Abstract The New River Free Press was a community newspaper published in Grand Rapids, Michigan, from November 1973 through May 1977. New River Free Press covered a wide range of topics, including housing, health, labor, education, and social justice. The paper included articles, book reviews, recipes, artwork, short stories, and poetry. Other topics that were covered included feminism, tenant rights, urban homesteading, sexual assault, ecology and the environment, local politics, nutrition,...

Abstract William Melbourne Glenn (1903-1986) was a local political activist. Glenn began his activism in 1941, becoming the first African American hired at Hayes Manufacturing Company in Grand Rapids. Glenn was active in a number of organizations, including the Grand Rapids chapter of the NAACP, the Grand Rapids Urban League, the Family Service Agency, Planned Parenthood, Young and Old United, Concerned Senior Citizens, XYZ Senior Citizens Center and Senior Neighbors, Inc. In 1971, the Western...