Category: Features
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Pretending to be happy: smart guys say it works
This column first appeared in the April, 2009 edition. In light of the rough “Winter of the Water” and all of its depressing side-effects Flintoids have survived, it seems appropriate to remind ourselves of these ideas again. By Jan Worth-Nelson Sheepishly, I admit it: two of my favorite words are “lugubrious” and “lachrymose.” They’re fun…
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Confront America’s history of racism to understand Flint, activist asserts
By Robert R. Thomas Racism and economic inequality go hand-in-glove in America, an anti-racism activist told an audience of 150 at the Flint Public Library, and Flint’s recent travails are a pointed example. Tim Wise asserted to the St. Patrick’s Day crowd that the history of race relations most of us have been taught is…
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Gray Panthers stalk Flint events: remembering That Weekend (Part I)
By Robert R. Thomas The plan was to take a list of ten events surrounding the Democratic debate at the Whiting and participate in as many as chilly weather and aging bones permitted. My wife Ingrid and I were more interested in the scenes surrounding the main event than the debate itself. We were…
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Bernie makes it better: remembering That Weekend (Part 2)
By Teddy Robertson The March 6, 2016 Democratic debate is over. That it was held in Flint seems more amazing now than it did the Sunday I stood in a line that snaked around the Whiting parking lot—students, Flint old timers (“I walked to Flint Central 50 years ago!”), guys with union hall physiques and no…
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“Today and Tomorrow–Water in Flint” panel covers “confusing” bills, credits, leaks and lawsuits
By Robert R. Thomas Deciphering Flint’s water bills and the coming state “credits,” assessing the prospects of pending lawsuits, and considering the long-term impact of the city’s water crisis were among topics covered at a community meeting March 10 at the Flint Public Library. Titled “Today and Tomorrow—Water in Flint,” the gathering, featuring nine panelists, was…
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East Village Magazine – March 2016
The latest issue of East Village Magazine is available for download here:
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Beyond the Water Crisis: Ready for prime time? Too much prime time?
By Paul Rozycki Before last November’s election there were many who wondered if Dr. Karen Weaver, running for her first elective office, was ready for prime time. It seems that we have our answer. In just a little over three months, has any mayor of a similar sized city had as much national, state…
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Village Life: Flint’s water story triggers writers’ unease
By Jan Worth-Nelson Scene One: I’m sitting under a yellow umbrella with Andrew Highsmith and my husband Ted in a sunny plaza at a California university. The yellow makes our faces look like we’ve smeared ourselves with dandelions. It’s a chilly but sunny 63. Highsmith has just gone back for seconds on his drink. “This…
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Even the Commies came to Flint: reflections on poison water and the “revolution”
By Robert R. Thomas Since Flint has become the rock star of rust belt disasters, all manner of journalistic requests come through East Village Magazine’s office seeking some Flint access. You know, “the real Flint”—that kind of thing. When a request arrived from a journalist named Alan Goodman representing a publication titled REVOLUTION Voice of…
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Local poets, singers make art from water crisis, racism, justice at “Power of Witness”
By Stacie Scherman Kimberly Brown of Flint steps up to the mic at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Flint in the warm glow of spotlights illuminating the stage, and launches into a poem. “We are so vulnerable to what happens to the waters that nourish us,” she reads. “It was always the other creatures that…
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