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Published: July 23rd 2014
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Flint is a tough place. Like its namesake rock, Flint is a hard, gray place. The people who live here are tough, too, and take a certain amount of pride, along with a big dollop of good humor, in calling themselves Flintstones.
Best known as the home of the 1933-34 United Auto Workers sit-down strike, Flint is also very much a company town. General Motors in its various incarnations has been building motor vehicles in Flint since 1904. At its height, General Motors employed about 77,000 in its plants in Flint alone. Today GM employs fewer than 8,000 people in the city. Needless to say, this has brought severe economic hardship to the area. Based on 2013 FBI crime data, Flint earned the dubious distinction of being named the most dangerous city in the United States, and 26% of the population lives below the poverty level.
Until a couple of years ago, I worked here.
I was back in the Midwest for a visit, and I wanted to see if Flint was like I remembered it. It hasn't changed much; still empty store fronts, weedy empty lots, abandoned buildings.
But amid the closed factories, empty and decaying
houses, failed and shuttered businesses, there are the people of Flint, and through their perseverance, or sheer stubbornness, some bright spots shine through.
Case in point is the new Flint Farmer’s Market. When the local newspaper moved to a three day a week publication, it contracted with a commercial printer, leaving its fairly new production facility unneeded. Rather than add yet another empty building to downtown, the city moved its Farmers’ Market from its decaying spot by the river to this refurbished building downtown.
So, here I was, back in Flint and in the mood for rib tips. So many people from the south moved up to Michigan during its heyday that some of the best barbecue in the country can be found right here. A buddy of mine suggested we go to Charlie’s Smokin’ Barbecue at the Farmers’ Market. You know you have found the real deal when the line is out the door, and they are sold out of rib tips before noon. I had ribs, he had the pulled pork, and I’m drooling just thinking about how good it was. When I came back to tell the ladies behind the counter how much I enjoyed
Charlie's ladies
At Charlie's Smokin' Bar-B-Q my meal they were fairly dancing in place with pride.
Habitat for Humanity of Genesee County is another bright spot. This organization goes into some of the most problematic neighborhoods to rebuild, rehab, and freshen up housing that is then sold to low income residents. I worked on some of those homes, and I was pleased to see that the Habitat homes built in the past ten years are still well maintained and neatly kept. This is a group that makes a difference. Unfortunately, there is still a lot of substandard housing in Flint, so there is still a lot of work to do.
The Genesee County Habitat affiliate also runs a retail outlet where they sell recycled furniture and appliances at a very reasonable price. The ReStore manager, Greg, proudly showed me around their huge store. The store also sells Urban Wood products. Urban Wood is a very cool concept where a city’s dead trees are cut down, but instead of being chipped and left to rot, they are inspected, cut to useable size, dried and planed into high quality lumber.
Yes, Flint still has its problems. Yes, Flint is still hurting economically. Yes, there are
still places I wouldn't go after dark. But these stubborn, proud people just might pull it off and bring the city back. I wouldn't give up on them just yet.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Flint Michigan
It is sad to see U.S. cities that are not thriving. Sounds like it is worth the trip for the BBQ.