A Detroit Retrospective; Water Is Life – And Death – And Other Issues

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The Detroit hosting of NN14 this year was very significant, and I am very happy that my city was chosen. Detroit has a rich and storied history, even before the auto industry and Motown, and our location on the Detroit River and as the only place in the U.S. where you travel south to go to Canada, there are many facets to my city known and unknown. Politically, Michigan often shifts between “Blue” and “Red”; yet is a bastion of the Labor Movement. Our current Republican governor has co-opted the votes of the people and installed non-elected corporate minions in our cities and schools. As we gathered here, water was being shut off to thousands of Detroiters who either cannot or will not pay their bills.

After the keynote by Senator Elizabeth Warren, many NN14 attendees prepared to join the over 1,000 protesters at the Detroit Water Rally held outside the Cobo Convention Center at noon. In addition to the usual politicians and other activists, many celebrities made their presence known, including actor Mark Ruffalo, who plays Bruce Banner in the Avengers movie franchise. Mr. Ruffalo took the stage at NN14 before the march and rally to encourage people to fight against the water service shutoffs. In June 2013, 1,570 homes and businesses were denied service for overdue bills; in June 2014, that number increased to over 7,200.

In the days since the rally on July 18, several organizations have stepped forward to offer assistance in one way or another.

Windsor, Ontario is just across the Detroit River from my city. (Did you know that the only place in the US where you have to travel south to get to Canada is from Detroit?) There were several deliveries of bottled water  distributed to anyone who asked. That may help for drinking and cooking, but what about bathing and flushing the toilet?

Some “donations” have been questionable. The national organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has offered to pay the overdue water service bills of ten Detroit families, but only if the recipients agree to change to a vegan diet for 30 days. Okay…

Yes, Detroit needs the progressive voices of NN14.

In memory, support, and solidarity with the Detroit newspaper strikers

On Wednesday evening, July 16, I attended the Netroots Nation Newspaper Strike Happy Hour sponsored by the AFL-CIO and attended by members of the Teamsters Union. In 1996, journalists employed by the Detroit Newspaper Agency who worked at the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News went out on strike because of increasingly difficult working conditions and stalled contract negotiations. My husband, Keith A. Owens, 1/2 of “BlackLiberalBoomer”, was one of the strikers. Several people shared their stories and the history of the largest newspaper strike to date, including how they were supported by unions nationwide. The strike, which lasted five years, finally ended when the NLRB voted in favor of the Knight-Ridder and Gannett corporations and against the strikers and their unions.

Black Liberal Boomer

Keith Owens (AKA Black Liberal Boomer) is a Detroit-based writer who has worked for The Detroit Free Press, Detroit’s alternative newsweekly the Metro Times, the Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel, and other newspapers. He was also a nationally syndicated columnist with Universal Press Syndicate for three years beginning in 1993.