-
Recent Posts
- New Interview for the GRPS Uncovered podcast
- New GRPS Uncovered podcast for 7/7/2025
- Radical Grand Rapids: Places, Dates, Actions and People
- New book by long time community activist Paul Mayhue: Another Brother in The Struggle
- New Grand Rapids podcast sheds light on the history of the Grand Rapids Public Schools
Category Archives: Civil Rights/Freedom Movement
A.J. Muste: radical pacifist, labor organizer and former Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation spent his formative years in Grand Rapids
One never knows how our lives evolve and what impact we will have on social issues and the various movements for radical social justice. Abraham Johannes Muste, also known as AJ, was one of those people who had and continues … Continue reading
Malcolm X Spoke in Grand Rapids in 1962
On February 12, 1962, Malcolm X spoke at Fountain Street Church in Grand Rapids to an estimated crowd of 350 people. His lecture was part of the Great Speakers Lecture Series that Fountain Street has hosted for decades. Before we … Continue reading
Revisiting the 1967 Race Riot in Grand Rapids
“It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These … Continue reading
A Legacy of Organized Resistance: the Rosa Parks statue in Grand Rapids
The only statue in Grand Rapids that doesn’t feature someone who spent part of their life in this city, is that of Rosa Parks. The statue is located at the west entrance to a downtown community gathering space, also known … Continue reading
Artwork highlights a People’s History in Grand Rapids – Print #7 – African American Community responds to Red-lining with Auburn Hills Project
This past semester, art students in Brett Colley’s class on printmaking, invited me to come talk about the Grand Rapids People’s History Project. The intent of the class was to have students investigate their own part of a People’s History … Continue reading
Julian Bond’s 1969 anti-war and anti-racism message in Grand Rapids
In October of 1969, former Georgia legislator, SNCC founder and NAACP President, Julian Bond, spoke at Aquinas College. The best article on Bond’s visit to Grand Rapids in 1969, was written by John Ottenhoff with the Calvin College student newspaper. … Continue reading
GR Press Coverage of Stokley Carmichael visit to Grand Rapids – 1967
On May17, 1967, the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Black Power advocate, Stokley Carmichael, spoke at Fountain Street Church to a standing room only crowd. Since we do not have a transcript of what Carmichael said, we must rely … Continue reading
The Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives: An Interview with George Bayard
Something very exciting is underway, something that is critical to the history of Grand Rapids. The Grand Rapids African American Museum and Archives project. If is very fitting that the acronym, GRAAMA, is rooted in the person that tells the … Continue reading
To say anything further would only give comfort, or possibly discomfort, to white racists: The Grand Rapids Press Coverage of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. assassination – 1968
It has been 50 years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Much has been written about his murder, but what did the Grand Rapids Press have to say about the incident when it happened? There was front … Continue reading
From Chicago to Grand Rapids, Lessons in Liberation: An Interview with Jose Cha Cha Jimenez & the Young Lords
The other day we had the opportunity to sit down with Jose Cha Cha Jimenez, one of the founders of the Puerto Rican Revolutionary groups, the Young Lords. Jimenez reflects on the fact that the Young Lords were formerly a … Continue reading
Grand Rapids People's History Project 