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

A Heart for the City. Show Up, Speak Up!

Khary Frazier Interviews Krystal Crittendon Khary Frazier: Thank you so much. We're trying to get information out for this local election season. But can you tell us a little about… Read More

It’s Election Time… What Kind of City Do We Want?

Riverwise has partnered with Khary Frazier’s Detroit Is Different to bring you this special issue on our citywide elections. We are deeply grateful to Khary for the enormous amount of… Read More

Generational Memory, Healing, and the Power of Ancestry

Relentless Bodies is a Detroit-based creative disability and healing justice collective. The collective currently consists of Owólabi Aboyade (Will See), a New Afrikan writer and cultural organizer, Taraneh Fazeli, an… Read More

Shirley Woodson

IMAGE: Shirley Woodson Photo Credit: Patrick Barber. I know Shirley Woodson as one of the matriarchs of art and culture in Detroit. She is a pillar -- as a former… Read More

THE RHYTHM OF DETROIT IS THE RHYTHM OF THE LINE

IMAGE: Background Art: Detroit Industry Murals by Diego Rivera, 1932-1933, Detroit Institute of Arts. If you want to think about Detroit You have to think about the line That is,… Read More

Let’s Cultivate Detroit’s Own Assets

Image: Valerie Jean When we talk about the health of Detroit, whether it’s thriving or struggling, we’re usually talking about its physical health—how many buses are running, which schools are… Read More

Lynching and Crucifixion A Holy Week Meditation

IMAGE: Standing next to a handmade crucifix, Bill Wylie-Kellerman reads the meditation in front of Detroit Police Headquarters. Photo credit: Three Lyons Creative Each Holy Week for 47 years, the… Read More

Detroit Will Breathe & National Lawyers Guild Win Major Victories in BLM Movement

IMAGE: Nakia Wallace restrained in a chokehold by Detroit police at Detroit Will Breathe Protest. Photo by Adam Dewey. We are celebrating that since the writing of the following article… Read More

Dazzling Cultural Swag MASKS MADE IN DETROIT

Diop was founded in Detroit in 2018, just in time to provide beautiful facemasks to help us get through the pandemic. Diop produces reusable, cotton, washable facemasks, including sizes for… Read More

Red Packets

Background Art: During the Chinese New Year celebration, there is a tradition of offering gifts — especially to the children — in brightly decorated red envelopes that convey best wishes… Read More

Punjabi Culture Empowers Farmers’ Protests in India

IMAGE: Parchaváyn (Shadows) by Navjeet Kaur. Watercolor, coffee, charcoal, hair, and thread on paper. - 2016. India is in the midst of the largest protest in human history during a global… Read More

Significant Changes Amidst Setbacks and Trauma

As summer approaches, we are reaching out tentatively to one another, slowly finding ways to re-establish connection with family, friends, and community. Marked by incalculable losses and sorrow through the… Read More

Realizing A People’s Plan In 2021

Despite a year of grievous health crises and economic challenges, we end 2020 affirming the work that is being done to advance the relationships with one another and to promote… Read More

READING LIST AND NOTES TOWARDS ENDING POLICE VIOLENCE

A call to read, study and debate What does abolition mean? Why is it better than reform? What class do the police (and the military) serve and protect, both inside… Read More