The #FlintWaterCrisis has drawn the eyes of the nation to it. Now we need the attention of Michigan citizens to be focused on the ultimate culprit: Gov. Rick Snyder.
Regardless of which Emergency Manager in Flint pushed for and then implemented the water changeover; regardless of the callousness and indifference of the MI DEQ director when the alarms were first raised; regardless of the hostility expressed by the state’s officials when confronted by angry and fearful Flint residents: the chain of command goes back to Rick Snyder and Rick Snyder alone.
There are two opportunities this week for you to take to the streets in protest. One is displayed in the story image above. Buses are going to Lansing from Flint, Detroit, and (probably) Ann Arbor, at least. The (inaccessible) link in the screen cap above goes to the event’s FB page.
FYI, the bus and carpool locations for Flint and Detroit, respectively, are here.
Flint Bus & Carpool Location:
Teamsters Local 332
1502 South Dort Hwy
Flint, MI 48503
SIGN UP HERE FOR A SPOT ON THE FLINT BUS, LEAVING AT 4:00 PM
Detroit Bus & Carpool Location:
2727 Second Avenue
Detroit, MI 48201
SIGN UP HERE FOR A SPOT ON THE DETROIT BUS, LEAVING AT 3:30 PM
The Washtenaw County Democratic Party is now wrangling buses out of Ann Arbor. I’ll let you know the details in an update in this post.
Thanks to Eclectablog for a preliminary list of speakers on Tuesday at the Capitol:
Speakers at the event will include:
- Melissa Mays, Flint resident, founder of Water You Fighting For
- Nayyirah Shariff, Flint resident, Flint Democracy Defense League
- Cindy Estrada, Vice President of the UAW
- Mark Schauer, former MI Congressman and Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate
- Curt Guyette, Investigative Reporter with the ACLU of Michigan
- Cheryl Weston, RN at McLaren Lapeer and Board Member of the Michigan Nurses Association
There is ALSO a protest tomorrow, Monday January 18th, right outside Gov. Snyder’s condo, in downtown Ann Arbor.
Today’s fine Front Page post by Denise Oliver Velez highlights the struggle that has been waged for months by activists in Flint and across Michigan. Ten days ago, Vann R Newkirk II posted an excellent overview of the state’s mismanagement of the system. They are but two of the recent diaries that have been written about this human-made—man-made—Snyder-made disaster. Other front pagers, including Joan McCarter and Leslie Salzillo, have covered it recently too, while active Kossacks, like Eclectablog, have written here and on their own blogs about this disaster and its consequences for the people of Flint. Without their help, and the help of major media reporters like Rachel Maddow and Michael Moore, we would not be where we are right now—at least started on a road leading back to justice and health. For all of these important efforts, I am grateful.
But awareness goes only so far. Now it is time to hold Snyder accountable even as we seek to help and heal the people who have been so deeply injured in Flint.
I have been posting and will continue to post diaries here at Daily Kos about the #FlintWaterCrisis and #ArrestGovSnyder. Please feel free to check out my previous posts (usually on Wednesdays, as part of our Michigan State Open Thread series) which provide extensive background and resources. Much of my emphasis has been and will be on the action steps that people can take. Everyone is welcome to visit those posts; they’re not exclusive to MI residents only. Any and all information and resources about this issue are welcome as comments to those weekly updates.
Thank you for all you can do to help. Your suggestions of resources and action items are welcome here too, of course.