A Clear Contrast

I just attended a press conference hosted by We the People of Detroit. Community leaders like Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, Rev. Roslyn Murray Bouier, Dr. Emily Kutil and attorney Norrel Hemphill called out the latest counterfeit report coming from the Detroit water department, which has shut-off water to more than 170,000 homes in the past decade. Half of these are Black women with young children. Four victims of shut-offs shared their horrifying stories at the presser today, including Valerie Blakely whose entire block was turned off by “two guys in a truck” contracted by the city. Two women talked about running hoses through their windows to help next door neighbors. 

These leaders have been demanding a water affordability plan since George W was the president. The department just approved one with little input from experts and few details about how it will be funded and implemented. They refuse to release the full plan to the public. They are giving 45 days for “community engagement”—without a real strategy for how they will engage the community. They say that the plan will limit water usage—but many of these low-income households have more than ten people living in them. Meanwhile, the city subsidizes the re-development plans of billionaires and uses federal covid funds to give bonuses to the police department. 

The good news is that truth, beauty and goodness rise from the ground up. Grassroots leaders in Detroit, and all over the country, provide a clear contrast to the elected and appointed officials, courts, departments and other agencies operating without a trace of transparency and accountability. Our most important justice struggles are led by Black women who do not make decisions on behalf of corporations and wealthy elites. They center those most affected by abuse and neglect. They prioritize the poorest among us because they know that when they are free, everybody else will be free. If we want to change the world, we should take our cues from them.