Racism
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...
The big picture: When you teach your kids racism, they will perform
by (balexander)
Submitted 09-13-2016 under OPINION
This past weekend I found myself at a conference in New York City discussing economic mobility for young people and scratching my head at the rhetoric being pushed by presenters and how conference planners seemingly erased the fact that disparity...
Equity Drinks to feature two local candidates for office at The Meanwhile
by (misachievement)
Submitted 09-06-2016 under PLACE-MATTERS
There is no question that “equity” and the disparities that exist, are topics discussed in the public sphere. From the looming presidential election to the countless hashtags of citizens slain due to police brutality, issues of equity,...
In order to heal, communities must listen
by (balexander)
Submitted 08-16-2016 under OPINION
Each day I wake up, I am confronted with a singular truth; the world that lies outside my front door has no space for my pain. Not only is it void of space for my pain, my ability to achieve economic mobility and professional success essentially...
Solutions Summit on policing: No healing, just solutions
by (balexander)
Submitted 07-29-2016 under NEWS
We are, more often than not, confronted with truths simultaneously. But let’s get some painful admissions out of the way. First, we suck at multi-tasking. Second, we have a way of silencing the priorities of others to make space for our own....
'Unity before justice is insulting'
by (Siangani)
Submitted 07-19-2016 under OPINION
The idyllic portrayal of a nation in racial unity is one of America's most pervasive mythos. But when exactly was America united racially? From slavery, to Jim Crow and segregation in the Reconstruction Era, to the current age of mass...
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...
Celebrating Loving Day in Grand Rapids and its legacy in justice
by (balexander)
Submitted 06-07-2016 under PLACE-MATTERS
Ever since I can remember I have been hopelessly in love with love. I would regularly consume the Disney fairytales as a child where men were always coming to the princess’s rescue. I had this addiction to the anime series "Sailor Moon,...
"Caroline, or Change" full of raw feeling, captures strength of community theater
by (Luis Rodriguez)
Submitted 05-31-2016 under OPINION
I have strolled through Porter Hall, the rehearsal room, in the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre many times by now – and this time was no different, at first. The accent brick wall drawing in the four corners while the aging hardwood floor is masked...