Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy

Established in 1998, the Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy (GRIID) emerged as a reaction to the increasing power of corporate media. GRIID focuses on educating individuals about media literacy and developing critical thinking skills. They explore how media operates and how it can mislead the public on important topics, including war, race, gender, health, the environment, consumerism, and elections.

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Palestine Solidarity Information and Analysis for the week of June 22nd

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

It has been more than 20 months since the Israeli government began their most recent assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated to what the international community has called genocide, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing.
West Michigan Foundation Watch: The Dan and Pamela DeVos Foundation

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Philanthropy is just reputation laundering for the oligarchy. It is that time of the year again, when GRIID posts about the various West Michigan Foundations from families that make up the Grand Rapids Power Structure. I start with the DeVos family, which has 5 different foundations. The Dan and Pamela DeVos FoundationGRIID has always begun our Foundation Watch work by looking at the foundations associated with the most powerful family in West Michigan, the DeVos family.
Grand Rapids police apologist group, Voice for the Badge, endorses the statement “We will kill you graveyard dead” in regards to cops dealing with protesters

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Three days ago, the GRPD apologist group Voice for the Badge, posted on their Facebook page an article about a Sheriff in Florida who made a statement recently regarding those protesting ICE. Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey issued a harsh warning Thursday to protesters who use violence in his county: “Throw a brick, a firebomb or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at. Because we will kill you graveyard dead.
Local news coverage of last night’s ICE Out of GR rally fails to provide context and misses the mark on what a sanctuary policy would mean for Grand Rapids

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Last night Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE hosted a rally at Calder Plaza to denounce the violence that ICE is committing in Grand Rapids, which includes the monitoring, intimidation, arrest and detention of immigrants. All four of the West Michigan TV stations and MLive reported on the rally, in varying degrees of accuracy.
Michigan Democrats have done nothing to get Carlos Menjivar released from detention

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Since last Wednesday, when Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response held a Press Conference to condemn the detention of Carlos Menjivar, there has been no evidence that Michigan Senators Gary Peters and Elissa Slotkin, along with Rep. Hillary Scholten, have shown no evidence that they have even attempted to get a father out of detention. People have sent over 2,400 online Action Alerts to Peters, Slotkin and Scholten.
Update on the family in Sanctuary in Grand Rapids and the father in detention

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Last week I reported on the Salvadoran family that went into sanctuary after the father was arrested and detained by ICE after coming to his scheduled appointment at the ISAP office on June 4. There are several updates I wish to communicate. First, the mother and her three children realized that after the campaign to get Senator’s Peter and Slotkin, along with Rep.
The making of a People’s History of the LGBTQ community in Grand Rapids documentary film

1 week ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

(Editor’s note: This article is an excerpt from my book, A People’s History of Grand Rapids.)In 2011, the LGBT Resource Center at GVSU invited us to create a documentary on the People’s History of the LGBTQ community in Grand Rapids. We interviewed about 75 people, collected archival material and looked at how the Grand Rapids-based commercial news media reported on the LGBTQ community. You can watch that documentary online at this link.
Palestine Solidarity Information and Analysis for the week of June 15th

2 weeks ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

It has been 20 months since the Israeli government began their most recent assault on Gaza and the West Bank. The retaliation for the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel, has escalated to what the international community has called genocide, therefore, GRIID will be providing weekly links to information and analysis that we think can better inform us of what is happening, along with the role that the US government is playing.
The Geo Group: We make profits off of human misery using taxpayer money in Grand Rapids and all around the world

2 weeks ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Since June 4th, the public awareness around the existence of the ISAP office in Grand Rapids has increased, since ICE agents arrested and detained immigrants who were coming to their scheduled appointments at 545 Michigan St.Since then, GR Rapid Response to ICE has been providing accompaniment to people who have appointments at that office, along with those who go to the ICE office at 517 Ottawa NW, just north of the 196 overpass. A lot more people have also learned about what an ISAP office is.
Denouncing ICE deception and cruelty in Grand Rapids, local immigrant justice groups created an online campaign to Free Carlos Menjivar

2 weeks ago | griid.org | Jeff Smith

Yesterday, Movimiento Cosecha and GR Rapid Response to ICE held a Press Conference at Fountain Street Church to denounce ICE deception and cruelty against a Salvadoran family. The family of Carlos Menjivar is claiming Sanctuary out of fear of being detained by ICE, following Carlos’ arrest last Wednesday, June 4, at an ICE raid here in Grand Rapids.