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

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

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

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

Kiswahili Lessons

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

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

Waawiyaatanong: From The Ashes, She Rises

Hadassah GreenSky is a Anishinaabe (LTBB Odawa) artist and multi-instrumentalist living in Detroit, Michigan. She is a graphic designer and painter, as well as a bead worker, dancer, seamstress, and… Read More

Climate Change Won’t Wait! Neither Should We! The Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition Demands Community Led Action for a Healthy and Just Future.

Since it’s founding in 2011, The Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition (MEJC) has worked tirelessly to put the needs of community members over those of corporations and front and center in… Read More