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untanglingwebs
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Arrested megaphone-wielding pastor plans news conference
Posted: May 10, 2012 3:57 PM EDT Updated: May 10, 2012 4:02 PM EDT
By Tom Plahutnik, Web Editor/Producer - email
Noted activist Rev. Jesse Jackson will be in Flint this weekend and has been invited to take part in a demonstration following the arrest of a Flint pastor protesting inside city hall last week.
Rev. Dr. Reginald G. Flynn, Pastor of Foss Avenue Baptist Church, was arrested by officers of the Flint Police Department on Thursday inside Flint City Hall.
Flynn was protesting with a handheld loudspeaker several actions proposed in Emergency Manager Michael Brown's budget for the City of Flint.
"Mr. Brown's water rate increase will hit the poorest Flint residents the hardest. If a person's income is fixed and tightly budgeted, where is that additional money going to come from? It's ironic and unfair that those with the lowest valued properties will be obligated to pay the same for water as those with substantial property value," Flynn said.
According to a news release from Concerned Pastors for Social Action, Brown ordered a 25 percent increase in water/sewage tax on residents. When the 25 percent tax increase is levied, Flint residents will have incurred a 105 percent water rate increase within an 18-month period.
The release continued to lay out what Flynn was protesting at City Hall:
Flynn protested the hiring of a public safety chief at a salary of $135,000.00. The fact is that the city already has a public safety director, Chief Locke. Mr. Brown's decision to lay off an additional 54 public safety employees is even more problematic. Flynn further took exception to the unfair allocation of federal Neighborhood Stabilization Plan (NSP) and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds stating that the bulk of the NSP 3 funds have been shifted to the downtown area in spite of the fact the north end of Flint is the area of greatest need.
"Balancing the budget and creating high-impact neighborhoods on the backs of the poor and low-income residents and neighborhoods only compounds the city's problems. Census tract data shows the highest rates of crime, residential vacancies, commercial building abandonment and home foreclosures are recorded in the far north east and west parts of our city. It is an injustice for NSP and CDBG dollars to be concentrated in areas that are not of greatest need" says Dr. Flynn.
On Monday, May 14 at noon, Flynn will be joined by clergy, community activists, neighborhood groups and Flint residents on the front lawn of Flint City Hall for a news conference.
During the news conference he will read excerpts from A Letter from a Flint City Jail, that details his experience. Attorney Glenn Cotton will also release a video clip of Flynn's encounter with Flint Police officers.
Jackson will be in Flint on Sunday, May 13 for a separate engagement and has been invited to attend the press conference. |
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Sun May 13, 2012 4:49 pm |
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untanglingwebs
F L I N T O I D
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| The meeting today was said to be extremely productive. Jackson told the pastors they must join with leaders in the other cities affected by PA 4. The dialogue will be continuing. |
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Sun May 13, 2012 4:52 pm |
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untanglingwebs
F L I N T O I D
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Jesse Jackson, Reverend Reginald Flynn call on residents in Flint, statewide to rally against emergency manager act
Published: Sunday, May 13, 2012, 5:59 PM Updated: Sunday, May 13, 2012, 11:30 PM
By Roberto Acosta | racosta1@mlive.com
Reverend Jesse Jackson said the arrest of Foss Avenue Baptist Church Reverend Reginald Flynn "helped illuminate the darkness" taking place in the city of Flint.
Roberto Acosta | MLive.comRev. Jesse Jackson talked to members at Foss Avenue Baptist Church in Flint about the emergency manager law and Rev. Reginald Flynn's arrest earlier this month.
Jackson spoke at the church Sunday afternoon - following a sermon at Word of Life Christian Church - calling for action to be taken addressing Public Act 4 across the region and statewide and urging residents to march to take back their democratic rights.
A rally has been planned at noon May 14 on the front lawn of Flint City Hall, 1101 S. Saginaw St., to protest the act, unequal allocation of federal funds and use of excessive police force.
"This is a season in all of that which we gained is being rejected," he said in reference to civil and individual rights, calling for a statewide demonstration within the next two weeks.
Flynn said his individual protest at Flint City Hall was in regards to a 25 percent water rate increase, city fees and not directly aimed at Emergency Manager Michael Brown.
"I want to make it clear I don't have anything personal against Michael Brown," he said. "It is the existence of the Public Act 4 emergency manager law that is unjust."
Brown has said in a statement that Flynn went on "a verbal tirade" for more than 30 minutes and turned over furniture and knocked phones and computer equipment onto the ground, all of which his attorney Glenn Cotton has denied.
Cotton said a short video clip from "a concerned citizen" will be shown during Monday's rally and reveal part of Flynn's dealing with police on the day he was arrested.
"You'll see how his non-violence was met with violence," Cotton said, with Flynn previously stating police used excessive force during his arrest. No charges have yet been filed against Flynn.
Rev. Reginald Flynn addresses the crowd during a Sunday gathering at Foss Avenue Baptist Church in Flint.
Jackson applauded Flynn for standing up and sharing his concerns, while stating the emergency manager act is another way government is taking away voices at the ballot box by "removing democratically elected officials with czars."
He took issue with the power allowing for the abandonment of union contracts and selling off of city property, citing similar issues in Benton Harbor in southwest Michigan and the rejection of petition signatures based on font size.
"It's fundamentally flawed. It's not the manager, it's the system itself," he said. "It is undemocratic. It does not honor government with the consent of the governed."
Pastor Latrelle Holmes, who sat on one of Brown's advisory panels before resigning, said a large contingent of faith-based leaders met with the emergency manager on Friday.
"I grade that meeting a D+, which should give you an indication we have so much more to do," he said, pointing to water rates, the hiring of a new public safety administrator which he called "the duplication of a position," as well as addressing income tax for people that work in Flint but do not reside in the city.
Flynn said the distribution of wealth needs an adjustment as well, with "the highest rates of crime far northeast and far northwest parts of the city, highest rates of commercial building abandonment, residential vacancies, home foreclosures are in north Flint."
"It is a travesty beyond comprehension that people in positions of power and influence would intentionally, intentionally starve neighborhoods and build up downtown and immediate peripheral on the backs of other residents," he said.
Rev. Lewis Randolph, president of the Concerned Pastors For Social Action group, said a voice for voiceless in Flint is needed and called on the city to mobilize and hold a large rally involving residents, UAW, NAACP and others to unite for the cause.
"We're going to have over 10,000 people coming down to City Hall to say we're not pleased," he said. "Whatever it takes to get Flint back on track, we can do it."
Lela Johnson called on residents to join the Monday rally and have their voices heard among the crowd.
"The fight starts tomorrow. Ask five people you know to do this," she said. "Pastor Flynn started this, let's finish it." |
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Mon May 14, 2012 9:24 am |
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