As news of Michigan’s Board of State Canvassers finally certifying Michigan’s 2020 election results sinks in, it’s worth drawing attention to the antics of hyper-partisan Board member Norman Shinkle in the process. While his Republican colleague Aaron Van Langevelde acted honorably, following Michigan’s law that requires the Board of State Canvassers to certify the election and voting YES to certify, […]

All eyes have been on Wayne County, Michigan for the past week as we waited for their Board of Canvassers to certify the election. Last evening, the election board — which is comprised of two Democrats and two Republicans — met to certify the county’s election. However, in a shocking and quite possibly illegal move, the two Republican members, Monica […]

The following essay was written by students in the Detroit Public Schools Community District. At a time when the Overton Window view about the role of policing in our society is shifting ever more to the left, their voice is important and deserves to be heard. Organized by the group 482Forward which is working for a quality education for EVERY […]

A couple of years ago, I wrote this: I have been saying for years (since 2011, precisely) that Emergency Management is a model that will not work to solve the intractable problems that have led to financial crises in our state’s former urban manufacturing hubs. Emergency Managers are armed only with tools of DEstruction, not with tools of CONstruction. They […]

Michael Bennet, US Senator from Colorado and presidential candidate, had what the pundits this morning are calling “a moment” at last night’s Democratic Debate on CNN. Let’s hope that moment ends immediately. Ironically enough, Bennet’s big moment came as he waxed poetic about “America’s public schools”, a topic that has received a depressingly minuscule amount of attention. Because while Bennet […]

As classes began this week in the Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD), teachers learned they are beginning the year with the sort of austerity and inadequate supplies that has become the tragic hallmark of this neglected school system. A teacher at one of the high schools in the DPSCD sent me an email received by all of the teachers […]

In 2013, Michigan governor Rick Snyder imposed an Emergency Manager on the city of Detroit. With that move 49% of the African Americans in Michigan were without a democratically-elected local government. His appointed Emergency Manager was given full control over the city. This past week, Gov. Snyder continued his disenfranchisement of Detroiters when he chose the date of the special […]

When Anne and I went to the Women’s March in Washington, D.C. on January 21st this year, our lives were changed. Not since the Equal Rights marches in the 70s had I seen women rising up and claiming their political voice with such intensity and determination. They gathered there and around the country with their allies to say, “Women will […]

I am a social justice organizer who enjoys introducing conferences and other social justice initiatives to my great city, Detroit. However, it’s more than just organizing. It’s a responsibility that I find as difficult as I find rewarding. Detroit is a city that is over 80% black. It is a city that was disinvested in for many decades and, in […]

The 22nd Annual Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed Conference (PTO) will be held in Detroit, Michigan from June 1st – 4th and Detroiters can attend the entire conference for just $30! The PTO conference will be in Detroit commemorating the 50th Anniversary of 1967 Detroit Rebellion and Dr. Martin Luther King’s speech, Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence – […]

The following guest post was written by Dennis L. Green, a retired certified Professional Engineer from the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD). Dennis graduated from Cass Technical High School’s Electrical program in 1963 and received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Lawrence Tech in 1969. After graduation, Dennis went to work for the Detroit Water Department, Engineering […]