Saturday, February 25, 2012

Join us for a lively discussion about renters rights, the housing foreclosure crisis and some creatives ways that people are resisting being evicted and abused by landlords around the country. We have invited guests who work on these issues, but we welcome all ideas and perspectives on how to stand up for everyone’s right to descent housing.

This is a potluck event. We invite to to bring food to share and the Bloom Collective will make sure there are vegan food options. This event will go from noon until 2pm.

• February 16 at 7:00PM.
• IATSE Labor Hall
• 931 Bridge St. NW, Grand Rapids, MI.

The film is free and open to the public. A discussion will follow.

In 1961, segregation seemed to have an overwhelming grip on American Society. Many states violently enforced the policy, while the federal government, under the Kennedy administration, remained indifferent, preoccupied with matters abroad. That is, until an integrated band of college students-many of whom were the first in their families to attend a university-decided, en masse, to risk everything and buy a ticket on a Greyhound bus bound for the Deep South. They called themselves the Freedom Riders, and they managed to bring the president and the entire American public face to face with the challenge of correcting civil-rights inequities that plagued the nation.

Veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson’s inspirational documentary is the first feature-length film about this courageous band of civil-rights activists. Gaining impressive access to influential figures on both sides of the issue. Nelson chronicles a chapter of American history that stands as an astonishing testament to the accomplishment of youth and what can result from the incredible combination of personal conviction and the courage to organize against all odds.

Thursday Jan 12
If A Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

The Bloom will serve soup and we’ll all write letters of support to Marie Mason. Soup and letter writing: 6:30 p.m., film @ 7 p.m.
At the Bloom, 671 Davis NW in Grand Rapids

$3 – $5 suggested donation

On December 7th, 2005, federal agents conducted a nationwide sweep of radical environmentalists involved with the Earth Liberation Front — an organization the FBI has called America’s “number one domestic terrorism threat.”

IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT is the remarkable story of the group’s rise and fall, told through the transformation and radicalization of one of its members, Daniel McGowan. Part coming-of-age tale, part cops-and-robbers thriller, the film interweaves a chronicle of McGowan facing life in prison with a dramatic investigation of the events that led to his involvement with the ELF. Using never-before-seen archival footage and intimate interviews — with cell members and with the prosecutor and detective who were chasing them — IF A TREE FALLS asks hard questions about environmentalism, activism, and the way we define terrorism.

Watch the trailer :

This event is also a potluck. The Bloom Collective will provide vegan food. Please feel free to bring a dish to pass.

Saturday, Dec 3

1 – 3:00 PM

Bloom Collective

671 Davis NW

Saturday, November 12th, 2011 / 1-3pm

@ The Bloom Collective

Come join us for a potluck and discussion examining how local museums (Grand Rapids Public Museum, Fred Meijer Gardens, Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum) continue to perpetuate oppression and favor the elite through their choice of exhibits and their portrayal of history. Bring a dish to pass as we discover what motivates these institutions choices around what they teach us… and what they don’t.

(Facebook event page)