Website introduction & project summary

FLINT HAS BEEN FIGHTING SINCE 1936 when auto workers led the Sit Down Strikes, wanting fair pay, safe working conditions and the right to organize. Year after year, Flint residents have been using our collective people power to create change in our community.

There are many ways we use our civic power to build the future that our families deserve - one filled with justice, representation and opportunity. In this election season, with the Flint Change project, we’re having community conversations about this power, and about how we want to use it. And we are VOTING as a first step in exercising our civic power to create Flint change. 

Will you join us? 

OUR PEOPLE POWER IN ACTION

When Gov. Snyder set an Emergency Manager in place over our city - not democratically elected, accountable only to him, and eroding the governance of our locally elected leaders - our community fought back.

When the Emergency Manager switched Flint’s water source to the river and community members began suffering strange illnesses - our families refused to be silenced, ensuring the eyes of our nation were turned to the Flint water crisis.

In this year alone we have put our civic power into action by:

Canvassing our most marginalized neighborhoods to make sure people knew not to drink the water, and had access to the water, help, and information that they needed;

Held a People’s Hearing, inviting Gov. Snyder and other elected officials to hear the testimonies and 3 demands of our community, generated through resident feedback from our canvassing conversations;

We raised our voices in Lansing, demanding that our Representatives pay to fix what they broke in our community - delivering more than 22,000 signatures from people across the country saying that the nation’s eyes were watching what our elected officials did or did not do;

Right now, we are working to get our community out to VOTE by Nov. 8th - having thousands of conversations with voters - because as ALL of our voices need to be heard for our democracy to work.

Through the tenacity and truth-telling of Flint residents, the Emergency Manager was removed and the Flint water crisis was exposed. Now it will require even more collective people power in action to create the kind of future that families deserve -  one filled with justice, fair representation and opportunity. 

THE FLINT CHANGE PROJECT

Amidst the on-going Flint water crisis, the Flint Change project has been created as a multi-faceted community story project for the purpose of building community teams, long-term civic power and getting our community out to vote. Together, we’re accomplishing three things:

ONE: During the months of September and October, we’re hosting 10 - 15 small group discussions with community members, discussing what it means to have civic power. Together, we’re answering two questions:

• When have you seen people power (civic power) at work in your community?
• What are you doing with your own civic power to create #FlintChange for the people you love? 

Participating in the ‘Bank of Flint Change’ community art project as part of these small groups, residents will ‘deposit’ their statements of people power into the ‘bank’.

TWO: Based on the premise that voting is an investment in civic life, these statements, images and art will turned into public posters, Get Out The Vote (GOTV) leave-behinds, an email and social media campaign, and installations at the public library and city hall during the months of October and November, inviting our community to join us in voting as a one step in exercising our community power.

THREE: Through web, social media, and traditional media platforms, Flint stories and the Flint Change project will be shared as a story-based conversational model to help other cities imagine how they too can use their people power to build community-based civic engagement across our country.

Flint Change: National GOTV Launch Email

Sent to PICO’s national email list and Michigan Faith in Action's list as a launch to digital GOTV work

Friend,

Flint is more than our water crisis - we are what democracy looks like.

As part of our #FlintChange project, PICO federation’s Michigan Faith in Action has been holding small group conversations with Flint residents about what it means to have civic power. And about how we want to use our power to create the future our families deserve - one filled with justice, opportunity, and fair representation.

Right now we are VOTING as a first step in creating #FlintChange.

Stand with us in showing our elected officials that our people are powerful, and that our nation is still watching Flint: Read and share our stories of Flint civic engagement and courage today.

Share on Facebook >>

Re-tweet on Twitter >>

We’ve been making our stories very loud and very public - installing our portraits, statements and community art at the Flint Public Library and City Hall. We’ve hung our posters in dozens of congregations and businesses across town, and painted the Flint rock together - reminding people to raise their voice at the polls.

We’ve had more than 20,200 conversations with local voters, encouraging them to vote by November 8th, and shuttled people to the polls for early voting.

Now will you help us expand the reach of our stories of Flint people power by reading and sharing on Facebook and Twitter today?

Flint has been fighting since 1936 when auto workers led the Sit Down Strikes, demanding fair pay, safe working conditions and the right to organize. We are still fighting today with all of our might, for the sake the community and people we love. Will you join us?

Eileen, Sharon & Heather

PS - Check out more of our stories and work at www.flintchange.photoshelter.com, and tell us how YOU are using your civic power to make change for the people you love!