Eddie Glaude Jr: Ferguson. Race, Class And Ferguson. A deep read on Ferguson, Missouri and what we’re seeing about race, class, hope and fear in America.
A man holds his hands up in the street after a standoff with police Monday, Aug. 18, 2014, during a protest for Michael Brown, who was killed by a police officer Aug. 9 in Ferguson, Mo. (AP) There has been a lot of talk on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri for hard days and nights now. Tweets and Vines change Ferguson Coverage, Cameras in the Courtroom, and More. Against the Grain: A Program about Politics, Society and Ideas. Against the Grain: A Program about Politics, Society and Ideas. Against the Grain: A Program about Politics, Society and Ideas. Against the Grain: A Program about Politics, Society and Ideas. Let Them Drink Pop: Detroit's Water Crisis and the Fight for Basic Human Rights in the Motor City.
Spirit of Detroit (Photo: Pat Williams / Flickr) Truthout can only survive through reader support - click here to make a tax-deductible donation and help publish journalism with real integrity and independence!
During the Super Bowl earlier this year, Chrysler unveiled the latest iteration of the "Imported From Detroit" advertising campaign that has been such a key part of their rebranding efforts in the wake of their filing for bankruptcy in 2009. The commercial starts off with a montage of your usual idealized American imagery—cowboys riding horses, cheerleaders leading cheers, sweet middle-aged waitresses bringing bacon and eggs to grizzled farmers at a Route 66 diner—accompanied by the sound of Bob Dylan's raspy Minnesotan drawl asking us rhetorically if, "there's anything more American than America? " a question which pretty well sets the tone for the rest of the ad considering the implied answer is a 283 horsepower "hell no! " Didn't vote for him? Water Crisis in Detroit: Who’s Being Shut Off and Who’s Not? 15,000 Detroit Homes Had Their Water Shut Off. You Can Help Where The Government Won't. The NAACP Legal Defense Fund has filed a lawsuit against Detroit.
Thousands gathered in protest over the weekend and advocates are calling on the United Nations to help. But it's the tenacity of two concerned non-Detroit residents that will help the thousands of desperate people in the city who don’t have access to water. In an effort to collect an estimated $90 million in past-due water bills, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) has shut off the water for more than 15,000 delinquent households, according to the Detroit News, and activists are calling the move a human rights violation.
A bankruptcy judge called on the agency earlier this month to find more effective ways for struggling customers to pay their bills, the news outlet reported. But it was two engaged citizens who found an immediate solution. Those who want to help supply an email address and are paired with someone in need of help paying their water bill. Four things you should know about Detroit’s water crisis. This May, the Detroit Water and Sewerage District (DWSD) sent out 46,000 shutoff notices to customers who were behind in their water bills.
It was the latest calamity to befall a city that had seen its water rates rise 119 percent in the last decade. As a city that has lost nearly two-thirds of its population in the last 60 years, Detroit has a lot of water infrastructure to maintain, and not much money to maintain it. Since the shutoffs began (about 17,000 households and small businesses have lost service to date), residents have fought back hard. They’ve blocked trucks that are being sent out to shut off water accounts. They’ve called out DWSD for focusing on shutting off water to private homes that don’t even owe that much, while ignoring golf courses that owe amounts in the hundreds of thousands.
But what’s happening in Detroit isn’t just Detroit’s problem. Water is getting more expensive everywhere. There’s no federal policy to help people deal with the cost of water. Recherche - #DetroitWater. Recherche - #Ferguson. #FERGUSON DISPATCH 5: Protestors And Looters Are Different. #FERGUSON Dispatch #3: #MikeBrown Was Murdered and We Want Justice. #FERGUSON Dispatch #2: #NMOS14 LIVE FROM ST. LOUIS. #FERGUSON Dispatch #1. Michael Brown and Black Men - NYTimes.com. The killing of Michael Brown has tapped into something bigger than Michael Brown.
Brown was the unarmed 18-year-old black man who was shot to death Saturday by a policeman in Ferguson, Mo. There are conflicting accounts of the events that led to the shooting. There is an investigation by local authorities as well as one by federal authorities. There are grieving parents and a seething community. There are swarms of lawyers and hordes of reporters. There is an eerie echo in it all — a sense of tragedy too often repeated. Earlier this year, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights released “the first comprehensive look at civil rights from every public school in the country in nearly 15 years.”
Attorney General Eric Holder, remarking on the data, said: “This critical report shows that racial disparities in school discipline policies are not only well-documented among older students, but actually begin during preschool. " Now, the snowball is rolling. It can be done. Michael Brown Shooting: Ferguson Police Stay Silent.