Flint residents can weigh in on how to spend $99 million in federal Rescue Plan funds coming to the city
By Tom Travis As part of the federal coronavirus stimulus bill, The American Rescue Plan (ARP), the City of Flint will receive an estimated $99.33 million. The sweeping ARP $1.9-trillion measure also includes support for small businesses, schools, counties and states. Flint households are projected to get more than $125 million in direct benefits, according to Flint Mayor Sheldon Neeley. In a recent city council meeting, City of Flint...
Local forums tackle tough topics — Flint Area Public Affairs Forum: “Racial Justice and Public Safety” Tendaji Talk: “Racism and Public Health, Part 2”
By Harold C. Ford “We can’t arrest our way out of this problem…but…every day I come to work, a citizen of this community is on my phone complaining about crime in their area where they live …What’s the answer for that citizen?” …Terence Green, chief of police, Flint Police Department “We will continue to see environmental injustices…in the Flints of this world.” …Pamela Pugh, vice president, Michigan Board of Education, commenting on...
Seven years into water crisis, Flint’s “reputation for social justice” continues, as activists convene, declaring, “We don’t tolerate injustice and inhumanity.”
By Tom Travis “We have a reputation in Flint for social justice. The home of the Sit Down Strike, the first major city to institute open housing: We don’t tolerate injustice and inhumanity.” So declared water warrior and local activist Claire McClinton to a fully masked crowd of about 50 on Sunday — some standing, some sitting in their cars — at the old Flint Farmers’ Market on E. Boulevard Drive....
Education Beat Op-Ed: Put Flint kids first — say YES now to Flint Education Continuum
By Harold C. Ford ‘”Noli equi dentes inspicere donate.” (“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”) …Latin text of St. Jerome, The Letter to the Ephesians, circa AD 400 “Shame on you, Mr. Ford.” …Laura MacIntyre, treasurer, Flint Board of Education (FBOE), Apr. 21, 2021 I am a progressive. My 56-year resume of social justice activism is lengthy and legitimate. But here is where I part ways with some of Flint’s progressives, many of...
Book Review: In “Running for Home” descendants of the Sit Down Strike find their race tough to win, no matter how fast they run
By Jan Worth-Nelson Hard on the heels of his well-received nonfiction book Midnight in Vehicle City: General Motors, Flint, and the Strike that Created the Middle Class, Edward “Ted” McClelland has now released his first novel, Running for Home. [McClelland, Edward. Running for Home. Huron, OH: Bottom Dog Press: 2021] [McClelland, Edward. Midnight in Vehicle City: General Motors, Flint, and the Strike that Created the Middle Class....