Analysis: Fifty years later, Flint’s fair housing campaign still reverberates in nation’s racial divides
by Harold C. Ford It’s been 50 years since Flint became the first municipality in the nation to adopt an open housing ordinance. Led by then-Flint Mayor Floyd McCree, the Flint City Commission adopted the ordinance by a 5-4 vote on Oct. 30, 1967. Four months...
Village Life: in Flint, there’s always more than one story; there’s always more to come
By Jan Worth-Nelson Some time in the middle of February – by far the longest, the damnedest, the cussedest month of the year in these parts--I got a severe attack of cabin fever. I’d been sick half the winter and between stink bugs, porn stars, scabs of snow...
LaShaya Darisaw launches 49th District state house campaign
By Paul Rozycki LaShaya Darisaw kicked off her campaign for 49th District state representative seat Saturday, April 28, at the Village Hall on N. Saginaw Street in Beecher, with about four dozen enthusiastic supporters. As she began her campaign, she said, “We need...
Panel tackles gender inequities, predicts “a massive year for women”
By Harold C. Ford “One woman can make a difference…We’re on the precipice of a big change.” --Donna Motsinger, Bill Cosby accuser to National Public Radio, April 27, 2018 With the backdrop of a “Me Too”movement that hints at a sea change, last week five Flint...
Review: Flint Youth Theater’s “Geranium” is superlative, runs through May 6
By Patsy Isenberg The Flint Youth Theatre (FYT) has staged a superlative premier production of “The Geranium on the Windowsill Just Died But Teacher You Went Right On.” The musical is based on the book of the same name by Albert Cullum, published in 2003 by Harlin...
Seasonal deluges cause Thread Lake Dam breach, Hamilton Dam delays
By Jeffery L Carey Jr. A deluge of rain resulting in a February breach at Thread Lake and unusual weather in general this spring have wreaked havoc on the dams in Flint, causing lower water levels at Thread Lake and issues with the removal in process of both the...
Spring in Flint: Water service line replacement resumes under $5 million AECOM contract
By Jan Worth-Nelson With the return of spring weather, work has resumed on replacing lead-tainted water lines in the city. As of April 18, the date of work resumption, 6,264 lines had been replaced, according to Kristin Moore, City of Flint...
FIA Contemporary Crafts Wing opens with blitz of thanks, hopes for a “world saved by beauty”
By Jan Worth-Nelson What does art—and a major investment in making, acquiring and exhibiting it--mean to the City of Flint? Organizers of the weekend celebration and ribbon cutting for the opening of the 20,000-square-foot, $14 million Contemporary Crafts Wing and...
“Thrill-seeker’s” theater of glass, heat and light opens for FIA “Hot Shop” crowds
By Jan Worth-Nelson Brent Swanson, the Flint Institute of Arts glass programs manager, says he is a “thrill seeker,” and that’s why he makes glass art. It’s fast, it’s risky, and it’s hot. And that’s what visitors settling into their stadium seats at the new FIA...
Arts in Detention: program unlocks creativity from the inside for GVRC youth
By Teddy Robertson It’s a drizzly April night for Art Walk, but I’m out for just one stop: Buckham Gallery and the opening of the annual “Arts in Detention: GVRC Share Art Exhibit.” “Arts in Detention” presents the work of kids ages 10 to 17 living in the Genesee...
Review: John P. Kee’s “Change the World Tour” wows at Harris Memorial
By Patsy Isenberg Last Friday, April 13, Grammy-award winning singer, songwriter and pastor John P. Kee and his New Life Community Choir paid a visit to a packed Burton church to perform for the congregation and many visitors. Adding to the lively music, the event...
“Digital ghetto,” “cashless society” pose threats even beyond Orwell, journalist contends
By Jan Worth-Nelson One of the biggest threats facing the U.S. today is the "algorithm ghetto, the digital ghetto, the electronic ghetto," Chicago journalist and Jewish historian Edwin Black told a group of Flint residents Friday while on a statewide tour as part of...
Flint panel, viewers react to gritty “Flint Town” with anguish, ambivalence–and ask, who controls Flint’s story?
By Harold C. Ford “Any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at war with one another.” …Plato, The Republic, Book IV Nearly 100 persons gathered at the Flint Public Library April 10 as five...
Village Life: On the death of a poet, Grayce Scholt, 1925-2018
“Flint Town” panel, conversation — Coyne, Galloway, Oliver, Willingham — set for Tuesday April 10
By Jan Worth-Nelson A community forum aiming to open up conversation around the Netflix series "Flint Town," a searing exploration of the Flint Police Department in 2015-2016, will be held from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Flint Public Library. Panelists will explore...
“The state abandoned us long ago”: Activist Carma Lewis reacts to bottled water shutoff
By Jan Worth-Nelson The State of Michigan's decision to stop supplying bottled water as of Friday the 13th "is crap," community activist Carma Lewis said today, pausing at the Flint Farmers' Market to reflect on the pending cutoff. "I'm not sure if the water is going...
Review: “20/20” exhibit at downtown’s MW Gallery is remarkable
By Patsy Isenberg Someone was heard saying that the Flint Farmer’s Market is the jewel of Flint. Well, there actually are several jewels here, and one of the brightest is the MW Gallery downtown. Illustrating the point is the MW's new exhibit, “20/20 Influential...
“Glass is light” in stunning new additions at Flint Institute of Arts opening April 21
By Jan Worth-Nelson The ribbon-cutting at 10:30 a.m. April 21 of the Flint Institute of Arts blockbuster new wing, galleries, and studios will be the climax of a story rivaling the best door-stop novel. It is about a middle-aged woman’s third marriage to a furniture...
East Village Magazine – April 2018
The latest issue of the East Village Magazine is available for download here:
Review: City’s crime, race, politics all in the lens of compelling, humanizing “Flint Town”
Ed Note: A community conversation about the eight-part Netflix series "Flint Town," co-sponsored by East Village Magazine and the Flint Area Public Affairs Forum, is set for 5:30-7 p.m. Tuesday, April 10 at the Flint Public Library. Thanks to Ed Bradley for reviewing...
Commentary: How to get out the vote? GCD may have the answer–make it hard
By Paul Rozycki It must be a Flint thing. If you want people to do something, tell them you can’t do it. Make it difficult. Make it too easy and they will ignore you. Consider some recent elections in Flint. On one hand, in the last few years, an election to choose...
Review: “All the Pieces Matter: The Inside Story of The Wire”
Review by Robert R. Thomas Aptly titled, Jonathan Abrams’ book demonstrates his premise via an oral history that focuses on the creation of The Wire, a critically acclaimed HBO television series that ran from 2002 to 2008. Abrams’ book is an engaging dialogue script....
Residents voice concerns on pot dispensary zoning; council decision deferred to April 4
By Meghan Christian Approximately 46 Flint residents, mostly from the College Cultural Neighborhood (CCN), stood before Flint City Council on Monday, March 26 and again on Wednesday, March 28 to voice their opinions on the creation of a new marijuana dispensary in the...
“Enough is enough” Flint protestors declare in “March for our Lives” rally against gun violence
By Jan Worth-Nelson Under the watchful eye of the statue of nonviolence guru Mahatma Gandhi at Willson Park Saturday, participants at a rally organized by twin 17-year-old Powers High School students brandished protest signs and chanted "Enough is enough" in...
“Surviving and into Thriving” focus of Resilience and Environmental Justice Summits
By Darlene C. Carey “This is really very apropos in terms of timing,” said Kris Johns, the Flint ReCAST program coordinator, describing the second annual Resiliency Summit, which will also include the second annual Environmental Justice Summit, on Monday, March...
