Click To Download Riverwise Fall Edition 25

2024

Megan Douglass – Editorial: Follow The Money

There is no sugarcoating the Truth. These are tumultuous times. The more conversations I have the more I encounter an ever present uncertainty about the future, sadness about the state… Read More

Khyla Bussey: The Blind Pig, Detroit 1967

A ceremonial scene; light a cigarette with an ashed finger to soothe the emotional anguish, indignant vestige. Inhale the lingering smoke; soft pedal into an aesthetic dimension; jive against… Read More

Detroit Will Breathe: Why We Need a Mass Movement Fighting Racist Policing at Home and Abroad!

The Current State of Policing Today, May 25th, 2024 marks the four year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder and the largest uprising and social movement in the history of the… Read More

Marcellus Williams: Perspectives and Emotions

i have this place where i can go (a place of calm) - but still i need help there is no way to make it all by myself -you see… Read More

Emergent Justice: Dismantling The School -to- Prison Pipeline

Leslie Cieplechowicz – Ventra Asana: Creating Bird Meadows within Detroit

“As an ecology minister, one who situates the value of earthcare at the center of my ministerial calling, I believe that the protection of nature is a divine mandate, not… Read More

Russ Bellant: Tax Abuse in the City

The fight for tax justice in Detroit affects every resident of the city. You are subject to tax injustices if: you pay property taxes or a water bill, or if… Read More

Jennifer Disla: Who does America Belong to…

America founded through oppression Built its capital on Black Bodies Yet Pilgrims came in search of religious freedom But whose freedom Who decides what freedom means Who decides which religion… Read More

Mediterranean Fire Project, Curated by Habibah Sheikh

These works were created in response to poetic texts written by Habibah Sheikh, a nomadic performance artist originally from Lebanon, and curator of the exhibition Mitli Mitlak (Like Me, Like… Read More

Rev. Deb Hansen: Perspectives from the People’s Conference for Palestine

On the last weekend this past May, the People’s Conference for Palestine: Our Struggle for Liberation was held at Huntington Place in Detroit. Convened by fifteen organizations, the conference drew… Read More

Bill Wylie-Kellerman: Book Review -No Guilty Bystander: The Extraordinary Life of Bishop Thomas Gumbleton by Frank Fromherz and Suzanne Sattler

In a fitting coincidence of gospel nonviolence, Detroit Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton, 94, crossed over to God in fullness on April 4, 2024, the anniversary of the assassination of Martin… Read More

Tawana Petty: Alchemizing Violence

Purveyors of violence Do not goad us into peace They distribute ammunition In biometric vending machines They coerce cult retribution Erode all sensibilities Oblivious to the Frankensteins Alchemized inside their… Read More

Laura Bailey Brandon: Island

For thousands of years you were a sacred place to the Anisshanabee. A marshy peninsula hugged by the clear waters of a mighty river. An entry point for those passing… Read More

Myrtle Thompson-Curtis and Aminah Thompson: The Feedom Freedom Growers Youth Enrichment Program (Y.E.P)

This is a collaborative article written by Myrtle Thompson-Curtis and her granddaughter, Aminah Thompson (18). In 2009 the Manistique Community Garden was started on the west side of Detroit. After… Read More

kim d. hunter: when

when you blame yourself for bills and bad actors that flood your living space on the regular, that seep through holes in your pocket as the robots of repossession block… Read More

Gabrielle Knox and Josmine Evans: Sowing Stories Through The Soil; Reaping JOY As We Grow

What is theJOYproject? More than a community garden, though not exactly a farm; theJOYproject is more what we see to be a living archive of Afro-Atlantic agriculture and foodways. Now… Read More

Nickie Van Lier: Who Pays for Environmental Quality in Detroit? Stormwater Management, Water Affordability, and the “83/17 Split”

Few Detroiters would be surprised to learn that water rates in the city have increased by 400% since the early 2000s. Although this statistic is staggering, Detroiters have been confronted… Read More

Riverwise Community ‘Zine Making At The Potluck Detroit: Perfect In Our Imperfections: Creating With Our Hearts and Hands

This past Memorial Day, Riverwise collaborated with the folks from The Talking Dolls Studio on the Eastside of Detroit to host a zine making event at their annual community art… Read More

Benton Harbor Water Struggle

Folks from Flint, Highland Park, and Detroit arrived in Benton Harbor on July 10, 2021, to support because we know what the Benton Harbor community is going through all too… Read More

Learning As We Grow: Turning Disappointments into Moments For Healing Reflection

This past August, when many Detroiters who had worked long and hard to help revise the City Charter learned that the passage of Proposal P had failed, they took to… Read More

Fall 2021 Editorial

In the TV series Game of Thrones, the saying “winter is coming” has become infamous as a potent reminder that change is on the horizon, and you must get prepared… Read More

Communities of Interest: Why Your Voice Is Essential in the Michigan Districting Process

What is Gerrymandering? Many of us are familiar with the term “gerrymandering.” We often hear it used in conjunction with the notion that our elected officials are doing something not… Read More

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib Rare Commitment to Advocacy for People’s Rights

Photo by Valerie Jean Can I Get a Witness? Testimony on the Commitment of Rashida Tlaib By Sara Habbo The Detroit and Michigan Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG)… Read More

Detroit Youth Reflect on Police Violence

An insightful, sensitive conversation about the crisis In the last two years, children in this country have lived through two profoundly destabilizing social upheavals. Through the media and in their… Read More

An urgent call to secure medical care for trans youth

Photo courtesy of Getty Images Horrific anti-transgender bills are being pushed all over the nation that call for a ban on lifesaving medication for trans youth and jail time for… Read More

Let’s Reimagine together

Let's swim in 9ft deep Let's watch the pain away Let's be honest Let's be authentic Let's be fierce Let's not be afraid to hide Breaking glass ceilings Knocking shit… Read More

Anthony Adams lays out his mayoral plans

Interview with Khary Frazier Detroit Is Different KF: Can you share your background and relationship to Detroit? AA: I moved to Detroit in 1981. At that time I [had just] graduated… Read More

From campus racial equity activism to the Mayor’s Office

Maya Jones calls young leaders to step up to Detroit city politics (Detroit mayoral candidate Maya Jones’s story from an interview with Khary Frazier, June 30, 2021. Riverwise ed.) I… Read More

The Larsosa family’s going to help make it all Krystal clear!

Khary Wae Frazier, founder of Detroit Is Different podcast, interviewed mayoral candidate Jasahn M. Larsosa and Detroit City Council candidate Krystal Larsosa. The married couple discussed their Southern roots, their… Read More

If I Was Mayor Of My City

Photo by Marc Klockow If I was mayor of my city I would I would take care of my city Make sure everybody good right They ain't tryna make it… Read More

Why are there so many write-in candidates?

Circumstances caused by the pandemic created unique challenges that resulted in some candidates having their petitions rejected. As a result, the August 2021 local primary election has 31 write-in candidates… Read More

We remember these ancestors… When City Council Members Fought for the People

Let’s remember their names. Erma Henderson (1917-2009) Mel Ravitz (1924-2010) Maryann Mahaffey (1925-2006) Ken Cockrel, Senior (1938-1989) What does a caring, committed, activist local electoral leadership look like? What can… Read More