Today is the day that I do something either extremely brave, or, profoundly foolish: end my year's long anonymity in the hopes of achieving a position within public office, with your permission:
So, this is where I, as the founder and chief editor of Black Label Detroit, finally introduce myself:
Hello and good morning to all, if this is your first time seeing this website, my name is William Herbert Grigsby. I'm a 28 year old Black male whose current occupation is being a retail worker at a hardware store, and, for the last 6+ years now , I've been utilizing this website to display my talents as a Citizen journalist to signal-boost Black Label Detroit as the foremost publication among Metro Detroit's Radical community in the hopes of establishing support for a Radical Democracy. I'm making this announcement because, with the blessing of you, my fellow neighbors within Farmington and Southfield, I humbly ask all of you to lend me the honor of representing our community within Lansing to completely and totally upend the expectation of what it means to be a "representative" in government, as well as serve the public at large for those who don't lend me their vote.
"What makes you think that you're in any way, shape, or form qualified enough to represent Farmington and Southfield (House District 18)?"
I fully accept and even encourage skepticism of my desire to step up and "throw my hat into the ring" for this race. However, to answer this question clearly, I'd say that I have the life experience and philosophical outlook required not only to serve Farmington and Southfield, but to thrive as an effective legislator. My opponent, former Lathrup Village Mayor Kelly Garrett (who had no primary challenger), will lean upon her years in office to inevitably try to belittle, marginalize, and tank my candidacy while talking up what she feels is her more positive attributes that she wants to take to Lansing.
But, while Kelley Garrett certainly has political experience under her belt, as I will explain below, I have such an indisputably unique level of life experience that dwarfs Kelly Garrett's accomplishments in comparison. To explain why I'm 100% confident in making that assertion, I have to talk about the profound chapters in my life that helped mould me into the aspirational, kind, and reflective man that I've come to be today:
1. At 8 years old, I was held back in the 3rd grade because of my then-functional illiteracy. I vividly remember not being able to read an analog clock properly and being so profoundly embarrassed that I wouldn't be able to join my best friend, Adam, into the 4th grade. As my K-12 career continued, I'd sheepishly lie about how I "started school late" when my classmates would ask why I was older than everyone else. However, over time with the help of countless dedicated teachers, my reading comprehension changed. Now, I have cultivated a deep and unending love for reading and gaining new knowledge, which, I used to create Black Label Detroit, which has blessed me an international following despite focusing squarely on Metro Detroit's issues.
2. At 18, I came to the realization that my family was firmly situated in the lower class when I would find my mother crying while encircled by various overdue bills and listening to her express the fact that she "felt like a failure" simply because she was in debt to a payday loan company. My mother did everything within her power to show me and my sisters that the classic American principle of "hard work paying off" was, indeed, real. She did her best to instill that thought within us as she worked three jobs and went to school at the same time. And yet, even to this day, as she ages, my mother has little to no prospect of a comfortable retirement and will likely be working as an elderly woman, just as all the other 11 Million elderly workers do within this country. I've realized that the only way that this underclass of our society can be made whole is through our government granting them the ability to live comfortably instead of throwing money away on corporate interests. Yet, no politician is speaking to their plight.
3. At age 24, following a dispute between me and my stepfather, I learned first hand just how crooked and perverse our so-called "criminal justice" system is when I fell victim to punitive psychiatry by a well-connected courthouse clique. I spent over 100 days within solitary confinement, which, seeing as the fact that every single one of my petitions to the court attempting to raise credible claims of the ineffective assistance of counsel that I was receiving from my public defense lawyer, and also, facing with the possibility of spending the rest of my life behind bars, my mental health (just as anyone else existing in the same circumstances today) deteriorated rapidly. Counselors sent by my lawyer to "assess" my situation bizarrely asked me about my political beliefs, which, somehow, resulted in me being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. The documents were rubber-stamped by the probate court and I was forced to go to a state mental institution. I vividly remember feeling like a zombie while drooling on myself within the ward and resigning myself to the thought that I'd be there for decades. The drugs that I was forced to receive have left me with permanent brain damage that still effects me to this day. I realized that if I could be railroaded by the legal system as someone who has only ever gotten in trouble with the law once, then so can anybody else, which, is a thought that utterly terrifies me.
4. Finally, last year, at age 28, I took it upon myself to cover the entirety of the 2025 Detroit Mayoral election, since, everyone within the establishment Metro Detroit media landscape made it seem like the field was "wide open", and, like many other residents in our community, I know that the prospect of Detroit's financial situation has implications for not only our community, but also, the entirety of the people in Metro Detroit as well as the state. I was there when Mary Sheffield was the first candidate to declare, I made an "anti-endorsement" of her opponents pastor Solomon Kinloch Jr as well as former Detroit police chief James Craig. I carefully took it upon myself to go to every single candidate campaign launch for the whole race. Despite the establishment media spin, I suspected that something wasn't quite right with the race when there was a poll (by which, I mean it was a singular, and, only poll, for the entire primary season) which showed Sheffield with a commanding lead and Kinloch in second. What made me even more confused was not only the fact that no one's polling position ever changed, ever, but also, the fact that outgoing Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan endorsed Sheffield even though they supposedly sit on completely opposite edges of the political spectrum. I went back and forth in my head trying to figure out if the establishment media opted to treat the race with "kid gloves" in an effort to maintain media access to Sheffield, or, if I was just being unrelentingly pessimistic. However, my worst suspicions were confirmed on election night when I went to Mary Sheffield's watch party at the MGM Grand Casino and was refused entry to the media room when I tried to use my extensive coverage of the race as media credentials. I was told, verbatim, that I was "supposed to register beforehand" with her campaign comms team and that "registration was currently closed" despite a literal stockpile of unused media credential lanyards sitting in a pile on the media registration table of her event. I left with the knowledge of understanding that not only are the most important public offices within Metro Detroit and the state of Michigan occupied by a bipartisan political machine that rivals the notable excesses of Tammany Hall, but also, the majority of media within this state is too reliant on access to the political class to challenge them and put the concerns of the public first.
These events, in their totality, have made me realize that I can only do so much using Black Label Detroit as an Citizen journalist in an attempt to inform my neighbors and those further afield of what needs to change in our society, the only way to reach more people is by occupying an office that is simply too big to ignore. That revelation is exactly why I chose to begin this fight and I have no plans on backing down, no matter how difficult my life gets, regardless of the roadblocks that'll inevitably be erected by my opponents, and in defiance of the bipartisan political machine within the state of Michigan that is hell-bent on forcing "business as usual" down the throats of those of us who want fundamental change.
Answering Possible Questions about this Campaign:
Why do you only reference Kelly Garrett as your opponent? There'll be a Republican running as well, aren't you just going to split the vote and allow the Republicans to win this seat?
This is a completely fair and reasonable critique that many voters within this community may have regarding my intention to represent Farmington and Southfield as it's representative in Lansing, and, I'm sure that the Garrett campaign will use this same critique as a way of trying to scare all of you within our collective community away from backing this campaign. Let's talk facts and bring receipts though:
Before the 2020 fair redistricting referendum redrew the boundaries of Michigan's districts, this seat was only comprised of Lathrup Village, Southfield, and the communities of Southfield Township (which was known then as district 35) which meant that it has been a sturdily safe Democratic seat ever since 1993, for reference, I was born in 1997.
If there ever was a place in which a broad base of voters were able to safely vote with your heads as well as your hearts, Farmington and Southfield is it, despite what the Garrett campaign and her powerful surrogates will insist otherwise.
What are your political leanings? How am I supposed to know that you simply aren't some MAGA agent cosplaying as a disaffected voter?
Again, seeing as the vast majority of voters within Farmington and Southfield are likely not to be in lock-step with my political views based upon the content of my previous reports. I fully expect the Garrett campaign to pounce upon any and every opportunity to paint me and my beliefs as "too extreme", or, "dangerous" in the hopes of scaring all of you away from supporting my fight against Michigan's bipartisan political establishment.
However, I fundamentally believe that you all as voters are not stupid, I hold out hope that every single individual who I bump into, or, that comes across my campaign literature will judge this campaign by it's merits rather than what they hear about it from various figureheads within the local establishment media, or, high profile politicians supporting Garrett's campaign. So, I'll answer this question with complete honesty:
At age 18, I had been a "loyal Democrat" from 2016 up until somewhere around 2019. I happily cast my ballot for Hillary Clinton, with that presidential election being the first election that I was ever able to vote in, and, I firmly remember sitting on Twitter and arguing down anyone and everyone who stated that they wouldn't vote for her. I voted for Gretchen Whitmer in 2018, yet, despite my support for these politicians, I quickly became disenchanted with the party's direction and stances under the first Trump administration, with the Democratic party's biggest figures offering nothing more than empty words and worthless symbolism rather than offering policies that would help me and my family.
I fully developed a distaste for any and all "business as usual" or "return to normal" politics and politicians after that time. I can confidently say that this has NEVER made me consider voting Republican, however, it made me become a believer in a Radical Democracy where voters had more choices rather than what is usually offered by the two party system.
Voters can have complete confidence in my discernment because Black Label Detroit stands as a testament to the evolution of my political beliefs over time, going from being hyper-fixated on labels to simply self-identifying as a "Radical" who supports reforming government within Metro Detroit from top to bottom and turning Michigan into a beacon of effective and transparent Democracy.
My political beliefs drive my passion for seeing positive change within the state of Michigan, and, time has made me wiser to the steps that need to be taken in order to bring about a flourishing, open, and responsive democratic system that I know Michigan can lead by example in becoming. I know that a Metropolitan Parliament can only be established after the roadblocks to it's creation are removed in Lansing, and, I will dedicate my time in government to seeing that those obstacles are overcome so that our communities are able to undertake the most consequential referendum in American, and possibly, World history.
If you feel this strongly about politics, why am I only hearing about you now? Why didn't you run in the Farmington and Southfield Democratic primary?
This question, as voters might be noticing by now, is also a critique which could possibly be lobbed at this campaign by either Garrett or her surrogates. Yet, as with the previous points, I have a good reason for this: I was lied to by local officials regarding what offices I had to contact as well as what deadlines I had to meet.
I have evidence of this and such evidence will be provided in my campaign literature. Trust me, the layers are dizzying.
You identify as a Citizen Journalist, right? Why should the voters elect a reporter as opposed to someone whose been in the political field?
Over the course of my reporting on Black Label Detroit, I've delved into "how the sausage is made" when it comes to politics and economics on a local, national, and international level. I deeply believe that the people need to know, now more than ever, how your government operates behind closed doors. I have been kept at arm's length by notable politicians despite my successes and profile that I have cultivated since I started Black Label Detroit. Do any of my critics honestly think that the bipartisan political establishment will be able to ignore me as an elected official? The Garrett campaign will undoubtedly say no, that's exactly why I expect the full weight of unlimited corporate money from Political Action Committees and wealthy donors, currently allowed by law, to flood our community with negative press about me, personal attacks on my character, and unfounded assertions that'll undoubtedly be drudged up by bad actors cynically using judgments made against me in Oakland County's probate court detailing what my opponents will see as "obvious signs of mental illness" in order to scare our neighbors into keeping me out of Lansing.
The people of Farmington and Southfield don't need party insiders, they need dedicated servants who'll work tirelessly in your favor no matter what political beliefs you have, what God you serve, or, how much money you have to your name to uplift everyone who is tired of feeling helpless as this state slowly backslides into irrelevance as it labours under it's parasitic bipartisan political machine.
Alright, humor me, as someone who believes in a radically robust local government, what policies could you possibly fight for in Lansing?
I fully intend on helping local governments get the resources they need to serve their residents equitably. I will not hide from the fact that I believe that local government should be the most powerful, impactful, and decisive level of government in people's lives. But, my research into the policies that I believe will help Metro Detroit all come to the conclusion that action would HAVE to be assisted by Lansing. To prevent undue antagonism between Metro Detroit and Lansing, here's a non-exhaustive list:
1. A statewide ban on AI oriented data centers in the state of Michigan
2. A statewide ban on all mass surveillance technology (I.e. flock cameras, licence plate readers, facial recognition, etc)
3. Establishing a "Bill of Rights" for the public, including: workers, citizen journalists , the mentally disabled, strikers, protesters, voters, and reformed felons
4. Complete top to bottom reform of transit agencies so they aren't forced to get their funding solely by property taxes. as well as a complete top to bottom reorganization of Michigan's Regional Transit Authority (RTA) to bring true, rail based, mass transit to Metro Detroit including and especially for the purposes of linking Farmington and Southfield together with the broader region.
5. Codifying the end of "corporate personhood" in Michigan's Constitution via public referendum
6. Allowing local governments to have legally binding youth arts & culture programs that cannot be divested from, modified, or altered by Lansing
7. Passing a law that establishes Michigan as the first state in the union to use proportional representation voting in it's elections, or, achieving the same goal via public referendum
8. Curbing authoritarianism from the Trump administration by setting up a public referendum on whether or not Michigan legally recognizes "unitary executive theory" (which states that the president has near dictatorial powers and cannot be prosecuted for any crimes in office).
9. A complete reorganization of the court system to end "courthouse cliques" and general corruption in Michigan's judicial system, and finally,
10. Developing municipally owned firms to put the unemployed and underemployed to work at $25 an hour and diversifying Michigan's economy away from the auto industry towards more productive sectors like green technology, and transportation.
(side note, if my opponent takes any of these stances and passes them off as her own, please feel free to contact me, I'll have my very own tip line in my campaign infrastructure. Candidates steal policies from each other all the time, I saw it happen in the Detroit Mayoral race and I'll do everything in my power to make sure voters know which candidate supports which policies, curious voters like you deserve the unfiltered truth).
Yeah, all of that is good, fine, and dandy. But, you haven't convinced me to vote for you. Do you mind telling me what's your plan for when you inevitably lose?
Since we live in an imperfect World, I have no doubt in my mind that there will be people, whether influenced by the Garrett campaign, my Republican challenger, or otherwise who'll not vote for me no matter what I say/do. I will put this to you though:
Would you not be concerned about the state of Democracy within Michigan if, a campaign that was started by an educated, mindful, respectful, and honest working class individual who simply wanted to do nothing else than to help create a better World for the generations that served him growing up, as well as the generations that'll come to pass long after I'm gone, failed miserably? What World will you accept living in, if (God forbid), I'm forced to end Black Label Detroit because I've been litigated into silence like what's been occurring with other independent news outlets? Do you seriously expect politics to suddenly "solve itself" when the bipartisan political machine is pushing things such as AI data centers upon residents in our state who don't want them and their lives are being upended just some tech company bigwig can pose with our elected officials to tell us that they know what's good for us?
Sit with those questions, and contemplate them deeply, I'm begging you to. I will always find an interesting beat to cover, but, I know all too well that you, my fellow neighbors, live precarious lives. I desperately hold out the hope that all of you are more willing to take a leap of faith and support my campaign rather than opting to vote for the same well connected politicians over and over again. Besides, if a Millionaire politician can win office in Metro Detroit as a write-in candidate, why can't a working class individual like myself do it?
Conclusion: This Campaign, NSPM-7, and You
I'd like to end this announcement by fully disclosing something that even my opponent wouldn't dare to strive for despite the fact that she'll meekly attempt to pass herself off as a candidate that'll "stand up for Michigan against the Trump administration".
To borrow a term from law enforcement (since my circumstances have forced me to become intimately in tune with what is, or, isn't lawful under the Constitution of the United States, and, the Constitution of the state of Michigan), I have a "reasonable suspicion" that I have been targeted underneath the pretext of the Trump administration's National Security Presidential Memorandum - #7 (NSPM-7) because of my political beliefs, and, I strongly expect to be penalized somehow/in some way during this campaign because of it.
I am able to suggest this because of direct evidence that I've compiled of my dealings with the Oakland County Probate Court, and, the Southfield Police department, all of which will be disseminated by my campaign over the course of this race, I will say, right now, that I have proof of questioning Southfield's police chief about NSPM-7, and, he, verbatim, suggested that he "has not heard" of the presidential order despite the fact that all local law enforcement departments are currently legally bound to follow the memorandum.
As for the Oakland County Probate Court, I've had numerous "mental health evaluations" falsely presented in a court of law which, erroneously and maliciously portrayed me as an individual laboring under "paranoid schizophrenia" as well as "bipolar schizoaffective disorder" despite the fact that, in every single case, no mental health assessment actually took place, not only in violation of Michigan's Mental Health Code, but also my fundamental constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. The real kicker is, I've been designated a "mentally incapacitated individual" and placed in an abusive, onerous guardianship despite the fact that I'm gainfully employed and am obviously able to do basic everyday tasks as well as take care of myself.
As the Garrett campaign, or it's faceless corporate PACs and surrogates flood your mailboxes with literature describing me as some "mentally ill" and "violent" felon, I want you to analyze those leaflets and ask yourself: does this announcement read as some tangential, confused, or, ill-informed ramblings from someone who needs to be institutionalized? My deepest wishes will be that all reasonable people will say "no".
Because I want to get my story out to as many people as possible to show how backwards, crooked, and corrupt our political system has become, all the while building a genuine political movement for positive change in our shared neighborhoods, I humbly ask that you reach out to anyone or everyone you know who might be interested in this campaign. Seeing as NSPM-7's provisions has been enforced in such a twisted way that an individual was sentenced to 30 years in prison for moving a box of amateur magazines, I personally feel that it would be beyond wrong for me to not coordinate with those who've been in my shoes and are looking for a possibility to fight back in a way that a candidate usually wouldn't in any other election. There's undoubtably many more of us. So, it'll be a continual challenge for me and this campaign to talk to voters while not violating any provisions within NSPM-7. Despite this, I know for a fact that the inverse is a level of caution that the Garrett campaign will assuredly exercise if she even attempts to match my policy prescriptions on how to end executive overreach from the Trump administration (seriously, take a look at what policies I recommended in the Minneapolis General Strike report, and ask a question to yourself: do you think that Garrett will be brave enough to recommend half of what I did?).
With all that being said, I fully expect voters within Farmington and Southfield to become increasingly familiar with my campaign due to you, the person reading these words right now. Because of this compulsion, I'd like to make a promise to all voters within our community: In the event that the Trump administration, whether it's because of the boneheaded and illegal justifications of "protecting the homeland" because of the continual casualties which will go on to be inflicted upon the innocent public via the Iran War, or, a completely crass and selfish desire to distract from the Epstein files reemerging as a kitchen table issue, if this administration suspends Habeus Corpus, further weakens the principals within the Posse Comitatus Act, or evokes the Insurrection Act of 1807, I personally promise all of you that I will reverse my stance of mild caution regarding communications and coordination with the public since I suspect that those actions will be taken as a pretext to "cross the Rubicon" constitutionally and suspend elections within this nation. In that event I assert, unconditionally, that the voting public has the right to organize itself in the event that their liberties are infringed by any state or federal government.
In conclusion, I won't give you direct commands on how to get the word out about me, this campaign, or, Black Label Detroit in general. But, all I'll say is: don't put my literature on walls, or, on street signs, no one actually reads literature publicized in that manner. Besides that, if you choose to be an active participant in this campaign, I highly advise you to use a nickname/alias in your communications with other like-minded voters. Want to support this campaign? start with your family and fellow neighbors, talk to the service workers that you run into and tell them about this campaign, move on to social clubs like Homeowner Associations, etc. I don't want to bring anybody any undue duress, so, play it cool, learn about operational security, and, I'll hopefully see you guys soon
best regards,
William Herbert Grigsby, write in candidate for Farmington and Southfield (House District 18)
Links & Sources:
1. U.S. Workforce is Aging, Especially in Some Firms- https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2025/12/older-workers.html
2. The dark side of psychiatry – how it has been used to control societies- https://theconversation.com/the-dark-side-of-psychiatry-how-it-has-been-used-to-control-societies-248493
3. Courthouse clique- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courthouse_clique
4. Mary Sheffield and the Changing Face of Detroit's Establishment- https://blacklabeldetroit.blogspot.com/2024/12/mary-sheffield-and-changing-face-of.html
5. Official Black Label Detroit Anti-Endorsement #2: Solomon Kinloch Assumes that Detroit's Voters are Fools and the Media Enables Him- https://blacklabeldetroit.blogspot.com/2025/05/official-black-label-detroit-anti.html
6. Mayoral poll: Kinloch, Craig, Jenkins battle for second - https://www.bridgedetroit.com/detroit-mayor-poll-june-2025/
7. Official Black Label Detroit Anti-Endorsement: Why James Craig's Candidacy Should be met with Dread - https://blacklabeldetroit.blogspot.com/2025/03/official-black-label-detroit-anti.html
8. Mike Duggan endorses Mary Sheffield for 2025 Detroit mayoral election- https://archive.ph/ILxGs
9. Michigan House of Representatives District 35- https://ballotpedia.org/Michigan_House_of_Representatives_District_35
10. A Megacity Mindset: The case for a Metropolitan Parliament in Metro Detroit - https://blacklabeldetroit.blogspot.com/2025/01/a-megacity-mindset-case-for.html
11. Tammany Hall -https://www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org/encyclopedia/politics-and-government/tammany-hall/
12. Duggan makes history with winning write-in campaign; Napoleon rallies supporters -https://www.michiganpublic.org/politics-government/2013-08-07/duggan-makes-history-with-winning-write-in-campaign-napoleon-rallies-supporters
13. We're Being Sued - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKQ2FD7rMN4
14. MENTAL HEALTH CODE (EXCERPT) Act 258 of 1974 - https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-258-1974-7
15. My Brother Was Sentenced to 30 Years for Moving a Box of Zines - https://newrepublic.com/article/213253/brother-sentenced-30-years-moving-box-zines-prairieland
16. The Minnesota General Strike has Failed, Here are Seven Demands that Would've Ensured it's Success - https://blacklabeldetroit.blogspot.com/2026/03/the-minnesota-general-strike-has-failed.html
17. What would you like to know about the Epstein Files? - https://www.epsteinunboxed.com/
18. Private Investigator's Guide To Personal Data Security (OPSEC 101) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsxToz0t5ow&list=PLFJimdN-bnWhi0EkrA2GUd8b-bxVf3b3O
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