Our place, your voices: The Rapidian is a necessary tool for community change

I remember well first learning about the concept for The Rapidian. It was in the Sparrows coffee shop that Laurie Cirvello - the visionary and then director of the Community Media Center - told me about this concept of a citizen-led online media hub that the CMC was founding. 

The timing for this seed to take root was spot on: It was 2008. The floor was falling out of our economy. The country was in the midst of a significant presidential election. Social media was just taking off - Twitter and Facebook were being used more and more in Grand Rapids as methods of sharing information. People wanted to be heard. People wanted to connect. The feeling was so strong in circles of community organizing, you could just feel it. 

My own pull to the work of The Rapidian was rooted in the interest to better help connect my community to place - to help share information about the local food movement and the natural world around them and how nurturing this relationship could positively impact my community’s health. It was Roberta King (now one of my closest comrades in both writing and running) who helped me see the value of sharing my knowledge for the broader community. She helped me see the need for more stories that would inspire people to make positive change in their lives. 

From that platform, I’ve shared content I felt relevant - from the growing issues facing our local food system to community interest stories featuring folks pursuing more active lifestyles. 

Not only did I find The Rapidian to be a platform that could help me get my stories told, but I’ve watched other writers from across the community to get engaged in moving our local food system efforts forward. I watched content creators in the local food realm pick up “food beats” to tell the stories of the change agents in our food system. We’ve covered areas of interest that span issues of social justice, economics and environmental stewardship. I continue to be amazed at this growing area within Grand Rapids and the continued growth in our local food system.

But we have so much more work to do - not just in the local food movement, but in our community across the board. 

Fast forward seven years later, our communities are still faced with the same struggles: for a need to be heard. For a need to believe their concerns are relevant and that they matter. For a need to be empowered with their own ability to change the course of their lives. 

The Rapidian fills this need. How? 

It gives community members the tools they need to tell the stories. To give a voice where there is a void in conventional media. To break down the old narratives of the past that are no longer relevant, and in the case of more sensitive issues like race and gender struggles, damaging.

And absolutely timely. 

This isn’t just a “nice to have.” Giving the people the power to change the narratives in the media helps re-write the directions of our future. Giving people the tools to author their own stories will change our community organically, instead of a curated tale of Grand Rapids from only one voice or perspective. 

Because of technology and platforms like The Rapidian, at no other time in society has this been more possible, nor important. And I think Grand Rapids is finally getting to understand that our collective community’s health and quality of life depends on it. 

During The Rapidian’s online fund drive, we are reminded that this highly valued news source runs on money. The Rapidian needs your help to continue providing content that is important to you. Please give today at therapidian.org/donate.