BENTON HARBOR, MI — Benton Harbor, the city of no return, is among 71 water districts in the state that have higher lead levels in the drinking water than Flint, says the Michigan Department of Environment Quality (MDEQ). Benton Harbor joins Detroit, Flint and Grand Rapids as the worst cities in Michigan for child lead poisoning, according to the Detroit Free Press.
According to MDEQ, a study in 2015 shows Benton Harbor had lead levels in its water in two locations of 38 parts per billion, and 12 parts per billion overall for the city. Some of the areas with high concentrations of children with high levels of lead in their blood are in poor Black areas. Some say it is a result of lead paint in older homes.
This is what happens when a city government pulls all resources out of a community. Water contamination and lead paint in homes is killing people. There has been no plan by the city to solve the problem or help people.
Let the truth be told that the greedy blood sucking Whirlpool, that rules Benton Harbor, city government and the school system is behind this. They are finding many ways to destroy the city and get rid of the citizens. Whirlpool did a complete hostile takeover of the city of Benton Harbor’s land as part of their “redevelopment” plan. Now the people of Benton Harbor are being destroyed by lead poisoning, health problems created by poor medical service, and by economic problems resulting from jobs not paying employees a fair living wage. The unemployment rate in Benton Harbor could be as high as 70 percent (the federal and state government claim it is less). The poverty rate is over 80 percent and I see no relief coming soon. They are evicting senior citizens left and right, putting seniors out of homes they have lived in for over 25 years, and not caring if they have a place to live. There isn’t a more broke and outright dangerous place in the state of Michigan to live. The justice system is out of control, judges, prosecutors, and the sheriff department are attacking the poor and the homeless.
The city government works for Whirlpool. The city refuses to get rid of the city manager who works for Whirlpool, not the people of Benton Harbor. The city manager refuses to return even a telephone call or an e-mail. He is an undercover agent for Whirlpool.
What has made matters worse is that they destroyed the school system over 20 years ago. The seed was planted by Whirlpool and they watched it grow. Whirlpool brought in a CEO to complete the takeover of the Benton Harbor school system. The CEO is just another name for an emergency manager under Public Act 436, which gives absolute power to destroy the school system and the school board. The school board no longer exists; it is now an advisory board.
The people of Benton Harbor have accepted this. When will the true loving people confront the enemy and take back the city of Benton Harbor?
Whirlpool has destroyed our community as well as other tactics used in gentrification across the United States. We only have 1 High school and they have torn that down and apart to coincide with the name change they plan to implement for the city and high school, They are looking change the name of the City from Benton Harbor to Harbor Shores, which will soon erase history out the children’s minds generations to come. God loves his people But Whirlpool is in control and when you (Whirpool) makes more or just as much as the state itself what can we do without any resources