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Michigan African Americans Being Robbed of Elected Leadership
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In Michigan, a majority of the state’s African American citizens could soon be without elected representation, because of a law passed earlier this year with the backing of billionaires Charles and David Koch. Last week, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) sent a request to Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the civil rights implications of the law.
If Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has his way, Detroit may no longer be ruled by its elected leaders, but by gubernatorial appointees, the result of draconian changes to the state’s emergency manager law passed earlier this year by the Republican legislature. As we reported, this law gives managers the authority to cancel union contracts, among other sweeping powers.
The law’s provisions were proposed by the right-wing Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which received funding from the Koch brothers, according to Mother Jones magazine.
Detroit, Michigan’s largest city, is largely African American. If Snyder invokes the law—known popularly as financial martial law—to wrest power from the city’s elected officials, the people of Detroit not only lose elected representation, but will live in a city effectively ruled by white leaders for whom few voted.
The city of Inkster, also a majority-black city, is also in the crosshairs of the emergency manager law. Should Detroit and Inkster fall prey to the law, “over half of the African Americans in Michigan will be stripped of their right to representative government,” according to the state-based Electablog.
Cities already disenfranchised by the law include Benton Harbor, Ecorse, Flint and Pontiac. One appointed emergency manager explained to Michigan Radio the scope of his authority:
Joe Harris, the emergency manager in Benton Harbor, says the only authority local officials have after an EM is appointed by the state, “is the authority that’s provided to them or is given to them by the emergency manager.”
A petition drive to repeal the law is currently under way, reports Bloomberg Businessweek, but even if repeal succeeds on the 2012 ballot, it may come too late for Detroit.
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7 Comments
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This is terrible, there should be no excuse for any non-elected government literally ruling over a community, a county, a state or a region.
If anyone wants to know why it is so important for we USA’ians to stand up and defend and demand Democracy, this is it! NOBODY should think in this day and age that Democracy is safe, because when it is in the hands of The Establishment, only the police and military uniting against that government will there be any ability to bring Democracy back. That is what happened in Egypt and even in Syria, although in Syria the tyranny has the upper hand and many policemen and soldiers have been executed for standing up for the people!
Thanks for the shout-out. That chart, fyi, is a screenshot from my blog HERE.
I live in a county and town that is about 80% black and I do not see any activity going on about the republicans destroying the livihoods of the poor and the working class. I know good black families who have lost their jobs, their unempolyment benifits, and their homes. The unemployment rate around here is about 25%. I guess they just don’t give a damn, or they may think Obama is going to handle it. Instead of getting politically involved black drug gang activity is on the increase, they are shooting and killing each other. What do yall think is wrong with all this?
I thught this is America the land of the free and what happend to the constitution and bill of ights. did the Kock’s money create an amendment to exclude the state of Michigan from any civil rights. The OWS need to migrate to Michigan and grab those rats by the throat.
What happened to the Bill Rights is that it becamne the Billion Dollar of Rights.
Woodcock has a point here. Black’s in the state of Michigan have not worked as hard to get good people out to the poles to vote. Maybe they think Democrats have let them down. I do not know. Maybe they have. But I can tell you one thing the other party has shown a compleat disregard for the black community. To prove this just look the bill in congress right now. The Republicans want drug testing in order to get your unemployment. That was a shot right at the black community. Look it up
George Bush couldn’t manage to get appointed the dictator of the United States so the newly elected Republican governor’s got together with the Koch Brothers, the DeVos’s,Karl Rove and all the other Republican bigwigs on Mackinac Island in Michigan and decided to become dictator of one state at a time. They intend to have complete rule no matter how they have to do it. Just look at what they have tried to do in every state where they won(or stole it) every branch of government.