April 7, 2022 To Governor Gretchen Whitmer, State Police Director Colonel Joseph Gafper, and DHHS Deputy Director David Knezek: We are greatly alarmed that Michigan State police are being sent to target and harass Rev. Edward Pinkney, the noted community activist in Benton Harbor, Michigan. On March 25, 2022 Sgt. Hayward of the Paw Paw…
By Black Ink
Free H.H.! Prosecutorial Persecution and Pitfalls
[Submitted by Friends of H.H.] We can all take a deep breath, avert our gaze, and rest easy. Washtenaw County now has a progressive prosecutor—Eli Savit, whose platform claims that (1) coercive plea bargaining, (2) over-prosecution, (3) prolonged pre-trial detentions, (4) aggressive prosecution of drug possession charges, and (5) racial inequity are things of the…
Landlords Try to Play Games, Tenants Win
On Thursday, a group of tenants gathered for a cookout and speakout at Frissinger Park in opposition to a landlord picnic and Kickball game, hosted by the Washtenaw Area Apartment Association. The WA3 organizes landlords and hosts events on topics ranging from “priceless advice on evictions” to “empower[ing] your residents to task simple repairs.” The…
Gabriel Jermaine Vanlandingham-Dunn: Sounds of the High Sun
In the pandemic, playlists by loved ones and strangers have been not only a major solace, but also a way of not just feeling connected across walls and timezones, but a way of literally being connected. Even when a comrade turns us on to a single song (just now: “1 Thing” by Amerie), they just…
Jeff Clark: To Know Again
On May 18, Ypsilanti City Council voted to go over budget and hire 3 armed YPD officers and 1 YPD records clerk. The vote was split 4-3, with those opposed expressing concerns about adding to the budget deficit and lack of time for public input, including via the council’s own Police Oversight Commission. On June…
J.B. Miller: Little Boys, Little Bikes, Big Guns, Big Budgets
On May 18, Ypsilanti City Council voted to go over budget and hire 3 armed YPD officers and 1 YPD records clerk. The vote was split 4-3, with those opposed expressing concerns about adding to the budget deficit and lack of time for public input, including via the council’s own Police Oversight Commission. On June…
H.H. Gonzales: Does More Police Equal Security?
On May 18, Ypsilanti City Council voted to go over budget and hire 3 armed YPD officers and 1 YPD records clerk. The vote was split 4-3, with those opposed expressing concerns about adding to the budget deficit and lack of time for public input, including via the council’s own Police Oversight Commission. On June…
Marcina Cole: More Police Is Not the Answer
On May 18, Ypsilanti City Council voted to go over budget and hire 3 armed YPD officers and 1 YPD records clerk. The vote was split 4-3, with those opposed expressing concerns about adding to the budget deficit and lack of time for public input, including via the council’s own Police Oversight Commission. On June…
EMUPD: What It Doesn’t Do and Why We Don’t Need It
Although its got a new sports facility and a recently renovated Engineering and Technology building, Eastern Michigan University (EMU) has been known more for the ongoing austerity its workers and students face. If the administration isn’t selling off rights to its parking or dining halls or dorms, it’s firing secretaries in departments whose secretaries are…
Building a Midwest Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement
This document is the product of a group of revolutionaries in the so-called “Midwestern” region of the United States, to clarify a regional political trajectory for revolutionary abolitionist practice in the Midwest. We define it as a “trajectory” because we think that any strategy and analysis we outline should be subject to constant critique, development,…