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2 Commentary Fifteen days in January: The nation faces insurrection, impeachment and inauguration By Paul Rozycki In the early 1960s, at the height of ened to hang the vice president, and the cold war, there was a bestselling assault members of Congress. As Vol. LIX No. 2 February 2021 novel, and a movie, that told a story of more details emerged, what appeared a potential military coup in the U.S. to be an angry, out-of-control mob, Founder Gary P. Custer and possible nuclear conflict with began to look even more ominous. Soviet Union. The book was “Seven Rather than being simply an impul- Managing Editor Tom Travis Days in May” by Charles Bailey and sive crowd, those who stormed the Consulting Editor Jan Worth-Nelson Consulting Editor Ted Nelson Fletcher Knebel, and it described a Capitol came prepared with weapons, Copy Editor Danielle Ward week of cold war tensions, governmen- bombs, zip-ties for taking hostages, Reporters Harold C. Ford tal distrust, and political conspiracies and they knew exactly who they were Madeleine Graham of the time. looking for. They ransacked offices, Patsy Isenberg “Seven Days in May” was a fic- stole papers and computers, and Zach Neithercut Coner Segren tional political thriller, but in the last trashed the U.S. Capitol building in Columnists Jan Worth-Nelson month, we’ve lived through 15 days the process. Evidence suggests that Teddy Robertson in January, where, on three succes- some police and military officials, and Paul Rozycki sive Wednesdays, we’ve experienced members of Congress, may have been Photographer Edwin D. Custer an insurrection, an impeachment, working with the rioters. Five people and an inauguration, as the nation died as a result. The Capitol had not Distribution Staff Director: Edwin D. Custer. Staff: Sue Bailey, Kim faces the deep divisions of our own seen that kind of destruction since the Bargy, Jacob Blumner, Connor Coyne & Ruby time. War of 1812. Coyne, Casey Custer, Caroline Fechik, Christine & Patrick Figgins, Marabeth Foreman, Charlie & Linda It was a chilling and symbolic & Patrick & Terrance & Christan & Jillianne January 6, 2021, Insurrection bookend to the Trump presidency. In Goldsberry, Patsy Isenberg, Robert Jewell, Carol his inaugural address in 2017, Trump Larzelere Kellermann, Stephen Kellermann, Jo Larzelere, Mary LeRoy, James & Lillian & Livia “We’re going to walk down to spoke of “American carnage,” and Londrigan, Alan & Julie Lynch, Ron & Mary Meeker, the Capitol, and we’re going to cheer four years later his presidency ended Robert & Nancy Meszko, Ted Nelson, Dave & Becky Pettengill, Dick Ramsdell, Julian Rodriquez, Paul on our brave senators, and congress- with the carnage of 400,000 COVID Rozycki, Mike Spleet, Kim & Ronan & Jude Streby, men and women. We’re probably not deaths, and a tumultuous riot in the Holly West, and Karen Wilkinson. going to be cheering so much for U.S. Capitol. Board of Trustees some of them because you’ll never • FaLessia Booker • Edwin D. Custer take back our country with weakness. January 13, 2021, Impeachment • Alec Gibbs • Jack D. Minore • Paul Rozycki You have to show strength, and you • Jan Worth-Nelson, ex-officio have to be strong …. And we fight. We Article One: Incitement of 720 E. Second St. fight like Hell and if you don’t fight Insurrection. Flint, Mich. 48503 like Hell, you’re not going to have a “Donald John Trump engaged in (810) 233-7459 country anymore.” (President Donald High Crimes and Misdemeanors by Website: eastvillagemagazine.org Trump, Jan. 6, 2021, speech to his inciting violence against the govern- E-mail: supporters) ment of the United States…Donald [email protected] On January 6, the U.S. Congress John Trump thus warrants impeach- Layout by Ted Nelson. Printing by Riegle Press Inc., was handling what is normally a rou- ment and trial, removal from office, 1282 N. Gale Rd., Davison, Mich. 48423. East Village Magazine is a program of the Village tine bureaucratic activity—the formal and disqualification to hold and enjoy Information Center Inc., a nonprofit corpo ration. We counting of electoral votes, which had any office of honor, trust or profit welcome material from readers, but all submissions become the property of the publication and if published been certified by the states weeks ear- under the United States.” (Article of will be edited to conform to the editorial style and poli- lier. But as the counting began, the Impeachment, Jan. 13, 2021) cies of the publication. All inquiries about the publica- nation watched in horror as the presi- tion should be mailed to East Village Magazine, Village Information Cen ter, 720 E. Second St., Flint, Mich. dent fired up a crowd, who then One week after the attempt to 48503. Distribution is the first Thursday of each month. stormed the U.S. Capitol. Over the overturn the 2020 election results, the Display advertising rates are $34 a column-inch plus any other costs. Unclassified ads are $2.50 a printed next several hours they broke win- U.S. House impeached Pres. Trump line or part of a printed line. Rates subject to change dows, smashed furniture, and threat- (Continued on Page 12.) without notice. The deadline for advertising is 10 days before each pub li cation date. Cover: Flint snowman © 2021 East Village Magazine

3 Photo of the Month: Dining out in Flint, 2021: Café Rhema (Photo by Edwin D. Custer) Flint water crisis led to “anxiety, fear, distrust and anger over past years,” Judge Levy states as she hands down ruling to proceed with settlement By Tom Travis Preliminary approval to allow the Flint water crisis weaves itself into the fab- weeks. If someone does not receive a $641 million Flint water crisis settle- ric of the historical epic of Flint. notice or packet of information they can ment to move forward was granted contact his office at (866) 536-0717. Thursday by U.S. Federal Judge Judith Important deadlines for registration The company Epiq will be respon- Levy. The ruling comes one week after and filing a claim sible for distributing the notices and the nine state and local officials were indict- company Archer will be responsible for ed, including former Gov. Rick Snyder, The final date to register to be a administering the claims in the WCS. on charges stemming from their part of the WCS (water crisis settle- As Judge Levy stipulated the involvement in the crisis. ment) is March 29, 2021. Upon final deadlines in this settlement she added, In the opening pages of the 72-page approval of the settlement by the court, “The settlement before the Court is a federal court ruling, Judge Levy writes: the final date for submitting a claim is partial settlement and therefore does not “... There may be no amount of August, 26, 2021. represent the end of the Flint Water money that would fully recognize the harm In a phone call on Monday, co-lead Crisis litigation. It would allow recov- the residents of Flint have experienced, counsel Michael Pitt explained residents can ery of monetary awards for persons including their anxiety, fear, distrust, and get more information on the WCS by going (children and adults) exposed to Flint anger over the events of last seven years. to www.flintwaterjustice.com or by calling water during a specified exposure peri- Litigation has its benefits, but also its limi- (866) 536-0717. They may also email ques- od, along with property owners, renters, tations, and the preliminary approval of tions to [email protected] or text and business owners,” stated on page this settlement does not affect or preclude keyword “Flint” to the number 47177. If two of the ruling by Judge Levy. other avenues of redress. This litigation — residents need to send documents by fax In a city council meeting Monday, however it concludes — need not be the they may do so at (248) 268-7996. Jan. 25, defense attorney Rick Berg said he final chapter of this remarkable story.” Pitt explained that notices, a reg- expects the notices to begin to go out to the And indeed, a “remarkable story” it istration form and a packet of informa- public in the next couple of weeks. has been, and will continue to be, as the tion will be mailed out in the coming Councilperson Eric Mays (1st (Continued on Page 5.) 4 ceed over the next few weeks and claim. In addition, $35 million is set ... Settlement months in the water crisis settlement aside for minors who “do not immedi- (Continued from Page 4.) process. ately file for a claim.” Minors will Ward) asked if someone could first reg- “Flint residents need to decide continue to be able to file a claim until ister then later choose to their 19th birthday. ‘opt-out.” Berg said he did not know. Berg did clarify Requirements for adults that someone must regis- to receive compensation ter to make an objection to the court. The court’s ruling laid Other lawsuits pend- out requirement guide- ing in the water crisis settle- lines for adult’s in the set- ment target Veolia Water tlement: North America Operating • Owned or lived in a Services, LLC; Veolia North The U.S. Federal Court room from which Judge Levy residence that received America, LLC; Veolia North spoke during the Dec. 21 preliminary hearing. water from the Flint America, Inc.; Veolia (Photo from mied.uscourts.gov website) Water Treatment Plant or Environment, S.A.; Lockwood Andrews & were legally liable for Newnam, P.C.; Lockwood Andrews & whether to participate in the settlement. the payment of such water Newnam, Inc.; Leo A. Daly Company; If a Flint resident chooses to • Owned or operated a busi- United States of America; and United States register as a participant, they may ness including income- earning real Environmental Protection Agency and their then formally object to aspects of the property and any other businesses affiliates. settlement and set forth any reasons that received water from the Flint Judge Levy’s ruling stated, “... why it should not be afforded final Water Treatment Plant or were even if the proposed settlement receives approval. legally liable for the payment for final approval, the litigation against these Participants move forward with such water defendants [listed above] continues.” litigation against defendants who chose • Were an adult during the not to settle. June 4th trial.” exposure period and who ingested or Michigan United to hold Town Hall came into contact with water Webinar with co-lead counsel in WCS What residents need to present received from the Flint Water for compensation Treatment Plant. Michigan United, a social jus- • Between the dates of April 25, tice organization that describes itself Judge Levy’s ruling states 2014, through December 31, 2018, as organizing “to build the power that, “Plaintiffs are not required to they were both exposed to water our communities need to win the prove legal liability or causation, received from the Flint Water justice they deserve” will host a though certain adult claimants may Treatment Plant and diagnosed with town hall webinar with the co-lead need to present a medical record Legionnaires’ disease. counsel in the water crisis settle- linking their condition to exposure to ment at 6 p.m. Jan. 28. Those wish- lead or other contaminants in the Legionella cases monetary ing to participate can register at water. They need only submit the award limits www.flintwaterjustice.com. prescribed documents and forms to receive an award.” For those who have Legionella Forms and all water crisis settlement cases filed in the water crisis settle- documents can be found at a website set up ment, the ruling stated, “Legionella by the court: mied.uscourts.gov. death cases — ranges of compensa- This settlement focuses primari- tion are known and range between ly on compensation for minors in the $300,000 to $1,500,000, no matter Water Warrior Pastor Monica Villareal Flint water crisis, but adults and busi- how many claims are made in this helps to explain the court’s ruling nesses will be able to be compensated category.” through it as well. EVM reported in 2018 about In a Friday, Jan. 23 Zoom video Minors who claim an award the discovery of the connection presentation by Michigan United, mod- that exceeds $5,000 will have a trust between Flint’s water crisis and erator Pastor Monica Villareal presented fund and/or structured settlement set Legionnaires’ disease. McLaren a 34-page PowerPoint analysis of the up for them. The settlement provides Hospital executives deny claims that court’s preliminary approval ruling. She for legal counsel but clarifies legal they were a source of the outbreak of explained how Flint residents can pro- counsel is not necessary to file a Legionnaires disease which sickened (Continued on Page 11.) 5 Education Beat Flint Community Schools board approves plan for return to buildings in unsteady start of new era By Harold C. Ford “I’m sure looking forward to buildings were guided by the Centers for don’t really know what the plan looks great things from the board.” –David Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), like and we get it delivered to us at a Guinn, Judge, 67th District Court, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s board meeting.” Genesee County, comment at start of administration and a team of local health Christian further expressed con- Jan. 20 meeting professionals. cern about how a hybrid schedule would “This meeting has been very, All students would participate in work for high school students who very confusing … If you’re confused, online/remote instruction on switch classes several times each school then you know the general public is con- Wednesdays, allowing time for the day and how the plan would accommo- fused.” –A.C. Dumas, vice president, buildings to be cleaned and sanitized. date students with special needs. NAACP Flint Branch, comment at end The hybrid plan for reopening FCS teacher Debra Rinoldo- of Jan. 20 meeting schools was approved by a 5-1 vote of Hopkins said she was not informed how Parliamentary unsteadiness marked the FCS board at its Jan. 20 meeting. teaching staff would instruct students the beginning for a new Flint Community Voting to approve the plan were: Carol online and face-to-face at the same time. Schools (FCS) board of education at its McIntosh, president; Vera Perry, vice- “Will I be expected to do dual teaching Jan. 13 and 20 meetings. Despite the con- president; Danielle Green, treasurer; at the same time?’ she asked. fusion, a plan to reopen Flint’s school Joyce Ellis-McNeal (newly elected sec- Christian said her members were buildings to staff and students was ulti- retary/treasurer); and newest board unhappy about the cleanliness of the mately approved by a 5-1 vote. member Adrian Walker, trustee. buildings. “Teachers are coming back and cleaning their own classrooms Students can return Feb. 22 (after being) out for several months,” she said. “If we’re going back to a Anita Steward, FCS superintend- hybrid system, how can we guarantee ent, laid out a plan to begin returning some … that these classrooms are going to be students to FCS buildings for face-to-face cleaned?” instruction on Feb. 22 on a hybrid basis. Christian questioned the avail- She indicated that staff had already begun ability of vaccines for FCS staff. She to return to buildings on Jan. 19. said teachers were apprehensive about Steward said a recent poll of FCS coming back for face-to-face instruction families indicated that 58.9 percent prefer without being vaccinated: “I can only to continue online/remote instruction think of a handful of teachers that have while 41.1 percent of FCS families favor been able to get an appointment for a a return to face-to-face instruction. vaccine.” Vera Perry, Flint Board of Education “We can do that safely, with vice president social distancing in our classrooms,” (Photo source FCS website) Steward responds Steward said. “Our scholars have not been in school at all since March Laura MacIntyre, treasurer, voted Steward said she was “taken (2020),” she noted. against the plan. Diana Wright, trustee, aback” by the criticisms, particularly Steward said students having last was absent from the meeting by the time those that implied a lack of planning. She names that begin with letters A through of the vote. conceded a survey of FCS staff by the L would attend classes in the school district’s human resources department buildings on Mondays and Tuesdays. Swift, critical responses had yielded, thus far, “a mixed review” Those having last names that begin with about returning to the buildings. letters M through Z would attend class- “The dearth of information is Steward said the return of staff to es in the school buildings on Thursdays really troubling to me,” MacIntyre buildings, a month in advance of any and Fridays. declared. students, would allow sufficient time to “This is for those families (41.1 “Having explained (the reopen- offer professional development and fine percent) that have opted for face-to-face ing plan) tonight for the first time is a lit- tune systems of both face-to-face and instruction,” Steward explained. She said tle upsetting,” stated Karen Christian, online instruction. that decisions about opening or closing United Teachers of Flint president. “We Steward also explained that FCS 6 (Continued on Page 8.) 7 Association for the Advancement of ing on?” An incorrect tally was ... Schools Colored People (NAACP) Flint branch. announced after another roll call vote. (Continued from Page 6.) “If you’re confused, then you know the • At least one board member was general public is confused.” confused because the numbering in administration began reaching out to staff his/her board packet did not match that as soon as they were informed the vaccines on the agenda. would be available to educators. “The • Names of board members were appointments went quickly (such that) mispronounced. some of our staff did not have an opportu- • An opportunity for discussion nity to get an appointment,” she said. on motions that were seconded was neg- “I’m still working on it,” she said lected more than once. of continuing plans to provide vaccina- • An end-of-meeting announcement tions to all staffers who wish them. was made before the end of the meeting. “We’re going to be offering our staff • Board members disagreed COVID pay,” she added. about whether or not an agenda item A. C. Dumas with former Flint had been voted on. Unsteady start mayor Karen Weaver (Source: Getty Images) • Complaints were lodged about missing information and inaccessibility The appointment of officers new Just some of the dozens of mis- to virtual meetings. to their positions, along with the replace- steps at the Jan. 20 board meeting are bul- • Board members were uncertain ment of three veteran board members leted below: about whether or not they could address with nearly three decades of experience • Monaca Elston, FCS executive agenda items out of order. by three newcomers with no stated edu- assistant who records the board’s meet- The meeting ended the way it cation board experience, may help to ing minutes, interjected herself into the began. When given the opportunity to explain the unsteady start of Flint’s new meeting 19 times to redirect the board make closing comments, some board board at its January meetings. and untangle missteps. members launched into commentary The business of the board at its • Despite nearly a year of virtual about items that had appeared earlier on Jan. 20 regular meeting was constantly meetings, technology glitches interfered the agenda. Questions were asked of interrupted by technology glitches, errant with the flow of the meeting and derailed administration that would obviously parliamentary procedure, and missteps in it at times. A nearly 10-minute gap (from require further research. And one board following the printed agenda. 42:00 to 52:00) passed while waiting for member attempted, inappropriately, to a required report (COVID-19 Learning introduce a brand-new motion. Plan Update) to be made available. And so, it went. • Unwanted background noises “I’ve never seen a meeting that’s and echoes, likely caused by some been ran like this meeting,” Dumas board members who still operate addi- observed. tional electronic devices during online board meetings, unnerved others. Next meeting(s) • Following a lengthy discus- sion of the board’s most important The next scheduled meeting of the topic — returning to buildings for FCS board is a Committee of the Whole instruction — three board members, an meeting on Feb. 10. It is followed Feb. 17 administrator, and a staffer — by a regular board meeting. Meetings launched into discussions of other begin at 6:30 p.m. Virtual attendance at FCS Superintendent Anita Steward unrelated topics for 13 minutes before board meetings can be gained by visiting (Photo source FCS website) the actual roll call vote began on the FCS website in the days prior to the returning to buildings. Apparently lost, meeting and submitting requested informa- The confusion led board veteran the board’s president asked, “Ms. tion. Perry to declare a point of order at the Monaca (Elston), can you get us back Submitting questions: 23-minute mark. “We are jumping all on track?” [email protected]. Also, the email over the place,” Perry observed. “Now • There was confusion about addresses of several members of the I’m totally confused of what’s even when the public would be allowed to FCS administration are available at its going on.” make comments about the plan to website. “This meeting has been very, very return to buildings. confusing,” declared A. C. Dumas, a • Prior to a roll call vote, one EVM Education reporter Harold C. Ford longtime official of the National board member asked, “What am I vot- can be reached at [email protected].

8 Book Review Edward McClelland’s “Midnight in Vehicle City, General Motors, Flint, and the Strike that Created the Middle Class” By Harold C. Ford “You are a scoundrel and a skunk … “Not only is the work exhausting, You’ll go to hell when you die if it’s dirty and dangerous,” McClelland you do things like that.” writes. “Workers dare not step off the —Frances Perkins, U.S. Secretary of assembly lines, even to use the toilet. Labor, to Alfred Sloan, CEO, General There are no fans, no ventilation, no dust Motors, Jan. 1937 masks, no safety glasses.” The conditions were ripe for worker revolt. “You can’t talk to me like that … I’ve The prospects for a successful got seventy million and I made worker revolt in Flint, however, were it all myself!” unlikely. “In Flint, General Motors was —General Motors CEO Alfred all-powerful and paternalistic,” he writes. Sloan’s response to Frances Perkins, GM held sway over state and local politi- U.S. Secretary of Labor, Jan. 1937 cians, the local press, the police, and the courts. Further, the corporation spent $1 Edward McClelland’s “Midnight in million for Pinkerton detectives to infil- Vehicle City, General Motors, Flint, and the trate and, if necessary, suppress the nas- Strike that Created the Middle Class” brings cent labor movement with brute force. a fresh look to the seminal moment in Flint’s “Flint was a GM town to the bone,” contribution to American history: the 44- observed Victor Reuther, one of three leg- day sit-down strike by autoworkers from ment in one of its dozen or so auto factories endary, labor-organizing brothers. Dec. 30, 1936, to Feb. 11, 1937. The strike and multiple supplier businesses. More ended with an agreement in which General than 75 percent of Flint’s workforce drew Historical familiarity Motors (GM), the world’s largest company, their paychecks from GM or its suppliers. recognized the fledgling United Automobile Nonetheless, GM jobs paid pover- The events that unfolded from Workers of America (UAWA) as the exclu- ty-level wages and were unaccompanied Dec. 30, 1936, to Feb. 11, 1937, are famil- sive bargaining agent for GM’s approximate by fringe benefits. Working conditions iar to many. Flint sit-downers, fed up with half-million laborers. McClelland writes that “historians have credited (the sit-down strike) as the natal event of the modern American labor movement. The British Broadcasting Corporation dubbed it ‘the strike heard round the world.’”

Simultaneous boom and bust

Flint was at once the most likely and unlikely of places for the great showdown between industry and labor. In the beginning decades of the 20th century, it was the fastest-growing industrial city in the nation. The birth- place of General Motors in 1908, Flint made more cars than any other city in Sit-Down strikers, 1936-37 the world, save Detroit. (Photo source: History.com; Bettman Archive/Getty Images) Tens of thousands were drawn to were often deplorable, unsafe, and the apparent unwillingness of GM to the Vehicle City by the promise of employ- unhealthy. Worker rights were nonexistent. negotiate a contract, took over the Fisher (Continued on Page 13.) 9 Small, spirit-filled MLK celebration led by local Baha’i group sheds light on Peace Garden and new mural By Harold C. Ford

“I Have a Dream” mural, MLK Avenue, Flint; mural marchers (l-r) Ralph Abernathy; James Forman; M. L. King, Jr. ; Jesse Douglas; John Lewis. (Photo by Harold C. Ford) “The quality, not the longevity, of one’s the old Gill-Roy’s Hardware Store on lives on,” said Fred Kester, a Baha’i mem- life is what is important.” King Ave. at W. Dewey St. ber since 1975. “God willing, it’ll live on reads a quote on the banner hung at the “I wanted to do prayers with our for generations to come until the time entrance to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Baha’i community and also to celebrate when we can all march together as broth- Garden, MLK Day event, Jan. 18, 2021. Martin Luther King Day with Milo,” ers and sisters.” On Jan. 18, a small but spirited Louhelen member Jessica Dean group, led by local members of the explained. Milo is Dean’s three-year-old Peace Garden Davison-based Louhelen Baha’i Center of son. Dean said the event provided an Learning, celebrated Martin Luther King opportunity to pay homage to the values The Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Jr. Day at a garden and new mural dedi- of “unity, equality, love and acceptance, Garden consists of 10 vacant lots owned by cated to King on Flint’s north side. and race amity.” the Genesee County Land Bank and private “We wanted to par- owners that has been ticipate with the commu- redeveloped and main- nity and community tained, according to infor- members in celebrating mation provided by its his legacy,” explained sponsor, King Avenue Cam Herth, administrator PLUS, a Flint neighbor- at the Louhelen center. hood association. Celebrants gath- Led by PLUS mem- ered for prayer, song, ber Barbara Culp, devel- and amplified speeches opment of the project of King at the Dr. Martin began in 2017 with Luther King Jr. Peace design and horticultural Garden located on M. L. assistance from the Ruth King Ave. between Baha’i Louhelen members at MLK Peace Garden, (l-r) Cam Mott Foundation and its McClellan and Genesee Herth; Fred Kester; Milo & Jessica Dean; Elizabeth Herth Applewood Estate staff. Streets. The entourage (Photo by Harold C. Ford) Culp was inspired by then walked one block visits to other peace gar- north to the new I Have a Dream mural “What moved me … (was) that dens and monuments. that blankets the two-story exterior wall of dream of Martin Luther King (which) According to local publication 10 (Continued on Page 11.) to Montgomery March. It features street from the Neighborhood ... MLK King, Ralph Abernathy, James Engagement Hub at 3216 M. L. King (Continued from Page 10.) Forman, Jesse Douglas, and John Ave. in Flint. Flintside, “Charles Stewart Mott foundation Lewis locked arm-in-arm at the front “It (the mural) probably speaks to funded a BRAND grant us in very different from Habitat for Humanity ways … perhaps a to make the Garden hap- memory, perhaps a pen, Genesee County wish, perhaps a fear, Land Bank arranged the perhaps a dream … lease, and Neighborhood perhaps a commit- Engagement Hub gave the ment to lifting up project support, including Flint and the United the know-how to work the States to a place that equipment.” Assistance is strong and always was also provided by the inclusive,” Jane Community Foundation of Richardson writes in Greater Flint. the Jan. 2021 issue of MLK Peace Garden, (l-r) Elizabeth Herth; Fred Kester; Cam Flint Our Community I Have a Dream mural Herth; Milo & Jessica Dean (Photo by Harold C. Ford) Our Voice.

The I Have a Dream mural, a of that march. EVM reporter Harold Ford can be 2020 creation of artist Kevin Burdick, Burdick completed the mural in reached at [email protected]. is based on a photo of the 1965 Selma Oct. 2020. It is located across the

complete short registration and claim cated for the ‘property’ claims will be ... Settlement forms to obtain a payment. There are distributed to those who owned a res- (Continued from Page 5.) certain documentation requirements idence, rented a residence, or were 90 and took at least 11 lives in 2014 — and where the documents or infor- obligated to pay water bills for a resi- and 2015 and was linked dence. That is, the prop- by some sources to the erty fund covers any tainted Flint water. type of economic-loss claim related to the City Council objections property — whether it are considered in be damage to pipes or court’s ruling payment of bills for water. The amount In mid-December received will be based 2020, Flint City Council on the number of eligi- (FCC) presented a “compan- Councilpersons (l to r) Eric Mays (1st Ward), Maurice ble claims in this catego- ion resolution” that raised Davis (2nd Ward), Santino Guerra (3rd Ward), and Kate ry. their concerns in the WCS. Fields (4th Ward) in a 2019 City Council meeting. 5. Council requests Judge Levy responded to (Photo by Tom Travis) more time. those concerns from the The Court’s response: FCC. mation can be obtained by the Claims Moot, as council voted to join the 1. That the State of Michigan is Administrator, the individual claimant Settlement. contributing insufficient funds. need not submit the information. The Court’s response: The court cannot 3&4. That the proposed EVM Managing Editor, Tom Travis, can order defendants to contribute more Settlement Agreement should more be reached at [email protected] funds than was negotiated between explicitly cover payment of water parties. bills by the residents of the City of

2. That the proof of injury require- Flint; That the proposed settlement ments may be unduly burdensome on agreement should allocate Settlement Happy some residents of the City of Flint. Funds to cover claims for payment of The Court’s response: The Court water bills in an amount not less than Valentine’s investigated this concern: the settle- 2%. Day! ment provides that claimants must The Court's response: The funds allo-

11 Jan. 20, 2021) than the “Seven Days in May” of ... History Just two weeks after the attempt- decades past. Let’s hope the (Continued from Page 3.) ed insurrection, and one week after Biden/Harris inauguration is a step in for “Incitement of Insurrection.” It the impeachment, Joe Biden was the right direction, and that Pres. was the first time in history that an sworn in as the 46th president of the Biden’s words are a sign of things to American president had been United States. Like the previous come: “We’ve learned again that impeached twice. Though the vote fol- Wednesdays, it was an unprecedented democracy is precious. Democracy is lowed partisan lines, it was the most and unique event. Unlike all previous fragile. And at this hour, my friends, bipartisan impeachment vote in histo- inaugurations, Biden addressed a vir- democracy has prevailed.” ry. In response to the riots in the tual audience, because of the COVID Capitol, 10 Republicans voted to pandemic, and spoke in a city occu- EVM political columnist Paul Rozycki impeach, along with the Democrats. pied by massive military forces, can be reached at [email protected] It remains to be seen how the Senate because of the insurrection. For the trial will play out for Trump, and what first time in over a century and a half, the results might be, now that he is out the outgoing president refused to Lead/galvanized tainted pipes of office. However, several leading attend. Republican senators have said they Biden’s inaugural address was a replaced so far in Flint: might consider a vote to convict first step to heal the partisan conflict 9,912 Trump for his actions, and he could that has divided the nation, not only Because of the governor’s order, no become the first president to be during the Trump presidency, but for pipeline replacements were con- impeached, and convicted by a Senate years before. Biden attempted to reach ducted in April or May, but work vote. out to his opponents, and find common has resumed. Totals as of late ground we could all share. By most January were still 9,912 lead or gal- January 20, 2021, Inauguration accounts, the speech touched a nerve in vanized pipes replaced, 26,750 a nation exhausted by divisive and pipes excavated. “I, Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., do angry rhetoric, and the overheated par- A total of 16,240 pipes have been dis- solemnly swear that I will faithfully tisan temperature seemed to cool. Yet, covered to be copper service lines. execute the Office of President of the in the end, it will take more than good United States, and will to the best of words and grand speeches to heal the my ability, preserve, protect and nation. It will take action that will pro- defend the Constitution of the United duce results that matter to all States. So help me God.” (Biden’s Americans. Biden’s decisions on the presidential oath of office, Jan. 20, pandemic, on his first day, may be a 2021) solid start. “And here we stand, just days after a riotous mob thought they A warning from Ken Burns Volunteer Distributors Wanted could use violence to silence the will The East Village Magazine is looking for of the people, to stop the work of our In one of the many interviews volunteer distributors in some of the res- democracy, and to drive us from this following the inaugural celebration, idential blocks bounded by E. Court, sacred ground. That did not happen documentary filmmaker Ken Burns Franklin, Tuscola and Meade streets. Less than one hour of exercise a month … To all those who supported our offered an interesting observation. He ensures your neighbors get the maga- campaign I am humbled by the faith said that with the collapse of the zine. Contact [email protected] or you have placed in us. To all those Soviet Union in the early 1990s, write to 720 E. Second St. Flint, MI who did not support us, let me say Americans lost the enemy that held us this: Hear me out as we move for- together, and in the years that fol- ward. Take a measure of me and my lowed, we turned on each other. heart. And if you still disagree, so be The Soviet Union fell for many it. That’s democracy. That’s America. reasons, but their failure to trust and The right to dissent peaceably, within believe in their own institutions was a the guardrails of our Republic, is per- major cause. haps our nation’s greatest strength. Yet hear me clearly: Disagreement Democracy is precious and fragile must not lead to disunion. And I pledge this to you: I will be a We need to avoid the same fate, President for all Americans.” and be confident that our 15 days in (President Biden’s Inaugural address, January will lead us to a better place

12 mediator, the warring parties inked a will witness strike leaders hatch the plot ... Book one-page agreement which recognized to take over Chevrolet Four by using (Continued from Page 9.) the UAWA as the exclusive bargaining diversionary tactics at Chevrolet Nine. One and Fisher Two plants that made crit- representative for GM employees. During the violent takeover of ical components for other factories. Chevrolet Four, striker Gib Rose “grabs The sit-down fever in Flint Aftermath ahold of (his old foreman’s) belt and spread throughout GM’s industrial king- collar, marches him to the loading dock, dom. Work stoppages shut plants in “The Flint sit-down strike is the and (safely) pushes him off…‘Now, go Detroit, Toledo, St. Louis, Oakland, beginning of the United Auto Workers before you get hurt!’ Rose commands. Cleveland, Atlanta, Kansas City, of America’s rise to become the nation’s “I’m your friend, dammit! Run!’” Harrison, N.J., Anderson, Ind., and preeminent labor union—the union that Janeville, Wis. Half the company’s sets the standard for wages, benefits, A large cast of characters, plants were closed. and working conditions for industrial well-known, and not so much Yet, GM and law enforcement laborers,” McClelland asserts. were determined to retake the factories “The militancy that inspired the McClelland’s “Midnight” fleshes in Flint and crush the strike. Flint sit-down strike was passed down out familiar characters in government Subsequently, a ferocious battle to the next generation of Flint autowork- (Roosevelt and Murphy), labor (Lewis between strikers and Flint policemen — ers, and to the generation after that,” and the Reuther brothers), and industry dubbed “The Battle of the Running McClelland writes. “The sons and (GM’s Sloan and William Knudsen). Bulls” — climaxed when officers grandsons of the sit-downers believed And the importance of Perkins cannot wheeled and fired into the crowd of that their labor had built GM, and that be overstated. unionists. Fourteen strikers and two the company owed them good wages But lesser-knowns, like two locals, picketers were wounded by the spray of and benefits in return.” the Perkins brothers — Bill, 27, and Frank, gunfire. That no one died is something “Flint (once) boasted the highest 29 — Fisher One workers from nearby of a miracle. median wage for workers under 35 in small-town Columbiaville, fed up with their “This was a war zone,” New the country, thanks to union contracts working conditions, stage an independent, Republic journalist Mary Heaton Vorse that allowed new employees to start at unannounced, two-person sit-down weeks reported. the same wage as their more experi- before the main event. They lose their jobs Michigan Governor Frank enced line mates,” McClelland contin- but are eventually rehired. More important, Murphy summoned the Michigan ues. “The city’s overall income was they plant seeds of revolt. National Guard to the streets of Flint. higher than San Francisco’s.” The reader will learn that From that time forward, the Guard effectively served as a buffer between Historical voyeurism

McClelland’s “Midnight” tears back curtains and opens doors onto scenes of great consequence as when Frances Perkins, the first woman to occupy an Executive Branch cabinet position as Secretary of Labor (1933-45), berates GM CEO Alfred Sloan for his unwillingness to bargain with UAWA representatives (excerpted from beginning of article). Frances Perkins behind Roosevelt (Source: Time Magazine) Michigan National Guardsmen, Thus, what distinguishes Sit-Down Strike, 1936-37 McClelland’s account of Flint’s sit-down Lawrence Fisher, one of Fisher Body’s Photo source: History.com; Bettman strike from many other sit-down narra- founding brothers, doesn’t want the strik- Archive/Getty Images tives is the intimacy of the experience. ers expelled from the factories by violent the unionists and those who opposed The author escorts the reader into an office means. “If the Fisher Brothers never make them. Murphy was determined to keep on G Street in Washington DC for a meet- another nickel, we don’t want bloodshed the peace and remain neutral for the ing between auto executives and Perkins. in that plant,” Fisher told Murphy. duration of the strike. Perkins has departed FDR’s first inaugu- Wyndham Mortimer and Unionists forced GM’s bargain- ration parade early for the meet up, only Michigan Governor Frank Murphy ing hand when they occupied Chevrolet after whispering details of the clandestine shake hands after the signing of the con- Four after staging a diversionary battle meeting into the president’s ear. tract to end the Flint sit-down strike, at Chevrolet Nine. At a small room in Flint’s Detroit, Mich.; Feb. 11, 1937. With Murphy serving as de facto Dresden Hotel, fly-on-the-wall readers Michigan National Guard (Continued on Page 15.) 13 groups were likewise subsequently They also stuck it out, I think, ... Game excluded. By 1924, all Asians were because they thought it would be differ- (Continued from Page 16.) excluded from immigrating to the ent for me. In many ways, it has been. italist system that has created stagger- U.S. (except for Filipinos, who were The opportunities I have been afforded ing inequality on the Imposters’ ship technically Americans by colonial in this country have far exceeded any- and unlivable conditions for the poor annexation), and if they were already thing available to, or even imagined by, Imposter masses. here, they were denied citizenship or my parents. Perhaps the Imposters have handed naturalization and prevented from But a year ago, when COVID over their families and life savings to owning land and marrying white was still seen as a Chinese problem, intergalactic pirates to take them people. when it was called “the Chinese coro- across the vast reaches of space to Even those who happened to be navirus” and the “kung flu,” and peo- arrive on the Crewmates’ ship, utiliz- born in the U.S. were trespassers in their ple who looked like me were spat on ing illegal means of migration own country: among us, but not us. Aliens. in subway cars, openly harassed in the because they’re the only means avail- Saboteurs. Imposter-Americans. streets, and shunned as carriers of the able to them (the Crewmates being I have lived in shadow of this virus by virtue of our birth and her- ever so stingy about giving out exclusion my whole life. As a kinder- itage — as if we bred it in our bodies, visas). gartener in Houston, Texas, kids on the our blood, our genes — I felt what it What if there are simply no jobs bus would make chinky eyes at me. I was to be among us, but not us. When in Imposter-land, and the Imposters started missing the bus on purpose. After a significant segment of the American have to figure out a way to feed their my parents and I moved to rural population believed that Asians aging parents without the help of food Washington state, a group of young, brought the plague to its shores, we assistance programs or affordable elder white men speeding past our house in a became not just imposter-Americans, care because their social safety net has very loud, very large truck yelled at my but traitors out to sabotage the health been gutted? mother to “Go home, Chink!” while she of the nation. The kind of anti-immigrant, was out for a walk. My uncle, who was Last February, when the stylist at anti-foreign, anti-difference, anti- with her, ran inside the house and grabbed Supercuts asked me, mid-snip, if I was ecumenical mindset that this game the cordless phone, ready to call 911 if born in America, I got mad, and then I represents and reproduces has been they returned. He was afraid they’d come panicked. Was this the beginning of around a long time in this country. back and do more than yell. another wave of Asian exclusion? Would Beginning in the first half of the 19th I’ve lost count of the number of I be interned, as Japanese- and other century, Chinese men were recruited times I’ve been asked if I speak English Asian-Americans were, during World to come to the U.S. to build the rail- or received the obligatory “So, what are War II? These things are not far-fetched roads that made possible western you?” question. Going to restaurants, fictions for me. They’ve happened in this expansion and American industrial the bank, or anywhere they felt their country in my parents’ lifetimes. They’ve prowess. accents would be judged was so stress- happened many times, to many Asian- They did the jobs that white work- ful for my parents that I learned to American communities, and they could ers would not do — dangerous ones, like speak on their behalf by the time I was easily happen again. setting dynamite in the mines, and “wom- as old as my son is now. My mother Plus, she was pointing scissors at anly” ones, like cooking and cleaning. was told to her face by her supervisor at me, half an inch from my ear. If I had said When the depression of 1876 hit, they the accounting firm where she worked no, what would she have used those scis- were targeted as foreigners who were tak- that she should be grateful he hired her sors to do? I said yes, that I was born in ing away much-needed American jobs because “no one else would hire a Texas, which happens to be true; but also, and subjected to violence and hatred. Chinese.” She was grateful. She took it doesn’t get more American than Texas. In 1882, Congress passed the me to work with her on Sundays when I entertained a fleeting thought of getting Chinese Exclusion Act, which prohib- she worked overtime, by herself, while an image of my birth certificate silk- ited Chinese immigration to the U.S. her colleagues spent time with their real screened onto a T-shirt. And what if I for the next 60 years. With the American families. had? What if I had gone around with an Chinese excluded, a labor shortage My parents lived here 30 years “I was born in Texas” sign taped to my opened the way for a wave of and never felt at home. Among forehead? It wouldn’t have mattered. Japanese immigrants to come and take Americans, but never American. They Among us, but not us. Never us. their places on the railroads, on farms, stuck it out, in part, because they had I live “Among Us,” and I perpet- and in the fishing industry, until there nowhere else to go. Their own parents ually play only one of the two roles. were too many of them as well, and fled China for Taiwan during the com- With my eyes, my face, my hair, and my they were excluded. munist revolution in 1949 but never skin; with my ancestors and their stinky Koreans then took their turn, felt at ease on an island where they tofu, and bok choy, and chicken feet, and then South Asian Indians; both were seen as imperialists. and 5000-year-old culture that will (Continued on Page 15.) 14 ment that chooses to step in as a refer- ee — as Frank Murphy, Frances ... Game ... Book Perkins, and Franklin D. Roosevelt did (Continued from Page 14.) (Continued from Page 13.) in 1937.” never really be mine, but which others Captain Brice C.W.Custer, grand- McClelland concludes, “The will never allow me to forget I’ve inher- nephew of the ill-starred general killed blueprint for better working conditions, ited — what other role is there for me to at Little Bighorn, arrives in Flint at the and for a revival of the middle class is in inhabit in this country than that of head of a 65-member howitzer compa- this book.” Imposter-American? ny from Monroe, Mich. McClelland’s “Midnight in The thing that breaks me, though, is A host of other unionists— Vehicle City,” published by Beacon that my son has yet to learn that this is his Wyndham Mortimer, “Bud” Simons, Press, is on sale beginning Feb. 2, 2021. role, too. He thinks that once in a while, Homer Martin, Bob Travis, Genora when it’s his turn, he will be accepted as a Dollinger, Kermit Johnson, Henry EVM Staff Writer Harold C. Ford is Crewmate. And maybe he will, sometimes, Kraus, Henry Clark, Prince Combs, the son of an auto mechanic and a depending on where he is and how the light Ed Kronk, Howard Foster, Bill Roy, lifelong Flintstone. He belonged to hits him, depending on what his hair looks Carl Bibber, Joe Sayen, Henry four unions during his years of full- like that day, or who he resembles more — Lorenz, Roscoe Van Zandt, and others time employment: Laborers’ Local me, or his white, American dad — accord- — find their way into McClelland’s 1075 (thrice); AFS-CME; UAW ing to the person looking at him. narrative, as do those who oppose the (thrice); BEA-MEA-NEA (30 years, But he has already been asked if he’s union. 3 strikes). Chinese or Japanese. He has already been outed as “that Chinese kid” when his mom Ephemeral victory came to pick him up from school for the first time. He has seen his mom gawked at “America’s greatest twentieth- Black Lives Matter! by his classmates and listened while one of century invention was not the air- Celebrate Black History Month them asked her if her people rode on drag- plane, nor the atomic bomb, nor the ons. He has asked his mom not to pick him lunar lander,” McClelland concludes. up from school anymore. “It was the middle class.” If so, the I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised catalyst for that middle class unfold- that “Among Us” is the game he wants to ed right here in Flint from Dec. 30, Unclassified ads play, a fantasy universe where he gets to 1936, to Feb. 11, 1937. • Tools Needed: We are mentor- roam around as someone who belongs. Labor unions and the middle ing a student enrolled in auto class at But xenophobia and anti-immigrant senti- class, however, are shrinking from the Mott. We are in need of tools. Please ment, nativism and ethnocentrism, racial American scene. “Today, GM’s Flint- check grandpa’s, dad’s, or mom’s and cultural supremacy and willed igno- area workforce is down to 6,500 — toolbox for donation or sale of rance of others, and the notion that any of less than a tenth of what it was in the wrenches, pliers, screwdriver sockets compression gauges, etc; Thank you! us has the right to determine who is bene- 1970s,” McClelland writes. “That’s IT TAKES A VILLAGE and there’s ficial and who is harmful, who is worthy consistent with the overall decline of none better than East Village. Call and who is expendable — these ideas are GM’s hourly employment, which has Jerry at 714-342-7531. not fun and games. Crewmates and fallen from 511,00 to 50,000, as a • One-bedroom Apartment for Imposters are locked in a battle that is result of automation and the loss of Rent: Clean, partially furnished, upstairs. Walking distance to UM- deeply rooted in this country’s history. market share.” Flint and Mott College. Call 810- If we can’t even pretend not to The average CEO earned 20 625-3924 for appointment. Please think this way in our virtual worlds, times as much as his employees in 1950; leave a message. there is little reason to believe we will that has ballooned to a factor of 300. ever view each other differently. McClelland posits in the final pages of “Midnight”: “The shrinking Contributing writer: Vivian Kao teaches of the middle class is not a failure of English at Lawrence Technological capitalism. It’s a failure of government. University. Her book, “Postcolonial Capitalism has been doing exactly Screen Adaptation and the British what it was designed to do: concentrat- Novel,” was published by Palgrave in ing wealth in the ownership class, 2020. She lives in Flint with her hus- while providing the mass of workers Support community journalism! band Ben Pauli and two small humans, with just enough wages to feed, house, Donations to East Village Magazine Julian and Flynn. and clothe themselves … and it can are tax deductible. For easy giving, only be arrested by an activist govern- go to: eastvillagemagazine.org

15 Village Life “Among Us,” but Not Us — video game brings up painful American truths By Vivian Kao My older son is 8 years old, and All the kids were invited to dress up as Imposters can either be killed like most 8-year-olds, he goes through one of the game’s characters. He told outright or ejected from the ship by phases in which he gets obsessed with me that his teacher showed them how to being voted off by the Crewmates, certain things. play the game on Zoom during their which, I imagine, amounts to being About a year ago, it was profes- virtual class meeting, though I did not killed as well, but with less on-screen sional wrestling. He had a group of witness this myself. I believe him, homicide. friends at school who watched WWE, though. The object of the game, then, and through them, he learned the It’s an incredibly popular game. if you’re a Crewmate, is to figure names of all the wrestlers, their signa- Its Wikipedia page says that YouTube out who really is like you, and who ture moves, their costumes, their back- videos featuring “About Us” were truly belongs in your group. Those stories. He checked out biographies of viewed 4 billion times and down- who aren’t really like you, and are wrestlers from the library and created loaded 100 million times in just pretending to be like you, need an impressive mental catalogue of September 2020 alone, and TikTok to be at least banished, if not out- WWE information. Most notably, he videos about the game had over 13 right murdered. tried out all the moves on his 2-year- billion views in October 2020. I don’t think it’s outrageous of old brother. To this day, the little one After hearing about this game me to find the concept of this game will pull down the front collar of his nonstop for two months, I decided objectionable. Is this not xenophobia, shirt and yell, “Big Shooooow!” to find out more about it. It’s a transphobia, racism, sexism, ableism, He finally outgrew that phase multiplayer game that takes place and plenty of other types of exclusion- about six months ago, with no broken on a spaceship. Players take on one ism, packaged in non-bloody graphics bones suffered by the toddler and most of two roles: Crewmates or for pre-tweens? The object of the of our furniture still intact, so we con- Imposters. The Crewmates need to game is to figure out who belongs and sidered ourselves lucky. who doesn’t, and then to get rid of Then there was a soccer those who don’t. phase, a Disney phase, a magic Haven’t we lived through four phase and a shoe phase. Currently, years of just this kind of us-versus- he’s into video games. We allow them mentality? Build a wall him to play a handful of select between the Crewmates and the games — MarioKart, Minecraft, Imposters, once you figure out 2K- something-or-other that allows which Imposters are coming into you to play with real NBA players your country, taking your jobs, — no blood, gore, language, vio- violating your women, leading lence or weapons. Lately, he’s your children astray, and living off been asking to play Fortnite, the fat of your land. Keep them out which, after a little research, I’ve and lock them up! Root out the vetoed until he hits double digits in traitors and fire them! It’s them, or age. it’s us: of course their intentions But there’s also this game are nefarious and their presence is called “Among Us” that he really, Vivian Kao with her two sons, harmful. really, really wants to play. He nags Flynn and Julian Is there any other interpretation of and begs, begs and nags, reminding (Photo by Vivian Kao) who they are and what they mean to us constantly that he’s the only kid in do to us? his class who doesn’t play it — even his identify the Imposters and elimi- I don’t know, maybe the Imposters teacher’s kids play it — it couldn’t be nate them while also managing to had to leave their own spaceship that bad. accomplish various mundane tasks because of climate change, political In December, “Among Us Day” aboard the ship. Imposters, mean- persecution, sectarian violence, or reli- was part of his school’s pre-winter- while, try to pass as Crewmates in gious extremism. Or perhaps the break spirit week. I’m not kidding. It order to sabotage their tasks and Crewmates are part of a universal cap- was a day devoted to the video game. eventually kill them. (Continued on Page 14.) LIX: 2 (694 issues, 7,184 pages) 16