An offering of resistance for
and by the community
in the form of a
bi-monthly zine
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Hey there,
It’s impossible to ignore the constitutional crisis currently inflicted on our country in regards to the thousands of documented, undocumented, mixed status and even U.S. citizens being rapidly deported without due process.
It seems our leaders think they can get away with this by targeting our black and brown neighbors. Immigrants and refugees are human. Immigrants and refugees make our country better. Immigrants and refugees have been fighting for too long alone and it’s time for the rest of us to share the load.
Issue 6 shares some local opportunities to show up for immigrant families in our community. It also talks about Lansing’s current policies regarding ICE and highlights anti-immigrant bills in the Michigan house that must be resisted.
We can do hard things,
Erin
they/them
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This zine was created to showcase community resources in the Lansing area to remind us all that we are not alone. It seems like every day that we’re seeing more and more scary things coming out of the White House. It is my belief that this is by design. The Trump Administration wants us to become disheartened. They want us to think Trump is so powerful that we shouldn’t even try. If you are subscribed to this zine, I think you’re the kind of person that can see that he’s full of shit.
The longer I’ve worked on this zine, the more I have the privilege of seeing what an incredible place Lansing is full of resources and magical people doing the work with love, care and commitment to sustained resistance.
This week’s issue celebrates Earth Day early.
Read on for opportunities to grow food in Lansing’s food desserts, a thoughtful and invigorating interview about the required intersectionality of environmental justice, and an anonymously shared poem about the beautiful work at Tender Heart Gardens.
We can do hard things.
Erin
they/them
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If you’re new here, my name is Erin and I am the main curator of this zine. We distribute over 70 zines across 9 local Lansing shops with a new issue coming out every two weeks. If you don’t see one in the wild, you can always read the online version attached to this email :o)
In the best interest of keeping this zine relevant to the needs and happenings in our community, I rarely plan beyond the current issue. That’s why I was incredibly excited to hear about a student rally happening on MSU’s campus organized by suafmsu, a conglomerate of multiple student groups organizing against fascism.
This week’s edition was created specifically to be distributed at that rally as a means to connect isolated students to peers fighting for the same goals, promote student protest events and voices and most importantly to help students know they aren’t alone.
It did not disappoint. There was singing, there were chants and there were spectacular student speakers, some of which had been previously arrested for their protests.
Even if you yourself are not a MSU Student, there is so much hope to be gleamed from reading about their efforts and this week’s interview was a pleasure filled with empathy, clarity and honesty about how it feels to be a young student right now.
Thanks for reading and as always, email email us if you or your art would like to be included in our next issue.
We can do hard things.
-Erin (they/them)
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It took three issues but this week’s zine is closer the form I dreamed of than any previous; that of a zine created for and by the community.
Issue 3 Spotlights:
Check out “It’s Worth It” to read excerpt of an anonymous interview by a community member about her experience living in Lansing as a Trans woman and what resistance looks like to her. Thank you again for your honesty and generosity.
You will also find a two page break down focusing on The Allen Center, a place-based nonprofit organization that has been serving Lansing's Eastside since 1999. For the last 24 years, ANC has pioneered and continues to offer successful programs in health access and education, food security, youth development, housing, economic development, and social connectivity. They center grassroots organizing and finding neighborhood solutions to systemic health and housing issues. Ethan was generous enough to share with the zine how the community can get involved with their impressive and invaluable efforts, whether by donating time or income.
Finally, you will notice a new page about CARE, a research conglomerate aiming to identify specific community needs and use a public health approach that prioritizes the community’s well-being and resiliency to address harms caused by those holding extremist ideologies. We met with them last week, and they offered the zine invaluable encouragement and advice. You can learn more about them at perilresearch.com/care
Have you witnessed extremists ideology in our community? Email CARE directly here: CARE_Michigan@american.edu
As always, I hope this zine strengthens and encourages you.
We can do hard things,
Erin (they/them) -
When working on this week’s issue I hit a wall. The information was coming faster than I could update. I was grinding my wheels, setting aside more and more time to write, while meanwhile creating a zine that felt further and further from its goal; to help people, to connect them, and to aid in the fight against tyranny.
The truth of the matter is that this war is being waged by our attention spans. People learn what the government is doing through the media so if you overwhelm the media all at once no coherent opposition can emerge. Instead of circling back and identifying the wins, it keeps us constantly outraged, constantly afraid and oftentimes it seems, constantly exhausted.
Fear is an excellent motivator but an awful sustainer. Curiosity, truth and collective freedom on the other hand, remind us what we’re fighting for.
Lansing Undersea will continue to exist in two editions; its art zine curated by Alexander (he/him) and what had previously been named its news zine, now renamed its community zine, written and curated by myself.
What is sustaining your activism?
Where do you find your hope?
What does the world we’re striving for look like to you?
What does it feel like?
What steps can we take today to get closer to it?
This week’s community zine focuses on these questions and more.
This zine can be found out in the wild around Lansing or you can access the print version online here.
Reply to this email with your answers to be featured in the next one and as always contribute art of any kind to be featured in our art zine and lend your voice to the resistance.
Hold hands. Share water. Keep imagining.
Together we can do hard things.
Erin (they/them)
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Online News and Community Highlights
Online Art and Creative Writing
This zine exists in two parts, released bi-weekly.
Art amplifies our hopes and connects us. This week’s art edition features the diverse work of over 5 local artists.
We also strive to keep our community informed on national and regional news: no nonsense, no panic and in accessible language with our news edition.
Leave no room for doubt that Lansing is a city that opposes tyranny and protects its neighbors.
This week we printed and distributed dozens of copies of the news edition across several local businesses but we need your help to reach even more. Consider printing our news edition and giving it to someone who needs it