In a book review this week of Smoking Typewriters: The Sixties Underground Press and the Rise of Alternative Media in America by John McMillian, Metro Times co-founder Ron Williams offers some kind words about Allied Media Projects and the Detroit Digital Justice Coalition. Thanks, Ron!
If we are to look to the Web as the place to find the next iteration of the values and goals embraced by the underground press — and I would argue that's as good a place as any — then we need to look no farther than to some inspiring and innovative organizations right here in Detroit. The Detroit Digital Justice Coalition and Allied Media Projects, working with MSU and utilizing federal stimulus funds, show lessons learned and effectively applied to new media.
While the underground press was an overwhelmingly straight, white and very male show, Allied's annual media conference is firmly multicultural, highly collaborative and a glance at their programming shows the widest possible spectrum of creative expression in the service of education and training. Geeked-out training sessions and radical political analysis are combined with karaoke, bowling and hip hop performances — an approach that would make any counterculture veteran feel right at home.
The DDJC, of which Allied is a member, is an imaginative and savvy community organizing effort aimed at developing a digital economy in Detroit. The concept of "digital justice" is their way of framing the very real digital divide — they promote equal access to media and technology as producers and consumers. They aim to "expand broadband infrastructure," by building out mesh wireless broadband networks and "use community media to rebuild the city's economy for the 21st century." They want to spur community-based economic development by promoting small business, independent artists and other entrepreneurs via the web.
DIY? Check. Diverse? Check. Collaborative? Check. Fun? Check. Hyper-local, with a global perspective? Check. New tools for grass roots political action and job creation? Check. The next chapter is already being written.