Grand Rapids, MI – On Wednesday, April 13, the Grand Rapids Police Department released four videos of Patrick Lyoya’s murder at the hands of a GRPD officer, who they still refuse to name. Lyoya, a 26-year-old Black man, was a Congolese refugee, and a father to two daughters.
Grand Rapids, MI – A crowd of hundreds marched to the Grand Rapids City Commissioners meeting, April 12, to demand both the release of the raw video showing the murder of Patrick Lyoya and the arrest of the still-unnamed killer cop. Lyoya was a 26-year-old Congolese immigrant executed by the Grand Rapids Police Department last week. In the days after his death, citywide mourning and protests against the police have increased and are expected to surge after the release of the video this Wednesday.
Grand Rapids, MI – Hundreds marched to remember Patrick Lyoya, a 26-year-old African man murdered by Grand Rapids police in Michigan. Lyoya’s family led a march, April 9, through the Black neighborhood of Boston Square to a vigil for their first-born son.
Grand Rapids, MI – On March 8, International Women’s Day, Freedom Road Socialist Organization (FRSO) in Michigan organized a rally attended by 20 community members in defense of reproductive rights. Assembling in downtown Grand Rapids, speakers included Olivia Lashley in FRSO; Aly the Activist, chairwoman of the Royal Black Panther Party of Grand Rapids and Charli Karnstein, a member of the local Socialist Alternative chapter.
Grand Rapids, MI – The Freedom Road Socialist Organization is hosting another online meeting for the growing numbers of members on Thursday, February 17 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. We will use Zoom to welcome our new members who joined since the last meeting on capitalism destroying the environment.
Grand Rapids, MI – The Bicentennial Congress of the Peoples of the World begins on June 21 in Caracas, Venezuela. To prepare for the Bicentennial Congress a series of Zoom meetings began in February 2021, with hundreds of people from more than 80 countries of the world participating in solidarity each month.
Grand Rapids, MI – 60 people rallied in solidarity for a Free Palestine in Grand Rapids on June 13. On the sidewalk at Veterans Memorial Park, dozens waved Palestinian flags and held signs demanding, “Free Palestine.” Young Palestinian Americans led chants, “Viva! Viva! Palestina!” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” The crowd then moved nearby to the Union soldier statue for several speeches imploring people to organize and fight back.
Grand Rapids, MI – 200 protesters, primarily Palestinians and Arab Americans, took to the streets of Grand Rapids, May 22, in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance movement and demanding an end to U.S. support for the state of Israel. This is the second “Free Palestine” protest organized by local activists.