Martin Luther King Day in Detroit 2014

Today was the national observance of Martin Luther King Day. At Central United Methodist many activists from across the city gathered. The fight for human, civil, social, economic, and environmental rights was palpable throughout the day. We started with  speakers and presentations to acknowledge what has been accomplished with a message aimed at the present and future. This was followed by a march through the streets past the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Hall (happening at this time). After the march we came together for a meal and entertainment from various poets and musicians. Learn more about the plans for the day and follow-up at http://mlkdetroit.org

Slideshow of Photos

Link to Broadcast Video Clips

http://bambuser.com/tag/mlkdetroit - 27 clips captured from inside church, on the march, and entertainment afterward.

MICATS Facing Felony Charges for Enbridge Pipeline Blockade

Today representatives for four people charged with resisting & obstructing are requesting their felony cases be quashed in Ingham County 55th District Court by Judge Donald L. Allen Jr.. I'm tracking this case live from court and building the Storify content as it happens.

Unfortunately my laptop battery power died during court. I was not able to take photos inside the court either.

Reaping What We Sow - Hope for Better Days?

I was looking at the historic origins of patriotism and found this passage from "Fears In Solitude" within Sibylline Leaves [The Works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Prose and Verse]. It was written in April 1798 during the alarm of an invasion.

We send our mandates for the certain death of thousands and ten thousands! Boys and girls, and women that would groan to see a child pull off an insect's leg, all read of war, the best amusement for our morning meal! The poor wretch who has learnt his only prayers from curses, who knows scarcely words enough to ask a blessing from his Heavenly Father, becomes a fluent phraseman absolute and technical in victories and defeats, and all our dainty terms for fratricide. Terms which we trundle smoothly o'er our tongues. Like mere abstractions empty sounds, to which We join no feeling and attach no form! As if the soldier died without a wound. As if the fibres of this godlike frame were gored without a pang. As if the wretch who fell in battle doing bloody deeds pass'd off to Heaven translated and not kill'd; As though he had no wife to pine for him, no God to judge him! Therefore evil days are coming on us, O my countrymen! And what if all-avenging Providence, strong and retributive, should make us know the meaning of our words, force us to feel the desolation and the agony of our fierce doings!

The statements are intended to have the reader consider the position of those committed to war. Not just the traditional wars labelled as such, include these:

• the war on the poor 
• the intentional derogation of societies and communities 
• the preying on differences in the name of greed and superiority 

We must ask who has represented us and brought the conflict forward. What stake do those responsible for the deaths of those involved have in the choice of war? Will the responsible parties hold to being responsible? They must know the reality of war, don't they? Rather than bear that responsibility the story is turned over to our press and television. They will wash away the true nature of violence, sanitize it for easy consumption and build support for the effort of war, rarely questioning the premise for engaging.

As I view and think it through I find it is aligned with thoughts that we will reap what we sow. Violence will beget violence. Sadly we contribute to the maddening delusion that the war must exist. We also cling to the belief that our press and television are there to provide news in the manner we need to hear it. The message is clear that the authorities behind the message are helping us, providing guidance in the "truth" of the matter.

Welcome to 2014 - I hope you continue to read what is outside the mainstream. Remember this saying I've been using throughout 2013, it deserves more time in our lives.

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Question authority or be enslaved by it.

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Educate yourself, quest for the truth, live a life of service to others and know through this you will be cared for as the community grows. Be so close to the story you follow that you are part of that story knowing it intimately. Its time to be engaged in living and responsible for making future plans that have a future for our children.

Detroit Warming Centers 2013-14

The warming centers in the city of Detroit for the Winter of 2013-14 are listed below.

Center Name with City weblink	Address	Open Hours
Crowell Recreation Center	16630 Lahser	11am - 7pm
Farwell Recreation Center	2781 East Outer Drive	1pm - 9pm
Heilman Community Center	19261 Crusade	1pm - 9pm

This map of the locations is from the City of Detroit website for all recreation / community centers.

Response to NY Times - Detroit Bankrupcty

Response to Detroit Bankruptcy Ruling, NY Times, Dec 3rd

I have a tough time watching the gentrification of downtown Detroit occur while the surrounding area has been shoved further and further out of view. Money focuses on what it knows and the marketing pulling into the city spins like a vortex on downtown & midtown. Detroit has beautiful areas that have been languishing, waiting and deteriorating, they need recognized and prodded forward.

The plan from Kevyn Orr (aka Bing's old plan, not quite the Future City plan) will be scrutinized in these ways most specifically:

1. Transparency - the city and state get failing grades on bringing the public in during pre-planning and planning. City Charter requirements from 2012 need to be fully implemented, including extending the council to interact with the neighborhoods (CACs were supposed to have happened in 2012 election). The Mayor (and EM) should be available to the public, not locked up in a office talking with the media offering well-timed press conferences on continued corporate domination of the city.



Check Revolve Detroit for info
about the "Avenue of Fashion"

2. Equality - the city has a lot of land for the number of residents. The people are asking for COMMONS to be formed that would not be corporatized or privatized. Places for gathering in education, entertainment, and exchange. We need community land trusts all over the city - so the people own it and have a place to gather.
3. Clean Up Pollution - corporations chose Detroit for polluting and willful destruction of environment. Public oversight on regulatory activities is needed - the people need to know and be cared for. Profit over people is a risky game. We need to reassess all tax abatements and the rationale for them - most need removed and taxes are what a city needs to operate.
4. Ensure Access - public transportation across a broad city is a MANDATORY NEED. Income levels, insurance red-lining, and continual redistricting/zoning makes mass transit vital. Mass transit must visit the community commons - not the corporate shopping malls.
5. Embrace New Ways - high tech infrastructure has been driven down in cost. Green energy is cheaper to produce than dirty energy. Bicycling & walking is healthier. Detroit needs walkable neighborhoods with full services - grocers, clothiers, shops, offices, and light portable industry scattered across the city. City gardens and farms need to be endorsed and supported - give them the watering and feeding needed to grow. That means commons for markets, resources, and growing young gardeners.
6. Education For All Ages - not just traditional education, this is knowing how to live in an progressive, forward thinking, creative realm. Learning how to work smarter with what you know you have and having access to find what you don't know, partnering it in. Stepping out of corporate mentality into community coops. Make sure our elders and youth discover lifetimes that last an eternity by learning together.

There is more that needs mentioned. There is an active movement around the city that is exploring and supportive of what is mentioned above and the "more" I've alluded to. It may be talked about as a focal few, but that number has been growing from hundreds to thousands who are putting their feet in the street, bodies in the chairs, and speaking their minds in public forums.