Angel garza

0 Crime & Safety "Essentially, these activists basically said, 'If you don't do this, we are no longer going to participate with the Pride Center.'" Michigan Advance , News Partner Posted Reply Michigan Advance June 19, 2022 Two years ago, as calls for racial justice were ignited across the country in the wake of a white Minneapolis police officer murdering George Floyd, a group of activists called on the Grand Rapids Pride Center to take a hard look at itself. “The group of BIPOC [Black, Indigenous and people of color] activists called out the Pride Center and said, ‘We want to support you, but you have a history of not listening to minority voices in general and specifically Black and trans voices,” said Jazz McKinney, who at that time was the center’s only Black board member and is now its executive director. “So they gave us a list of demands as a center and said, ‘Hey, if you want to say you’re serving all … [Read more...] about In An Effort To Make Pride Safer, Grand Rapids Pride Center Announces No Police Will Be At Festival

On Nov. 1, 2006, my wife was brutally murdered. On Nov. 8, 2016, almost 10 years later to the day, Donald J. Trump became president. These two tragic events profoundly changed how I viewed the world and redefined the rest of my life. Writing, blogging, tweeting, filmmaking, and podcasting is the manifestation of that transformation. My wife was Adrienne Shelly , the beautiful, talented actor and filmmaker who starred in Hal Hartley’s first two indie classics The Unbelievable Truth and Trust , as well as over twenty other films, and who ultimately went on to write, direct, and star in the 2007 film Waitress . She was killed by a 19-year-old undocumented immigrant construction worker who broke into her West Village office to rob her. He staged her death as a suicide. Our daughter was not even 3 years old at the time. I was the one who found Adrienne dead. I insisted she did not take her own life. I knew it down to my core. I used whatever strength and resources I … [Read more...] about How My Wife’s Murder and Trump’s Election Changed My Life

In one of the most shocking rebrands of 2022—maybe second after “inclusive” M&M’s — Jurassic World actor and famous follower of Christ Chris Pratt walked back claims that he’s a “religious person” in a new cover story for Men’s Health after years of telling the public otherwise. Much of the magazine profile, published on Wednesday, focuses on Pratt’s maligned presence on Twitter, including his frequent title as “the worst Chris” out of all the Hollywood Chrises and accusations that his politics are, at the very least, Republican-adjacent . The Guardians of the Galaxy star points to a speech he made at the MTV Movie & TV Awards in 2018 as his Annoying, Evangelical White Man internet reputation began to take hold. “God is real,” he said, accepting the Generation Award. “God loves you. God wants the best for you. Believe that. I do.” In the four years since, Pratt has seemingly managed to grasp why certain viewers were put off by this televangelist stunt (and … [Read more...] about Why Is Chris Pratt Lying About His Religious Past?

Almost every trip teaches me something about myself, the world and what not to do next time. Here are three hard-won travel lessons that may help you learn from my mistakes. COBBLING TOGETHER FLIGHTS ISN’T WORTH THE SAVINGS Whenever possible, I book nonstop flights. Nonstops may cost a bit more, but they avoid the inconvenience of layovers and the stress of possibly missing a connection. Sometimes, of course, nonstop flights aren’t available or affordable. What you don’t want to do, I learned through bitter experience, is try to save money by booking flight legs with different, unaffiliated airlines — especially if you’re dealing with luggage or customs. In 2017, my husband, daughter and I flew to London and then Barcelona, Spain. That part went fine; it was coming back that became a nightmare. The Barcelona-to-London flight was delayed. When we landed at Heathrow Airport in London, we learned we had to pick up our luggage at baggage claim, go through customs , check our … [Read more...] about Liz Weston: 3 lessons I wish I’d learned sooner about travel