administration in response, this action took on a much heavier weight. These students were resilient. They were brave. They were powerful. Even when Dean Westfall and Administration moved the Board of Trustees meeting three times and physically tried to lock students out, students made sure that their voices were heard. Students stormed the Board of Trustees Meeting megaphones in hand. It was more than empowering to see these student activists claim their education and a space and voice on their own campus. After students recounted their personal narratives to this room full of donors and administrators they presented a list of demands: 1) We demand the establishment of a permanent and physical Intercultural Center that fulfills the attached mission statement and represents motion toward establishing more inclusive spaces on campus, 2) We demand an interim space by the start of the 2014/2015 academic year that serves the same purpose as the Intercultural Center until a permanent location is provided. 3) We demand to know exactly who is being referred to when the language, “on behalf of the College,” is used.
6) We demand that Kalamazoo College hires a permanent and full time counselor of color who specializes in addressing the needs and experiences of students of color on campus. 7) We demand increased hiring and retention of faculty and staff of color who will support students of color in this predominantly white institution. 8) We demand that the Office of Multicultural Affairs revisit its values and hold itself more accountable to the students it serves, starting with changing the name to the Office of Intercultural Affairs and educating the student body as to why this change is important. 9) We demand the immediate revision of the Student Code of Conduct to include and emphasize anti-racist/anti-oppressive ideologies and practices. 10) We demand an opportunity to be educated and to educate about the historical treatment and marginalization of people of color in the United States through further race and ethnicity requirements throughout the curriculum. Black Lives Matter: Grand Rapids stands in solidarity with the students at Kalamazoo College and supports them in their demands for a space of their own and claiming their right to feel safe on their own campus. For more information and to get involved in the Intercultural Center Movement at Kalamazoo College visit and like their Facebook Page: Support the Intercultural Center Movement at Kalamazoo College.
4) We demand greater transparency from the College in regards to research and planning related to Interculturalism and diversity here on campus. 5) We demand that Kalamazoo College require all Faculty, Staff, Administrators and Student Leaders to participate in anti-racist training through a partnership with ERAC/CE (Eliminating Racism And Claiming/Celebrating Equality).
-Shannon Fryover (Cover image by Shannon also!)
Meet the organizers:
Briana Urena-Ravelo I am a community organizer, social justice activist, avid writer, poet and big mouth. I love basement shows, music, local restaurants, neighborhood cats, my own cat and wandering the city streets at night. When I was growing up a first generation Afro-Latina newly transplanted to West Michigan, I learned very quickly that I was “different.” Realizing that this was okay and having the words for it was a whole ‘nother battle. Having platforms to speak my truth and explain who I am and what I went through, and my relationship to Grand Rapids, was integral to that process. I’ve been active in the community for a while now, beginning with my initial forays into the all-ages music scene organizing my first show at Skelletones at the age of
14. At 16, I had the opportunity to have an internship at UICA, which led me to making a short stop motion animation film with a friend through her membership at the Grand Rapids Community Media Center. For a few years in my late teens, I sat on the DAAC board, and since then I’ve been involved with a slew of other outreach and advocacy work, ranging from music venue facilitation to social justice advocacy. In short, I’ve got a great, loud love for Grand Rapids. I love all the work that goes into engaging, building and nurturing its different parts, even the hard and challenging bits that a lot of folks, in all our West Michigan niceness, would rather not hear, let alone talk about.
Paris Lara I’m a 20 year-old queer afrolatino (Black&Mexican student at GRCC. My course of study is Neuroscience as well as Women and Gender Studies. My motivation and goal is to empower youth of color everywhere, validating the beauty and capacity stolen from them by violent and oppressive systems which seek their demise. My involvement in community affairs began in high school, where I advocated and fought for student rights. Shortly after, my sophomore year I founded a successful non-profit organization - Environmental Conservation Coalition, where I became heavily involved and interested in curriculum development. I have served on the Board of Directors for various nonprofit organizations in Grand Rapids including Access
of West Michigan, SECOM, Living Water Ministries, and many more. I have also served a full term on the Mayor’s Youth Council working closely with city commissioners and issues faced by Grand Rapids, as well as working with the Kent County Prevention Coalition to deter youth from drug use and promote healthy communities. I look forward to working with and engaging black and brown intersectional communities in Grand Rapids with an emphasis on black trans-women involvement in order to build a safe space and platform for discussion and radical action to dissmantle violent social behaviors and attitudes. I envision nothing more than an empowered black community in Grand Rapids.
Local History: The following submission is a collection of three different articles regarding the Heartside Neighborhood, all to be read in deliberate order.
Early Heartside
“…Heartside has always been an area closely tied to transportation. In the beginning years, South Division Avenue was a hilly, sandy wagon track used by horse and ox teams. It was crossed by three streams and bordered by forests. As development continued, steamboats began traveling through the area transporting furniture made in Grand Rapids. The railroad entered the city in 1870 upon the construction of the Union Railroad Depot at Ionia Avenue. It became the destination point where people entered and left the city. Thus the Heartside – Downtown area became the place where people got their start in the city of Grand Rapids. During this time, commerce was strong and many multistory buildings were built. The area became home to many large medical and religious institutions. Because most of the workers in Heartside – Downtown were single males, they populated the many hotels in the neighborhood, such as the Herkimer, the Ferguson, the Manor, Morton House, and Ransom Towers… In the
(Below image courtesy of GRPL)
1940s and 1950s, like downtown neighborhoods all over the US, Heartside’s image changed from ‘land of opportunity’ to ‘skid row.’ The region’s residential growth areas were far away, in the outer edges of the city and in the suburbs. The once-booming home furniture industry was seduced by the cheaper labor in the southern states. Corporate executives were attracted to larger business centers like Chicago. As time went on, air and truck transportation blew out the railroad industry. Many of the hotels shut down and the area became dominated with warehouses. Interstate Highway US 131 was constructed directly through the neighborhood [in 1957/58]. The railroad depot and train shed were destroyed to make way for an exit ramp, and many of the areas houses were demolished also… Another factor in the decline of the area was the growing racial tensions in the cities all over America, including Grand Rapids…” (From the Neighborhood Profile of Heartside – Downtown by GVSU’s Community Research Institute –Published in 2002)
Middle Heartside “On July 25th, 1967, Grand Rapids police officers arrested several Black youth, when they pulled them over believing they were in a stolen vehicle. [A member of the Grand Rapids Study Club] says that the officers may have used excessive force in dealing with the Black youth, according to an eyewitness account. News reports on the first day of the uprising never mention the police abuse. Instead the headlines read that, “gangs threaten a riot” and “S. Division beset by young mob.” In fact, most of the Grand Rapids Press coverage focused on the property damage and police arrests, but never on the motives of those who took action.
and nothing else. The Grand Rapids Police, along with other area cops and the Michigan State Police made it a point to arrest anyone they could get their hands on who was either engaged in actions they deemed unlawful, even those who violated the curfew that was put in effect on the evening of the 25th.
The first editorial on July 26 at least acknowledges that people in Grand Rapids may have acted in part due to the riot that began on July 25th in Detroit. However, the Press editorial then uses harsh words to condemn those who participated in the Grand Rapids uprising. The editorial says that, “The great majority in the Negro Community is lawabiding.” This statement alone reflects contempt for anyone who acts outside officially sanctioned behavior. The editorial goes on to say that, “the lawless behavior of a few Negro citizens has made a mockery of civil rights and that everything that has been done up to this point to improve the Negro’s social and economic standing has been a waste of time, money and effort.” It is as if the civil rights movement consisted of what the White government did for Black people, as if the Freedom Struggle didn’t really exist. Lastly, the editorial says, “there must be no compromising with the forces of disorder.” The Press editorial writer makes his bias known by saying that anyone arrested should be treated as a criminal
According to a report put out by the Grand Rapids City Planning Department, there were a total of 320 arrests made over a two-day period. The report, Anatomy of a Riot, stated that 49% of those who were arrested had a prior arrest record, thus the implication that those involved were prone to “criminal behavior.” The area where the uprising occurred was 131 to the west, Hall street to the south, Wealthy to the north and Lafayette to the east. Besides the data contained within the report, Anatomy of a Riot spent a great
deal of time making pronouncements about living conditions of the Black community, but in a contemptuous way.
The report acknowledges high un employment rates and that many of the households are led by females. “These are families without an adult male to give support, love and guidance to the children.” What the report does not really address, nor the news coverage, was the legitimate grievances of many of those who took action between July 25 and July 27. …It should be noted that most of the fires that were set were of vacant or deteriorated buildings that were owned by White people. One could certainly argue that these buildings were targeted as a means of protesting against the constant exploitation of the Black community by White landlords. A former pastor in the neighborhood where the uprising took place told this writer that there were several houses and an old barn near his church on Buckley street that were set on fire and that these were buildings clearly targeted because of how the landlord treated the Black tenants. Another interesting aspect of the 1967
uprising in Grand Rapids, was the role played by a group of Black Youth who were part of what was called Operation Task Force. This was a program operating out of the old Sheldon Complex [Where the Michigan Works building is now], made up of mostly Black high school student athletes who were tasked with walking the neighborhoods and talking to people to get a sense of what people’s needs were. When the uprising began, these students in the Task Force were asked to help “calm down” the Black youth who were enraged. Ironically, some of these students were physically assaulted by police officers who did not known that the students were actually cooperating with them. Several GR Press articles were printed over the two-day period about the task force, with one headline reading. “Negro Youths calm crowd.” On July 27, the Grand Rapids Press ran an interesting story, one that reflected the dominant culture’s fear about urban Blacks. The July 27 story was based on calls the Press writer made to people in communities near Grand Rapids, communities that were almost exclusively White.
A woman from Ionia said, “We heard they were coming here on Tuesday. We all had our guns ready if we had to.” Another White woman in Lowell was quoted as saying, “I think it is terrible. They are destroying their own property – hurting their own cause.” A resident of Saranac stated, “It is a terrible thing to say, too, but
Current Heartside authorities should open fire on them, do something drastic to wake them up.” A man from Holland agreed with serious force being used against those rioting. He stated, “The troops should have orders to stop them anyway necessary.” These statements clearly demonstrate the entrenched White Supremacist attitudes of the day. According to the Anatomy of a Riot report, there were calls from people on the west side of Grand Rapids who wanted to “volunteer as vigilantes” during the uprising. In fact, the report notes that some White people were arrested during the uprising, because they were in violation of the firearms ban that was put in place. (From Jeff Smith’s “This Day in Resistance History: The 1967 ‘Race Riot’ in Grand Rapids” –Published 7/26/12)
“Miracle on Division Avenue” A seedy section of Grand Rapids now bustles with artists who both live and work there. Has the city found the partners it needs to redevelop South Division? Hey, it worked in Soho ... By Curt Wozniak Photography by Michael Buck In 1998, the four-block stretch of South Division Avenue between Fulton and Williams streets was a corridor of boarded up and blighted buildings where the city’s homeless population slept in doorways and the various forms of illegal commerce greatly outnumbered the legitimate merchants in the once-teeming storefronts.
In other words, the perfect place to open an art gallery. “It probably wasn’t the brightest thing to do,” confessed Reb Roberts, who opened his Division Avenue gallery — Sanctuary Folk Art — in early 1999. “If I’d have gone to a business consultant, they probably would have said, ‘Well, you don’t really want to go down on Division Street …’” Good thing he didn’t go to a business consultant. At the time Sanctuary Folk Art was born, thousands of passers-by zipped along the city’s main north/south surface street and saw only a neighborhood that was down on its luck. But Roberts looked deeper. He took notice of an already vibrant community of outsider artists.
tion to me.” Heartside Ministries had begun nourishing those intuitive artists in 1993 with an art program designed for the neighborhood’s homeless and low-income residents. “We were going to do more regular education classes — GEDs and that kind of thing,” said Ruth Swier, who launched the art program with her husband, Glenn. “But then we discovered that so many people in the neighborhood were really artistic, but they really had trouble being able to afford supplies.” The Swiers began delivering art supplies to the different missions and service agencies along Division Avenue. As the program grew, Heartside Ministries dedicated more space to art. Today, the organization operates Heartside Gallery — a street-level art gallery/ studio — and a pottery program housed in its basement. Along with Roberts, the outsider artists of the Heartside Gallery have become the de facto godparents of a budding South Division arts scene. Over the past two years they’ve been joined by more than 50 young artists, designers and sundry creative-types, all of whom have moved into combined living and working spaces along the “Avenue of the Arts” — as the community development organization Dwelling Place has rechristened Division Avenue.
Reb Roberts “I have a love for intuitive work anyway,” Roberts said, “and I felt that this group of artists — even though they didn’t have any real financial means to promote themselves or to fit into the main stream of the art community — I felt that they were really a big inspira-
Originally incorporated in 1980 by a coalition of area churches and other organizations united in their mission to provide affordable housing and vital services to individuals and families, Dwelling Place has a long history of rehabbing and renting properties along South Division — including the buildings at 140 S. Division Ave. (home of Sanctuary Folk Art) and 54 S. Division Ave. (Heartside Gallery). However, overcoming generations of disinvestment and
negative perceptions one building at a time can be a slow and difficult process. Executive Director Dennis Sturtevant watched as the Van Andel Arena sparked a renaissance along Ionia Avenue. He witnessed the comeback of Commerce Avenue after big investments by Thomas M. Cooley Law School and Western Michigan University. But in his words, “Nobody seemed to be able to figure out Division Avenue.” As Dwelling Place explored strategies for reinvigorating South Division, Sturtevant kept coming back to the same point: It doesn’t bother artists. “They are not only tolerant of diversity and some of the grittiness of the street, but they actually embrace it, and have been very, very good partners in other cities in trying to bring life back to some of these tougher areas to develop,” he said.
for artists and arts organizations in cities across the country. The consultant met with more than a hundred Grand Rapids artists, among them Kendall College of Art & Design alumni A.J. Paschka and Nick Stockton. In 2003, Paschka, a photographer, and multi-media artist Stockton were roommates. They were both looking for studio space in Grand Rapids, but after paying rent on their apartment, their monthly studio budget was meager. “As an artist just out of school at that time, if you didn’t want to leave Grand Rapids, you were basically looking for something that wasn’t provided here,” said Paschka. Their quandary was almost universal among the city’s young artists: “When you’re just starting out in your career, how can you afford two rents?” Stockton asked. Dwelling Place listened.
Heather McGartland To evaluate the idea’s potential for success, Dwelling Place hired a consultant from Artspace, a Minneapolis-based firm committed to creating affordable space
By the spring of 2006, Dwelling Place put its first 23 live/work spaces on the market in the Martineau Apartments, which span 106, 120 and 122 S. Division Ave. Late last year, 14 live/work spaces in the Kelsey Apartments were added — all of them LEED-certified as environmentally friendly construction. As of mid-September, the 37 units — plus a storefront at 136 S. Division Ave. converted into live/work space by furniture designer Cameron Van Dyke and his wife, painter Rachael Van Dyke — housed 56 residents combined. A handful of units were vacant, but Dwelling Place had a waiting list of prospective tenants for each one. The spaces, which range from around 850 square feet to more than 1,600 square feet, feature artist-friendly amenities such as utility sinks, skylights,
adjustable track lighting and open floor plans with moveable walls. All of the spaces meet building codes for residential occupancy, but for the most part, these buildings were all originally constructed for other uses: retail, warehouse, furniture showroom, etc. Merging flexible, open areas for creativity or commerce with the private areas of life — most spaces don’t have separate bedrooms — is a brand new concept in Grand Rapids, even though Dwelling Place consultant Artspace has worked on similar artist housing projects elsewhere, dating back to 1979. Heather McGartland operates a hair salon out of her street level unit at 126 S. Division Ave. The space, dubbed Imagination Creations, doubles as a retail shop where she sells her unique handmade jewelry, clothing and other creations. It triples as her apartment, the only indicators of which are tucked away in a back corner. When shoppers do wander into her bedroom area, McGartland occasionally has to assuage some uneasiness. “The whole concept of living and working out of the same space is still kind of new to people in West Michigan, so I think we’re educating people every day,” McGartland said. “But that’s what I like about it, because I get people in here and I’m always explaining, educating, inviting … and telling the whole story. “For the most part, I’ve noticed the level of understanding grow already.” The confines are inspiring, said artist/musician Hugo Claudin, who had previously rented warehouse space for the pursuit of his art. But, he said, “I could not live in it.”
That’s not the case with Claudin’s second floor unit in the Martineau Apartments — a space he promotes as Mexicains sans Frontiers. He’s got another name for it, too: “It’s a dream come true.” Claudin used to book jazz shows at the now defunct Arco Iris. On the Avenue of the Arts, he hosts house concerts in his apartment, which is large enough to also serve as his painting studio and rehearsal space for his own various musical ensembles. “Plus, it’s very cool for me to be able to live downtown,” he added. “I can put my drums on a cart and just walk them over to the Black Rose for gigs.” The project has worked out well for Paschka and Stockton, too. Paschka’s second floor unit doubles as a photography studio. Stockton originally positioned his storefront space as a contemporary art gallery called FwdSpace. When girlfriend Sally England moved in last March, they transformed it into Space Craft, a shop specializing in local handmade craft objects and clothing, much of which is made by the couple themselves (with some produced by other local artists). The shop has been slow to generate an income, but it’s delivered what Stockton and England — and the Avenue of the Arts project as a whole — wanted to see. “That never really was the plan to begin with — to make an income out of it,” England said. “It was more something that we wanted to do to help promote the neighborhood.”
said Jeffrey Meeuwsen, UICA executive director.
Above: Nick Stockton, Sally England and Sweet Georgia Brown (their cat). In 2008, four newly renovated live/ work spaces in Dwelling Place’s Verne Barry Place — formerly Dwelling Place Inn — will welcome more members of GR’s creative class to the Avenue of the Arts. The newly constructed fivestory addition to the building, which provides affordable housing on its upper floors, also features two marketrate live/work storefronts. The addition was the first new construction along Division Avenue between Fulton and Wealthy streets in half a century. Dwelling Place also hopes to continue discussions next year with the state’s Native American tribes to test the feasibility of a proposed Native American Arts and Education Institute — which has been discussed as an arts-related use for the former Harris Brothers building at 111 S. Division Ave. And the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, a few blocks away at 41 Sheldon Blvd. SE, hopes to finalize plans for its move into a future development at the southwest corner of Fulton and Division. “There is no doubt that the UICA’s move will create great synergy with the Avenue for the Arts as well as other nearby restaurants and retail,”
“We are very fortunate to have an incredible level of young, creative energy being poured into developing the Avenue for the Arts and the Heartside neighborhood,” Meeuwsen continued. “I’m pleased that artists are being recognized as talented community builders — and as such are nurtured with much-needed places to live and work.” Encouraging developments are happening all along the Avenue of the Arts with more on the horizon, but blighted images of South Division still linger. With South Division’s concentration of shelters and missions, the city’s homeless continue to congregate on the sidewalks outside the artists’ lofts. In addition, not every building along the street has been redeveloped. Witness the former home of Chaffee Brothers Furniture Co., 101 S. Division Ave., whose only artistic contributions to the Avenue are its boarded up first-story windows, which are covered in faded street-art. In a part of a city where community pride had been absent for so long, regaining a neighborhood feel takes more than a couple of years. But many Avenue of the Arts residents are more than willing to wait it out. “The police do so much good around here, but there are still issues to deal with in the neighborhood,” Annamarie Buller admitted. She operates a gallery called Fluxus out of her spacious live/work apartment in the Kelsey building. “But we don’t want to gentrify. We want to make this place diverse and keep it affordable, because income-wise, a lot of us artists don’t make much more than the homeless population.
“That’s what’s so great about this project. If you’re willing to stay, it gives you that room to grow in your career and build yourself up here.” For careers in art to fully blossom along the Avenue, artists need to reach potential patrons from all over the city. According to Meeuwsen, the project is not viable in a vacuum. “You cannot expect the artists and the area to thrive without support from the whole community,” he said. That support has been trickling in. This past summer numbers rose to more than 400 shoppers at the monthly Avenue of the Arts artist markets. As attendance at such events goes up, the positive changes that already have taken place along these blocks get communicated to more people, replacing memories of a dispirited street with the experiences of spirited urban life. “When people do come to one of our events, they’re really surprised that this is the same South Division they remember,” said Jenn Schaub, an Avenue of the Arts resident who also works for the Dwelling Place Neighborhood Revitalization Department. “I’ve heard so many times, ‘I had no idea this was here. I had no idea this was happening.’ “I think that’s huge. That’s why we keep doing event-based things, and inviting as many people as possible: Because you can’t believe it until you see it.” (From Grand Rapids Magazine’s “Miracle on Division Avenue” –Published on December 2007)”
A Conclusion:
Because of white supremacy, Heartside was turned into a skid row. Now Avenue of the Arts is perceived as a benevolent force which is rescuing the area from blight and self-destruction because “they are not only tolerant of diversity and some of the grittiness of the street, but they actually embrace it.” The purpose of putting these articles together is to frame Heartside’s relationship to white supremacy: where the neighborhood was deliberately abandoned because of racist attitudes, and then the history has since been revised to being a narrative of white artists saving the area. It may feel wrong to incorporate the Avenue of the Arts era in this narrative of white supremacy, but the same systematic benefits that supported white people in the mid-20th century are the same mechanisms that created the scar where the Avenue of the Arts is flourishing now. I constantly see the Avenue’s “Artists take over” stickers all over the place and it makes me think about what that really means in the context of Heartside. What exactly are they taking over? Who are they taking from? What was taken before and what is being taken now?
-Drew Damron
Holding GR’s Arts Community Accountable: Last fall, a week before (f)ArtPrize, a friend of mine linked to an event sponsored by Avenue for the Arts. On Saturday, September 20, members of Avenue for the Arts would be “Occupying Division” and standing around at Division and Oakes with the express purpose of intimidating and antagonizing “lowlifes and gangbangers” (their language, not mine) and demanding a greater police presence on Division Avenue. Things did not go as planned. The event was cancelled after people saw the event, and rightly criticized it for racism, advocating gentrification, and encouraging the harassment of Heartside residents. When the event creator cancelled the event, she went into a diatribe about how hard it was to live on Division Avenue, and how hard it was to witness homelessness, poverty, and violence. While many people commented on the event’s Facebook page with criticism, only Black critics had their comments removed. What was the most infuriating for me was that many on the Avenue for the Arts thought that an event, using the imperialistic language of the Occupy movement, that advocated harassing Black Heartside residents, held shortly after Michael Brown’s murder in Ferguson, was even remotely acceptable. Organizers were genuinely surprised and taken aback at the criticism, and there was a lot of white tears/liberal defensiveness after people rightly called out the organization for its racism. I want to be clear: I don’t consider myself a More Enlightened White Person(™) because I recognize how violent and ridiculous this shit is. I said and did a lot of the same racist, oppressive bullshit at art school, and, fortunately, I listened to my friends when they called me out on
my bullshit. The arts community in general and the scene in Grand Rapids is not exempt from white supremacy, and it perpetuates racism all the fucking time. “Occupy Division” was not a one-off incident. It’s important that we all keep each other accountable in arts spaces rather than continue to make racist art, in racist spaces, for the benefit of other racists. The following things are directed at other white artists, musicians, zinesters, writers, yarnbombers, spoken word poets, and anyone else who wants to join in being held accountable. Guess what: You’re probably racist. So often the first reaction to being called out in arts spaces is something along the lines of “Me? Racist? But I can’t be racist because I voted for Obama twice/I went to college/I’m an atheist/BUT I’M GAY HOW CAN I POSSIBLY BE RACIST/I’m an artist and artists are all open minded/ Kanye West is my favorite rapper/I’m not racist because I’m 1/16 Cherokee and 1/12 Creole/etc”. After denial, comes a demand for education, ie “How is what I said racist/You need to give me an in-depth explanation on how that is racist/please coddle me because being called racist really hurt my Feelings/Why is gentrification bad prove it/etc” Cut that shit out. Getting called out is awkward and uncomfortable, and that’s okay. Sit in that awkwardness for a minute. Apologize for saying or doing something racist, educate yourself so you know why what you said or did was racist, and then don’t repeat what you said or did. Ever. If you want to educate yourself more on the racist motivations behind redlining, gentrification, structural violence, or police violence, there are plenty of resources out there, such as Google, Black Girl Dangerous, or even this newsletter you’re reading now.
Don’t participate in all white art groups I went down a brief Google rabbit hole and researched the staff and board members of The UICA, GRAM, (f) ArtPrize, and other organizations and institutions in town. All of them have overwhelmingly white boards and staff. Suprise, suprise. As I mentioned earlier, this is the norm at institutions across the country. Not only do all-white art spaces perpetuate structural violence and white supremacy, but they devolve pretty quickly into bland cliched circlejerks. Do better. Don’t try to dominate spaces for artists of color, either. DO amplify, share, support, and buy art from Black and Brown artists. Stop the cultural appropriation bullshit I’m not just talking about bindis, blackface, and warbonnets (though please-stop appropriating those), or a white ex-colleague who didn’t understand why her impression of Nicki Minaj was not appropriate for an improv show. White artists and activists also have a tendency to appropriate symbols created by and for Black activists. Take the Black Power Fist. The Black Power Fist dates back to the goddess Ishtar, and was developed as a symbol by black People within the Black Power Movement. It’s also the logo for The People’s Cider, and Avenue of the Arts created a series of prints of the fist with the caption “#artmatters”.
Tommie Smith and John Carlos didn’t get expelled from the 1968 Olympics so white hipsters could use the Black Power Fist as a trendy logo. Black and Brown communities are not trendy backdrops for your art installations that only benefit white tourists during (f)ArtPrize *Cough* Looking at you, SiteLab, *coughcough* Hold your community accountable The arts community in GR would be significantly less shitty if it wasn’t such a racist hivemind. What would happen if more artists spoke out about racism and structural oppression within the community? Or (ghasp) continued to criticize (f)ArtPrize? Or worked with the organizations that serve Division street and Heartside in empowering the marginalized groups they serve, instead of organizing confrontational tantrums? Holding yourself accountable and examining privilege and Sitting Down And Shutting Up When It Is Needed is a lifelong process, but it is worth it, and your art will be better for it.
-Elena Gormley
Job Postings: Housing Advocate The Inner City Christian Federation, a nonprofit affordable housing developer and service provider, is seeking applicants for the Housing Advocate position. This full time position provides instruction for home ownership and financial education classes, coaching, and individual support services to persons engaged in ICCF’s home ownership and financial capabilities programs. Qualified applicants will possess a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree, previous experience working for a nonprofit; budgeting, financial coaching skills, or equivalent combination of education and experience. Strong computer skills including Microsoft Office applications are required. Qualified applicants please send cover letter and resume to hr@iccf.org by April 13, 2015. Development Manager for Special Events Junior Achievement is seeking a detail oriented person with demonstrated sales skills to manage fundraising events. Responsibilities include coordinating all logistics, developing support materials, securing corporate sponsorships & participants for annual special events in the West Michigan marketplace. The successful candidate will be a highly organized person with good writing and presentation skills. This full time position, based in Grand Rapids, requires a Bachelors Degree and proficiency in Microsoft Office software. Database experience preferred. Send cover letter, salary history, and resume to Junior Achievement, Human Resources, 3351 Claystone St. SE Suite 201, Grand Rapids, MI 49546 by March 31. No phone calls please. Community Health Worker - Lifestyle Coach The National Kidney Foundation of Michigan (NKFM) is looking for individuals who want to empower adults to change their lives. Lifestyle Coach Facilitators deliver the NKFM’s My Choice. . . My Health: Diabetes Prevention Program using curriculum developed by the CDC. Facilitators will help participants develop and maintain the skills needed to adopt healthy eating and physical activity habits, and support participants by providing information, encouraging progress, and working with the group to address any challenges or barriers that arise. My Choice. . . My Health is a year-long program. The first portion of the program consists of 16 one hour weekly sessions, followed by 6 one hour sessions that meet monthly. Facilitators receive free training and certifica-
tion to implement the program and do not need to be health care professionals. A per session stipend is provided to facilitators. Desired skills and experiences: Skills Needed: • Ability to communicate effectively with individuals and in front of a small group • Ability to guide behavior change without prescribing personal actions or solutions • Ability to build relationships with individuals and create community within a group • Ability to work with a diverse group of people of varying ages, ethnici ties, life experiences, etc. • Active listening skills • Enthusiasm and a positive attitude • Knowledge of basic health, nutrition, and fitness principles Good Match For: • Individuals with knowledge of group facilitation and behavior change • Individuals able to commit to facilitating a year long program • Individuals with time to dedicate to session prep, implementation and follow up Requirements & Commitment: • 1 year commitment • Weekly availability to lead class To Apply: Visit nkfm.org/dpp and submit the lifestyle coach online application form, or follow the directions to mail a printed version.
Suggested Resources:
The New Jim Crow by Michielle Alexander
“As the United States celebrates the nation’s “triumph over race” with the election of Barack Obama, the majority of young black men in major American cities are locked behind bars or have been labeled felons for life. Although Jim Crow laws have been wiped off the books, an astounding percentage of the African American community remains trapped in a subordinate status -- much like their grandparents before them.” In this incisive critique, former litigator-turned-legal-scholar Michelle Alexander provocatively argues that we have not ended racial caste in America: we have simply redesigned it. Alexander shows that, by targeting black men and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control, even as it formally adheres to the principle of color blindness. The New Jim Crow challenges the civil rights community -- and all of us - -to place mass incarceration at the forefront of a new movement for racial justice in America.
-(from Goodreads.com)
African Americans in the Furniture City by Randall M. Jelks
African Americans in the Furniture City is unique not only in terms of its subject, but also for its framing of the African American struggle for survival, civil rights, and community inside a discussion of the larger white community. Examining the African-American community of Grand Rapids, Michigan between 1850 and 1954, Randal Maurice Jelks uncovers the ways in which its members faced urbanization, responded to structural racism, developed in terms of occupations, and shaped their communal identities. Focusing on the intersection of African Americans’ nineteenth-century cultural values and the changing social and political conditions in the first half of the twentieth century, Jelks pays particularly close attention to the religious community’s influence during their struggle toward a respectable social identity and fair treatment under the law. He explores how these competing values defined the community’s politics as it struggled to expand its freedoms and change its status as a subjugated racial minority. -(from Goodreads.com)
The BLM GR Writing Team is: Briana Urena-Ravelo Drew Damron Elena Gormley Kyd Kane
Chaka Holley Paris Lara Shannon Fryover
Please send your questions to blmgrandrapids@gmail.com We would love to include your writings, drawings, poetry, photos, and other creations in our next newsletter! If you would like to get involved and/or submit material for the next issue please email blmgrwriting@gmail.com
From the UnsafeAtK Press Conference and Protest on March 6th 2015