A new group has formed here in Michigan to oppose the 2008 Republican National Convention (RNC) and Democratic National Convention (DNC) and to organize participation in the protest by people from Michigan. The group is called Unconventional Michigan and is part of the larger Unconventional Action network that has formed over the past year to organize against the conventions.

Aside from launching a website and MySpace page, the group has prepared a presentation on the protests planned for the conventions and the history of recent mass mobilizations in North America. Unconventional Michigan is currently in the process of contacting groups across the state to setup presentations:

To Whom It May Concern,

Unconventional Michigan* is a new group that is in the process of organizing resistance to the upcoming Democratic (DNC) and Republican (RNC) national conventions this summer and facilitating participation by folks from Michigan.

Over the past year, individuals involved with Unconventional Michigan have been impressed and inspired by the organizing that has gone into planning protests against the political conventions. Unlike 2004, there has been considerable advance planning for both conventions--with much of it focusing on direct action. In addition to large scale marches and protests, plans are in place to disrupt the DNC and to actually try to shut down the RNC. These plans are based on considerable study of what has worked in recent mass mobilizations in North America (from the 1999 Seattle WTO protests to the 2004 political conventions) and input from groups across the country. Moreover, there is on-the-ground support for the protests in both Denver (for the DNC) and the Twin Cities (for the RNC).

In order to encourage people to attend the protests, Unconventional Michigan has prepared a presentation that we want to deliver to groups, co-op houses, and anyone with an interest in the protests. In addition to talking about the protests planned for this summer, we include an overview of the major mobilizations of the past several years to show how the plans for the RNC and DNC are founded on thoughtful and strategic reflection of what has (and has not) worked in the past. We also leave plenty of time for questions about this summer or past protests.

We're eager to share our excitement about the convention protests and would love to schedule a presentation in your city. We believe that disrupting the conventions offers a unique opportunity to take our opposition to the war, ecological destruction, and other institutionalized forms of oppression to the next level. We remember the excitement that permeated the movement post-Seattle and believe that the conventions this summer could offer a similar opportunity. Moreover, we believe that talking about direct action and the political conventions could increase interest in and facilitate participation in existing radical projects across Michigan while also inspiring new projects.

Please let us know if you are willing to host a presentation or know of a group or space that we should contact about giving a presentation.

In Struggle,
- Unconventional Michigan - http://uamichigan.wordpress.com

* Unconventional Michigan is currently made up of individuals from across Michigan involved in a variety of projects including ACTIVATE (Grand Rapids SDS) and Mediamouse.org. We're a part of the larger Unconventional Action network organizing resistance to the political conventions.