Summer

2022

border crosser

my father's story is not singular. he is a border crosser, he crossed the border, the border crossed him. filled with hope that looked like a stormy night. waiting in… Read More

EDITORIAL: No Borders, No Bars: Abolition Is the Only Way Forward

There are borders all around us. From our declarations of membership in a particular nation, to our identifications with our particular states, cities, or neighborhoods, to our establishment of cliques… Read More

Kiswahili Lessons

Boggs Center Study Circles to Deepen, Grow and Struggle

“The core of our philosophy is that all human beings are capable of change. And that our desire as humans is to be healthy, to be whole, to feel safe… Read More

Joy in Community Study

Border & Rule: Global Migration, Capitalism, and the Rise of Racist Nationalism by Harsha Walia, H In gloomy and despairing times, we who work for liberation generate light and joy.… Read More

Coalition Calls for Federal investigation into Detroit Police Use of Excessive Force

The Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability is calling for renewed federal oversight of the Detroit Police Department (DPD) based on a 25 percent rise in incidents of excessive force… Read More

Mass Incarceration in the U.S.A.

CUPID

Of course, we cannot say that Kyle Rittenhouse is guilty. Because this is America. And he is presumed innocent until proven otherwise. But for what it’s worth, he is White.… Read More

a poem for Trans day of visibility

"what does trans visibility mean to me?" visible to whom? i must ask myself to cis eyes? society? The government? the medical complex? what it means to me is suspicion. … Read More

What It Really Means to Be Pro-Life: The Absurdity of Abortion Legislation in the U.S.

Right now, we are waiting. Waiting to see how our bodily autonomy will be infringed upon AGAIN. It harkens back to the unspoken rule about black bodies in this country.… Read More

Across borders real and imagined, Palestinians have to fight for the right to die — and live — in peace

Photo by H.A. Photo caption: On May 11, 2021, thousands of anti-occupation protestors gathered outside the Israeli Consulate General in Manhattan to decry Israel's bombing of Gaza and ethnic cleansing… Read More

An Analysis Brief on Sections of Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa The Importance of Questions: A Revolutionary Pedagogy and Praxis for 2022 Detroit

It is important to remember that in the preface to How Europe Undeveloped Africa (HEUA), Dr. Walter Rodney, at age 30, begins by focusing the reader’s attention to the fact… Read More

Some call it Liberated Zones – Others: Peace Zones, Freedom Zones, Beloving Community and Healing – We call it HOME

For decades Detroiters have witnessed gentrification, displacement, marginalization, corporate and elite political control, and sale (stealing) of land. This is while simultaneously engaging in struggles to end water shut-offs while… Read More

Stop Arresting Kids, Start Listening to Them

After the tragic shooting at Oxford High School on November 30th, 2021, hundreds of schools across Michigan received copycat threats that caused them to cancel school, enter lockdown procedures for… Read More

CAN YOU SEE ME

I greet family, friends and strangers with a sunny smile, dressed in my best attire, they glance at me and say, “You look good.” Not seeing me as they could.… Read More

Youth Activists Check in on Neighbors:

Staying Connected During COVID-19 By Riverwise Editorial Team The EMEAC (East Michigan Environmental Action Council) Youth Street Team recently demonstrated the power of direct organizing. They spent ten consecutive Sundays… Read More

Message to Detroit Freedom Fighters: Commemorating the 1963 Protest of the Police Murder of Cynthia Scott

First, we wish to give a warm thanks to all of you courageous souls, especially the youth, for standing up to oppose the systemic… Read More

Green Chairs Not Green Lights: Keeping Perspective During Covid-19

In 2019, Detroit Community Technology Project (DCTP) partnered with coalition members, the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership (Boggs Center), Green Light Black Futures Coalition, Feedom… Read More

Beyond Reform: The Detroiters’ Bill of Rights

A strong community-based coalition brought together by Detroit City Council President Pro Tempore Mary Sheffield and Council member Raquel Castañeda-Lopez introduced a Detroiters’ Bill of Rights that outlines basic values… Read More

Police “Reform:” A Totally Obsolete Illusion

In this article, I present excerpts from a historic presentation by the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality (DCAPB) to the Detroit City Council. This November 30, 1998 statement of the… Read More

Police “Reform:” A Totally Obsolete Illusion

Police “Reform:” A Totally Obsolete Illusion In this article, I present excerpts from a historic presentation by the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality (DCAPB) to the Detroit City Council. This… Read More

Beyond Policing To Community Peacekeeping

Riverwise 2020 Summer Special Issue Editorial Beyond Policing To Community Peacekeeping Throughout this extended season of crises and mourning, activists nationwide have intensified our thinking about dismantling unjust systems. In… Read More

We Need Federal Funds, Not Federal Agents!

Photo by Adam Dewey Notes From The Movement We Need Federal Funds, Not Federal Agents! by Monica Isaac Before attending a mass demonstration at the ATF building on July 29th… Read More

Enduring Connections Sustain Us Through Crisis

Enduring Connections Sustain Us Through Crisis by Megan Douglass There is an old Swahili proverb that has stuck with me ever since I first read it… Read More

Great Lakes Activists Continue Fight Against DTE Nuclear Reactor

Great Lakes Activists Continue Fight Against DTE Nuclear Reactor by Jesse Deer In Water Siyo, tohitsu? Hello, how are you? A common greeting amongst my peoples in Northeast Oklahoma, The… Read More

Fighting Racist Surveillance in Detroit

Fighting Racist Surveillance in Detroit Flashing green lights let you know you’re being watched by Bill Wylie-Kellermann Reprinted with permission from Sojourners, March 2020, (800) 714-7474, www.sojo.net. WE GATHERED THIS fall… Read More

Spring 2020 Riverwise Editorial/A Matter Of Survival

Photo Credit: Keviyan Richardson Spring 2020, Riverwise Editorial A Matter of Survival The brutal murder of George Floyd has propelled thousands of people into the streets demanding a radical shift… Read More

Sustained Protest: The Beginnings of System-Change

Photo by Keviyan Richardson The daily protest demonstrations against police brutality in Detroit have been relatively peaceful. Yet, until yesterday, police response has been extremely antagonistic. Nearly 150 protesters were… Read More

Disconnect Goes Even Further Than Water Shutoffs

Photos by Valerie Jean Disconnect Goes Even Further Than Water Shutoffs by Eric T. Campbell (interview with Reverend Roslyn Bouier recorded on April 16, 2020) The shelter-in-place order mandated by… Read More