Black Lives Matter
Lowell graduate returns to West Michigan to discuss the power of student activism
by (Ashley-benedict)
Submitted 09-20-2016 under PLACE-MATTERS
Leighton Watson is a graduate of Lowell High School and former Student Body President at Howard University and served as an advisor on the 21st century task force on policing with President Obama during the Ferguson crisis. Watson will visit Grand...
I wish my life mattered
by (balexander)
Submitted 07-14-2016 under OPINION
I find myself writing variations of the same idea and telling very different stories that lead to the same theme. The first version of this story is about how I feel like a fish trying to breathe on the sand with those who could choose to throw me...
Black healing matters
by (Briana)
Submitted 07-13-2016 under OPINION
This past week has not been easy to say the least. The murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile have once again galvanized the country to speak out, to activate, to demonstrate, to say "Enough is enough." Black lives matter, Black...You'd stop killing us, if you thought we deserved to live
by (balexander)
Submitted 07-07-2016 under OPINION
If fear were a form of social control – the world is doing an effective job of making examples of black and brown bodies. When bombs terrorized mosques, Muslim communities and Middle Eastern spaces half way across the world the silence of the...
Co-founder of Black Lives Matter to speak at GVSU, simulcast in downtown Grand Rapids
by (Brianna Pannell)
Submitted 01-19-2016 under NEWS
On Wednesday, January 20, Grand Valley State University (GVSU) will host Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) organization that began in 2012. Cullors is based from the Los Angeles area and is known as a freedom...
Art, activism and ArtPrize: Critical Discourse hosts bold criticism, open discussion
by (Mary Brown)
Submitted 10-03-2015 under OPINION
I entered the auditorium for Friday night's Critical Discourse event at the ArtPrize Hub, "Reflecting the Times: Art and Activism" with one burning question to present to the artist on the panel. I was not interested in so much of the...
Illuminating Moments: "In A Promised Land..." illustrates history at ArtPrize
by (katelewisceramics)
Submitted 10-01-2015 under NEWS
Shawn Michael Warren, a representational oil painter, did not come from Harvey, IL to Grand Rapids, MI to win ArtPrize. However, his painting, in the top 25 of the 2-D category right now, is achieving his goal of calling attention to...
Art, activism and taking action to make change
by (katelewisceramics)
Submitted 09-25-2015 under NEWS
On Friday October 2, from 7 p.m - 8 p.m. the topic of "Reflecting the Times: Arts and Activism" will be addressed by a panel of arts experts in front of an audience as part of the Critical Discourse series at the ArtPrize HUB (41 Sheldon...
How We Grow: The inertia of the lone call to action
by (Jeremy Moore)
Submitted 09-10-2015 under VOICES
“…But do not struggle for the Dreamers. Hope for them. Pray for them, if you are so moved. But do not pin your struggle on their conversion. The Dreamers will have to learn to struggle themselves, to understand that the field for their...
Local Black Lives Matter chapter brings learning home from international retreat
by (Kyd Kane)
Submitted 07-07-2015 under PLACE-MATTERS
Black Lives Matter hosted its first international retreat on the Wayne State University campus in Detroit, Mich on June 18, during the Allied Media Conference. Twenty-six chapters, including Black Lives Matter Grand Rapids (BLM GR), were in...