Special Citizen Empowerment Issue

Fall 2022

Case Study 1 – “We Deserve a Say, too”

A Valerie Jean Blakely photo Photo Description: A few of the amazing youth leaders from the ECN Youth group after a Riverwise Writing Workshop held at the ECN. Pictured from… Read More

Case study 2 – Knowing what keeps us safe: A report on the Green Lights Black Future’s Community Safety Survey

Photography by Rebecca Smith Graphic Images Designed by Lauren Williams. Knowing what keeps us safe: A report on the Green Light Black Futures Community Safety Survey Since Project Green Light… Read More

Case Study 3 – One Detroiter Looks Back: The Long Struggle for Cleaner Air

Photography by kim d. hunter Work to shut down the Detroit trash incinerator- at one point, the largest in the world- began even before the monstrosity was built. Three decades,… Read More

Case study 4 – Detroit’s Right to Counsel Victory Shows the Power of the People

Photographer is Adrienne D. Warren, Mrktg Consultant & Publicist People in the photo are Rea Maci, Bonsitu Kitaba, Tonya Myers Phillips, Mary Sheffield, Chinelo Onuigbo, Banke Llori, and Evan Villeneuve… 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

Dr. Naomi Long Madgett Poet Laureate of the City of Detroit 1923 – 2020

Born in Norfolk, VA in 1923, Dr. Naomi Long Madgett was an active member of the Detroit community from 1946. In her early teaching career, she was a curriculum innovator… Read More

A LOVE LETTER TO OUR LEGAL COMMUNITY: A CALL TO ACTION AFTER THE 2020 ELECTIONS

Dear Legal Community, This summer, we saw the largest mobilization of protest in U.S. history. Across the country, communities rose up in love and rage, for Breonna Taylor, George Floyd,… Read More

Letter of Hope From Movement Elders to Young Activists

Letter of Hope Learnings from lived experiences From Movement Elders to Young Activists November 2020 The National Council of Elders was organized in 2011 to bring together leaders of the… Read More

Testimony of Paul Jackson People’s Tribunal on the Execution of Hakim Littleton

Detroit October 25, 2020 Sponsored by the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability On Sunday, October 25, the Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability held a People’s Tribunal at which… Read More

A Block Club In the Making

Piper Carter has embarked on a journey, building community one step at a time. Located near west Chicago Blvd. and Schaefer, Carter and a few neighborhood allies are reconstituting the… Read More

Apocalyptic and Revolutionary Education

Today’s youth face fearsome challenges in what our society calls “mental health,” some as a result of having suffered childhood traumas, but many others simply from the stress of trying… Read More