summer 2017 | Issue Three

trust the current, hold fast to one another Self-Portrait

by Angela Jones

Sistah be riding her bike in Detroit And sistah be makin’ mad noise on that bike From the eves of Eight Mile With Walkman wailing To the Gideon of Grand River Never halting at heads turning Detroit, D-town, De Trois, Of three Rubber burning These streets are her trinity She don’t wear no protective gear 8mile the father- Livernois the son- Cause sistah ain’t got no fear of her streets Grand River her holy ghost Just the price of living getting’ higher And the occasional flat tire Pedaling past parking structures and sidewalk preachers But the edge of the shore is a sure Dodging broken glass like bullets sign of salvation To keep from puncturing her tires, In this desert D Tired with mobility, with movement Cause sistah be pedaling down Grand River ‘Cause all that matters is motion Shallow and deep, still and raging Using her tires to keep afloat She rejoices when she reaches the water So she won’t sink into quicksand cement The blood of 22mil consecrated martyrs Like sidewalks that swallow you whole On this surface of loss, Jesus just walked If you don’t keep pedaling But sistah, she be gliding across Like 747s in the sky So sistah be pumping fast past the past Or skateboarders in July Using the speed of her ride To escape from that great divide This river ain’t a river of oil spills or showboats That strip that separates the white folk Slaves came from hell for a chance From the West Side To cross this moat That un-imaginary line Then some got sent back Where the war of North and South is still fought Now, tell me… With exhaust fumes of factory lines How do you bury that betrayal? And the flames from 67 fires How can you resist resentment?

It’s a 1-way route 2 further racial aggression You pedal past it Within 3 bodies of water 4 which we live, Work, judge, hate, bottle, package, and sell With all the muscle in your calves In a 5 day work week With all the strength in your soul But I have a 6th sense Try to fill in the holes of a sadist system That the only way we’ll make it Without becoming sadist yourself To the 7th generation Is if we put these last 8 miles behind us See, Grand River ain’t made From asphalt or H2O So sistah be pedaling fast past the past It’s a concept conceived in the mind Cruising down Livernois It tries to bind history to the present Cause that’s all that people can do: Live So we know that it’s still relevant When rotting buildings and empty lots Photo by Marisol Teachwort Are constant reminders So sistah be pedaling fast past the past Of how the dead haunt this city Carrying visions of it with her To the next street, to fend off defeat So sistah be pedaling down Livernois Remembering is her mobility Cause that’s all that people are: Livin’ noise An added fourth to her trinity Persons- of sound And right at the starting line Rhythm in movement Of her spiritual coast Masters of motion And people be makin’ some noise in this city Is 8mile the father- Livernois the son- Raisin’ hell in this city Grand River her holy ghost Like ancestors before Quick jabs and daily scabs can’t quiet us

our past, present and futures as we talk together. Claiming our own stories is an act of power and A Choice Between Two Worlds resistance to those who speculate on our lives. This issue of Riverwise provides more contribu- riverwise editorial board tions from the people consciously reimagining and reorganizing society from the ground up. It’s an approach we’ve been promoting more had a transformative effect on the people around during our Riverwise Community Conversa- On Detroit’s west side, near the corner of Wisconsin and Fullerton, Linda them. The process of reimagining wildflowers as tions. Our June 24 conversation across from the gardens of Feedom Freedom led to a request that Gadsden has diligently been recovering native plants from vacant lots and the assets they once were has brightened neigh- bors’ outlook on their immediate surroundings. we incorporate some version of a writer’s work- transplanting them in her community garden. The seasonal wildflower preserve Plants that were often considered ‘weeds’ are shop to help beginning writers tell their stories. she has cultivated on a previously open lot is a forward step in the evolution now examples of the beauty and healing that Multi-disciplinarian artist and visionary, of the urban agriculture movement in Detroit. Her four-season garden plots exist on previously neglected lots. That funda- Halima Cassells, describes her path to economic emphasize the ability of the earth to provide for us year-round. Additionally, she mental change in perspective serves to heighten liberation through the Detroit Free Market. our consciousness and encourage participation. Cassells is working at the grassroots level to has integrated her garden with the curriculum at Noble Elementary School. The These dedicated efforts, by groups and indi- ‘Noble Open Classroom’ will allow students to study the natural world in the stem the tide of consumerism and material- viduals, are guided by long-term investments in based values by introducing the community context of their own neighborhood. Gadsden is prone to telling stories about the the ecology of the neighborhood. Witness Linda to effective practices of trading and sharing to she produces from them. Her work also takes In his recent presentation at the Charles H. path that specific plants took to get to her garden and how they are faring there. Gadsden and her family of volunteers haul five- meet basic needs. from an ancient tradition and uses it to visually Wright Museum, author/historian, Gerald For example, the root system of the white roses, she tells folks, have a tendency to gallon buckets of water over a city block to the Familyhood Inc. garden when the soil is dry. Our portrait presentation of members of the project us into the future. Horne, emphasized the State’s continued retri- grow outward, parallel to the surface, in search of suitable areas to sprout. Homrich 9 draws inspiration from their act bution towards our city for the city’s historic role Here in Detroit and across the U.S., the doors The diversity of locations where you’ll find of civil disobedience to affirm that water is a in Black liberation politics or, what he called, to corporate success have been flung open by gardens and support for local agriculture is human right. Their individual statements on “Rebellion at the point of production.” State-imposed financial takeovers. Real estate In another part of town, the gilded side, Dan inclusive, value-based and attentive to our also expanding. As one shining example, the the power of civil disobedience, which for them speculators and venture capitalists are free from That legacy of revolution and rebellion Gilbert has been planting things too. A high- environment. In addition to Linda Gadsden’s children and teachers of the Detroit Inde- included three years of delays by the prosecu- the constraints of democratic institutions and burrowed deep in the African-American experi- speed fiber-optic cable underneath Woodward garden, which offers praise to the seasons and pendent Freedom Schools movement have tion and the courts, reveal the power of personal public input. Dan Gilbert has planted his flag ence is now finding its way back to the surface was buried while the street was dug up for the neighborhood wildflowers, Hope House’s constructed a raised-bed vegetable garden on commitment and sacrifice. firmly and in full view on Woodward Avenue. A through the roots of Linda Gadsden’s roses. This installation of the QLine tracks. Now, some are Naim Edwards gives us a tour of the plant the patio of the Charles H. Wright Museum In keeping with this edition’s attention to long list of startup tech companies are waiting issue of Riverwise is dedicated to those who are wondering if the QLine was just the public rela- sanctuary he has designed and cultivated near of African-American History. The museum’s native flowers, and native species, and the to sign up. But miles from Woodward, out of seeking new ways to restore, reclaim and rebuild tions part of a grander scheme to persuade tech the Brightmoor district. This garden incorpo- support of this project has been consistent with roots of Detroit, artist Ash Arder contrib- view of the cameras, the seeds of (r)evolution our lives in this place we call Detroit. companies to relocate to Detroit. If so, we have rates a wildflower sanctuary situated along the its push to be a center for community engage- uted photos of her sculpture series based on are being planted in vacant and occupied lots to look at the QLine as more than just another properties’ outer edge, and a rain garden for ment in addition to a source of programming foraged stinging nettle plants and the fiber dotting historic neighborhoods. missed opportunity to improve public transpor- naturally controlling water run-off into storm dedicated to social justice. tation. More accurately, it’s a devious ploy in the drains. Edwards has also planted a diverse In our brief lifespan, Riverwise has evolved from effort to expropriate public funds and city land. array of vegetables and fruits. By integrating its original mission to, ‘tell stories about the his work with the specific landscape around It’s a long way from the wandering roots of grassroots activism changing lives in historical him, Edwards is making a lasting impression Linda Gadsden’s white roses to the fiber- neighborhoods’. We quickly realized the power on the land and the community. optic cables burrowing underneath Gilbert’s of stories being told by the people themselves. Woodward Avenue—beneath the surface, these According to the Greening of Detroit, an Speaking in our own voices about our own two complex systems are seeking out ways to estimated 20,000 Detroiters are part of the experiences carries more weight because it remain a permanent part of the social land- urban agriculture movement. Those numbers heightens the consciousness of both the story- scape. They’re taking different paths toward two indicate, not just increased participation, but teller and the listener. Activists writing their distinct versions of the future. One is carving an increase in diversity of garden techniques own stories present varied and more nuanced out an exclusive space in the city for private and strategies. Planting to reconstitute the soil voices—not only in tone but in style. industry and technology, the other is attempting and to feed the community has given way to The capacity of stories to change us is exempli- to establish a ‘space to begin anew’ based on cultivating native species and diversifying the fied wonderfully in the Pedal To Porch program values of community and sustainability. The output. Gardening is moving from growing to initiated by Core City native, Cornetta Lane. decisions as to which future will become the eat and cut costs primarily, to also providing a Pedal To Porch brings participants out of their foundation for our city is up to us. way to repair our relationships to one another homes and onto their porches, which are perfect and the earth that sustains us. TheRiverwise Summer 2017 issue presents backdrops for the occasion. The ancient craft of several stories by activists engaged in work These gardens preserving native species and storytelling lifts participants into new ways of understanding, teaching us that we are shaping that is pushing us towards futures that are incorporating environmental remediation have Photos by Leah Duncan

riverwise magazine 4 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 5 summer 2017 summer 2017, issue iii in this issue riverwise Mission Statement 8 own personal and political contradictions and WHO 21 generate lasting solutions. Riverwise Eric Thomas Campbell What Lies Beneath Riverwise quarterly magazine is a non- Editorial Staff Shea Howell profit venture is distributed as a free Gloria House the QLine? All the Neighborhood’s ‘Riverwise’ is a community-based magazine WHAT WE NEED created by a team of authors, writers, publication, printed without paid adver- Editorial Intern Mikala A. Williams By Antonio Rafael and a Stage: The Power of photojournalists, parents, grandparents, tisements. Although we’ve been afforded ‘Riverwise’ needs your stories of resilience, Riverwise Shane Bernardo Matthew Irwin students, organizers, activists, artists, educa- the resources, many volunteer-based, to Collective Storytelling visionary resistance, place-based education, self- Eric Thomas Campbell tors and visionaries. commence publication, we need your Wayne Curtis determination and sustainable, creative ways of Rich Feldman Interview conducted By We are working together to create media transforming yourselves and your communities. support in the form of donations and/ Peggy Gwi-Seok Hong Eric Thomas Campbell that reflects local activism and the profound or subscriptions in order to sustain our Please contact us with article ideas and notice Gloria House 11 new work being done in and around Detroit of programs taking place in your neighbor- efforts and grow. Shea Howell neighborhoods. Frank Joyce hood. We’ll do our best to follow up. Please fill out the attached subscription Towards a New We envision deepening relationships Ma Teresa Penman (Mayté) 24 Or submit an article, personal anecdote, poem, card/envelope and let us know how much Tawana “Honeycomb” Petty through media that serves as an essential Economy interview, photo, or illustration of your own Diane Reeder part of weaving beloved communities. you appreciate Riverwise in the form of a Kim Sherrobi By Halima Casells The Homrich 9: for our next edition of ‘Riverwise’ by October monetary donation that fits your current We will celebrate personal Detroit stories 1, 2017. We will do what we can to tell your Larry Sparks ability to pay. Alyson Jones Turner Standing for the and the process of evolving ideas. stories. We won’t be able to print them all. Phyllis Williams People’s Right to Some articles may also be printed in the You may also contribute through the Graphic Design/ Lucia Wylie-Eggert 13 WHY Living For Change Newsletter put out by the donation page at our website, Layout Water James and Grace Lee Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership. Submissions should www.riverwisedetroit.org. Cover Tzu Poré The Noble Outdoor It is often said that we live in two Detroits— design not be more than 1,500 words long and may be We thank you for your consideration one affluent, the other neglected. We know edited for content and/or space. They should back Ash Arder Classroom: Native and your help mapping the future. cover there are many versions of Detroit and in also include contact information and proper 26 some communities there is a striving toward credits and affiliations. In love and struggle, Web Andrea Penman-Lomelí Species Transform self-determination and new, visionary ways of development Talia Selitsky the Community A Freedom School life. It is our goal through this publication to TheRiverwise collective also invites you to TheRiverwise Collective Distribution pridesource show these efforts that are rooted in commu- join us for a series of community conver- Linda Cassells By Linda Gadsden Project: The Wright nity, sustainable, transformative and based sations. We hope to regularly discuss the Printing Urban Press Detroit Museum Goes Green upon new forms of citizenship. direction of the magazine, story ideas and the Services future of our emerging Detroit communi- Detroit is a movement city. And our move- By Eric Thomas Campbell ties with all interested parties. Please refer to 16 ments need creative media. By sharing the community calendar in this issue or the Subscriptions/Donations: resources and encouraging open participa- community conversation page at “Riverwise magazine is partially grant-funded but we Sacred Sites tion of engaged citizens, especially people of www.riverwisedetroit.org for more details. need your help in order to remain at the newsstands 28 color, ‘Riverwise’ shall help us to examine our free of charge advertisement-free. We urge you to donate or subscribe to Riverwise by returning the Community envelope attached to this issue, or visit our donation 18 page at www.riverwisedetroit.org.” Calendar Contact or submit articles, photos: Sowing the Seeds of email: [email protected] Self-Determination letters: 3061 Field Street, Detroit, Michigan 48214 30 By Naim Edwards Please contact Riverwise for permission to reprint any articles. Review of The Fifty Year Rebellion Photo by Kelvin Lundy By Mike Doan

riverwise magazine 6 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 7 summer 2017 gigabit internet provider. The fiberoptic cable suspend democracy for a short period of time, I a federal grant originally issued for a city- that makes Rocket Fiber possible runs liter- think it’s in the best interest of everyone.” With wide rapid transit system, in this case for $25 ally underneath the streetcar line to Gilbert’s government out of the way, Gilbert worked million. Out of a total cost of $238.6 million, newly renovated downtown properties, offering directly with bankruptcy lawyers and others to $105.2 came from foundations, private connection speeds around 100 times faster than purchase and renovate buildings along Wood- corporations, and hospitals. Gilbert contrib- standard lines (on par with Google Fiber). ward, from I-75 to the water. uted $10 million, more than any other single [Sources: PR Newswire, MLive, Crains Detroit, Detroit News] donor—with half of it going to the naming The project is the culmination of Gilbert’s rights, transforming the M-1 Rail into the decade-long land grab that accelerated in The 21.5-mile-long Woodward Avenue “QLINE.” With $140 million going to the 2013 with the state’s forced implementation of (Michigan Highway 1) has long been the purchase of the streetcars and the laying of the Emergency Management. That system imbued symbolic aorta of Detroit industry—legendary tracks, the remaining $98.6 million will update a single person with the power to decide, with as the former site of Highland Park Ford plant, infrastructure and pad operations for the next impunity, when and how to sell off assets, fire Hudson’s Department Store, and the 1967 rebel- decade, because the QLINE will need to be the elected officials, and rearrange finances to pay lion. Today, the route carries Dan Gilbert’s rede- second most popular streetcar in the country bondholders. Between Gilbert’s real estate and velopment scheme, both by “modeling” the city’s to pay for its own operating costs. technology investments, he is setting up Detroit potential in the hope of attracting young (tech) for a San Francisco-style gentrification storm. entrepreneurs and by providing Gilbert with the Even with this investment, Gilbert’s toy train [Sources: Motor City Muckraker, Detroit News, Progress means to cash in. But a deeper look into Wood- will not be enough to fill his buildings and Michigan Study, Detroit Free Press, DBusiness.] ward’s history reveals not only the city’s settler inflate his property values. Enter the tech Gilbert’s Trojan Horse: Dan Gilbert’s empire includes a slew of busi- colonial origins and its history of labor exploi- sector: While the street was torn open for nesses at the intersections of finance, private tation, but also a pattern of investment and the M-1 rail construction, an idea for a new equity, urbanism, entertainment, sports, and disinvestment that benefits land speculators. company took root. Seeded by some of Gilbert’s gambling, many of them under the Rock Gilbert is only the latest beneficiary of this cycle. employees and fertilized with a $31 million Ventures umbrella. After squeezing a $50 Once known as the Saginaw Trail, Woodward Rock Venture investment, the scheme involved million tax break out of Detroiters, Gilbert exists on top of a Native American trade route, fiber optic cables installed below the QLINE, Capturing one of many throughout the nation making the forming the “spine” of Rocket Fiber’s in-ground opportunistically relocated Quicken Loans headquarters from the wealthy sprawl/suburb U.S. trade and expansion possible that pioneers, infrastructure, connecting Wayne State/ of Novi to downtown Detroit in 2007. However, statesmen, and militia depended on for survival. Midtown to Campus Martius, what we’ve come the Well-known as the first paved highway in the to know as Gilbertville. Rocket Fiber saved his downtown buying spree began in earnest when the city was desperate after the 2008 real United States, Woodward was constructed from millions of dollars on the deal, avoiding the City Core about 1914 to the mid-century using prison costly process of tearing up streets or running estate crisis. In 2008, he acquired One Wood- ward, a 29-story skyscraper situated at the labor, repeatedly forcing the removal of residents fiber on telephone poles. So far the company By Antonio Rafael head of Woodward Avenue, for $8.4 million—a and businesses. Further development along the has laid over 30 miles of fiber throughout many and Matthew Irwin steal, given that the same building sold for $20 highway in the mid-1920s contributed to the of the newly renovated Gilbert buildings along million a decade before. Gilbert and his compa- mass exit of industry into the suburbs that took Woodward. Public Relations from the Gilbert nies went on to buy more than 95 properties on place in the 1960s. M-1 not only connected cities team report Rocket Fiber won a “competitive or near the QLINE, in many instances paying and neighborhoods from Detroit to Pontiac, bidding” process to provide free wifiservice $10 or less for vacant city-owned land and but routed infrastructure investments away to the QLINE and at the 14 train stops along buildings he promised to develop later. Perhaps from the city, providing the American model Woodward. It must be hard to compete with his most ostentatious of these purchases was for suburbanization. the internet provider that fed its wires under- neath the track. Three miles of free public wifi the Z, a parking structure that he bought for $1 As Detroit put the country on wheels, it gave is hardly an equal exchange for the millions and adorned with murals from 27 international white people the option of leaving “dangerous” of dollars Rocket Fiber saved with the QLINE street and graffiti artists. urban areas. With his properties secured in installation—all for an internet service that downtown Detroit, Gilbert has driven the With his properties as the center, Gilbert exceeds the needs of the average internet user. Local activists and pundits have, right- actually goes much faster. The QLINE’s current period of investment with a distinct announced his plan to develop retail stores, In other words, Gilbert’s service is a pitch to the fully, ridiculed Detroit’s new downtown intended public clearly is not the anti-black narrative. Macroeconomic trends apartments, and offices along Woodward—an tech industry and related industries, such as streetcar, the QLINE, also known as the 26 percent of Detroit residents who that led to Detroit’s decline are blamed on black effort he branded “Opportunity Detroit.” He finance. He wants them to pay rent and buy into management. Nearly 50 years of black leader- M-1 Rail. It covers only three miles of don’t have cars. made the announcement on the same day that the new network at his downtown properties. ship are blamed for industrial (white) flight. In prime real estate (only 5 percent of the a lame duck legislature passed Public Act 436, a [Sources: RocketFiber.com, CrainsDetroit.com, referendum-proof Emergency Management law. this story, Detroit is now an “opportunity” for OpportunityDetroit.com, transportation.gov] city), stands apart from a larger rapid Less prevalent in local debate is what lies Public Act 436 overturned a successful state- young hip pioneers to settle the “empty” lands beneath the QLINE—namely, the intention The QLINE maps Gilbert’s takeover of Detroit. transit plan, serves sports fans and tour- wide ballot initiative rejecting the previously created in part by Quicken Loan’s aggressive to develop Detroit as a Third Coast Silicon It represents the latest upturn in the invest- ists, and relies on outdated technology enacted emergency manager law, Public Act 4. subprime mortgages. Valley by Detroit’s very own white savior, Dan ment/disinvestment cycle on Woodward that has proven unreliable in other Before the legislature acted, Gilbert endorsed [Sources: Detroit Free Press (Burton Historical Collection, Gilbert. The Quicken Loans founder and real Detroit Public Library), Indigenous People’s History of the Avenue, continuing a process that began with emergency management at a press conference cities. The project also went about $40 estate mogul, whose lending practices helped United States, by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz] depictions of the city as an “urban wilderness.” for the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation million over budget, and covers the same to propel Detroit’s financial crisis, used the “Ruin porn” and stories of resurgent nature and his venture capital fund Rock Ventures The QLINE is the first private-sector public QLINE to install Rocket Fiber, Detroit’s first made the city visible to tourists seeking tales route as the Woodward Ave. bus, which in March 2013. He said, “As hard as it is to transportation initiative in the U.S. to hijack

riverwise magazine 8 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 9 summer 2017 of adventure, disaster, failed industry, and In 2014, Gilbert made his pitch at the Tech- fighters, welfare rights advocates, activists, resilient people. Adventurous young entrepre- Crunch: Disrupt San Francisco annual confer- and community organizations to lead protests neurs and artists, hearing these tales, moved ence: come to Detroit, there is opportunity such as the Motown Slowdowns and other to the city to build their businesses and make for innovation and cheap real estate. The plan civil disobedience actions. In the face of land their work on terra nullius, land represented as seems to be working. Among the more than 60 grabs and subsidies for corporate development, empty. Like nineteenth century pioneers on the tech start-ups that claim Detroit as their home Detroiters have been advocating for commu- Western frontier, these urban settlers made the are Cribspot, which maps off-campus rentals nity benefits and more local participation land more attractive to investors and helped to for college students; Remake Detroit, which with projects such as the Community Benefits increase property values. Their run-ins with tells stories about products made in Detroit and Agreement. The North End Woodward squatters justified a regime of law-and-order. the people who make them; and, not surpris- Community Coalition also galvanized resi- ingly, Kidpreneur, which teaches entrepreneur- dents and faith communities around trans- Traversing less than a sixth of Woodward and ship and technology to kids. Adding corporate portation justice, specifically concerned with disconnected from the larger metro system, the credibility to Gilbert’s vision, in late 2015, QLine’s effect on the North End community. QLine is not a solution to the city’s transporta- Amazon opened a corporate office in Detroit, tion problems. It is a narrative device, designed When Allied Media Projects learned of and, at the beginning of the 2017, Microsoft to demonstrate the city’s capacity for change at Gilbert’s plans for the Rocket Fiber install along announced the relocation of its Southfield office the same time that it detours the racializing and Woodward Ave, they pushed for free public to downtown Detroit. racist processes and policies that have sustained Wi-Fi in the Cass Corridor as an exchange for [Sources: Detroit Free Press, GrowDetroit.com, WXYZ.com.] a century of investment/disinvestment in Detroit’s investment in Gilbert’s project. Since Photos provided by Free Market of Detroit (left), Ifoma (center), Free Market of Detroit (right) Detroit, from redling and neighborhood cove- To understand what all this tech development 2009, AMP’s Detroit Digital Justice coalition nants to water shutoffs, tax foreclosures, and means to Detroiters, just have a look at San has been working on creating more and more opt-out clauses on cross-county transportation Francisco’s Mission District, where politically equitable access to internet services, and, in routes. Even negative coverage of the QLine themed murals beautify the streets of a neigh- 2010, AMP launched the Digital Stewards project brings it and the city into view, while borhood that the average artist can’t afford. Program to train citizens in organizing and suggesting that city administration and its Tech industry gentrification is relentless and hardware installation to create mesh wireless corporate sponsors have the ability to get things total, often literally hidden behind public art networks for marginalized neighborhoods. Towards a done in the face of opposition. In short, the projects that make the city more appealing to Through that program, AMP fomented the deal QLine increased Detroit’s visibility to Gilbert’s white people, like Shepard Fairey’s mural/brand with Rocket Fiber, squeezing out one gig per primary audience—tech entrepreneurs. on Gilbert’s One Campus Martius property. second wireless signals to neighborhood hubs [Sources: Detroit Free Press (Burton Historical Collection, located at Grace in Action in Southwest Detroit, Detroit Public Library), “‘Your Wilderness’: The White More importantly, “creative city” initiatives New Economy WNUC community radio station in the North Possession of Detroit in Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left help to deflect criticism from gentrification End, and Church of the Messiah in the Island- Alive” by Matthew Irwin (Capitalism, Nature, Socialism, by recasting arts and technology as new Dec. 2, 2016), Out of Nowhere: Disaster and Tourism in view Village neighborhood. Rocket Fiber sells American industries, lifting up the city. No Money, No Waste, the White Mountains by Eric Purchase] the service to the programs at wholesale and a Indeed, the Detroit Institute of Arts, which cadre of nonprofits and business development In a city where 40 percent of the population sits on the QLINE route, attempts to histori- organizations currently pick up the bill. Over Everything We Need doesn’t have internet access, Rocket Fiber, much cize and naturalize this transfer to the new the long term, each neighborhood community like the QLINE, isn’t meant for Detroiters. It’s economies by claiming on its website that will be responsible for managing and paying intended to fill Dan Gilbert’s properties with Diego Rivera’s industry murals depict industry by Halima Casells for their own networks, and the question is how tech workers, self-styled urban pioneers and technology as the “indigenous culture” of they can do it without duplicating the systems eager to gentrify/settle the city. It’s no secret Detroit. This is, of course, another deferment of of dispossession and dislocation the program that Gilbert imagines Detroit as another, if the real conversation: real estate is the industry is meant to combat. not the “next,” Silicon Valley. His $1.6 billion of the U.S. and has been from the nation’s very “We believe and wish to practice ends; out to the garden in the backyard, to the nearly eight years apart. I had no baby stuff just investment in Detroit real estate included a grocery store, to the wood shop in our garage. laying around when she popped on the scene. earliest conception of itself as an inheritor— Antonio Rafael is a Xicano Boricua organizer, uplifting our community wealth portion for tech business incubators. rather than a beneficiary and legislator—of farmer, artist and entrepreneur from #SWDetroit He And I was extremely embarrassed as a preteen, And I definitely did not want to buy a bunch co-founded #RaizUp collective hiphop for decolonial Around the time Gilbert’s land grab in settler colonial conditions. The architects of and creativity; putting less into the when he wore them to take me anywhere. “They of stuff that would no longer be useful after 6 education and supporting movement. More than just fit, and they do their job,” he would say “no months or a year. So I decided to host a back- Detroit began, he also started the nonprofit Detroit’s bankruptcy, like Dan Gilbert, have resisting the abuse of land, water and people, Antonio waste-stream; reclaiming practices Bizdom to provide office space, training, and perpetuated these conditions through disin- started #SWGrows urban farm and ecological design need for another pair.” One day I noticed the yard barbeque with a swap table. The bottom of vestment and depopulation, portraying their cooperative to expand art, agriculture and green devel- of meeting our needs without sole began to peel, and there was a small hole. I the invite read, “Please bring any gently-used up to $125,000 in startup funding for young opment in his neighborhood. tech entrepreneurs. In 2011, he purchased the speculations on land as acts of benevolent money; and empowering ourselves excitedly showed him thinking he and I would outgrown children’s clothing or toys, we will Matthew Irwin is a PhD student in American studies at Madison Theatre building on Broadway to redevelopment. Debt in Detroit has been used go shopping for a new pair. I was wrong; I was have a swap table at this event.” We were a small the University of New Mexico. Also a widely published by re-evaluating what is valuable.” dismayed when he went to the shoe shop in the group of family and friends, and somehow we open a tech hub he christened M@dison. In to rationalize land, water, and privatization for art critic, he is a two-time NEA arts journalism fellow 2012, Rock Ventures rolled out “IT in the D,” the benefit of the white and wealthy. and a two-time finalist for the Warhol Foundation/ Eastern Market and had the sole repaired. They amassed a giant mountain of stuff . . . some Creative Capital Arts Writers Grant. Matthew’s disser- [Sources: DIA.org, New York Times] were not for fashion, or for others to like. They stuff I was SUPER grateful to have, some stuff a program to give local university students tation, in progress, looks at discourses on citizenship —Free Market of Detroit were valued for their usefulness. This lesson other people were happy to walk home with, real-world tech experience and the “Valley to Despite the hegemonic force of Emergency and belonging along Woodward Ave. Detroit” campaign to recruit laid-off Silicon (although super-hard to swallow at the time) and some that was eventually donated to COTS. Management and its related technologies of My father owned one pair of gym shoes for as became extremely important and central to my Valley techies. These programs took off at This was so successful that a group of friends exploitation and dispossession, Detroiters long as I can remember. Literally ONE pair. life as I got older. the very same moment that the state began hosting these events around Detroit and have not been silent. Detroiters Resisting He had a few pairs of shoes for the office, and a implemented Emergency Management. Fast forward a decade or two . . . to the birth the Free Market of Detroit was born. For five Emergency Management organized fire- couple for dress, and that was it. He wore this of my second daughter. She and my eldest are years it has continued to expand, adding several pair of 1978 Nikes everywhere on the week-

riverwise magazine 10 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 11 summer 2017 different elements: DJ’s and a dance floor, a put it to use. Once I told a woman that to get other and meeting needs without the use of photo booth, open mic and live performances, a pair of snake-skinned heels she wanted she money as we know it today. artists who sew and help facilitate fashion would have to leave an item. “Anything?” she We will be exploring stories of swappers and up-cycling workshops, as well as other unique asked. “Yeh, anything that you are ready to let the narratives that drive our society through experiences for participants to enjoy. In the go of,” I said. She lived around the corner, and photography and art in a forthcoming book, past year the Free Market hosted 10 swaps in asked me to hold the shoes, she would be right Fashioning the Free Market, due out in The Noble Outdoor Classroom: schools, community centers, churches, at festi- back. She returned with the most wonderful September of 2018. Check out our website vals, urban gardens, and conferences. Much of bags of clothes and books and toys, and a look www.freemarketofdetroit.com to stay informed the success is in the interaction between people. of relief on her face. “I have been wanting all of the release as well as upcoming swaps. And “It made me so happy to see someone wearing this stuff out of my house for so long, thank please let us know if you’d like to host your Native Species a shirt I helped her design and sew at the swap you,” she said as she walked away with the heels own. We would love to promote yours! over a year ago, I cannot even tell you,” Diana under her arm. N., a Detroit-based multi-talented artist, told So how did we get here? Our great-great-grand- me a few weeks ago. Sharing the stories behind Native-Detroit artist/community advocate Halima Transform parents did not have closets full of clothes; and Cassells exhibits widely, and creates work that is the object, knowing you gave or received a garages full of gadgets, and attics and basements exploratory­—designing interactive installations, and gift from someone you know, and co-creating spaces for collaborative artistic expression, including and storage lockers full of stuff, and yet many useful items together are all ways that we enjoy projects that engender new/ancient economy practices. lived fulfilled lives. Where does our desire for She occupies a myriad of roles that are unified by a deep the Community building community. more and more stuff come from? The website devotion to fostering community inter-connectivity. She works as an independent artist and assumes roles at The admission to every swap is one item. storyofstuff.orgoffers a lot of interesting insight. Oakland Avenue Artists Coalition, O.N.E. Mile project, Everyone is entered into the circle of giving this Incite Focus Fab Lab, Center for Community Based And what we are doing really isn’t new. In fact, way. And if folks show up without anything, we Enterprise, and the Free Market of Detroit. its ancient. Societies all around the world prac- By Linda Gadsden ask them to make a pledge to pay it forward or ticed gift economies, and placed value based host their own swap with family and friends the on what the needs were at the time, and the next time they have a get-together. Why? We relationships between people. Even on this land, want to inspire people to re-evaluate their stuff, before it was colonized, First Nations peoples and think about how we can share and better had protocols for sharing and trading with each

Photos by Piper Carter

I. All too often in the City of Detroit, we look tain a sense of family. If we look closely at our removal is somebody else’s job. But when we get around our neighborhood and see vacant neighborhoods, we will be able to see that there tired of looking at it . . . it becomes our job. abandoned houses. was a time in the past when each family in the neighborhood was connected and they made II. Too often in the City of Detroit, we look up different parts of an extended family. around our neighborhood and see vacant In the summer of 2015 the Wyoming- overgrown lots. Adults interacted together and were friends. Kentucky-Indiana-Wisconsin-Ohio Block Club Children attended school together and played (in the Grand River area) was created with the How often do we see the problems and ignore together and developed lifelong friendships. mission of creating a clean safe environment for the beauty? How often do we see loss and fail all members of the neighborhood. At that time to see value? Over the years people moved out of the neigh- borhoods in Detroit. Fires destroyed houses seniors were isolated in their homes and aban- This is a story about looking for solutions and and they sat empty. People began to use vacant doned houses placed children at risk during seeking an answer to problems. It has always lots as dumping grounds and those of us their walks to school. been said that it takes a whole community to remaining in the neighborhoods sat back and Concern for the neighborhood provided the raise a child. watched the decline. need to create the block club to address the It must now be realized that it takes a whole How long can we look and pretend that we do illegal dumping and the trash building up community to save a neighborhood and main- Free Market of Detroit fashion shoot featuring swapped apparel and accessories, photo by Bree Gant not see? It is easy to sit back and think that trash along the streets. Next came the opportunity to

riverwise magazine 12 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 13 summer 2017 Photos by Piper Carter

increased personal yard beautification. Children and youth began an early involvement in civic engagement and The Spring Garden is at the front community improvement. of the lot and has a Tulip Magnolia Tree as both plants in aban- Young Adults became involved in the labor the focal point. The tree is surrounded by approxi- doned lots and along sidewalks of lot preparation for planting and expressed mately 250 bulbs that will bloom in the Spring. of abandoned houses. Who knew! Wow! The Fall Garden will be encircled with the Star interest in vegetable gardening for future The bulbs are an assortment of Tulips, Daffodils, of Bethlehem bulbs that were salvaged during projects. Young parents embraced the Outdoor Hyacinths, Blue Flag Iris and Crocus. The plot is Now, I see them everywhere. the digging of the lot and Hosta rescued from Garden as a positive recreation location for their do not exist in the City of Detroit anchored with Black Eyed Susan and Iris plants Bee Balm is also widely growing in alleys! The an abandoned yard on Wisconsin. children and as an enjoyable place for social for young people to identify interests and rescued from an abandoned house on Indiana. young people will now research Heirloom activities. Children enjoyed the opportunity to develop hobbies. ‘Familyhood’ has the vision to The tree area to the left of the Fall Garden was To keep the plot from being bare of plants after plants with the help of our Seniors! freely play in dirt and do light tasks. fill that void for young people and provide the left in a woodland state. It contains an uniden- Spring blooms fade, the plot is sprinkled with opportunity for parents to develop skills and The Winter Garden is located next on the lot. tified Rose bush and assorted perennials that The overall inclusiveness of all age groups of the address the overgrown lots and the overgrown Lily of the Valley that were rescued from the interests alongside their children and include It is coming after the Summer Garden because include Bee Balm, Milkweed, Star of Bethlehem neighborhood in the creation of the Outdoor trees that created unsafe passage. yard of an abandoned house on Ohio. neighborhood Seniors in the growth process. a Colorado Blue Spruce is the focal point of and Money Plants. A Rose of Sharon rescued Classroom Four Season Garden has provided Cleaning up the neighborhood provided the Children should not be taught in a vacuum. The plot will be encircled with Hosta plants that the Winter Garden. The children will make from the alley between Kentucky and Indiana; the opportunity to re-create a time when opportunity to see the beauty of years past Families benefit most when children and are being donated by a neighbor on Wisconsin Christmas ornaments for the tree and it’s loca- and an Iris rescued from an abandoned house neighbors interacted with each other as a unit. and have a close-up look at the beauty that was parents grow together. and Star of Bethlehem bulbs that were salvaged tion is best on the lot. on Indiana was added for color. Returned is the time of open involvement and a fading. Cleaning up the yards of abandoned from the lot during digging. decrease of generational fear. When neighbors When we go into the streets removing trash we The Spruce is surrounded by Holly and Native plants and rescued plants play a big role houses provided the chance to see the love and are involved with each other and push towards get to hear conversations. We get to realize that The Summer Garden is the second plot and has accented with Red Twig Dogwoods. in maintaining the history of the neighbor- attention that was put in gardens of the past. common goals, neighborhoods become safer there are young mothers struggling for a place a Dogwood Tree as the focal point. The tree is hood. Rescued plants provide the opportunity When one is removing trash from the yard Additional plantings include Viburnum and places to live. to call home. There are young men squatting surrounded in the plot by three rescued rose for Seniors to see the plants of their past friends of an abandoned house, there is beauty to be assorted summer blooming perennials. found among the weeds that are choking out in houses without the skills to create a better bushes. One rose bush, whose color is unknown, and neighbors continue to grow and provide The Outdoor Classroom does not end with the plants and flowers. tomorrow. We get to hear children talk about was rescued from an abandoned yard on Two rescued rose bushes include a match to the beauty. Rescued plants allow the younger planting of the Four Season Garden. Additional what they don’t have but want. Indiana. The second rose bush, with tiny white white rose bush and a red rose bush rescued generation to view the the time and pride that plans include the creation of seating areas under, Seniors in the neighborhood became curious from the fire damaged house on Wisconsin. Many creative jobs and earning opportunities blooms, was rescued from the yard of a house was invested in homes and yards of the past. between and around the established trees that about the activity and took the opportunity to with fire damage on Wisconsin. The third This awareness of the past allows the three provide shade; the creation of walking paths; grow out of skills and recreational interests. The plot is sprinkled with Periwinkle ground have conversations and share memories of the rose bush, which has pink blooms, was rescued generations to blend for past - present - future. and the construction of a blackboard and From baking to cooking to crafts to gardening cover rescued from an abandoned house on Block Clubs in the past and the interaction of from the yard of an abandoned house (location benches to create a classroom effect. to wood-working. Indiana and will be encircled with rescued neighbors. Young adults in the neighborhood unremembered) a couple of years ago. The inter- Hosta plants. I V. Additional plans include the use of Rain Barrels were willing to be helpful with clean-up tasks And along came the Great Opportunity! The esting thing about this rose bush is its tendency with the building of a rain roof and the use and heavy lifting. Children found the activities opportunity to submit a grant to Detroit Future to travel in a garden bed by underground roots. The Fall Garden is located at the back of the lot The creation of the Outdoor Classroom Garden of compost bins. There is also the desire for interesting and looked for ways to be helpful. City with the vision of the Noble Outdoor under an overhang of trees. The focal point of has expanded the neighborhood involvement to The Summer Garden has an assortment of a Worm Farm. All which provide additional That led to being allowed to meet weekly with Classroom! The opportunity to create an envi- the Fall Garden is a Smoke Bush. The path to the all age groups from children to Seniors. And the Summer blooming perennials that include: Bee learning experiences. children at our neighboring Noble Elementary- ronment where all segments of the community Smoke Bush is lined with Ornamental Cabbage. activities will not end with the planting. In addi- Balm, Blazing Star, Milkweed, Phlox, Orna- Middle School, to provide recreational activities could come together on a project—a project The Fall Garden is circled on the left side by tion to tasks to maintain the Garden, Seasonal A Garden is a gift that just keeps on giving! mental Onion and Ornamental Garlic. Ground and ways to expand civic engagement. that will grow and benefit the neighborhood for Ornamental Grass and lined at the back with Fern activities will be scheduled to enjoy the beauty cover includes mint, thyme, and oregano. of the Garden and enjoy social interaction. Familyhood Inc. was created in the Spring of years into the future. rescued from an abandoned house on Indiana. The Summer Garden also contains rescued Linda Gadston is a retired Direct Service Provider 2016 with the mission of engaging youth in posi- Additional plantings include Butterfly Weed, The Garden provides the opportunity for III. Iris, a Peony plant and will be surrounded spending over 20 years in the field of Substance Abuse tive activities and teaching entrepreneurial skills. Bee Balm and assorted perennials. Additional Seniors who have sat in their homes in the past with SHAR (Self Help Addiction Rehabilitation) House, with rescued Hosta. to venture out and share their knowledge and 5 years with the Department of Family and Children’s I grew up during a time when cooking and The Noble Outdoor Classroom is located at plants include rescued Lilies from an aban- memories. They can bring their knowledge of Service in Family Re-unification, and 5 years as a Crisis sewing were taught in school; classes in wood- 12408 Wisconsin at Fullerton across from the The benefit of the Seniors in the garden planting doned yard on Ohio that have Orange Blooms, Intervention Specialist working with families. She is the Block Clubs of the past to the benefit of the the mother of Leslye and Martesha, the grandmother of working and other hands-on activities gave chil- Noble Elementary-Middle School. It is a Four process was most clearly displayed during the a sprinkle of the Orange Lilies that grow like Block Club of the present. ShaTonya, Christopher, Nichole and Cornell, and the dren skills to express their creativity; Girl Scouts Season Garden placed on a vacant lot that difficulty of locating Milkweed and Onion weeds in the City of Detroit and a Rose Bush great-grandmother of Christian. Her hobbies include: and 4-H Clubs expanded these opportunities. has four plots that are 20 feet in diameter and plants. Unknown to this writer (who was feeling that blooms orange. Seniors are a fountain of knowledge in locating Reading, Crochet, Baking, Sewing, Gardening and planted to reflect seasonal interest for Fall, totally frustrated by the inability to locate collecting Puzzles and Shopkins. Additionally, the Fall Garden contains the native plants and their beneficial use. Residents Today, those classes are missing. Many libraries Winter, Spring and Summer. Milkweed and Onion plants in any market) the ground cover Periwinkle rescued from an aban- in the garden vicinity appreciated the improve- are closed in the City of Detroit. Craft stores Seniors was able to point out the abundance of doned house on Indiana. ments to the vacant lot and began to display

riverwise magazine 14 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 15 summer 2017 The Winter Garden

The Spring Garden The Spruce in the Winter Garden is surrounded by Holly and accented with Red The Spring Garden is at the front of the lot and Twig Dogwoods. A Colorado Blue Spruce is the has a Tulip Magnolia Tree as teh focal point. focal point of the Winter Garden. The Spruce The plot is anchored with Black Eyed Susan is surrounded by Holly and accented with Red and Iris plants rescued from an abandoned Twig Dogwoods. The children will make the house on Indiana. To keep the plot from being Christmas ornaments for the tree and it’s loca- bare of plants after Spring blooms fade, the plot tion is best on the lot. is sprinkled with Lily of the Valley that were rescued from the yard of an abandoned house on Ohio. The plot with be encircled with Hosta plants that are being donated by a neighbor on Wisconsin and Star of Bethlehem bulbs that were salvaged from the lot during diggings.

The Summer Garden The Fall Garden The Summer Garden is the second plot and has a Dogwood Tree as the focal point. The The Fall Garden will be encircled with the Star tree is surrounded in the plot by three rescued of Bethlehem bulbs that were salvaged during rose bushes. One rose bush, whose color is the digging of the lot and Hosta rescued from unknown, was rescued from an abandoned an abandoned yard on Wisconsin. A Rose yard on Indiana. The Summer Garden also of Sharon rescued from the alley between contains rescued Iris, a Peony plant and will be Kentucky and Indiana; and an Iris rescued surrounded with rescued Hosta. from an abandoned house on Indiana was added for color.

riverwise magazine 16 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 17 summer 2017 our dependency on government and jobs connecting with things in nature, whether lion and milkweed, or as foreign as foxglove, for our livelihoods. antibiotics, pottery, metalworking, or circuits. beardtongue and turtle head, evolved here and are resilient in their ability to survive in the I am a part of the movement to get ready, and At Hope House, we do agroecological land wettest, driest, coldest, or hottest times of the stay ready—fostering a culture of diverse people management. That means we blend vegetable growing season. We also grow plants native to committed to learning, sharing, and practicing production with environmental, scientific, and other places in order to increase the diversity like how to be prepared for emergencies and situ- social consciousness. The property features rain gboma or African eggplant and varieties of corn ations where we cannot depend on the system. gardens, a small native prairie, and an edible and black-eyed peas from Arizona, Puerto Rico, With community, the right knowledge and plant garden. All three spaces are managed in and Italy. Biological diversity is a key principle skills, individuals and families (particularly ways that promote biodiversity and minimize to ecological resiliency because more diverse people with low or no income) can alleviate the need for high inputs like tractor tilling, systems can withstand a variety of stressors. many of their needs on their own. Some are spraying chemicals or even replanting every learning how to store and filter rain water, build year. We let nature do most of the work and This summer, VEJ is piloting a resiliency and repair their cars or homes, while others try to design the property in a way that only program called Roses in Concrete. We are are mastering the art of growing, foraging, and requires some weeding, minimal mowing, and extending the resiliency through diversity using plants and mushrooms found all around some irrigation during dry periods. theory into educating diverse skills. We’re us for food and medicine. What unites us is our providing one-week programs for youth and We grow plants that are native to southeast understanding that we cannot and must not learnshops for adults, with each day focusing Michigan that restore the biodiversity of birds depend on the almighty dollar and institutions on themes that foster self-determination and and insects. These plants, as common as dande- we do not control for our well-being, security, and our liberation. As our revolution grows in numbers, we center ourselves on the idea of resiliency. The ecological definition of resilience is the ability to survive and thrive in periods of stress and scarcity. Stress, of course, comes in many forms: physical, mental, emotional, economic, social. Sowing the Seeds of Scarcity includes both physical materials and social and spiritual connections. We lift up the values of knowledge, skills and, most impor- tantly, relationships—human resources in the Self-Determination form of people you trust and can depend on. By Naim Edwards In keeping with many of the efforts that have been happening in Detroit for decades, Voices for Earth Justice (VEJ) has sought to foster deeper relationships with one another and Photo by Diane Weiss nature. In 2014, I joined the organization with a bias toward urban gardening and biodiversity conservation. The organization has been devel- Historically, when people gained power and dominant culture is still lacking a moral Building our own tables means we must oping a property in Brightmoor called Hope made demands, they were invited to the prover- compass and commitment to justice for develop and implement our own safety nets to House with the intention of utilizing the space bial table. In the U.S., this table and its chairs sustain us. The 40 acres and a mule never came. to carry out our mission: to deepen our connec- were made of wood stolen from indigenous all. The table has served as a place for Reparations never came. Universal healthcare maintaining power, rather than redis- tions to one another and sense of wonder for people and constructed by African slaves. The and education never came. Yet, some of our creation through prayer, education, and action. powers that be sit propped up on centuries of tributing or sharing it. Moreover, there elders knew all the while, as we know, that we stolen wealth, injustice, and compromise. They have been constant efforts to burn the can prepare and take better care of ourselves Gardening is the consummate mechanism for fulfilling our mission. The act of gardening inquire, “What will it take to get you rebels to seats our ancestors fought so hard to than the system can. We can educate our chil- settle down and stop challenging us?” Many dren, build our own homes and hospitals, make and all of its secondary benefits can promote revolutionary leaders came to that table and make for us. Unions, Medicare, public our own music, and protect our communities. communication, connecting with the earth, accepted concessions in the form of laws and education, affirmative action, and even nurturing life and death, physical activity, and Detroit is a city that has experienced firsthand remunerations. Those who refused to take a learning about nature. Being in the garden the right to vote are all under threat of how government and the private sector have seat and continued fighting faced harassment, can put you in a place of meditation, peace, being revoked. Indeed, it is important failed to serve and protect communities. Across exclusion, imprisonment, torture, and death. and curiosity. It’s an opportunity to learn and to continue to fight for a space at the America, we bear witness to the deterioration interact with new plants and other life we share I am grateful for those who, throughout table, but many of us are committed to of our country’s social fabric in tandem with the planet with. We also draw from indig- history, have fought to have a place at investing more energy into constructing the destruction of our environment. As more enous knowledge, permaculture principles, and more are left to fend for themselves, we and encourage simply being observant to all the proverbial table so that people like our own tables. The powers that be recognize and proclaim what we know to be of the activity in addition to the labor. Every- Photos by Diane Weiss me might have a better life. However, may keep theirs as it crumbles under its true: that we are enough. We can support one thing humans have learned has stemmed from I am cognizant of the reality that the unsustainable weight. another, and challenge narratives that reinforce

riverwise magazine 18 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 19 summer 2017 preparedness. Themes include: We aren’t waiting around for hand- 1) Herbalism and Medicinal outs. We are strengthening our healing, 2) Appropriate hand relationships and interdependence tool and garden tool use, 3) Wild, with one another. We are healing edible plant identification, our communities and ourselves. All the 4) Food preparation, 5) Emergency Bringing forth justice for all will Preparedness, 6) Communication, require us to continue to challenge Meditation, and Reflection. The and hold institutions accountable, course will be run out of our site but it is equally wise and neces- Neighborhood’s called Hope House in Brightmoor sary to establish our own systems (northwest Detroit). of support. This entails redefining how we interact with one another The course is the product of a and nature. As we continue to build a series of meetings and conversa- new tables made with indigenous tions about how to build resilient knowledge, trust, and love, we will communities in Detroit. One of share the fruits of freedom, healing, the motifs of these meetings is, and resilience. resiliency begins with trust. Safety Stage and security is not derived from Pictured: Elsa Borello, L’Oreal Hawkes, and Naim Edwards, photo by Diane Weiss hoarding resources in confines and The Power of Storytelling: isolating yourself; rather our ability and stay ready, a huge component of that is Naim hails from Harrisburg, PA and has spent time in preparing all of those around us. Knowing many different environments over his 30 year life: inner to maintain peace is inextricably linked to the city schools, white suburbs, Morehouse College, pueblos Riverwise Interview well-being of our neighbors. We must concern how to grow and store food is just as integral as of Ecuador, University of Michigan, and now Detroit. ourselves with our relationships and the health knowing how to share food. Through sharing, The experiences from these places have shaped him into with ‘Pedal To Porch’s’ we build relationships, and sharing knowledge an evolving person committed justice, music, and recon- of others. necting people to nature and the spiritual. He is the multiplies communities’ ability to be resilient. Environmental Specialist for the city of Detroit. Cornetta Lane It’s the age-old “give a man a fish” versus “teach Many hands make light work; many minds Naim Leal (fb), @DetroitBioNerd (twitter) a man to fish” proverb. As we strive to get ready, make a revolution! Interview conducted by Eric Thomas Campbell

Neighborhood by neighborhood, Porch, was born. Pedal To Porch hosts bike tours Cornetta Lane is coaxing Detroit through designated neighborhoods, making stops at designated homes where residents emerge homeowners onto their porches to take onto their porches to tell their story. Lane and her ownership of their communities through longtime neighbors took the rebranding effort the ancient craft of storytelling. The stage and used it as an opportunity to engage a wider may be intimate, but the potential for audience in a much-needed conversation about raising awareness about our identity, the past, present and future of our city. and our vital role in protecting it, is vast. The intentional renaming of historic Black neighborhoods is a device used by city plan- ners to make communities more attractive to In 2014, Lane turned to storytelling as a potential investors, and to speed the erasure of way to reclaim her own childhood neighbor- the people’s cultural history. Pedal To Porch hood, known as Core City, after discovering and Lane’s writing on that issue, and the subject signs of a misguided effort to rebrand the area of gentrification in general, have increased the as West Corktown. scope of the dialogue. Lane reacted by canvassing the city blocks where “For me, rebranding is a form of gentrification she grew up. She quickly discovered a high and it’s a hot topic,” Lane told Riverwise. “No level of awareness and a willingness to organize one wants to be labeled as a gentrifier.” around the issue. Folks in other parts of the city may not have known the area inside the approxi- With the help of a Knight Foundation grant, mate borders of Michigan Avenue, Grand River, Pedal To Porch has taken the concept citywide. Warren and East Grand Blvd. as ‘Core City’, but Riverwise met with Lane on her new porch to the residents living there certainly did. discuss the evolution of Pedal to Porch and its potential to increase self-determination from Out of that initial neighborhood survey, Core within our strongest asset—the neighborhood City Stories, which has now evolved into Pedal To community. —ETC

Photo by Diane Weiss Pictured: L’Oreal Hawkes, Ahmed Malone, and Elsa Borello, photo by Diane Weiss

riverwise magazine 20 summer 2017 Riverwise: After the success of Core City I built in the door-to-door campaign, not and share experiences and people are able to host our storytelling workshops, we just ask program where Detroiters and Grosse Pointers CL: So when we won, we went to Philadelphia Stories in 2015, how important was it to only to begin to ask questions of the residents, see themselves in your experience or begin people to talk about something significant that had to come together to create some kind of where the winners’ convening was held. I continue developing the outreach element with but also to let them know that this thing is to empathize better. I just think the two of happened in their house or on their street and public art or public space along the border. They was listening to some of these projects and I Pedal To Porch? happening in their community and if they want them together, within a community, it’s a very you get the diversity of stories. were finalists for the Knight Cities challenge, thought to myself, are some of these projects to participate, they’re more than welcome. powerful tool for mobilizing and that’s why it’s but they didn’t ultimately win. I don’t know if encouraging gentrification? Are some of these Cornetta Lane: I wanted to create a city- RW: I love the idea of people using their own resonating with a lot of people even outside of they are going to continue with that project, but projects responsible for the alienation that wide conversation about what rebranding can So it’s a two-pronged reason for continuing with home as their stage. It not only makes the story- Detroit. They see the power that it can have in further action was inspired by those stories. some people feel? do to neighborhoods. If you look at New York, the door-to-door campaign: The first is to create teller more comfortable, but provides a perfect their neighborhood. neighborhoods were rebranded or buildings awareness, the second is to ask questions of the prop for the stories themselves. How integral is RW: Are there any new projects or efforts on I grapple with that question: Do foundations— were rebranded, and then you get this wave of residents. Not every community development Pedal To Porch in Southwest Detroit, one of the storytelling environment to the story? the horizon for yourself that have evolved out of that have no previous understanding of what interest coming through those parts of New York organization is going to go door-to-door, so this the storytellers told a story about how they Pedal To Porch? communities are—do they effectively fund CL: The interesting thing is that people don’t and now people are priced out of their homes. I can create another opportunity to do so.” started the Brown Beret chapter in Southwest projects that will then, in the future, displace necessarily have to leave their house. One CL: I’m starting a new initiative called Dinner didn’t want that to happen to Core City. Detroit. And another storyteller on a different people, based on the participation of certain RW: How has story- woman—she’s an artist—she brought all of for 30, and it’s built to bridge cultural divides. street responded during the workshop that folks and not others? telling invigorated her paintings out on the lawn. She had a little I’m inviting a cook—it can be a novice or an the Brown Berets had motivated him to and mobilized the lemonade stand for everybody. She really kind expert—to recreate a dish that’s connected to I can say that, for the Knight Foundation, it has become an activist. neighborhoods that of brought her house out so that people could their fondest memory and they can invite their been hands-off. So I don’t have to worry that my have participated in They didn’t know each other and now they do feel comfortable on her front porch. Dad or their Mom or their spouse or their best project exposed people or promoted gentrifica- Pedal To Porch thus because someone paved the way for them to friend to help them prepare this dish. And at tion. I didn’t get push-back from the foundation Public speaking is terrifying in general. But far? Can you expand become active in Detroit and contribute to their the end of their story, the audience will get to for that, and I’m glad that I had that freedom. when you can speak on your front porch, I feel on the idea that story- community how they see fit . . . I thought that like that lessens the anxiety and you’ve gone telling can heighten was a really powerful example of growing more through the storytelling workshop, so you one’s consciousness, or in the connection to your community and your know what you’re going to say. You’re comfort- self-consciousness— community’s history. able in your delivery. So now you just have a that in the act of telling RW: What types of stories have you been built-in audience. There’s something to be said your own story you’re hearing during the tours? What topics seem about the comfort level within that. placing yourself in the to be the most popular? course of history, or at RW: How many Pedal To Porch tours have you least the history of your CL: They range from a kid on the East Side, done? How many stories have been told through neighborhood? 16, who told a story about losing his dog and Pedal To Porch since its inception? his neighbors helping him to find it, and that CL: The community CL: For Core City it was four, for southwest journey. Another woman talked about how her organizations that six, and Eastside along Mack Avenue, five. neighbor—an incredibly kind woman—pointed are contacting Pedal This summer we’re doing four tours in Photo by Erik Howard to a little sprig, or plant, that was in the ground To Porch have usually Detroit and each will have five storytellers and asked if we should let this thing grow? The already established some sort of organizing and then we’re doing one in Washington, D.C. When I launched Core City Stories, I needed to other woman said, “Yeah, we should.” And process in the neighborhood and want to with five storytellers. get my neighbors involved because I needed to now it’s like a 50-foot oak tree. One of the continue mobilizing residents through share with them what was going on. I feel like women has now passed on, but that tree lives in RW: Have you seen any lasting effects on Pedal To Porch. the only way to do that was to go to their door honor of her, along with the story. participants that went beyond the Pedal To and knock and have a conversation with them. They are intimately aware of what’s happening Porch experience? Back in the southwest neighborhood, a man in their neighborhood and they just want to And then also realizing, there is a digital told us about social awareness and why he’s CL: The experience has influenced people to talk about either the history of it, or they just divide in Detroit. Not everyone has access to now into urban farming. He talked about the go to the next level in community engagement, want to have an interesting and fun event. the internet. The way that I found out about extraction of Black wealth and poverty in his or in making their community better. In Core the effort to establish a ‘West Corktown’ was The thing about Pedal To Porch is stories. I just community. He was saying a lot of the homes City, after the bike ride, my neighbors began scrolling through Facebook and stumbling believe in the power of crafting stories as well around him burned down and now there are to be more active in the community. So we’ve upon the Model D article. as telling stories. For me, crafting stories is all these huge gaps in his community and for launched the 48208 Collaborative. We meet about self-reflection and I feel like when you put every home that’s gone, that story and history once a month to just share what’s happening in For Pedal to Porch I kept the same process aside time to self-reflect, that’s growing your are gone as well. And so it’s up to people in his the neighborhood. That was pretty awesome. that I had with Core City [Stories] because it Photo by Diane Weiss emotional intelligence around your experiences community to reconnect or even fill in those establishes a trust and a relationship with the I think that the best thing that can come taste the dish. We plan on doing five installa- and the more you do that the more capable you gaps by creating new things that benefit the Contact Cornetta Lane and Pedal To Porch at people I’m working with. Also, with Pedal To from sharing your story is that now you’re tions of Dinner for 30, and then we’re going to are of handling different situations and, also, community, like gardens. www.pedaltoporch.strikingly.com Porch, we’re usually invited to the neighbor- interested in organizing in your community create a Detroit Story recipe book. And it’s all whatever hurt that you’ve experienced during hood so we don’t presume that Pedal to Porch I think diversity of story is important. We can because you’re more connected to the people. attached to this identity, food and culture and that time, be able to kind of heal from that. is for every community. do issues-based stories, but I just prefer not to Now you don’t have that fear that you’ll be what food means for communities. So that’s the Story crafting is a form of meditation, I feel. influence what people share. I want people to doing it alone—you’ll be doing it together, project for the winter months. Pedal To Porch seeks to address the issue of Because it has an ability to self-correct, or even share what they authentically feel because it whatever it is. neighbors not knowing each other, and neigh- RW: How are you dealing with the program’s change how you see and view things. It allows comes off better that way. bors not having conversations about what’s On the Eastside, I really wanted to concentrate ties to the Knight Foundation and the for emotional and intellectual exploration and happening in the community. It’s built to lower I have considered doing issues-based Pedal To on conversations along the Detroit/Grosse perceived drawbacks to relying on foundation I believe in that . . . when you come to tell your the barrier of connection between neighbors so Porches—issues like transportation, food and Pointe border. After the Pedal To Porch on the monies to ignite community engagement, or story you’re able to share ideas with people that we can begin to talk to each other. food insecurity but, for the most part, when we Eastside, they put together a plan to create a community development?

riverwise magazine 22 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 23 summer 2017 The Homrich 9: Standing for the People's Right to Water

Kim Redigan “If anything is disorderly, it is an imposed system of governance that is disenfranchising citizens, uprooting the poor and working class, privatizing the commons, and denying babies and elders the human right to water. In comparison to those whose very exis- tence in the face of brutal and unrelenting injustice is an ongoing act of resistance, our action was a mere crumb, a tiny ripple, an embarrassingly small gesture of solidarity—a way of trying to bring some decency and order to a disordered situation.”

Jim Perkinson “Climate change is a message from the water-world calling us to account for our abuse of the poor and the planet for 5,000 years of Kim Redigan Jim Perkinson Marianne McGuire imperial history. In action and accountability, I take my bearings and hope from people of color by fighting for water justice and an end to settler colonialism in this city of the strait.”

Marianne McGuire “EMs take whatever they can. In Michigan, it’s been parks, schools, pensions and yes, even water systems. Water is still systemati- cally being shutoff in Detroit. In Flint, the water has even been poisoned—all as a result of arrogant EMs appointed by governors intent on exerting power and greed over poor people.”

Baxter Jones “We must be very clear: Water is not man-made. Soda pop is man-made. Water is life: “Mni Wiconi!” We have an inalienable right to life. When our community is at risk, each one of us is at risk, whether we admit it or not. When we are deprived of water, our life existence is threatened, and we are obligated to defend ourselves by whatever means necessary.”

Baxter Jones Joan Smith David Olsen J oa n s M i t h “The world is abundant with beauty. It is that beauty which makes me know that we can do better for ourselves, our communities, and our planet. It is that beauty which teaches me to challenge white supremacy and other forms of oppression.“

David Olsen “We’re like a third world country . . . I don’t see how they can cut off water to the elderly, or kids, or anybody. I don’t feel like we’ve won the case. I think we should’ve been out blocking the trucks the next day.”

Reverend Bill Wylie-Kellermann “Initially for me the shut-off of water simply distilled the issues of Emergency Management: corporate fascism, privatization, the assault on democracy, calculated racism, and expelling poor people for the geographic restructuring of Detroit. But in the course of the past three years, water has more and more become a way, spiritually and politically, into how we live on the planet, the commons as a basis of community and justice, an understanding of human (and creaturely) rights, the sacredness of life itself, and Rev. Bill Wylie-Kellermann Marian Kramer Hans Barbe using our lives and bodies in support of all those.”

riverwise magazine 24 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 25 summer 2017 A Freedom School Project

Charles H. Wright Museum CEO Juanita Moore specifi- Wright Museum administrators maintain that the cally credits Dr. Gloria House, a D-REM member, with evolving mission of the Museum to not only educate, The Wright spearheading the effort and understanding “the broad but to integrate with its supporters and the community need to educate these young people…not just about what around it. CEO Moore says that it is vital to host the they should learn in the classrooms, but the broader Detroit Independent Freedom School’s efforts not only lessons about how to live complete lives; the health and from an educational perspective, but from a historical Museum wholeness of their bodies; the longevity and quality perspective. The Freedom School represents a recent of their life and the lives of families and other people history of Black people ‘making a way from no way’ around them. A lot of that revolves around food, espe- whether in the 1960s, the Jim Crow South, or now, in a Goes Green cially in our community and especially in Detroit.” post-industrial, State-controlled urban climate. By Eric Thomas Campbell and Inspired by the Freedom Schools of the South that “I think that this Museum sets that kind of example, Alyson Jones Turner flourished during the Civil Rights movement, DIFS that in this place you can have a garden, you can do offers free, African-centered, enriching educational that work,” Moore says. “I think teaching those kinds experiences for Detroit’s children and families with the of lessons is really important and that’s what this Museums are usually places that preserve the assistance of the community volunteers. Museum should be doing.” past. But the Charles H. Wright Museum of During their first year, DIFS organized four sites across The DIFS garden is just one part of the Charles H. African American History is also shaping the the city. Each site worked to provide children with Wright Museum’s commitment to progressive program- future. Since the very beginning it has chal- opportunities to learn and grow surrounded by adults ming. Over the last several months, the Museum has lenged people to think differently about what who love and care about them. Curriculum is deter- presented a jam-packed schedule of speakers and panels we value about our history. As one of the first mined by the site coordinators working with families, on all facets of the movement for Black liberation, both museums in the country devoted to African- children and volunteers. nationally and locally, as part of an ongoing exhibit and American culture, it has placed the struggles extensive program around the 1967 Rebellion. of people for a just world at the heart of what The Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American it does. The Charles H. Wright Museum is an History offered space for DIFS educators during the According to Vice-President Ferrell, the Charles H. important place to nurture our young people 2016–2017 school year. As the educational activities Wright is expanding the definition of a Museum in in their commitment to social justice. This is for children grew, family members began to meet with many other ways. They have embraced an outreach why they have decided to support the emerging organizers to spread awareness around issues that affect program to prisoners; they are also making international Independent Freedom School movement. our children in public education. connections through educational tours that will take students and educators to the Caribbean for presenta- The museum’s reinforcement of community- Bianca Danzy began her relationship with the DIFS as a tions by historians like Randall Robinson. based education now includes housing a parent and volunteer saying, she “fell in love with what gardening program on a terrace of the Museum was going on there.” Already an established figure in But it’s the garden on the terrace that provides imme- grounds. The raised-bed garden is another way the urban farming community through her venture, diate opportunities for children to observe nature at its in which the Charles H. Wright Museum is ‘Real Food By Bianca’, she urged DIFS coordinators to finest, providing sustenance for the body and the mind. transcending institutional norms. incorporate a green space into the learning environment. “As a history museum and a sacred place, we want to be Danzy now heads the youth gardening program for the “The whole spiritual concept of planting some- an example of how to use limited space to grow food,” DIFS at the Charles H. Wright Museum. Her gardening thing and removing the weeds and nurturing Ferrell says. “We want to lead and embrace the garden class is derived from a program and book called, “A Taste it and seeing it grow and then being able to because it really offers a lot of educational opportunities. of African Heritage”, in which students grow vegetables eat, it’s a way for not only the children, but the It’s another way that the Charles Wright is attempting to specifically for preparing meals that emphasize nutrition parents to know that you have to have a place be more than just a museum—but to also be a center for and African culture. where you can grow your own food,” Charles the community to come and say, this is our institution.” H. Wright Museum Vice-President Charles “Everything I do is plant-based, to show the children, For more information on the Detroit Independent Ferrell told Riverwise. “You know it’s clean, especially Black children, that we can eat sustainably and Freedom Schools, visit www.d-rem.org/freedom-schools. it’s organic. There are multiple reasons why it can be delicious,” Danzy told Riverwise. this sends a higher message to the community The construction and design of the DIFS garden was around self-determination.” Raised on Detroit’s northwest side, Eric Thomas Camp- implemented by DIFS volunteers active at the Museum, bell is the co-ordinator of Riverwise Magazine and a Responding to the State-led dismantling of the under the direction of Kwamena Mensah. Mensah is one member of the editorial staff. Eric worked as a staff writer for the Michigan Citizen Newspaper from 2007- Detroit public school system, the Detroit Inde- of the founding members of the Detroit Black Commu- 2012, covering a wide range of issues affecting Detroit’s pendent Freedom Schools Movement (DIFS) nity Food Security Network (DBCFSN) and the former majority Black community. He has frequently written was initiated in 2016 by a group of activists from farm manager at D-Town Farms. The site was chosen press releases for the James and Grace Lee Boggs Center. Detroiters Resisting Emergency Management partly for its full exposure to the sun, allowing a longer (D-REM). D-REM activists organized initial growing season, Mensah told Riverwise. He says DIFS meetings to bring together local educators, students plan on growing up to 30 different vegetable groups involved in education advocacy as well as varieties, including hot and cold crops, for harvest at enthusiastic volunteers to give birth to DIFS. various times of the year. Photos by Gloria House (top), Piper Carter (second), and Gloria House (third and bottom)

Photos by Gloria House (top), Piper Carter (second and third), and Gloria House (bottom) riverwise magazine 26 summer 2017 riverwise magazine 27 summer 2017 9/12 9/29 Scott Kurashige Book Lecture, “50 Years Poetry Performance and Book Debut of of Rebellion: How the US Political Crisis Medicine: New and Selected Poems by Began In Detroit” Aneb Kgositsile (Gloria House) Charles H. Wright Museum of Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History African-American History 313-494-5800, [email protected] 7:00 p.m. 313-494-5800, [email protected] 9/16 Detroit Independent Freedom School Classes Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History every Saturday, 10:00–1:00 p.m. 313-583-9395, [email protected] 9/16–9/17 10th Annual D-Town Farm Harvest Festival D-Town Farm 14027 W. Outer Drive Noon–6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday 313-345-3663 10/22 Riverwise Community Conversation 9/21 St. David’s Episcopal Church 16200 W. 12 Mile Road, International Peace Prayer Celebration, Southfield, MI 48076 11:30 a.m. hosted by Voices for Earth Justice and 248-557-5430 Capuchin Soup Kitchen with guest speakers Naim Edwards and Rochelle Riley St. Bonaventure Monastery Chapel 10/27–10/29 1740 Mount Elliott Street 6:00-8:00 p.m. 13th annual Great Lakes Bioneers Detroit Conference ‘1967-Revolution To Evolution-2017’ 9/23 Marygrove College 8425 W. McNichols Rd. (MC#409), Noble Outdoor Classroom Garden Tour, Detroit, MI 48221 2–6 p.m. in conjunction with Riverwise 313-717-6151, www.glbd.org Community Conversation, 4:30–6 p.m. 12408 Wisconsin (At the corner of Fullerton) 313-334-2460 11/9–11/11 Place Based Education Conference Eastern Michigan University pod, 2017 9/23 Student Center Materials: stinging nettle, 900 Oakwood Street, soil, plastic globe Critical Conversation on the Education Crisis Ypsilanti, MI. 48197 517-371-7468, [email protected] in Detroit, sponsored by Detroit Independent Freedom Schools Movement in conjunction with the national We Choose Campaign Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History 1:00–3:30 p.m. riverwise magazine 28 summer 2017 Review By Mike Doan So Goes the Nation?

The Fifty Year Rebellion by Scott Kurashige; University of California Press, 2017

The Fifty-Year are reactions born of white fear and feelings of Ultimately, the decades-long battle to redefine Rebellion invites growing irrelevancy on the part of the capitalist and reshape Detroit “provides a window into us to consider class: fear of black political power, of the collec- the epochal conflict between two alternative Detroit’s recent tive strength of workers, and of the swagger of futures”: one characterized by authoritarian history as both Detroiters demonstrating more humane ways rule by the superwealthy, the other by the epitomizing and of surviving and thriving together while capi- steady spread of participatory democracy. shaping national talism writhes and dies in the background. Insofar as Detroit’s most creative organizers trends. But it’s not are helping to tip the scales towards the more Long before the election of Donald Trump— the kind of invita- promising of the two futures, it is because they who rode a groundswell of right-wing popu- tion we’ve all embody “an intercommunal form of localism lism, racism, and xenophobia, promising to grown used to. that seeks to connect with place-based struggles “make America great again”—Detroiters were around the globe that refuse to be absorbed into We’ve heard plenty familiar with forced “revitalization” in a dehumanizing and unsustainable system.” the warn- the name of former greatness. ings: Detroit is This is a book to be shared with everyone As Kurashige points out, many key elements that America’s “canary in the coal mine,” signaling hoping to keep tipping the scales. It helpfully marked the rise of Trump had already facilitated to the rest of the country how toxic the air heals historical amnesia, centers everyday the state takeover, the bankruptcy of Detroit, is growing. And since the birthplace of the people as creators of change, and moves us and the corporate restructuring of the city: voter American Dream is now the poster-child of next to each other, where we keep turning to disenfranchisement, the gutting of workers’ post-industrial decline, we’ve all heard how, “as turn things around. rights, the pillaging of public goods and institu- goes Detroit, so goes the nation.” tions, and authoritarian rule by superwealthy Mike Doan is a community-based activist in Detroit These clichés are usually wielded as counsels “outsiders” (Snyder as Michigan’s Trump). where he has lived for five years. He works with Detroi- ters REsisting Emergency Management, the Detroit of despair. Not only do they cast Detroit as a Kurashige develops three key arguments: first, Independent Freedom Schools Movement and the Boggs place consumed by doom and gloom, they also Center To Nurture Community Leadership. He is also a the “counter-revolution” we are confronting strip us all of our agency, conjuring images Professor of Philosophy. Cabinet, 2016, Materials: mixed media is a reaction to a 50-year rebellion; second, of an unavoidable spiral into unemployment, the overlapping political and economic crises neighborhoods ravaged by school closings, confronting us today are a product of the water shutoffs, shuttered houses, broken prom- neoliberal turn; and third, despite the immense ises and shattered dreams. hardships its peoples have endured, Detroit About the back Far less common are reminders that Detroit remains most significant as a city of hope. cover artist is the home of incalculable collective power— Ash Arder is a Detroit-based, interdisci- There is much to be rejected in the age of plinary artist and designer who creates a place brimming with the brilliance of emergency managers and gameshow presi- objects and experiences that investigate visionary organizers, the seedbed of so many and re-imagine the relationship between dents. Nevertheless, Kurashige emphasizes other ways to keep on going on, quietly sowing people and natural environments. that Detroit’s visionary organizers “have This work relies on the cultivation and and growing together. research of live plants throughout each moved from the ‘rejections’ defining the stage stage of their lifecycle, including the As Grace Lee Boggs once put it, Detroiters of rebellion to the ‘projections’ necessary process and potential of plants to create have long been “very conscious of our city as to revolutionize the way we live, work, and fiber and other industrial materials. Ash combines personal memories with a movement city.” In The Fifty-Year Rebellion, sustain community.” Growing food in vacant fictional narratives to create future Scott Kurashige skillfully reinvigorates this lots and producing life’s necessities with worlds and scenarios that challenge the consciousness, teaching us to think about the community-based technologies “can offer the way objects are consumed and used. overlapping crises of our city, country, and proletariat a new method to own the means “Each work depicts stinging nettle in some way. I forage for the plants in planet from below. of production”—if only the city’s devalued Detroit and then hand process them into lands can be protected and preserved while fiber. Some of these works explore alter- From this vantage point, systematic disinvest- Detroiters continue “building the social native ways of growing the nettle, and ment, emergency management, and bankruptcy others make use of the fiber and/or the consciousness and relationships necessary are all part of a decades-long effort to stamp out byproduct of the fiber-making process.” to unleash the greatest potential of the the liberatory energies that erupted in ‘67, and post-industrial epoch.” are still pulsing through the city today. These

riverwise magazine summer 2017 Pulp studies, 2016 30 Materials: stinging nettle pulp Strange Fruit, 2015 Materials: stinging nettle fiber, faux apples, paper