Detroit 1967: a movie, a book, and a searing memory of when the riots hit Flint
by Harold C. Ford “A riot is the language of the unheard.” –Martin Luther King “The officer hit him and said, ‘We’re going to kill all of you black-ass nigger pimps and throw you in the river. We’re going to fill up the Detroit River with all you pimps and whores’” –from The Algiers Motel Incident, John Hersey, 1968 1960s Mississippi? No, 1960s Detroit. During the evening/early-morning hours of July 25-26, 1967 law...
Review: Love’im or hate’im, Michael Moore remembers Flint in rambunctious Broadway debut
By Donald Harbin Michael Moore is either loved or hated by people familiar with him. As a filmmaker (12 films) and author (8 books), television producer (3 shows) and outspoken political activist, he has produced enough material to offend many people, endear him to others, and leave some bewildered. With a new television show in the works he has still found time to star in a one-man show on Broadway, ‘The Terms of My Surrender.’ My...
18 Flint people on the water crisis: A Village Life gathering at Woodside Church
By Jan Worth-Nelson A visit to Flint by a Boston film crew in July led to a gathering of 18 Flint residents invited by East Village Magazine to talk about their lives in the city and their reflections on the water crisis and its effects. Their comments that night, all filmed and on the record, were heartfelt, honest, sometimes emotional and often gripping. Not everyone there was in perfect agreement, but the listening was open and...
Commentary: Vote “yes” on the new city charter
As Flint residents get ready to vote on a new city charter, prepared after two years’ work by an elected nine-member charter review commission, EVM received two last perspectives, the one below advocating a “yes” vote, the other a “no” vote–that view, by Sally Kagerer, can be found here. Two other commentaries were posted earlier. A “yes” argument by Ashley Nickels can be found here...
Commentary: Vote “no” on the new city charter
As Flint residents prepare to vote on a new city charter, prepared after two years’ work by an elected nine-member charter review commission, EVM received two last perspectives, the one below advocating a “no” vote, the other a “yes” vote by Richard and Betty Ramsdell that can be found here. Two other commentaries were posted earlier, a “yes” argument by Ashley Nickels posted here and a...
Village Life: Only slightly in mourning, my husband becomes a full-time Flintoid
By Jan Worth-Nelson If you see my husband Ted around town anytime soon, be especially kind. He is going through a trauma. He’s moving on, after four decades as a Californian, to become a fulltime Flintoid. He’s giving up his cherished “AWRDMKR” California license plate – an artifact of the awards and trophy business he founded. He’ll be trading it for…something else – for sure, NOT choosing the options that say “Pure Michigan.” I...