WKTV
At the age of 23, Grand Rapids native Leighton Watson is striving to leave a legacy that matters, and he is confident that his life path is on target to achieve that goal.
Watson was in Grand Rapids Sept. 26 to share with Grand Valley State University students the importance of finding solutions to social injustice within each community. The former student body president of Howard University was the keynote speaker for a presentation called ‘The Power of Student Voices,’ a component of GVSU’s Student Assembly Week. The purpose of the assembly was to encourage students to actively engage in conversation about social and political issues and have their voices heard.
Although he is active in addressing the issues of Civil Rights and social injustice, Watson says he doesn’t think of himself as an ‘activist.’
“I’d rather be called a human being,” he said. “Everyone wants to put you in a box and label you. I’m an American.”
Watson’s current life path crystallized during his senior year of college, around the time of the Ferguson riots. Deeply disturbed by the increasing civil unrest and injustice, he gathered fellow students for a photo, ‘Hands Up’ (as in ‘don’t shoot’). He also traveled to Ferguson to see the situation firsthand.
“You can’t prescribe a remedy for a situation you don’t know about,” Watson said.
Meanwhile, the ‘Hands Up’ image rapidly went viral on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and CNN took notice. The station invited him to the studio to share his views and possible remedies for civic unrest.
“We don’t have to wait until we get to the point of Ferguson,” he said. “A lot of the same symptoms are happening now in other cities, but people don’t realize it until things blow up. If America was what it’s supposed to be, what it says on paper, you’d never have the movement, women’s rights, etc. I still think that there is a gap and that means there’s work for me and us to close that gap.”
After seeing Watson’s CNN appearance — and impressed with his proactive approach to identifying solutions (rather than simply pointing out the problems) — the White House invited him to Washington to be a part of a task force on policing.
“The President asked me what I wanted him to do about Ferguson,” said Watson. “There is no national solution to this issue. It’s something that must be addressed state by state, local government by local government — it has to happen on a local level.”
Since then, Watson has kept busy visiting communities across the country to talk to school children and organizations, discussng concerns and organizing movements. He stresses the importance of preparation and solution-finding, even at the middle school level.
“And I say to middle-schoolers, ‘You have to be prepared to answer the question. Preparation is an ongoing process; you must be prepared to meet the president in that moment.'”
Watson learned the importance of legacy from his grandfather, who started the Section 8 Housing Authority in South Bend, Indiana. Years after his death, people remember and speak very highly of him.
“I was about four years old when he died,” said Watson. “My grandpa taught me that achievement is not a resting place, it’s a trampoline.
“Fifty years from now, history will have written about this time, that these police shootings happened. The question I’ll have to answer my grandchildren is, ‘Grandpa, where were you when this happened?’ And I’ll want to answer that question confidently, that I did do something about it.
“Legacy is important. What you do with your time is important,” said Watson. “I want to look back on my life and be confident about what I did with my time.”
With Metro Cruise upon us and WKTV’s DreamWheels! set to film on Saturday, we take a look back on the stories of the people and cars who make the cruise such a large attraction. From the history surrounding the inception of Metro Cruise to the shops and talents it takes to rejuvenate the beauty of a classic car, and everything in between, our full coverage is below:
The tour was full of history, about kings and religious wars and assassinations, and royal cousins marrying royal cousins, and how cold the castles were. Personally, I’d much rather have a small cozy cottage than a big elaborate drafty chateau, but then that’s just my preference. They’re certainly lovely to look at, and attending a lavish ball might be kind of fun.
In 1547, King Henri II gave Chenonceau to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers, 20 years his senior, much to the dismay of his wife. When he was killed in a jousting tournament, Catherine de’ Medici, his widow, wanted Chenonceau back, and eventually got it, but only by trading a more valuable property. Diane was not invited to the King’s funeral.
About Lynn Strough
“I just love them, and when I got this car and I looked at that fin,” said Dom with his finger pointed towards a fin on a beautiful teal 1961 Cadillac Convertible, “All of a sudden I realized that what I really was doing wasn’t collecting cars, but collecting art. Each one of these is an art form, if you look at the faces of each one of these cars, each one is completely different.”
“When the ’63 Corvette came out, I stayed in the showroom for hours. I couldn’t stop looking at it because of the artwork of it,” he said.
Lately, Dom’s participation in Metro Cruise has shifted towards being an annual member on the red carpet at WKTV’s DreamWheels!. This year he plans on bringing his ’79 Ferrari.
Hotel de Ville is another place I’d never been, and I discovered that it’s not a hotel at all, but the City Hall. It’s a place where tons of tourists and locals alike congregate, and I happened by right at the golden hour when everything glowed.
Dame. I was wandering around, trying to find a restaurant I’d gone to seven years before. I didn’t remember the name, only that it was somewhere near Notre Dame and covered with wisteria. I thought about stopping at the famed cathedral, but I’d been inside once on a previous trip, the entry line was long, and I was starving. My head said go straight, but my heart nudged me to turn left, so I followed my heart, right to the wisteria-covered restaurant.
Frederico, the man in charge, said it was almost closing time, between lunch and dinner, but that I’d just made it. He reminded me that this was the oldest building in Paris. It was pricier than I’d remembered, but I had free accommodations and was eating mostly home-cooked meals, so this was my splurge. And it turned out to be the best splurge ever, as Frederico said, “What are you doing next?” He invited me and a couple of American guys to go on a private tour of nearby Notre Dame he’d organized for some of his friends. The two guys declined, but I gave an immediate yes. A few other couples joined us, and one was from my home state of Michigan. Later on Facebook, I learned a friend of mine in Atlanta knows Frederico as well. It truly is a small world.
About Lynn Strough
About Lynn Strough
#AmINext? On a picture perfect day in downtown Grand Rapids, four 16-year old students caught the attention and respect of our community. Their goal was a peaceful assembly of citizens, city officials, activists, and police to promote understanding and unity in a time of racial tension and mistrust. National cases such as the police shooting of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, a shooting in a St. Paul, Minn. suburb involving victim Philando Castile, and the Dallas killings of five police officers inspired the students to take action.
While initially planning their rally using a Black Lives Matter theme, the organizers were contacted by the group asking that they do not connect the assembly with BLM. The #4Unity organizers then changed the name to #AmINext #4Unity in order to have a separate identity. In a statement Thursday the BLM clearly distanced themselves stating, “Before anyone gets their ‘peace’ (which has long become code for silence, passivity, compliance and respectability), we deserve justice. Before talks of unity, we must speak openly about how Black and Brown communities are viciously torn apart by systems and institutions of injustice and violence.”
As professional and peaceful as the assembly was, it was unfortunate that members of Black Lives Matter presented themselves in front of the stage. Where peace and unity were being offered, these silent protesters were a distraction. Many of their signs were inflammatory, such as “Police Do Not Protect, They Harm” and “Unity Before Justice is Insulting.” When they stood with their large signs and black tape across their mouths, they blocked the view of those on the stage. As they stated they wanted no affiliation with #4Unity, it is questionable why they were even there.
With those benefits in mind, Jessica and her daughters keep active in the KDL Summer Reading Program. The program is aimed at keeping kids’ minds fresh throughout the summer months. Studies show that students typically score lower on standardized tests at the end of the summer vacation than they do on the same tests at the beginning of summer vacation. The KDL Summer Reading Program encourages learning while children and teens are away from school.
circumstances, she has found herself single, without a job or a home, and poised for a great adventure.
Back on Hvar, we got ambitious and climbed the hill to the fortress for some spectacular views of the harbor and rooftops below. Hvar is a medieval city, with walls started in 1278. There’s a strong Venetian influence in the architecture, as the Venetians ruled here on more than one occasion.
About Lynn Strough
After the opening meeting, kids are broken into three different groups to learn about nutrition, stories from the Bible, and play experimental games with life lessons incorporated throughout. Kids are then placed into small groups for Bible Discovery Time with a small group leader.
When the week is over, Jack Ponstine hopes each family leaves having checked all four boxes:
Not far away is the small town of Skradin, which is a gateway to Krka National Park. Skradin is worth an hour or two on its own, with charming narrow streets hugging the hillside, a church worth a look inside, and restaurants and shops that tumble down to the sea, where you can catch a boat up the river to Krka.
About Lynn Strough
Deb VanderBand, co-founder of EAD and an equine specialist, noticed that kids could get lost amongst the shuffle of everyday life. They needed help and a purpose. She can relate. “I was a misfit and an outcast as a child. I was always struggling to find a way to fit in. I knew in life that I needed to find a way to help kids who feel that everyday.”
That’s the list! Modify to suit your needs. This is pretty much all I needed in the first six months. You can figure that whatever you need for a week should just about cover you for a year, with a few exceptions. I did end up buying a base layer in Australia, as I’d planned to hike in the glaciers in New Zealand and had already been caught in rain and hail hiking in summer in Tasmania. These I don’t need often, but when I do, I’m glad I have them, and have used them for pajamas in chilly places as well. I also bought a wool beanie cap, and have worn that to bed, and used it out on the fjords in New Zealand. I left the gloves in a hostel for someone else in the give-away bin. I might need some down the road, but something had to go as I couldn’t zip my bag.
I’ve used my hairdryer only twice, even though I have long hair now, but if I’d been traveling in cold weather places instead of mostly following summer, I might have used it more. I brought a mini hair straightener and only used it once, so that was a waste of space. On the road, you need very little makeup, jewelry, or fancy clothes, unless you’re doing a very different kind of traveling. Really, it’s a nice break to not worry all the time what your hair looks like.
What have I acquired? Very little. A pair of loose cotton “elephant” pants and a top in Thailand for my meditation retreat. Some clothes were loaned or given to me, and some clothes I gave away. I did buy a bikini in Australia—they have great bathing suits there. And women in their 80’s don’t hesitate to flaunt their stuff in two-piece bathing suits, so I got over my “I’m-too-old-for-a-bikini” mindset.
Also, remember when you pack your bag full and head off from a winter location, wearing your jeans and long-sleeved shirt and fleece jacket and hiking boots, and head to a summer place where the temperature is 99F, you aren’t going to want to keep wearing all of that heavy gear. So then where do you put it? In a kangaroo bag! And now you have three bags to tote around. Pack light, pack light, pack light. And bring twice as much money. That old adage, for better or worse, is true.
By: Tom Sibley
This is the seventh installment chronicling the adventures of Lynn Strough, a local artist and writer who’s been traveling the world since November 2014. Lynn’s travels have (so far) taken her to Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Slovenia, Croatia, Ireland, England, France, Italy… and I’m sure we’re forgetting a few destinations. To learn more about her journey, go 
I’d thankfully read about onsen etiquette on line, or I would’ve been clueless – first you put your kimono into a wicker basket, then you wrap your towel around your head, turban style, to keep it dry. You shower off with the outdoor nozzle while sitting naked for all to see (women anyway) on a small plastic stool, then you slip into the heavenly hot pool.
