In this fourth installment of the Riverwise podcast, Yolanda Jackson of the Coalition for Property Tax Justice reminds us that, leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Detroiters were already in crisis. Due to inflated property assessments made by the City of Detroit during the years 2013-2019, property owners were overtaxed by an estimated $600 million. As a result, thousands of homes were unconstitutionally and illegally foreclosed due to nonpayment of property taxes.
Prior to the onset of COVID-19, academic studies had uncovered the depths of a foreclosure epidemic that also preys on the most vulnerable. Jackson joins hosts Amas Muhammed and Riverwise Editor Eric Campbell to discuss how community organizing is working to repair the overwhelming damage.
Episode Notes
The Riverwise Podcast is bringing together Detroit citizens to consider new and forms of resistance to continuing economic and political marginalization in communities of color. For over three years now, the Riverwise collective has created media that depicts local activism and the profound new work being done in Detroit neighborhoods. Through the quarterly Riverwise magazine, Riverwise community conversations, and the Riverwise Writing Workshop, we're developing our collective voice.

Yolanda Jackson of the Coalition for Property Tax Justice

The Riverwise Podcast is bringing together Detroit citizens to consider new and forms of resistance to continuing economic and political marginalization in communities of color. For over three years now, the Riverwise collective has created media that depicts local activism and the profound new work being done in Detroit neighborhoods. Through the quarterly Riverwise magazine, Riverwise community conversations, and the Riverwise Writing Workshop, we're developing our collective voice.

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Roberto Mendoza joins the Riverwise podcast to talk about his works of activism and organizing for a lifetime. Mendoza was a mentee and friend of Grace & Jimmy Boggs where they all met in Maine. Soon after the relationship of organizing for environmental justice and more were captured. Today Mendoza works in Oklahoma within the environmental and Indigenous community organizing. In this discussion, we talk about California, Maine, Oklahoma, and what all places meant to Roberto's life and from the lens of the Indigenous culture.
The Riverwise Podcast is bringing together Detroit citizens to consider new and forms of resistance to continuing economic and political marginalization in communities of color. For over three years now, the Riverwise collective has created media that depicts local activism and the profound new work being done in Detroit neighborhoods. Through the quarterly Riverwise magazine, Riverwise community conversations, and the Riverwise Writing Workshop, we're developing our collective voice.

Robert Mendoza on Indigenous Organizing

The school-to-prison pipeline is a common talking point throughout urban centers. Dr. Charles Bell led research and studies exploring the impact suspension and expulsion have on students. Dr. Bell is a Detroit Public School graduate that is now a professor at Illinois State University with a critical focus on Child Development. His new book "SUSPENDED: Punishment, Violence & The Failure of School Safety" is one of Source Booksellers' most recent and insightful books. In this Riverwise interview, we talk about the studies from the book throughout Metro-Detroit and Michigan connecting students, parents, and teachers to this problem.  
The Riverwise Podcast is bringing together Detroit citizens to consider new and forms of resistance to continuing economic and political marginalization in communities of color. For over three years now, the Riverwise collective has created media that depicts local activism and the profound new work being done in Detroit neighborhoods. Through the quarterly Riverwise magazine, Riverwise community conversations, and the Riverwise Writing Workshop, we're developing our collective voice.

Dr. Charles Bell on the Failure of School Safety

Danny Glover sits down with the Riverwise podcast. Glover was in town to connect with the activist and revolutionary community in Detroit. The Detroit Visionary Community Fair in the heart of Detroit's South East community welcomed Glover to speak to an enthused grass toots audience. For this podcast, Megan Douglas and Khary Frazier talk to Glover about today's ideas, his friendship with Grace Lee Boggs, and reparations. It was an insightful discussion that also questioned the hosts and you as a listener.
The Riverwise Podcast is bringing together Detroit citizens to consider new and forms of resistance to continuing economic and political marginalization in communities of color. For over three years now, the Riverwise collective has created media that depicts local activism and the profound new work being done in Detroit neighborhoods. Through the quarterly Riverwise magazine, Riverwise community conversations, and the Riverwise Writing Workshop, we're developing our collective voice.

Danny Glover Accomplished Actor and Life-long Activist

Episode Notes
Denzel McCampbell joins host Khary Frazier on this episode of the Riverwise podcast to discuss 'Why so many Detroiters are not Voting?' This discussion explores ideas that led to McCapmbell's interest in running for City Clerk. Voter education, voter responsibilities, and political expectations are all explored in this episode. Denzel shares what he sees is broken in the system and how it can be fixed. This was a very tough discussion which speaks to the lack of representation in political office from grassroots community leadership. Denzel speaks to what needs to be known, and the ways voters/ citizens are kept ignorant. On the cusp of the November 2, 2021 election this is a must listen to podcast.
The Riverwise Podcast is bringing together Detroit citizens to consider new and forms of resistance to continuing economic and political marginalization in communities of color. For over three years now, the Riverwise collective has created media that depicts local activism and the profound new work being done in Detroit neighborhoods. Through the quarterly Riverwise magazine, Riverwise community conversations, and the Riverwise Writing Workshop, we're developing our collective voice.

Why are Detroiters not Voting in the Local Election?

Episode Notes
Episode Description: As a Black, Indigenous woman raised in and around Detroit, artist Konstance Patton, who now resides in New York, knows only too well the ways in which our current systems are designed to keep certain bodies and ideologies out of certain spaces. However, with the lockdowns that occurred during the summer of 2020, Konstance and a contingent of artists in New York found new ways to reclaim space, reassert their belonging within gentrified cities, and bring their revolutionary understandings of healing and growth to the wider community. A piece from Konstance's art project Goddezzes is featured in the cover of the Fall 2021 edition of Riverwise. Listen to our conversation now and meet an amazing woman, creator, and fellow traveler on the journey towards new and visionary pathways forward.
The Riverwise Podcast is bringing together Detroit citizens to consider new and forms of resistance to continuing economic and political marginalization in communities of color. For over three years now, the Riverwise collective has created media that depicts local activism and the profound new work being done in Detroit neighborhoods. Through the quarterly Riverwise magazine, Riverwise community conversations, and the Riverwise Writing Workshop, we're developing our collective voice.

Yolanda Jackson of the Coalition for Property Tax Justice

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