Group members meet weekly in the Russel H. Kirkhof Center to discuss current events and political issues that affect GVSU students. Voices for Justice researches local volunteering and fundraising activities to take part in and offers space for members to discuss their thoughts and opinions. Meetings are prioritized as a time to connect with one another, emphasized by their casual and conversational atmosphere.

“Voices for Justice is an organization that prioritizes and expresses the importance of human rights,” said Gabrielle Salinas, the club’s president. “We heavily focus on what we can do for others and how we can make a difference. Everyone who is a part of Voices for Justice is compassionate, positive and supportive of each other.”

Recently, Voices for Justice engaged in an opportunity to assist refugees through volunteer work. Students worked with the Chicago Refugee Coalition, a nonprofit organization that works to provide support and resources to refugees as they begin their lives in the United States.

“During our time volunteering, we provided individuals with items such as clothing, accessories, sanitary products and food,” said Chloe Ward, vice president of Voices for Justice. “We were able to help support families who were in need of certain products.

Voices for Justice also encourages student participation through movie screenings. In February, the organization held a screening of “42: The Jackie Robinson Story.” The film was chosen to highlight Robinson’s impact on the sport and promote awareness of Black excellence. On Monday, March 31, the group showed “Hidden Figures.” The 2016 biographical film follows Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson, three women who worked as NASA mathematicians in the 1960s. After viewing, participants discussed the film’s themes and fostered conversation about identity and discrimination.

“A major takeaway from the film is the portrayal of racial and gender barriers,” Salinas said. “The film allowed us to have conversations about how far society has come in terms of racial and gender equality, but also how much further there still is to go in many fields.”

Salinas said the club will continue to host film events in order to increase awareness for the student body, and give attendees a forum to discuss and consider complex issues.

Voices for Justice members are looking forward to an upcoming Thrift Swap, which will be hosted on Monday, April 7 on the Kirkhof Lawn. During this time, students can bring items to donate and receive other clothing items in exchange. The event will also serve to promote the organization to prospective members.

“You can bring any clothes or accessories you no longer need or want and swap them out with something else,” Ward said. “We have implemented a system where each clothing item is worth a certain number of tickets. For every item you bring, you will receive tickets and use your tickets like money.”

Ward said any clothing or accessories left over will be donated.

By aiming to advocate for human rights in an approachable way, Voices for Justice attempts to reach a wider audience and spread a message of humanity, equity and solidarity. Imparting such values can help raise awareness of local and global issues that affect many individuals, including students, on a daily basis.

Individuals representing the Grand Rapids Climate Coalition, GR Rapid Response to ICE, Grand Rapids Pride Center, Planned Parenthood and Grand Valley State University’s Progressive Student Union (PSU) spoke at the event. The groups called for support, awareness and change amid controversial actions made by President Donald Trump. Speakers addressed issues including immigration, LGBTQIA+ rights, economic struggle, the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and climate change, furthering momentum in the City for political action.

Former Kent County Commissioner and Michigan State Senate candidate Ivan Diaz addressed attendees, imploring the crowd to continue efforts of support in the “struggle of a lifetime.” 

“Never ever be afraid to get into good, necessary trouble,” Diaz said. “I’m looking forward to seeing you all out on the streets, at the ballot box, city council meetings, school board meetings, town hall meetings, in Lansing (and) in D.C.”

Sam Tunningley, an organizer of the event, said he believes it’s time for not just local solidarity, but international solidarity.

“I want everyone to really internalize international solidarity,” Tunningley said.

While the event itself acknowledged various issues, the focus of the resulting march was largely on immigration. Protesters filled the streets and blocked traffic as they marched towards Monroe Avenue, where they were eventually pushed onto the sidewalk by Grand Rapids Police Department officers.

“We’re out here speaking up for people that can’t,” a protester shouted. “We’re the daughters of immigrants, so we just want everyone to know that we’re not gonna stay down.” 

Numerous protesters mentioned their support for undocumented immigrants against threats from the Trump administration. Supporters drove past the march waving Mexican flags while protesters chanted, “No hate, no fear, immigrants are welcome here.” 

“We are under attack,” another protester voiced in the crowd. “(The government is) attacking immigrants who are working in the fields, restaurants, hotels (and) everywhere. Trump is a criminal. (Immigrants are) coming here to work, looking for a better life and this f*cker wants to deport us.”  

Many students from GVSU stood among the protesters, leading chants and holding homemade signs. Dorian Fedewa, a senior at the University, was in attendance to respond to the impact Trump’s policies have on his rights as a transgender person.

“I see all of our struggles as interconnected,” Fedewa said. “If I’m struggling, everybody else is too. That’s why I’m here.”

Fedewa said he was empowered by the march, and glad to see such a large turnout of like-minded advocates.

“I’ve been really depressed the past couple of weeks with everything going on, but seeing how many good people there are willing to stand up for others makes me hopeful,” Fedewa said.

Tunningley said the impact the event had on people such as Fedewa is exactly what he hoped for.

“I’ve been organizing for about five years and that (the march) was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen,” Tunningley said. “Being around them (community members) just fills your heart with optimism and that’s why we stress that people should get out onto the streets and take matters into their own hands.”

Student advocacy at the University will continue, with a protest organized by PSU in response to ICE action and immigration policy planned to take place Friday, Feb. 7.

Gallery • 30 Photos

GVL / Lee Marentette

This comes after a decade-long fight for equal rights. Last July, the Michigan Supreme Court passed legislation that covered LGBTQ residents from discrimination based on their sexual orientation following lawsuits that were filed by two separate businesses in 2020, one of which attempted to deny business to a same-sex couple, the other refusing an individual undergoing sexual reassignment surgery.

The passing of this legislation protects residents from discrimination if a future court were to reverse the decision made in 2022. These protections are important because people’s rights should be a given.

Prior to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, Michigan had been one of 29 states in America without explicit laws protecting LGBTQ communities from discrimination. Michigan’s first openly gay state senator, Jeremy Moss, is sponsoring the bill. He revealed this sort of legislation for Michigan has been 40 years in the making, finally gaining the momentum needed to move forward when it became a priority of Michigan Democrats this year.

According to APNews, the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act also prohibits discrimination based on religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, marital status and other distinctions. The introduction of protection for multiple groups under the law is a necessary safeguard that has been missing in Michigan.

This legislation seems to be trying to catch up to a place that we should have been many years ago. However, there are many places that are trying to reverse the exponential progress over the last eight years that only represents a long history of fighting for change.

Whitmer’s efforts to strengthen Michigan’s laws and legislation comes at a time when many other states are directly or indirectly creating regulations around the LGBTQ community. According to the Human Right Campaign, Tennessee lawmakers have enacted over 14 anti-LGBTQ laws since 2015, more than any other state. Recent laws include the ban of drag performances in public or presence of children and other pieces of legislation that blocks minors from receiving gender affirming care.

More concerns about LGBTQ discrimination looms in the near future in relation to the executive branch, as leading GOP candidates like Ron Desantis are using anti-LGBTQ propaganda to bolster themselves within conservative voters. Desantis and other like-minded politicians have pushed for new legislation like Desantis’ Parental Rights in Education law that some critics believe is aimed at the LGBTQ community due to the law’s description being too vague.

Hiskes, the founder of the Human Rights minor at GVSU, used the event as a platform to educate attendees about what can be done about global human rights issues, and how children’s human rights are directly affected. His book calls attention to topics such as child enslavement and child poverty as evidence of society ignoring the human rights of children, despite nearly every nation in the world having legal documentation as to what those rights are. 

During the event, Hiskes presented his argument for the acknowledgment of the human rights of children, and how such an acknowledgment can drastically improve the lives of children internationally. He reminded attendees that though the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was ratified by nearly every nation, there are still 10 million children currently enslaved around the world and that human rights should get the attention it deserves so that those countries can be held accountable.

Political Science Professor and Director of the Human Rights Minor at GVSU, Karen Zivi, said Hiskes book talk challenged attendees’ perceptions of children’s rights, and the impact acknowledging them could have.

“(Hiskes) challenged us to think about whether rationality should be the basis upon which we grant human rights to individuals,” Zivi said. “Why shouldn’t they be able to vote or have rights? He’s also suggesting to us that if we recognize children’s human rights, that might put some pressure on policymakers to address the climate crisis.” 

Zivi said the book talk was a great opportunity for students to get to know what is going on in the world and to inspire students to take initiative to try to figure out how to address those things. 

“One of the things that Professor Hiskes reminds us is that there’s a connection between children’s rights and environmental rights because young people will be inheriting a climate crisis,” Zivi said. “So part of what he was trying to get our students to think about is, what they can do to have an impact.” 

The Human Rights minor, the program that Professor Richard Hiskes founded at GVSU, is an interdisciplinary minor with 19 credits housed in Brooks College allowing students to address both national and global human rights issues. Alumni of the program go on to complete Masters’ in human rights, law school, social work, and public health professions. Zivi said there is great work being done wherever they are. 

“The Human Rights minor is wonderful because it allows people to think philosophically about an issue,” Zivi said. “It helps us understand the contemporary politics that we’re dealing with, like the rights of protestors, women and girls human rights, free speech rights, and these are global issues as well.”

“Suffer the Children: A Theoretical Foundation for the Human Rights of The Child” by Richard Hiskes is available in multiple bookstores, Barnes and Noble, and on Amazon. 

The “Suffer the Children” event was held thanks to the generosity of the Joseph Stevens Freedom Endowment.