Spring

2023

We’ve Always Been All We Need: Mutual Aid As Radical Co-Conspiratorship Throughout History

There is something irresistible about being a part of spaces aimed at overthrowing systems which pit human beings against one another. From passionate debates in community centers over strategic visions… Read More

Riverwise Turns 5!

Fly

fly for Detroit u Fly so fly back fly black to industrial complexes feeding on soul food lick fingers till they drip poems till they raise souls unfinished rebuke anyone… Read More

Legacies of Mutual Aid in the Rising Tide

In June 2021, tens of thousands of homes were flooded as massive and unprecedented rainfall in Detroit met inadequate and disinvested water and energy infrastructure. The highways filled to the… Read More

Nexus (Mackinac Bridge)

“Nexus” Original Photograph by William T. Langford IV What they don't tell you about bridge-building is that it’s all about the rivets. You see, the industrial strength braided steel cables and iron bar-reinforced… Read More

The Language of Waters Speaks to Us All

I believe that art is a universal language. It is a form of communication that every individual can understand, no matter their origin, no matter the language that rolls off… Read More

An Understory – for St Peters

beneath the high altar, where icons watch, flicker in candleflame, direct below, and precisely so, a kitchen stovetop flames for decades, bringing to boil a rotation of hearty soups (confess… Read More

Existence Over Living

Poverty stirs me awake. I press to the window for a ray of sun to hit my upturned face. I see the cool waters of Spring bubbling up through the… Read More

Will Michigan become a Sanctuary State for Reproductive Freedom?

On June 24th, 2022, the United States Supreme Court ruled against constitutional protections for the right to receive an abortion. For one this ruling has massive implications for bodily autonomy… Read More

Stewardship as Ownership

Participants in action at the Build a Chair = Reframe a House workshop, Detroit Reuse Collective. Editor’s Note: Note: A previous version of the essay was published in Log 54 Centering… Read More

Compassion, Solidarity, Care: Detroit-Area Youth Respond to the Pandemic

“Oh my god I can’t believe my teacher just . . .” “Y’all see this tweet from the superintendent?” “When’s winter break start?” “They just changed up my schedule and… Read More

1954 / 2022

“Separate and unequal” Has an evil sequel: The devilish creation Of racial segregation Is abject subjugation And clear discrimination. So found ‘Brown Versus Board of Education.’ True reconciliation And total… Read More

Ready, Set, Listen!

Dr. Martin Reinhardt is president of the Michigan Indian Education Council, lead singer, and songwriter for the band Waawiyayaa (The Circle). He is a tenured professor of Native American Studies… Read More

Cold Turkey

Photo by Laura BaileyBrandon taken on the North Country Trail in Wilderness State Park (Carp Lake MI) A retrospective of the author’s last six years, retiring from community activism in… Read More

Mutual Aid In Michigan

Photo by Laura Bailey Brandon Community Support Networks & Services Alternatives for Girls: alternativesforgirls.org Back Alley Bikes: backalleybikes.org Black To the Land Coalition: On FB @ BlackToTheLandCoalition Church of the… Read More

Protect The Waters Shut Down Line 5

Protect the Waters Shut Down Line 5 Dear water, Thank you for all the things that you do. I just wanted to say thank you! Your freshwater and saltwater components… Read More

Building Pipelines For Peace: Water Protectors Come Together To Demand The Shut Down of Line 3

In late summer, I had the honor of traveling to Anishinaabe land (so-called “Northern Minnesota”) to support the indigenous-lead resistance against the Line 3 pipeline being non-consensually built on native… 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