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Recent Posts
- A People’s History of Grand Rapids book is now available
- Revolutionary Anarchist Youth zine highlights benefit show in Grand Rapids for political prisoner Geronimo Pratt in 1996
- Revolutionary Anarchist Youth flyer on the Amway co-founders
- Just after the Depression years, the Grand Rapids City Government provided direct relief and created a public works project for those unemployed
- Some examples of the conditions for blacks in Grand Rapids and what types of discrimination blacks faced on a daily basis in the early part of the 20th Century
Author Archives: Jeff Smith (GRIID)
A People’s History of Grand Rapids book is now available
After years of research, interviews and archival materials, A People’s History of Grand Rapids is finally available. Since Howard Zinn wrote A People’s History of the United States, there have been numerous books that have used his model to address … Continue reading
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Revolutionary Anarchist Youth zine highlights benefit show in Grand Rapids for political prisoner Geronimo Pratt in 1996
The following post is the second in a series using archival documents from Cole Dorsey, a longtime activist/organizer in Grand Rapids and the Bay Area in California. Below is a page from one of the many zines created by the … Continue reading
Revolutionary Anarchist Youth flyer on the Amway co-founders
Editor’s note: A dear friend and comrade, Cole Dorsey passed away recently and one of his family members passed along some of the archival materials he saved, which is what this post is about. In the mid-1990s, the group Revolutionary … Continue reading
Just after the Depression years, the Grand Rapids City Government provided direct relief and created a public works project for those unemployed
The great depression that began in 1929, happened all across the globe. Grand Rapids was not immune to the devastation brought about because of the economic catastrophe. However, during the depression years, there was one elected official who implemented New … Continue reading
Some examples of the conditions for blacks in Grand Rapids and what types of discrimination blacks faced on a daily basis in the early part of the 20th Century
Over the past month, we have been posting articles based on archives from the Grand Rapids Public Library of Paul I. Phillips. In January, we posted a piece from a document by Phillips, where he lists all of the black … Continue reading
“Maybe America has forgotten how smoke smells”: The state of Black Grand Rapids from the perspective of Paul I Phillips in the mid-1970s
(As always, we are grateful for the assistance of the staff at the Grand Rapids Public Library, particularly those on 4th floor.) Our last post referred to a document from former Urban League members Paul I Phillips, where he documented … Continue reading
African Americans from Grand Rapids who were part of the US Civil War
(As always, we are grateful for the assistance of the staff at the Grand Rapids Public Library, particularly those on 4th floor.) In reading the book, African Americans in the Furniture City: The Struggle for Civil Rights in Grand Rapids … Continue reading
1970 document sheds light on the housing crisis in Grand Rapids and the lack of political will to solve it
We came across a document at the Grand Rapids Library recent, a document that is included in the William M. Glenn Papers. William Glen was involved with the Grand Rapids Urban League and he also was part of the Housing … Continue reading
Days of Our Lies: Public Access TV show provided independent news and news analysis in Grand Rapids from 1992 – 1998
For nearly seven years (between 1992 – 1998), if people had access to cable TV in the Grand Rapids area, they might have come across a show on GRTV called, Days of Our Lies. The show was started by several … Continue reading
56 years ago what did the GR Press report on Malcolm X’s suspension from the Nation of Islam over comments on President Kennedy’s death?
Fifty six year ago, Malcolm X made comments about President Kennedy’s assassination, comments which got him suspended by Elijah Mohammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam. Here on the right, you can read what the Grand Rapids Press ran, … Continue reading
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