Hope Requires Work
Leslie McGraw joins Turning A Moment Into A Movement to honor Rev. Jesse Jackson’s legacy and explore what accountability looks like today. This conversation connects past and present, calling us to move from awareness into action.
Prayers Necessary
Our communities are carrying so much right now. In these times, we need space to come together—free from scripts or expectations—to find healing, solidarity, and connection. Whether you’re grieving, recovering, supporting others, or simply stretched thin by the weight of it all, you are welcome. Let’s hold space for one another in real community, with […]
The Way to Right Wrongs
The National Park Service is asking for public comments on lynching sites in the Memphis region, including Brownsville, Tennessee—where Elbert Williams was killed in 1940 for organizing Black voter registration. This is more than a historical review. It is a chance for communities and descendant families to help shape how this story is remembered, preserved, and taught. For many of us, especially those with roots stretching from Tennessee to Michigan, this history is not distant. It lives in
No Kings was a Call to do the Work
Community members are organizing in Romulus in response to the proposed ICE detention center. After this weekend’s demonstration, the work continues tomorrow with opportunities to gather, learn, and take action. What’s at stake is bigger than one site. It is about how resources are used and who our systems are built to protect.
Live from Lansing: Oversight in Action
Today’s livestream about the horrendous conditions at the only Women's Prison in Michigan reminds us that oversight is not a formality. It is one of the few tools communities have to demand safe conditions, medical care, and accountability when systems fail. When we tune in, we bear witness. When we speak up, we carry forward a legacy of civic courage that insists human dignity cannot be ignored.
Accessibility is a Voting Rights Issue
After three years of legal advocacy, a group of women with disabilities secured a federal settlement that will bring major accessibility improvements to Detroit’s public buildings, including the Coleman A. Young Municipal Center. These changes—impacting access to courts, public meetings, jury service, and voting—are not cosmetic; they are fundamental to democracy. The legacy of lead plaintiff Jill Babcock lives on in this reminder that access denied is democracy denied.
Faith, With Works, Is Alive
By Leslie McGraw I carry Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with me not as a symbol, but as a witness. The version of King that shaped my work wasn’t protected by applause or memorials. He was jailed—again and again. He was threatened, surveilled, beaten, and targeted by the state because he organized people to challenge […]
Caring for Ourselves Is Civic Work: We Are Our Own Rainbows
September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. While studies show there are many reasons why someone might consider suicide, the biggest deterrents to suicide are positive social connections and access to mental health care. As a writer and activist who leans into many political spaces, taking care of myself is often in competition with other […]
Naming the Wound, Finding the Healing
What happens when lived grief meets clinical wisdom? At the Ann Arbor District Library, George Floyd’s family and leading psychologists gathered for a powerful evening of truth-telling, resilience, and racial healing. From personal loss to the psychology of racial trauma, the panel revealed how turning pain into purpose demands not only courage—but also community, love, […]
Before The World Knew His Name
On what would have been Emmett Till’s 84th birthday, we remember not just the brutal injustice that took his life—but the vibrant boy he was before the world came to know his name. Before his name became a national rallying cry, Emmett Louis Till was a 14-year-old Black boy navigating the joys and challenges of […]