Flint water disaster was preceded by takeover of schools and local govt's
In Michigan, the idea of a government of, by, and for the people did not apply to poor black cities, and when residents were robbed of the ability to govern themselves, they suffered. In Flint, it meant they got poisoned. -- Bill MoyersThe current disaster in Flint has its roots in Gov. Snyder's racist, anti-democratic coup d'etat in which power was usurped from local elected officials in financially distressed municipalities across Michigan. Snyder replaced them with his own appointed political cronies and corporate managers.
Flint isn’t the only city in Michigan deeply affected by the coup. In fact, Flint was one of six cities — most of which were poor and had a majority black population — to be placed under emergency management by Snyder since 2011.
Bill Moyers, who grew up in Flint, writes:
The emergency manager law gave unchecked power to the governor in the name of helping these communities emerge from financial Mike Klonsky's SmallTalk Blog: Flint water disaster was preceded by takeover of schools and local govt's: