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* Issue #1 of Riverwise is here!
* Rally Against School Closures * Resisting Trump is WORKING! * Dilla Youth Day Detroit *Educating for Democracy * Emory *Douglas Feedom Freedom fundraiser *Standing with Standing Rock *Detroit Youth Day Detroit Historical Museum |
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Living for Change News
February 8, 2017 |
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Issue #1 of Riverwise is here! Riverwise is a community-based magazine created by a team of authors, writers, photo- journalists, parents, grandparents, students, organizers, activists, artists, educators and visionaries. We are working together to create media that re ect local activism and the profound new work being done in and around Detroit neighborhoods. We envision deepening relationships through media that serve as an essential part of weaving beloved communities. We will celebrate personal Detroit stories and the process of evolving ideas. LOOK FOR ISSUE #1 at area bookstores, newstands, coffee shops and more ![]() Resisting Trump is WORKING! For everyone who believed in #resist, congrats on helping with the following successful efforts. – Betsy TaylorBecause of you:
1. Federal hiring freeze is reversed for VA (Veteran Affairs). 2. Federal judge imposes temporary nationwide halt to Trump’s travel ban. 3. Green card holders can get back in country after massive airport protests and litigation efforts. Iraq war vetswere part of those protests. 4. Uber CEO drops off presidential advisory council and pledges $3M and immigration lawyers for its drivers after #DeleteUber trends on Twitter. 200,000 Uber users drop the app. Lyft gives 1m to American Civil Liberties Union to fight immigration ban. 5. Obamacare (Affordable Care Act) enrollment ads are still going to air with help from private companies. 6. The ACLU raised 24M over one weekend (normally 3-4Mil/year). 7. HHS, EPA, USDA gag order lifted due to tremendous protests and pressure. 8. 800,000 scientists have signed up for a march in support of science. 9. More people of different career/religious/economic/ethn ic/gender backgrounds are considering running for political office than ever before. 10. White House contender Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has opposed almost all of Trump’s nominations and is getting support as a result. 11. Trump’s approval ratings are low by historical comparisons.
12. Governors are standing up against Trump – most notably in California. They are joined by over 17 state attorney generals.
13. Big City mayors are defying Trump on immigration issues and more.
14. Renewable energy is growing despite Trump, and is likely to continue to do so.
15. High profile athletic teams – and many others – are joining the effort to boycott Trump hotels. 16. Theaters are absolutely packed with viewers of the just released and extraordinary documentary on James Baldwin. This must see film is the latest in asking us to face the racism that continues to plague the heart of America.
17. There will be a growing number of efforts to impeach Trump.
18. Reproductive rights activists are pushing for protection at state level.
19. The White House has pulled back from reopening black site torture prisons due to public outrage and pressure from veterans.
20. Musicians and artists are stepping up their opposition to Trump, including in mainstream forums.
21. Seattle climate activists successfully moved their city council towards divestment of 3 billion dollars from Wells Fargo due to its support for the Dakota Access pipeline project.
22. Most important perhaps, hundreds of thousands of new people are engaged. Scores of new platforms for engagement have been launched including: These are dark times and the threats are colossal. While more resistance and creative forward-moving strategies will be needed, sometimes we have to celebrate our wins.
Stay vigilant, but also take self care seriously. Activist burnout is a thing. Marathon, don’t sprint. Give thanks for all the others – known and unknown – who are shoulder to shoulder with us in this fight.
#resist Thinking for Ourselves
Eucating for Democracy
Shea Howell The announcement by the state School Reform Office that it is considering closing 25 more schools in Detroit is being met with widespread outrage. Students, teachers, parents, and community members rallied quickly to denounce the proposed closures. Alycia Meriweather, the interim superintendent for Detroit Public School Community District vowed to fight the closures saying, “School closure is not an option.Even Mayor Mike Duggan, who has absolutely no authority over schools, weighed in to say he would “fight the irrational closing” of schools. The Mayor, in announcing his bid for re-election, said he had called Governor Snyder to tell him the announced closures are “wrong” and that the school reform office efforts are “immoral, reckless … you have to step in.”On Sunday February 5 the Detroit Independent Freedom School initiative spearheaded a community town hall to develop strategic responses to this latest assault on our children and their futures. Over 300 people gathered to talk about how we can support our children and parents.Russ Bellant, community advocate, began the informational panel opening the meeting saying, “The fundamental message I think everyone needs to understand is that the closing of the schools, not just this month but for the last 18 years, has been illegal, unconstitutional, and immoral.” Mr. Bellant emphasized that the state Constitution says “no public money to private schools,” but 80% of the charters are for profit private corporations. Over half the children of Detroit attend charter schools. Other panelists and audience members agreed, arguing that school closures are a form of genocide, targeting African American districts across the state, creating conditions where it is impossible for children to learn, to feel cared for, or be respected.
The only groups in Michigan supporting additional closures are those supported by Betsy DeVos and her cronies. The Great Lakes Education Project called on the state to shut the “worst of the worst” schools. The organization said education officials have spent $7 billion on failed school-turnaround efforts. Most of that money has gone into the hands of private corporations and consultants. In a system where private corporations have driven children into overcrowded classes, provided unqualified teachers, refused to provide needed materials or even basic facilities like functioning bathrooms, DeVos and her friends continue to claim they care about our children. Defying reality, they claim closing schools is good for families. “The simple fact is these schools are failing our kids and their families deserve better,” said GLEP Executive Director Gary Naeyaert in a statement. “If the SRO exercises the ‘unreasonable hardship’ exemption to avoid closing any of these schools, we expect them to implement dramatic restructuring to give these students a chance at a successful future.” The battle for public education in Detroit is a prelude to what people around the country will face as Betsy DeVos brings her agenda to the national stage as the new Secretary of Education. Uniquely unqualified, dedicated to the destruction of public education, and architect of polices that are nothing short of child abuse, DeVos will be pushing privatization and schools of choice across the country. Resisting her efforts requires deepening our understanding of the critical role public education should play in strengthening our democracy. The purpose of education is to enable people to become fully responsible, creative citizens, making decisions that critically reflect an understanding of ourselves, our relationships to one another, and our responsibilities to the earth that supports us. We are facing critical times. We need the imagination and thinking of everyone, especially our children, to develop just and regenerative futures. The efforts of DeVos and company to reduce education to another profit center for corporate elites must be resisted. This resistance must be rooted in love for our children and in the celebration of their capabilities to participate in developing solutions to what democracy can really look like. —- Footage courtesy of Shane Bernardo from Emergency Meeting on the Education Crisis. Standing with Standing Rock
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