Spring Issue 24

2024

Creating Other Worlds: Abolition As A Portal To The Possible

Many of us are familiar with the idea of abolition from history lessons that link it with the fight to end chattel slavery in the United States. However, given this… Read More

A Call to Social Justice Movements & Organizations: Build collective safety AND fight the carceral state and state-sanctioned violence

More info here! https://www.muslimsforjustfutures.org/blog/acalltosocialjusticemovements Read More

What Happens When You Uproot a Cedar Tree?

what happens when you uproot a cedar tree? when the stories kept captive in its trunk lie dormant in the arab spring what happens when the roots have absorbed the… Read More

I don’t know your ocean, but I know our lakes

I don’t know your ocean, but I know our lakes. And I imagine the love I have for my lake is the same as you have for your ocean. I… Read More

Accountability and Transparency Now! How Detroiters Can Leverage Their Right to Civilian Oversight

The City of Detroit Charter, item #5 of the Declaration of Rights states “The City’s police forces are in all cases and at all times in strict subordination to the… Read More

There should be no exception to the promise

Slavery was supposed to have ended with the end of the Civil War and the creation and ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865. It was supposed to enshrine a… Read More

We demand freedom for all US-held Political Prisoners and Prisoners of War!

"It is extremely essential to support our political prisoners and prisoners of war. How else do we show our appreciation for their selfless labors and sacrifice on behalf of us… Read More

I Tried to Join the Police Force; It Was Toxic.

There is a famous quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., which goes “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” It is one that… Read More

Confessions of a Former Cop

It’s a hard pill to swallow when you are used for bad, Trying to go against the grain but you get why people are mad. The boys in blue represent… Read More

A Police Department with a City

Illustration by Amanda Matyas Israel has been called “not a country with an army, but an army with a country.” The proliferation of military equipment, tactics and culture… Read More

Care: A Revolutionary Idea for Responding to Crises

Photo by lance hicks Late one night, Grey received a call from a nurse informing him that his sibling had been forcibly injected with an antipsychotic after an altercation with… Read More

Song for Weelaunee

As helicopters chopped the sky above our heads and tear gas drifted on the breeze, police blocked an entrance to the massive law enforcement training facility they’re determined to build… Read More

Defend ALL or Defund ALL! Tales from a 70 year old #BadAssGrandma

Ok, so I’m not your everyday elder white lady. People often question what led me to be so involved in movement work. They wonder at this fierce older white lady… Read More

Concerts at The Cut and Jazzin’ at the Vanity

“Live music is the beating heart of our city. People look forward to engaging with it. It intertwines itself seamlessly into every facet of our identity. Beyond good eats, our… Read More

RESTLESS DEFIANCE

Yes we are nervous about tomorrow, about the future. Yes we care, and we carry the load. Yes we are insistent on a better world because we know it exists. … Read More

A New Threat to Anishinaabe territory: Transition Mines and The Green(washed) Talon Mine

A new era of corporate extraction is upon us, this time with a deceptive “green” veil. In the midst of the climate crisis, mining companies are positioning themselves as beneficiaries… Read More

Goliath Brown

Never knew equality after being subjected to prejudices spent worldwide. Chocolate, mahogany, sienna, hazel or olive, my actions have always been typified by the darkness of my skin. Perceived as… Read More

Be A lover Coloring Page

Printable coloring page! Please print it, color it, share it, and tag Riverise! Konstance Patton Ke-nee-go-keshek is an Indigenous American Artist, Muralist, Designer, and Oral Historian working between Detroit, Michigan,… Read More

So Much Bad News

Sometimes, when you get so much bad news you struggle to sort through it. What should be prioritized, what’s the point? Do I choose to report on the lady whose… Read More

Reflections on Mutual Aid: Mother Earth’s Call to Action for Regeneration

Living cooperatively is no easy task. As humans, we are all one species but we all have distinct fingerprints. This duality between self and group based identities might lead one… 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

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

Creating a Culture of Peace: Ukraine, Buffalo, Uvalde

We are offering this out of our deep concern for the future. We are appalled at the brutality of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the killing and uprooting of thousands, and… Read More

The Role of Wellness Practitioners in Revolution

“I share this with you because you are what’s possible”-Adela Nieves Martinez As an African, queer, and nonbinary Reiki practitioner and Master Teacher, I often reflect on how honored I… Read More

Building Bridges: My Experience Working in a shelter at the US/Mexico Border

Feb 12. I arrive at Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas, a place of hospitality and grace, offering sanctuary and practical support for people seeking refuge from violence, poverty, climate… Read More

Violence At The Border: Deathscapes and Defiance

With their most recent decision in Egbert v. Boule, the violence required to enforce borders has been expanded in yet another draconian ruling by the Supreme Court. The court has… 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

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

Nothing ends with the law. Let’s talk about life after “Roe.” An attorney, a clinic director, and an abortion doula talk about life after Roe.

Scan the QR code with your phone to listen or click HERE! Kelly Hayes is the host of Truthout’s podcast “Movement Memos” and a contributing writer at Truthout. Kelly’s written… 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

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

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

Mass Incarceration in the U.S.A.

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