Commentary: Flint’s I-475 freeway and race: A concrete barrier, or a road to reconciliation?
By Paul Rozycki A therapist trying to analyze Flint’s attitude towards race might use the term bipolar. On one hand, Flint was the first major city to choose an African-American mayor, Floyd McCree. It passed one of the first open housing ordinances in the late 1960s, after a community sleep-in at City Hall. A Republican governor came to support the effort. It’s been the home of the United Auto Workers (UAW), historically one of the...
Memories of Woodrow Stanley: student, councilman, mayor, county commissioner, and state representative
By Paul Rozycki Many tributes to Woodrow Stanley have spoken of his dedication to the Flint community, his service on the Flint City Council, mayor of Flint, the Genesee County Commission, and his role in the State House of Representatives. Many have spoken of Woodrow’s comeback from a bitter recall campaign as he refused to look back and returned to the political stage for new challenges. Woodrow Stanley and Mott Community College...
Commentary: Addressing Flint’s racial and economic inequities should be top priority for $94.7 million ARPA funds use
By Linda Pohly On June 1, 2020, in the wake of the George Floyd murder and during the early days of the COVID -19 pandemic, the city council and mayor of Flint adopted a joint resolution declaring that racism is a public health crisis and setting out a plan for addressing the crisis as a city. The joint resolution described the marked disparities in the economic and health impacts of the pandemic on communities of color. It stated:...
Commentary: How COVID has changed us, and what it means for East Village Magazine
By Paul Rozycki It’s been two years. March 10, 2020. That was the day when Michigan saw its first two COVID cases. Ironically, it was also an election day, and the beginning of the widespread shutdown of much public activity in the state. Within days, colleges and K-12 schools were closed to in-person learning. Bars, restaurants, gyms, and factories shut down, and emergency restrictions were imposed on many public gatherings in the...
Profile: “What if he had opened his eyes?” Kelsey Ronan on grief, healing, breaking a curse in “Chevy in the Hole”
By Jan Worth-Nelson Twelve years ago, Kelsey Ronan found her longtime partner Bryan dead of a heroin overdose in their Flint apartment. Out of what she describes as an onslaught of grief, anger, loss, and finally, a hard-won, unsentimental hope, the novel Chevy in the Hole was born. For Ronan, the book emerged from one poignant question: “What would have happened if Bryan had opened his eyes” instead of dying. She has...
American democracy is facing serious threats. Let’s make sure it survives.
By Paul Rozycki “The ship of democracy, which has weathered all storms, may sink through the mutiny of those on board.” -Grover Cleveland “While democracy in the long run is the most stable form of government, in the short run, it is among the most fragile”. -Madeleine Albright Democracy isn’t easy. It’s not easy to make it work well. And it’s not easy to keep it. In our place and time in history, we assume that democracy is the best...
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