Organizations the Buck Dinner has funded recently:
2024 Buck Dinner Grants
These are short portions of the grant applications that were approved for funding by the Buck Dinner headhunters shortly after the April 2024 dinner. The legacy organizations’ funds are disbursed according to a formula: National Lawyers Guild, Detroit; Sugar Law Center, Detroit Justice Center and ACLU of MI. ACLU waived its distribution for 2024 and asked that its portion be reallocated to community organizations.
Affirmations
Al Sumoud Center
Alliance to Halt Fermi 3
Baba Wayne Curtis Legacy Project
Change is the Pointe
Detroit Eviction Defense
Detroit Jews for Justice
Detroit MLK Day Committee
Detroit People's Food Co-op
Detroit Right to Counsel
CoalitionFlying Cardboard Theater's Cantastoria Workshop
Great Lakes Bioneers
Detroit Great Lakes Creative Arts
Huntington Woods Citizens for Ceasefire Kites for Gaza
Jewish Voice for Peace - Detroit
Immigration Law and Justice MI
Meta Peace Team
Mich Coalition for Human Rights
Michigan Liberation
Michigan Universal Health Care Action Network
Moritorium Now Coalition
Organization of Exonerees
Peace Action Michigan
Southeast Michigan Jobs with Justice (SEMJWJ/UC)
Stand with Trans
St. Peters Episcopal Church Social Justice Hive
Strangers No Longer
Suburban Connections for Collective Liberation
St. David's Trinity Gun Disposal
Buck Dinner 2024 Grantees Summaries
Summaries/excerpts of the organizations’ accomplishments as presented in their 2024 Buck Dinner year-end report
Below are summaries of reports submitted by 2024 grantee organizations about last year’s accomplishments, in most cases shortened for brevity
Affirmations Community Center
Specific project goals this year were to continue to offer our youth programming and focus on community outreach, expansion of services, and tailored programming to meet the immediate needs of LGBTQ+ youth. We expanded our Youth Leadership and Job Readiness program by adding a Youth Advisory Council that provides an opportunity for youth ages 14-18 to increase youth voice, lead, advise, and advance the mission of the organization. We also developed an additional Youth Adult Cohort to empower young adults ages 18-22 to enter adult spaces, navigate independence, and thrive in the workforce. We focused on outreach to local schools and organizations to inform them about our project's activities and educate about the support services we offer, generating referrals to increase access. This outreach was led by our youth intern who is primarily focused on school and community engagement. Additionally, we refined our youth drop-in program by adjusting hours to meet the needs of youth (4-7 PM) and by creating weekly themes to learn about social movements, advocacy in action & history; drop-ins (Karaoke, games, etc., craft days, board games, video games). We also reaffirmed our commitment to developing and implementing youth-specific programming to address health needs and social support needs by creating two youth groups: Lavender Explorers where youth explored who they are (identity) and what that means to them alongside their LGBTQ+ peers. IPOC Youth Empowerment Group, a group for Queer and Trans BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) youth to explore empowering themselves and their communities through rest, play, and discussion. We built out Queer Utopia: Creativity and Expression 8-week program designed to empower youth 10–13 by building self-esteem, fostering connections, and using self-expression as a tool for coping and resilience. We were able to purchase snacks, supplies and tools to support our youth programming.
Alliance To Halt Fermi-3
Alliance to Halt Fermi-3 gives a final thank you for the thousands of dollars of Buck Dinner support generously provided for our activities and campaigns over the twelve years of our existence. As we are in the process of dissolving the Alliance, this will be our final report and will be making no further requests for funds. ATHF3 tabled at the Monroe County Earth Day Expo in April, as we have for many years. In May, we sponsored a special preview screening of Japanese filmmaker Hideaki Ito’s “Silent Fallout: Baby Teeth Speak” at the Livonia Civic Center library narrated by Alec Baldwin. Joining by Zoom after the film was Joseph Mangano, epidemiologist and Executive Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP). Mangano made a 15 minute presentation with questions and answers about the hazards of fallout from nuclear weapons testing and risks posed by nuclear power plants. Our final event was “An Evening With Court Dorsey” in October. Dorsey, a Western MA singer, writer, actor, and playwright, gave an inspired performance paying homage to his roots in the anti-nuclear movement as a member of the Clamshell Alliance and his membership in the Bright Morning Star musical theatrical troupe. Upon dissolution of the Alliance, Beyond Nuclear of Takoma Park, MD will take custody of our remaining financial assets and will apportion and transfer some of our funds to Citizens Resistance At Fermi Two (CRAFT) and the Coalition For A Nuclear-Free Great Lakes in Monroe.
Change is the Point
Grosse Pointe public schools were a major focus of CITP’s work. It was a school board election year. The Grosse Pointe landscape continues to be dominated by the continuing difficulty some Grosse Pointers have with the influx of non-whites, Black people in particular, to the schools and the community. Our theory of change emphasizes the importance of change at the level of individuals, families, places of worship, schools and other local institutions. Hostility to the proximity of significant Black populations in the adjacent communities of Detroit and Harper Woods, remains an issue that impacts the schools in various ways. We continued our monthly racial justice ads in the Grosse Pointe Times. Many of CITP’S members are parents with children in the GP public school system. All of us are residents of either Harper Woods or the Pointes with an interest in the health of the schools and especially the well-being of non-white students. CITP was very involved in a campaign to demand that the School District release a report related to an effort by some school board members to force the resignations of administrators at Grosse Pointe North High School. Partly because the school serves a portion of Harper Woods, the school’s student body is approximately 30% Black students. Because the administration was successful at creating an environment welcoming to ALL students, they were resented by some in the community. Complaints filed by two administrators triggered a process that came to produce a report from an outside law firm. That report documented threats of retaliation against them by a member of the Board. The administration then refused to release the report, even to other Board members. The report has still not been released. CITP vigorously calls for the release of the report including the distribution of yard signs and the filing of multiple FOIA requests by CITP members.
Detroit Eviction Defense
We worked with over 80 people who came to weekly meetings. We had several on-going cases: Autumn House–HUD property in Ferndale with ongoing repair and respect issues Renita M.–section 8, repairs Michele T.–repairs. We went to court over 20 times before 2 different judges, Jacque and Robinson. Her case, and the threat of eviction, was finally dismissed, with the settlement being one “they could have settled last year.” Daniel R.–repairs, harassment from illegal landlord Carolyn C.–homeless, looking for housing Anthony S.–disabled, evicted Buddy T.–section 8, evicted Tia W.–repairs, heat, hot water Gloria S.–stroke, evicted, lead–inspector came with no lead-checking equipment Aurelia D.–unlicensed property management, dismissed .Lewis B.–retaliation for complaints, garbage dumpster placed under window Tenisha H.–disabled, mold, evicted3. Follow ups at previous cases– Himelhoch and Antoinette T., where city never paid their share, so no deeds. Flyering: 4 Corners/ Bonnieview, Gardenview, Brewster, MLK, Woodbridge, Riverview, Chene Park, Ferndale, Clark Park, Bus Depot. Autumn House walk through, followed up with Ferndale Housing Commission meetings and letters/e-mails to FHC and HUD. Meeting attendance/speaking: Detroit Housing Commission, Detroit City Council, MSHDA meetings. We developed forms so people could represent themselves. Also, reparations meetings, sales of t-shirts, and Juneteenth at MACC development. Demonstration at Gardenview.
Detroit Jews for Justice
We faced major community challenges, came together to process and build trust, and worked to build resilience and community. We mobilized with the Coalition for Property Tax Justice, one of the most salient issues facing Detroit residents. Homeowners are illegally over assessed ($600 million between 2010 and 2016), while City Council waives property taxes for corporate developers. We fought this profound injustice, attended multiple city council meetings to voice against $190 million in tax captures and made hundreds of phone calls to help Detroiters get off the foreclosure list. We fought to make billionaires pay their fair share. In addition to doing impactful grassroots organizing, DJJ engaged in deep cultural organizing, rooted in the Jewish legacy of resilience and joy in the face of empire. For our Purim Extravaganza, DJJ leaders wrote an original Purim spiel drawing connections between the housing crisis in Detroit and in Israel/Palestine. The spiel was bravely written and performed by volunteers grappling with challenging community questions and invited our community into critical conversation about our work and its connections to Israel & Palestine. Our Board developed and finalized DJJ’s Israel Palestine policy, giving us an organizational framework for engaging with Israel/Palestine, antisemitism, and making DJJ a space welcoming to political ideologies. Our Organizational Theory of Change, helps us get clear on how our mission connects to our vision, and how our activities serve that mission. We continued our years-long fight for water access and affordability. Michigan is surrounded by 22% of the world’s freshwater, and yet people here struggle to afford their water bills. We held monthly phonebanks for water affordability where our leaders called their representatives, urging them to pass the Statewide Water Affordability Bill Package. We attended meetings, rallies, lobby days, and built deeper relationships with our partners at People's Water Board Coalition.
Detroit Justice Center
DJC continues to advance the Buck Dinner’s mission of promoting progressive change by leading fights for racial justice and equity. Our work is divided into three key areas: Legal Services Practice, Economic Equity Practice, and the Just Cities Innovation Lab. DJC’s attorneys provided important legal services to help support justice-involved citizens. We directly represented 75 clients for a total of 152 legal matters, including 41 clients on 77 traffic matters, which resulted in 88 warrants cleared,10 licenses reinstated, and $12,988 in traffic debt dismissed. Removing these types of legal barriers is an important way to help clients remain out of jail, hold onto jobs and stable housing, and keep families intact. DJC has also continued to be a statewide leader in promoting better policies around traffic law. Through the “Road to Restoration” driver’s license clinics we developed with the Secretary of State, DJC served an additional 5,000 Michigander. DJC has trained 115 legal volunteers, over 103 probono attorneys, and a dozen law students to deliver this initiative for residents, which is helping repair the harm caused by past laws that punished and criminalized residents for being poor and hurt their social and economic mobility. Economic Equity Practice: DJC has grown its capacity for addressing Detroit’s crisis around maintaining stable, affordable housing. DJC has researched this topic heavily and published “Home Improvement: Laying Detroit’s Firm Foundation for Truly Affordable Housing” around our findings. It argues that, as part of a larger approach to economic equity, we must address the rising housing costs that have accompanied Detroit’s recent economic trends. DJC has been developing a deep focus on community land trusts (CLTs). CLTs have the capacity to promote economically diverse communities, preserve affordable housing, prevent displacement, speculation, and unwanted land uses, discourage predatory lending, reduce foreclosures, create a source of income to support local needs, and promote entrepreneurship. DJC is partnering with community organizations to launch and scale CLT initiatives, which will increase the affordable housing options. DJC is also serving as a co-developer for projects, from pre-development through construction to ensure successful delivery of affordable housing units. DJC's intention is to support our clients to be the developers themselves, one of our close partners is the North Corktown Neighborhood Association. They created a CLT that will ensure their new modular home initiative remains permanently affordable; the first instance of affordable housing being developed on a CLT in Detroit.
Detroit MLK Day Committee
Funds were used to organize and support the Annual Detroit MLK Day Rally and March held at the Historic St. Matthew’s & St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church. Commemorating the 96th birthday of Dr. King, the 22nd MLK Day event was organized under the theme "Honoring six decades of mass movements in Detroit and around the globe while building the movement against war, genocide, hate, and fascism and for human needs and human rights.” The MLK Day Rally brought together many organizations who provided speakers, artists, and other forms of support. This year’s rally emphasized the need for unity in the face of the frontal assault against the working class and oppressed communities launched by the Trump administration and the imminent threat of fascism. Yvonne Jones of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition and the MLK Committee opened the rally by quoting these prophetic words by Dr. King which were enunciated in his last address before thousands of people in Memphis on April 3, 1968. Jones performed libations and recounted the contributions of many in the protracted struggle for liberation. The rally was addressed by 23 speakers and artistic groups from various community organizations and collectives. These speakers and cultural workers included: Aurora Harris, event co-chair and lecturer at the University of Michigan in Dearborn; a performance of the African American National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” Veterans for Peace; Moratorium NOW! Coalition spoke on threat to immigrants in the U.S Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM); Michigan Divest; the looming threat of fascism in the U.S.
The Detroit People’s Food Co-op
Buck Dinner funds were instrumental in helping our Member Outreach Committee; volunteers dramatically increased our membership base throughout our first year of operation. Membership has grown to 4,023. Buck funds enabled us to pay for tabling fees and produce promotional materials used at a wide variety of events to recruit new members and spread the word about the goods and services the co-op offers and engage them to become more involved. We tabled at the annual Veg Fest at Eastern Market, the African World Festival, the National Association of Black Real Estate Brokers Community Wealth-Building Day, the D-Town Farms Harvest Festival and the Know Allegiance Nation’s table on Sundays at Eastern Market. Our volunteers also made presentations at the City of Detroit’s 3rd Precinct community meeting, its Department of Neighborhoods Citywide meeting, the Bagley Community Council, 360 Detroit’s Virginia Park meeting, the Know Allegiance Nation’s summer programs and Kwanzaa Celebration, the Detroit Brown Moms, the Wildemere Park Neighborhood Association and other community events. Volunteers also delivered brochures to local libraries, churches, recreation centers, schools, senior centers, coffee shops and other community gathering places. We had volunteers in the store at peak times to assist shoppers in becoming members. Sales are averaging about $9.5K per day. We are building a strong, Black-led, community owned grocery cooperative.
The Flying Cardboard Theater
Buck Dinner funding was applied to the Detroit Cantastoria workshops & resulting festival. The Festival was 2 nights of performances, 16 different street theater pieces created by community members who participated in the workshop. We had about 45 workshop participants over the course of the 5 weeks of show-building, along with over a dozen volunteers that helped make the event. This year we had more participants in the workshop than ever in the past. It was a very diverse group in age, race, nationality & abilities. We began with 18 groups developing, 4 of them from out-of-town collaborators, including groups from Chicago, Santa Fe, Brooklyn. The shows ranged in topics from the current version of the conflict over Palestine, how to stay safe in street protest, resistance to the Line 5 oil pipeline, queeraging and acceptance, resistance to copcities, Greek and African folk tales and songs, and more. Additionally, we had the amazing music of local Detroit performer, Rocket Man, along with live music. The event raised almost $8,500 from donations, selling prints & raffle tickets/ bar donations. The event grew from years past. Both nights of performances were sold out. We are considering adding more performances next year. The financial success of the workshop and the Detroit Cantastoria Festival allowed us to pay the creators, an admin support person, stage manager, and team. This elevated the quality of all the work to a whole new level.
Great Lakes Bioneers
Huntington Woods Citizens for Ceasefire: Kites for Gaza event
Funds were used for "Kites for Gaza" event for peace, justice and anti-racism. Our successful event took place on an overcast and nearly windless day at Burton Field, a public park in Huntington Woods. We made, decorated and flew kites to express our hopes and dreams for the liberation of Palestinian children in Gaza. We were inspired by the activism of Palestinian children themselves, who have historically flown kites to express themselves under the skies of military occupation and war. We hoped for at least 50 people, so were overjoyed when 100 demographically diverse people showed up, nearly half of them children. Some were from Huntington Woods, others from surrounding cities and towns. Buck Dinner funds paid for half the cost of Palestinian and peace-themed art supplies, 90 kite kits, a banner and postcards. Our volunteer organizers donated additional supplies and refreshments, as well as hours and days of their time to prepare for the event. Children made art, adults organized and encouraged children. One organizer read an inspirational poem by Palestinian poet Rifaat al-Areer, who was assassinated by Israeli bombing. Our kites carried the spirits of families suffering enormous loss and reminded us to persevere in our actions to achieve peace and justice for those made dispensable in the interests of colonialism and empire. Michigan United legal observers were on the scene to diffuse tensions when two dozen hecklers showed up to shout slogans at young children flying kites. Afterwards, the City of Huntington Woods published a statement expressing the importance of protecting free speech rights. This was important in a town that often shies away from controversy. We hope that our ongoing activities will further concretize efforts to develop tolerance and anti-racist perspectives in our neighborhoods and towns.
Jewish Voice for Peace – Detroit
Jewish Voice for Peace-Detroit’s activities have focused on Israel’s assault on Gaza and its increasingly genocidal trajectory. We have worked along with partners in the Palestinian, Arab and Muslim communities, and the broad human rights movement in the Detroit area, on a range of activities, including:· Marches and vigils at the offices of Rep. Shri Thanedar, Senators Gary Peters and Debby Stabenow, calling on these elected office holders to support demands for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and massive humanitarian aid desperately needed for Gaza.· Lobbying at city council meetings in Detroit, Ferndale and Farmington Hills, and the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, for the introduction of ceasefire resolutions.· Participation in Palestine solidarity community activities and marches, making clear with signs and banners that there is no Jewish consensus for the apartheid and ethnic cleansing acts of the Israeli government, military and West Bank settlers.· Participation in organizing and promoting speaking events by, among others, critical historian Ilan Pappe, representatives of the joint Jewish and Arab “Standing Together” movement in Israel, and Dr. Alice Rothchild who received a 2024 Book Award at the Arab American National Museum. After the Destruction of Gaza we brought two ex-fighters, a Jewish Israeli and a Palestinian, from “Salt of the Earth,” along with If Not Now’s cofounder Simone Zimmerman, and showed the film “Israelism” over a week span in about nine venues in Detroit, Metro-Detroit and Ann Arbor. ·JVPD supported student activists on campus in Ann Arbor and WSU encampments defending their freedom of speech and right to peacefully protest that their universities divest from Israel and support a ceasefire.· We’ve produced posters, signs and banners to give JVP the visibility we need. Organizationally, our membership and activist core has expanded since 2023. Since our previous organizational structure was no longer adequate, we have undertaken a substantial reorganization and development of active working groups which are called “spokes” in the model adopted by JVP chapters nationally. This process included a two-day December 2024 membership retreat for which our national JVP staff organizer, Michael Wolfe, came to help lead. We expanded our mailing list to 1400 people and send out bi-weekly and sometimes weekly e-newsletters to organize and inform our followers about progressive events and programs organized by us and other organizations. JVPD was interviewed and quoted in both local media (Detroit News, Detroit Free Press), national and international media, on radio interviews, and provided speakers for many events and protests. We developed alliances to build the progressive, pro-liberation and justice for Palestine movement. This is part of our work in standing up to accusations that criticizing Israel is antisemitic—raising awareness about what real antisemitism is and that being Jewish is not the same as being a Zionist.
Meta Peace Team
Funds made it possible to offer violence de-escalation skills trainings to a wide range of people, especially students and working-class members of our community. We requested this grant so that we can increase the number of trained people available to serve on domestic and international peace teams during a time of escalating violence. Grant helped us to cover the costs of trainings. During the past year, we have been able to pair newly trained people with experienced peace team members at several events, including a large Palestinian solidarity event in Dearborn, the Detroit Jews for Justice Purim celebration, Vermontville Pride Day, the JVP Tashlich event, and an immigration march in downtown Detroit. In addition to allowing us to offer our standard eight-hour trainings, the grant helped offset the cost of a specialized training for people offering mutual aid and care-based safety in the Ypsilanti area. The grant also enabled us to offer two online trauma-informed trainings for volunteers working at the U.S.-Mexico border. We are one of the few groups that has had people on the ground in Palestine this year through our partnership with the International Solidarity Movement, so we always train with an eye to recruiting people willing to serve on international teams with MPT. MPT never turns people away from trainings and is grateful that we can offer trainings at no cost to those who cannot afford to pay or offer donations.
Michigan Coalition for Human Rights
MCHR since 1980 is an interfaith, multi-racial network of religious, labor, civic, business and humanitarian groups and individuals. Its mission is to promote awareness of, commitment to and advocacy for human rights through education, community organization and action. MCHR opposes forces that suppress human dignity, freedom and justice locally and around the world. MCHR promotes the preservation of human rights through EDUCATION with local, national, and international experts and films–and challenges people to ACT for change. Buck Dinner grant was used to assist in the expense of programming. MCHR co-sponsored the MLK Day Rally, and advocating for the continuation of his fight for civil rights. MCHR co-sponsored Voices of Gaza, bringing attention to the humanitarian crisis and amplifying the voices of those affected. MCHR launched programming on the campus of Oakland University by the OU Student Board who organized a critical discussion on healthcare access for trans and nonbinary individuals, highlighting the challenges and advocating for inclusive healthcare policies. The Oakland University Chapter held a Nonviolence training led by Board Member, Kim Redigan. MCHR co-sponsored a panel, entitled Racial Segregation Panel: What to Do When the KKK Is Next Door? addressing the urgent issue of racial segregation and the resurgence of hate groups, fostering dialogue on how to combat these threats. MCHR launched Candid Conversations Podcast, aiming to provide a humanizing and intimate look into the lives of our board members who each have communal passions and advocate for human rights on their unique paths. Oakland University Chapter held a Wrongful Convictions Panel-highlighting the need for criminal justice reform. MCHR co-sponsored with the NLG and DCPTA Alternatives to Policing III-a panel discussion at Wayne State University. MCHR collaborated with GESU a Book Talk for Jim Wallis’s, “The False White Gospel.” MCHR supported the Annual Silence the Violence. The Annual Meeting had speaker Pastor Barry Randolph. Oakland University Chapter presented: Standing Stronger Together: The United Nations Impact on Human Rights, with MCHR Vice President, Dr. Brenda Bryant.
Michigan Liberation
With Michigan Black Mama’s Bail Out (MBMBO)-End Cash Bail campaign, Michigan Liberation used Buck Dinner funds to support our campaign efforts in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and made an immediate and tangible impact in the life of a community member. Support has been instrumental in addressing systemic barriers and bringing relief to a family in need. Buck funding was utilized to directly assist an MBMBO client by addressing outstanding tickets owed in Detroit and Madison Heights. By resolving these financial barriers, we support her in the process of having her driver’s license restored, which is critical for her mobility, independence, and ability to provide for her family. Redirecting these grant funds to this critical need demonstrates how impactful resources like these can transform lives and advance our mission of justice and equity for underserved communities, while addressing critical barriers to justice.
Mich UH Can
Moratorium Now! Coalition
Buck funds were used for activities and educational work for homeowners and tenants. During the summer and fall, Moratorium Now mobilized to try to save the home of Yolanda Chambers from Michigan First Credit Union foreclosure, simultaneously picketing of branches every Friday, often encountering police harassment. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in saving her home, but we were successful in defeating the SLAPP lawsuit (strategic lawsuit against public participation) that had been filed against our organization and three of our organizers for “defamation of character” by a slumlord whose tenants we had been fighting for. The ACLU and NLG were able to defeat this attack and successfully countersued, protecting the rights of all to protest and speak out. We continue to work with other groups and individuals to build coalitions and strengthen unity in the progressive movement. We have members working with:· Coalition for Police Transparency and Accountability– working to expose police violence· Detroiters for Tax Justice–opposing Mayor Duggan’s land tax· Detroit May Day Coalition–which organized a powerful march through southwest Detroit · Detroit MLK Day Committee. We also made our office at 5920 Second Avenue available to many groups for their own meetings and work sessions. These included: Detroit May Day Coalition, Detroit Union Educational League, Detroit Anti-War Committee, Wayne State U Students for Justice in Palestine encampment used out office as a base of operations during the Spring 2024. Palestine Work - over the past months we have participated innumerous rallies and marches demanding an end to the genocidal Israeli attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and an end to the occupation of Palestine. These actions, sometimes daily, have been initiated by Palestine Youth Movement, Jewish Voice for Peace, other Palestinian groups and sometimes by individuals. Our sound system has been lent out for many of these protests as an important community resource both in the Metro area and in Lansing. We have had hundreds of signs printed and distributed to many of these Palestine events. We were able to get AFT Local 2000 to pass a resolution calling for the State of Michigan to divest from millions of dollars of Israel bonds. This helped the Michigan Divest group which called for divestment in testimony to the state pension board. We organized a number of educational programs, in addition to our weekly business meetings, in person and zoom. One was a history of Zionism, exposing myths and lies. A second one was a meeting with Mexican activists who participated via zoom. A third featured Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian activists explaining the complex situation in the Middle East. Over 100 people attended, half on zoom. Even before Trump’s election we formed the Anti-Fascist Organizing Committee (AFOC) and called on community and union activists to unite in the face of a possible Trump victory (or even if he was defeated). Following his election, we published an important pamphlet written by anti-fascist researcher Russ Bellant.
National Lawyers Guild
The Detroit & Michigan Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild continues to be a trusted legal arm for social justice movements. This year, we continued our robust Legal Observer (LO) program; supported on-going student activist work; organized important speaking events; and leveraged our organizational reputation to support progressive movements throughout the state and country. We are re-growing our chapter membership, re-vitalizing our organizational infrastructure and systems, adding to our network of movement lawyers throughout Michigan to represent and support people on the frontlines, and expanding our reach to community members learning and asserting their rights. The grant allowed us to have staff, basic resources, and organizational infrastructure.
Our chapter’s LO program supported 134 actions across Michigan. There are 151 active LOs. We sent 486 LOs to134 different actions, including sit-ins, rallies, marches, car caravans, pickets, vigils, and home defenses. Our program trained and on boarded 133 new LOs last year. We held eight LO trainings, held for UM Law, Wayne Law, and SURJ Metro Detroit. In addition to Palestinian liberation and cease fire actions and encampments at the U-M and Wayne State, we sent LOs to actions in support of a number of causes across the state, including labor, justice for those harmed or killed by police, defund the police, eviction defense, homelessness, tenants’ rights, and climate justice. COORDINATED PROTESTER LEGAL SUPPORT: NLG jail and legal support hotline was available throughout the year. During actions when the risk for arrest is high, we set up a coordinated network of support, including the hotline, the Michigan Solidarity Bail Fund, LOs Coordinator, and an on-call attorney. This has been particularly necessary with the violence in Gaza – at U-M, Wayne State, responses were 7 days a week to take calls from protest arrestees, initiate compiling information pre and post arrest support, and to keep track of arrest information, contact information, stories, and representation in court. The ONLINE LEGAL DIRECTORY launched in 2022 now 23 listed attorneys. STUDENT NLG ACTIVITY concurrent membership with their school chapter and the MI Chapter. Last year, NLG attorneys and legal workers mentored and trained law students organizing educational events; and introduced topics to challenge and help anchor students in social justice and movement history. There are Chapters at U-M, Wayne State University, and UDM. PUBLIC STATEMENTS We issued a public statements and press releases on progressive matters: suppression of political speech at U-M political persecution related to Palestinian solidarity movements, and the abolition of carceral systems. We signed on to various progressive statements from other aligned organizations: issues of housing, public transportation and support for incarcerated individuals. Our chapter co-sponsored "Do Black Lives Still Matter?" forum at Wayne State Law School.
Organization of Exonorees
Buck grant helped to make the following progress on three focus areas: first focus was to continue our work to strengthen our organizational development, expand our donor base, and establish an advisory board to ensure that we remain dynamic and prepared for the current and future needs of those we serve. We acquired GoogleWork space and made more use of our organization’s domain, transition to MailChimp for meeting invitations and fundraising emails, and establish a comprehensive reimbursement policy. We were also able to cultivate several new donors for support. Our second focus was to expand opportunities for group and individual programming for our exonerees. These efforts include working to establish comprehensive case management to ensure successful connection to existing services and individual coaching and mental health support. During the past year, we were able to double the number of exoneree support program consultants thereby expanding our ability to more fully meet the emerging needs of our exoneree members. We were also able to host our first ever, multi-day Exoneree Self Care Retreat. Finally, we were able to welcome home and support 6 new exonerees immediately upon their release from incarceration. Finally, we were able to continue our focus on our current legislative and public advocacy work on critical criminal justice reform issues. While we were pleased to see forward movement on policies we care about, in fact bills on 4 topics that matter to us passed one chamber (WICA, postconviction DNA, FOIA access for incarcerated individuals and police transparency), unfortunately none of these bills were passed by the second chamber necessary to become law. These bills will all need to begin the legislative process again in 2025/26. We were also pleased to see the introduction of an in-custody informant bill in the Senate even though it didn't see any legislative action.
Peace Action of Michigan
Buck Dinner support went to Getting Out The Vote (GOTV). We spent our largest amount ever for GOTV ($20,000) because we knew encouraging underrepresented voters to vote would be a key to electing members of congress and a president who prioritized responsible spending of our tax dollars on nuclear weapons, the Pentagon, and international diplomacy. We donated $5,000 to the Detroit Branch NAACP for their campaign: “Take Your Soles to the Polls.” For example, they have buses to encourage citizens to register to vote and to be sure to vote. We hired Project Insyght CEO Ed Sarpolus to do digital advertising on the ten days prior to the November Election. The lead for the ads was: “Vote all the way down the ballot November 5.” The ads were put on 14,462 sites in five congressional districts in Michigan. 3,369,722 ads were viewed. That was a wide-spread and economical way for GOTV.
Southeast Michigan Jobs with Justice (SEMJWJ)
Buck grant was used to organize 10 “Runaway Inequality and Building the Solidarity Needed To Reverse It” workshops, bringing together Kamala Harris voters and Trump voters, who are members of the same unions. We sponsored three “Let’s Talk Politics” meetings to discuss election strategies and issues while developing three educational handouts on (1) Extreme concentration of wealth and income inequality, (2) Immigration and (3) Corporate greed. Due to limited funds, we printed only 500 copies of each handout. Participants included members from Michigan United, Detroit Action, UAW Local 245, WSU AAUP, 482Forward, UAW Local 600, LCLAA, Indivisible Fighting 9th, U of MC enter for Labor and Community Studies, SEIU, Oakland Forward, CBTU, Reproductive Freedom for All, UAW Local 160, United Way, Michigan State Representatives Helena Scott and Donavan McKinney, WILPF, APRI, Progress Michigan, Feed DaStreetz- River Rouge, United Community Housing Coalition, Center for Community-Based Enterprises (Worker-owned co-ops), Operating Engineers, Communication Workers of America, League of Women Voters-Dearborn, For Our Future, APWU, UAW Local 22, and UFCW. We passed out these handouts during the presidential campaign at the Detroit Labor Day March, University of Michigan Center for Labor and Community Studies conferences, other events, and to local union and community groups. Produced with our allied organizations three more educational handouts on key issues to help counter authoritarian disinformation.
St. David’s Episcopal Firearm Disposal
Ninety weapons were collected from 52 donors in July. $6,700 in gift cards given out to those who handed in: 39 pistols, 46 long guns, 2 assault rifles, 3 unknown. In August, 54 weapons were collected from 20 donors (23 weapons were pistols, 31 were long guns)—$2,900 was given away in gift cards. Also in August, 39 weapons (23 pistols, 2 assault,14 long guns) were collected from 23 donors and $3,100 worth of gift cards were provided. At All Saints, Pontiac, 26 weapons (23pistols, 2 long guns, 1 assault) were collected from 14 donors and $2,450 gift cards were dispersed. At St. Andrew's in Waterford, 33 weapons (23 handguns, 10 long guns ) were collected from 19 donors and $2,500 in gift cards were dispersed. At St. Aidan's in Ann Arbor, 92 weapons ( 69 pistols, 22 long guns, 2 ARs ) from 29 donors were collected and $4,750 in gift cards were given away.
Each event was set up in a similar fashion, with pylons judiciously planted to move traffic along. Hired security and several volunteers welcomed donors at each entrance. Donors were directed to move forward by assigned ‘Shepherds’ who stayed with donors through the entire process. Once data on the weapons and donors was gathered it was put under the windshield wiper. Once forms were completed donors in their cars were directed toward an open destruction station. Private security and trained volunteers made sure weapons were unloaded, removed them from vehicles (usually the trunk) and double-checked serial numbers and other firearm data. Weapons were then turned over to the destruction team members who destroyed the firearms according to AFT guidelines. The team was equipped with chop saws, angle grinders, vices, and other tools needed to safely turn firearms into scrap metal. Donors were then directed to our Thank You table and invited to receive gift cards, t-shirts, artwork or other items as a ‘thank you’ for their donated firearm. Donors were also invited to park their cars and visit the Guns and Crafts table to make artwork out of firearm scraps. Buck Dinner funds helped us on these events, which included purchase $22,267 in gift cards exchanged for weapons; 151volunteers assisted at these events. Serial numbers of surrendered handguns were passed on to local law enforcement to be uploaded in the Michigan State Police) Pistol Registry, per MSP request. There were protestors and/or people appearing at our events who tried to convince gun donors to sell them their weapons. There were no incidents of violence or harm at any of these events.
St. Peter’s/Hive
Buck funds to the Church and Hive were used to provide physical support for movement and justice work in Detroit. Funds allowed us to subsidize the rent of our Peace and Justice Hive and open our sanctuary for many other justice-related activities. Funds supported many of the organizations that are housed in the Hive. This was a busy and full year at St. Peter’s as we continued to grow our community and welcome many to our space. Some notable events of the year included: ● An interfaith prayer vigil and call to action for Palestine in the front lawn of St.Peter’s, co-hosted with organizations including Congregation Tchiyah, Detroit UU, Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voices for Peace Detroit, and Meta Peace Team
● A dinner of fundraising and education for Palestinian solidarity, co-hosted with Detroit UU ● A film screening and conversation against genocide with peace activists OsamaIliwat and Rotem Levin, co-hosted with Jewish Voices for Peace Detroit
● Deep Roots of Peace: A Day of Mindfulness and Contemplation, co-hosted with the Building Beloved Community Sangha of Detroit
● A film screening of The Philadelphia Eleven, a recently-released documentary about the first 11 women to be ordained in the Episcopal church
● An education session led by Michigan United on navigating DTE and organizing together
● Annual Good Friday Stations of the Cross Walk in partnership with the Detroit Peace Community
● Pride Month activities including a Sunday worship celebration and healing circle Weekly meditation and contemplation sessions throughout the fall, led virtually by the Community of the Incarnation
● Advent Taize services
● Annual Craft Fair featuring local artists, musicians, and performers
Stand with Trans Youth Advisory Board (YAB)
Buck Dinner funds went to the co-facilitators, who, in addition to providing guidance, also organized leadership and advocacy training for YAB members. The YAB has ten members ranging from 13-22 years old. The age range eligibility is13-24 and each member serves a year-long term with a renewal option. YAB created their community needs assessment, aiming to collect at least 100 responses to the survey. The YAB is working with a community psychology doctoral candidate to support them in interpreting the data and determining recommendations for next steps. The YAB is transitioning to appoint senior members since members feel like they have developed adequate skills to take on leadership roles. The SwT team is developing an advocacy training series for youth, advancing their skill set in advocacy and policy. Youth have also engaged in community development skill building through their involvement with Trans Empowerment Month (SwT’s month-long annual conference for trans youth and their families) and applied their skills in developing events that build community connections with trans youth and allies. The YAB have also helped with Support Group rebranding and outreach so more youth will utilize the peer support and safe spaces they need. These investments enhanced the effectiveness of the YAB, opened professional development to opportunities for trans youth, lowered barriers to participate among under-resourced trans youth, and improved SwT’s ability to provide client-informed services.
Strangers No Longer
Statewide ACTION Campaign, centered on winning DRIVESAFE legislation in the Michigan Legislature which would restore the right to apply for a driver’s license to immigrants, regardless of immigration status. Unfortunately, we lost. The legislature did not take up the bill because the Democratic leaders knew–or thought they knew–they would be one vote short of victory. There was no Republican support, and the Democrats got into a circular firing squad, blaming each other and the Governor for weakness or cowardice on this and other legislation. Nonetheless, we do not consider our efforts over the past 2 years to be in vain. We gained notoriety as an extensive network able to mobilize large numbers of people. Individual leaders experienced not only solidarity with people from other cities and regions, but also the highs and lows of working with legislators. We got press at least in the Catholic statewide media and built good relationships with the staff of the statewide Bishops’ Conference (Michigan Catholic Conference). The immigrant members of Strangers No Longer saw the non-immigrant leaders as serious, committed and possessing some power, even though we lost the fight. Buck Dinner Fund helped pay for food, bus transportation, printing and music at the following events:
• June– a large delegation of Catholic nuns visited the Governor’s office to ask her to commit to encouraging the Senate/House leaders to put the vote on the floor.
• August– members of our newly created Statewide Council of Immigrants contacted 7 local regional bishops, asking for face-to-face meetings so they could give personal testimony related to the DRIVE SAFE Legislation. In fact, only the Grand Rapids Bishop Walkowiak agreed to meet, but it was a critical meeting that deepened resolve and clarity within the Michigan Catholic Conference of Bishops.
• September –we gathered 500 people from around the state for a march and Mass at the Catholic Cathedral in Detroit to express support for immigrants and humane immigration policies November –182 SNL members came to our Action Day in Lansing, visiting every legislative office and the Governor’s Office pressing for the DRIVE SAFE bills to be brought to the floor
Suburban Connections for Collective Liberation
We saw a deepening of commitment to our members in their individual suburban communities including an increase in dedication to the Huntington Woods potlucks, a truth-telling and vision imagining conversation in Pontiac, and involvement in anti-racist work in Ferndale. We are looking forward to a continuation of this work and are currently reimagining our newsletter, which upon reflection, we realize was not sustainable in its initial format of 20pages. Our core group has grown and we have a commitment of two new members in Ferndale. This has allowed us to revisit our principles and reconsider how we may accomplish one of our main goals-a quarterly newsletter distributed throughout the suburbs in libraries, coffeeshops, anti-racist events, amongst neighbors, at potlucks, and more. The energy from our new members will take us there. Overall, we are noticing an emerging of work in communities throughout Oakland County and Wayne County. We are seeking to develop further relationships in Macomb County as well
● We organized and sponsored a screening of Friends of Royal Oak Township’s film called “A Tale of Ten Cities” a truth-telling project about the land of the majority Black community in Royal Oak Township, 40 people attended. We were able to raise some funds and community investment/interest in their project. This also deepened our relationship with FOROT which some members of our groups have years of commitment to. We were able to share our newsletter at the event and many residents so the suburbs learned the story of Royal Oak Township for the first time.
● We published one digital newsletter in Summer which a new member designed developing commitment from new members
● We met consistently over the last year biweekly. In these meetings we discussed: Updates from our community work, current events and analysis of the current political moment, truth-telling of related history in the suburbs and beyond.
○Event planning○ Individualism in the suburbs and strategies to address it, which we believe is disconnecting us from our humanity.
○ Dr.King’s call for revolution of values and his evil triplets-racism, extreme materialism, and militarism. We add the patriarch, planetary destruction and ableism.
● We secured our own mailchimp account where we sent out emails uplifting events and calls to action on behalf of community organizations that we are in relationship with.
● We sponsored an event called “Interfaith Journey to Justice” at the Huntington Woods Library. About 80 people attended. ○We published a reflection of this event in the Boggs Center Living for Change newsletter. Increase in potlucks in Huntington Woods
● We gained two new, committed team members, residents of Ferndale, who attend our biweekly meetings and have contributed their art and organization skills● We attended and handed out our newsletter at three Juneteenth events.
● We met and shared oral histories of Pontiac, connecting to the current and visionary for the future. We are building momentum and a group of concerned neighbors in Pontiac, Huntington Woods, and Ferndale.
● We shared “Families for Cease Fire” signs in the suburbs. ● We attended an event at Oakland University about Grace Lee Boggs to connect with authors and students of a class which highlights her work.
Sugar Law Center
Buck Dinner Grant enabled the Sugar Law Center to advocate for bold, progressive social changes through litigation and public policy advocacy. The funds provided allowed us to continue projects, start new initiatives, and obtain victories on behalf of low-income clients. We provided support to workers, used targeted litigation to help fight wage theft and discriminatory practices, expanded our capacity to assist with collective organizing, increased community benefits in Detroit. At the end of 2024, our office organized a coalition of attorneys and supporters, drafted pleadings, and filed a federal lawsuit against the University of Michigan after the school brought unprecedented disciplinary actions against students who participated in nonviolent protest activities in support of divestment from Israel and promoting human rights for Palestinian peoples. Further actions will be filed in the weeks ahead. Throughout the year, SLC staff assisted in representing students who faced disciplinary actions from the office of student life; employment sanctions from the school’s human resources office; and trespass notices from the university police department. •SLC resolved a lawsuit against the well-known Polonia restaurant in Hamtramck on behalf of female workers who were sexually harassed, groped, stalked, and routinely cheated of tips then terminated. The female employees were also subject to racial and homophobic slurs about the restaurant's black and LGBTQ customers. The case was brought in coalition with the Restaurant Opportunities Center - Michigan and in support of their organizing efforts within the restaurant industry.• In collaboration with the Resilience Force(a national group organizing disaster recovery workers), SLC continued prosecution of a precedent-setting suit on behalf of immigrant workers wrongfully classified as independent contractors brought in to work on Midland flood clean-up and were forced to work in reprehensible conditions. Due to reckless work practices, the workers contracted COVID-19 and were then fired and told to leave the state immediately – in violation of the county public health director’s orders that persons should be housed in place. The Sugar Law Center, along with co-counsel at FarmSTAND (a national organization seeking accountability from big agriculture) and our client, the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, continued litigation seeking to stop the State of Michigan’s practice of denying workers compensation wage loss benefits to catastrophically injured workers whose immigration status is in question. Throughout the case, the Michigan attorney general has aggressively opposed any form of resolution and went to extraordinary efforts to delay the case. Our office developed and initiated an Energy Justice Campaign in collaboration with the MEJC, the Michigan Welfare Rights Association, Souladarity, and We Want Green Too. The project established a referral network for community partners to refer residents struggling with energy affordability and access to Sugar Law; provide advocacy to transform Michigan’s utilities away from fossil fuel-reliant corporate polluters to a publicly owned and democratically controlled energy system; and trained dozens of community organizers and leaders to provide non-legal support to residents during these DTE Customer Know Your Rights Clinic. We also created and hosted multiple ongoing DTE Customer Know Your Rights Clinics with the East Side Community Network and the Brightmoor Alliance/Michigan Welfare Rights Association/Detroit Community Schools and directly represented hundreds of low-income clients across the city to ensure that they can enforce their customer rights with DTE Energy and stop dangerous energy utility shut-offs. The Sugar Law Center remains one of the only offices in the state providing no-cost representation to unemployment insurance claimants. Throughout the year, we provided advice to and represented more than 600 persons, either helping them to secure eligibility or preventing the recoupment of payments resulting solely from the state’s misunderstanding of federal law that occurred years prior. Our office has also been instrumental in advocating for policy changes to state law that were adopted during the lame-duck session of the state legislature, which will ensure a claimant’s right to receive benefits when losing employment through no fault of their own. On behalf of our office, the State Planning Body (for legal aid providers) and others, we drafted and filed multiple amicus briefs on appeals of unemployment insurance issues where the state attorney general and agency are seeking to reduce benefits to claimants and restrict the eligibility provisions of state statutes. Together with People’s Platform, the Equitable Detroit Coalition, and the West Grand Boulevard Community Coalition we worked on a community benefits campaign centered on Henry Ford Health System expansions in the New Center area. Our office provided important organizing, advocacy, and technical support throughout and helped the Coalition achieve major wins in face of extreme opposition, including $2 million for home repairs; a $2 million for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund; $450,000 for mentoring and support for Northwestern High School and University Prep students; and $2 million dollar planned investment and 10 parcels to start a community land trust in the impact area. The SLC continues to develop original content and maintains a comprehensive, searchable national database of community benefits agreements, community benefits policies, and other community benefits and equitable development resources; the Center has also incorporated a mapping function corresponding to the database Our office also provided extensive support to the Detroit Right to Counsel Coalition seeking to have the Right to Counsel Ordinance fully implemented by the city of Detroit.
