Editor's note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave's On the Ground Battle Creek series.

BATTLE CREEK, MI — Resistance and revolution are strong words that are being embraced by groups of Calhoun County residents pushing back against Project 2025 and its supporters.

“We’re heading into a dangerous, criminal, constitutional crisis. My perspective is that the use of strong words is absolutely critical at this point in time,” says Karen W., co-creator of the group Just Us People in Battle Creek. She asked that her last name not be used because of concerns she has about possible retaliation.

Just Us People formed in March. Network of Neighbors in Marshall was created almost immediately after the 2024 Presidential election with the express purpose of mobilizing individual efforts into a groundswell of activity.

The most recent and visible activity of both groups was the April 5 Hands-Off protest, which saw a crowd of more than 500 people line both sides of Beckley Road, brandishing signs that spoke to everything from cuts to education funding to veterans' benefits to Social Security.

Network of Neighbors 

Laura Brownell, who came up with the idea that resulted in Network of Neighbors, says people like herself want to be visible in their opposition.

A semi-retired teacher at Marshall High School, Brownell says she felt compelled to do something after the 2024 election. Her brain immediately went to mobilizing like-minded people to be present in their opposition when there is a need such as supporting marginalized people who are being attacked.

John GrapPeople lined both sides Beckley Road between Riverside and M-66 during the April 5 Hands Off demonstration in Battle Creek.“I do believe that we are currently under an administration who has a disregard for its people and supports a system that puts profit over human decency,” she says. “Many people are losing faith in the American system. I see my own adult children who have good-paying jobs struggle with affording healthcare and housing. I worry about the cost of care for my aging parents. The working-class people, I believe, are not being well represented or cared for in today’s economy. “

Brownell was part of a group of six people who brainstormed to create a list of people who might be interested in participating in the formation of Network of Neighbors.

“Basically, that letter said that at challenging times, many of us feel like our actions are futile, but every moment demands something new of us. When a new president takes over, we need to meet the demands of a new political reality,” Brownell says. 

“I do feel that working-class people need to stand up and fight to have policies and representation that have the interests of working-class people in mind. Taking actions like sending immigrants out of the country, taking away reproductive rights, bullying other nations with tariff wars and making the United States the enemy of the rest of the world is not a means to the end that the United States needs if it really has the best interest of the majority of its citizens in mind.“

About 50 people attended the group’s first meeting on February 20. Subsequent meetings have featured speakers who have discussed topics such as fears among immigrant populations; Medicare and Medicaid; Social Security; cuts in funding to the Michigan Humanities Council; and legislation being crafted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). All of the information presented has been done through the lens of the current political climate.

During one of these meetings, a friend of someone who works for the local Veterans Administration shared a letter from the VA asking people who work there to be whistleblowers on fellow employees, Brownell says.

John GrapPam of Just Us People talks about the April 5 Hands Off demonstration on Beckley Road in Battle Creek.“It’s always something different,” she says.

The speakers are identified by individuals who attend Network of Neighbors meetings. The organization has speakers lined up through June.

“We always ask the speakers what we can do to help them,” Brownell says.
This ask is the call to action that has become a hallmark of the organization. When meeting participants present an issue or topic, they are asked what resources they have to address their particular concern.

Creating community

Because Marshall has a combined school district with Albion, she says Network of Neighbors leadership knew it was important to reach out beyond Marshall to create a larger community. This presents opportunities to share resources, connect with other people doing similar work, develop ways to take action, and learn about legislation at the local, state, and federal levels.

John GrapPam Tindol holds a sign at the April 5 Hands Off demonstration on Beckley Road in Battle Creek.“What we know is that forming community and connections is part of the strength of resistance,” Karen says. “The national events are the low-hanging fruit. The local stuff is what’s important. In Calhoun County, which goes red, we need to get more people who are low-income, non-voting, or independent, knowing that there is a movement in our County.”

Just Us People grows to 200 in a month

The idea for Just Us People became a reality following a chance meeting in a sauna at the Oaklawn Life Improvement Center between Karen and a woman who would help to lead the group.

“Within two minutes, we identified that we had a lot of similar angst about what was going on,” Karen says. “She said, ‘I just feel like I want to do something.'”

The woman she met, who did not want her name used for reasons similar to Karen, reached out to people she knew, some of whom were among 70 who attended a Calhoun County Democratic Party (CCDP) meeting to listen to Brownell talk about what Network of Neighbors is doing as a collective.

John GrapPeople lined both sides Beckley Road between Riverside and M-66 during the April 5 Hands Off demonstration in Battle Creek.Karen says the fear, anxiety, and energy during that me
eting were palpable. Just Us People became official not long after this gathering.
“Hope is a verb,” she says. “When we have hope, there are actions connected to that word.”

Just Us People’s first activity was Resistance Training.

“We had 27 people sign up and 43 showed up,” Karen says. “What that tells me is people are looking for ‘what can I do?’ In Marshall, within a month or two, they had 200 people engaged in some kind of networking. This has shown me that I’m not alone in how I’m feeling about what’s going on. I almost can’t put words to how frightening it is.”

As one of the original members who has held leadership positions with the CCDP, Karen says she has had to be intentional about policing her daily intake of political news and her involvement.

A relative newcomer to the role of an involved and visible political leader, Brownell says before Network of Neighbors, she was involved politically in other ways. Among these are always voting and vetting her candidates; working on grassroots efforts for the successful passage of bond proposals; volunteering with community organizations; and serving as an active member of her local teachers’ union.

“I never really thought about this as ‘being political,’ more of just being ‘socially responsible,” Brownell says. “As a teacher, I work with all kinds of students, and I have been speaking up for lots of people’s rights because I know what it’s like for someone to not have something.”

An Indivisible connection

The local groups have connected with a national organization called Indivisible, which has a presence in states including Michigan. There is a chapter in Kalamazoo that organized a Hands-Off Protest in Portage that drew 4,000.

Karen says Indivisible offers free resources, which is important for Just Us People, which doesn’t have money to pay for resources. The organization also provides information, including ways to create a bold and impactful social media presence as a means of communicating with a wider audience.

John GrapPeople lined both sides Beckley Road between Riverside and M-66 during the April 5 Hands Off demonstration in Battle Creek.On a recent Zoom call with Indivisible, Karen says an Indivisible representative said that, “MAGA will take whatever words we use and spin it. We’ve got to use words that meet the need.”

Just Us People made a recent decision to become a part of Indivisible, which gives the local organization the ability to have upcoming events and activities appear on the Indivisible website.

Since its founding in 2016, Indivisible has been “rooted in the belief that organized people can beat organized hate — and that our power comes not just from our numbers, but from how we show up. From the start, we've been committed to non-violence as a guiding principle in everything we do: our protests, our organizing, and our advocacy,” according to a statement on its website.

Since the 2024 election, Indivisible has put a focus on preserving Democracy through nonviolent actions.

John GrapPeople lined both sides Beckley Road between Riverside and M-66 during the April 5 Hands Off demonstration in Battle Creek.It is difficult to say what impact their efforts have had, although a March story in Axios says a group of 13 Trump swing voters on the east side of Michigan are overwhelmingly feeling remorse about their votes.

“People are concerned about democracy and things that are being done illegally that the executive branch is not being held accountable for,” Brownell says. “One of our underlying goals is that we want our community to stop being divided; that is not doing anybody any good. What’s going on nationally is affecting our community to keep us from being progressive. Community members are the first line of defense.

“It’s Important for low-information people to see what’s happening,” Karen says. “I’m 70 years old and we’ve never seen a time like this. It makes me think of what happened in Nazi Germany. I’m not going to ignore what’s happening to people.”