For those of us looking for ways to stand up and care for black comrades in our community, here’s a timely one: help Nya Njee get the pay she’s owed by Mighty Good Coffee Company of Ann Arbor. Here is a bit about Nya’s plight, in her own words:   The following is a statement…

Cinda Firestone’s legendary film Attica (1974) is freely available at last, brought to us by a crew of folks who organized a free screening last week at Hasta Muerte, in solidarity with the 2018 #prisonstrike. Pictured above is 21-year-old Attica organizer Elliott “L.D.” Barkley, who was executed by prison guards after the rebellion had been…

Our post about the gentrification of Ypsilanti had some folks messaging us to ask for names of Ypsilanti establishments owned by people of color. Herewith a necessarily incomplete list, crowdsourced by Keep Ypsi Black followers. Contact us to add an entry! And keep in mind that we haven’t rigidly adhered to the official borders of…

If you’ve tried to have a conversation with a white friend about gentrification, it’s pretty likely you reached an impasse the moment you posed any sort of critique of “revitalization.” If you’ve tried to have such a conversation with a white Ypsilanti resident about the readily apparent gentrification of this city, it’s even more likely…

A public statement co-written by organizers of CAWS, HVDSA, and community members. Check it out, and spread the word! Or download a PDF here.

Boredom Weeps: Graffiti, Curses, Inscriptions of May 1968 was published May 1, 2018 by Black Ink and Interference Archive as a free 208-pp. paperback in an edition of 1,000 copies. The printed edition of the book is out of stock, so with pleasure we now offer up this digital version of the book. Download, delectate,…

Join Darius Simpson in celebration of his book Conversion Theory! With special guests Asaka the Renegade, Justin Gordon, Mikhaella, and Bayan. Sounds by DJ Kidd. Visual art by Diamond Symone. Tuesday, May 29, 6–8 p.m. Riverside Arts Center 76 N Huron St., Ypsilanti $5–$25 requested donation for entry (no one will be turned away for lack of…

Tuesday, May 1 5:01 P.M. Downtown Ann Arbor Keep May Day fun and tell your boss to heck off as we take to Ann Arbor’s streets for some festive, working-class merriment (and maybe also mischief). To play the Peoples’ Pac Man, you either join—or create—a spawn point somewhere within the Ann Arbor game map. Each…

President Franklin Roosevelt’s Federal Housing Administration (FHA) transformed the housing and mortgage markets during the Great Depression, offering loan guarantees to builders and long-term mortgages to qualified borrowers. From the 1930s to the 1960s, however, the FHA considered loans in segregated African-American neighborhoods, as well as integrated ones, as highly risky. The FHA’s underwriting rules…

We talked with legend Tateanna Hinds about her and Ike’s project 88ALASKA. 88ALASKA Radio airs every Sunday from 8–10 p.m. EST on 1shotradio.net. Can you say a bit about what 1Shot Radio is?   1Shot Radio is a platform that works to uplift the underground culture by giving exposure to musicians, producers, DJs, small businesses, and creatives…