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

Riverwise Turns 5!

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

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

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 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 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

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

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