July 2014

Something I came across a few days ago: Source: http://motorcitymuckraker.com/blog/2014/07/02/3-grosse-pointe-teens-busted-for-spray-painting-downtown-detroit-building/ First off, I’d like to say that Motor City Muckraker is an awesome Detroit news source because it isn’t afraid to push the envelope and be racy. They don’t pretend to act unbiased because everyone is a target in these investigative journalists’ eyes. Recently, they’ve …

Bored suburban kids trying to feel “hardcore”? I feel that. Read More »

On Sunday, June 29th, 2014, 11-year-old Ti-yay Nelson was handcuffed by police after another boy accused him of stealing a television.  His mother, Krystal Williams, did not have any whereabouts on her son. The police did not inform her that they had taken him to three different detention facilities. Nor was she allowed to give …

Week Five: Stop Arresting the Children! Read More »

The article I read was about poetry. Not only did the author of the article, Gerry Lafemina, mention Inside Out explicitly, he echoed the sentiment expressed by myself and a few teachers in the Uncommon Core workshop lead by Jeff Cass in Ann Arbor about two weeks back. Poetry culture is changing, and simply by …

POETRY IS NOT DEAD! Read More »

“Thousands go without water as Detroit cuts service for nonpayment” http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-detroit-water-20140629-story.html#page=1 I wanted to look into a community issue Detroit faces that is somewhat different than what I’m working with at the HP Collaborative. I know a lot of different organizations in the DCBRP focus on environmental issues, so I thought that would be cool …

Week 5: Water shut-offs in Detroit Read More »

http://www.swsol.org/pages/assets/Bill_OBrien_Los_Angeles_Times.pdf I chose this article because I felt it provides a view into the world of community organizing in the context of Southwest Detroit, as well as other communities like Chicago. The story of Bill O’Brien, a community organizer, reminds me of the work of a couple of my coworkers as well as the topics …

Community Organizing in Detroit Read More »

Detroit Water Shut Offs; NBC News Recently, Food & Water Watch, as part of a coalition of other organizations, submitted a report to the UN Special Rapporteur on Water, citing the DWSD’s mass shut offs of water to residential homes as a human rights violation. According to the UN, if a person cannot pay their bill, …

Blog 5: Do Two Commodities Make a Right, OR The Story of Water, Sewer and the UN in Detroit Read More »