Photo / (Bridge, Kelly House)
BENTON HARBOR, MI — It appears that the powerful and well-heeled forces of corporate America are once again targeting the Reverend Edward Pinkney, president of the grassroots Benton Harbor Community Water Council, for the “crime” of standing up for the poor, the elderly, and the children by providing people with safe drinking water.
In a recent statement posted on the BANCO (Black Network Community Organization, www.bhbanco.org) website, Rev. Pinkney’s allies and defenders called upon Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, State Police Director Col. Joseph Gafper, and DHHS Deputy Director David Knezek to “… take immediate action to stop the harassment, apologize to Rev. Pinkney and ensure that all officials under your direction cease and desist from any and all further actions that target and endanger Rev. Pinkney.”
According to Reverend Pinkney, “On March 25th, about 1:30 PM, two white detectives came to my home and we know we don’t call the police in our community, ’cause when you call them, you might end up getting shot yourself. So it’s better not to even deal with them. But these two white detectives came to my home. And the first thing they told me was that I and my team was taking water from Benton Harbor to South Bend, which is 45 miles away, and selling it to South Bend. It was the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of, but it just shows that they have no respect for black people. Did I tamper with the water testing? [Pinkney was also accused of tampering with water testing] Why would I do that?”
Reverend Pinkney and the Benton Harbor Community Water Council (20-22 citizens of Benton Harbor, MI) have been taking it upon themselves to get clean water for the community after testing revealed water contaminated by lead at very high levels, as well as bacterial contamination in the municipal water supply, and the city leaders did not inform the community.
This independent action by the citizens of Benton Harbor and the outspoken community leader Rev. Pinkney, have apparently rubbed the ‘powers-that-be’ the wrong way. Many of the ‘powers-that-be’ are under the control of the global giant, Whirlpool Corporation (headquartered in Benton Harbor). Whirlpool targeted Rev. Pinkney some years back, after he exposed the corporation’s plans to steal public land from the citizens of Benton Harbor for the development of a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course and luxury vacation condominiums for the rich from Chicago’s Gold Coast. Rev. Pinkney and others also exposed the state of Michigan’s Emergency Manager law, which was imposed on the hard-hit Rust Belt town. The law rendered elected officials powerless as Whirlpool pillaged and plundered the town’s resources at the exclusion of and indeed the forced removal of the town’s predominantly black and poor residents.
In the statement posted on the BANCO website directed at Gov. Whitmer et al, it is noted that “Rev. Pinkney has been the victim of persecution for his community service. He was imprisoned for literally quoting the Bible in an article [in the People’s Tribune newspaper.] This case was thrown out upon appeal, but only after Rev. Pinkney spent one year in prison.
“On another occasion Rev. Pinkney was arrested, tried and convicted for petitioning to recall the Mayor of Benton Harbor. He spent two-and one-half years in State prisons. Only after those long years was Rev. Pinkney’s case overturned by the Michigan Supreme Court which found that he had not broken any law. We believe that without the mass public support and pressure, Rev. Pinkney would have been killed by the guards in Marquette Prison.”
To keep the struggle on track, a march and rally is planned for May 28, “Occupy the PGA” in Benton Harbor. As corporations wage war on working class Americans, going so far as to knowingly poison the drinking water of millions across the nation and turning our public property into the private property of multi-billion dollar corporations and their owners, Rev. Pinkney points out these lessons of Benton Harbor, which apply to all Americans:
“The fight in Benton Harbor is a war, not a conflict. It’s a war over whether or not we (and all Americans) will have clean, safe water. And after many years, it’s still about whether we will continue to live in poverty under the heel of open corporate rule. The attack on democracy in Benton Harbor shows that the corporate power structure is determined to crush anyone who stands in its way. It’s part of a process underway across America. Let’s make this struggle a victory for all. Let’s confront not only the corporation destroying Benton Harbor, but all American corporate crime. Hope to see everyone at Occupy the PGA 2022!”
For more information on “Occupy the PGA 2022” go to bhbanco.org.
To read articles from the archives at http://peoplestribune.org/pt-news/free-pinkney/
Cathy Talbott is a former telephone operator, a job lost to automation. She was a homeless mother of two and fights for welfare rights. A former co-host of a weekly community radio program out of Carbondale, IL, “Occupy the Airwaves,” Cathy is the Environmental Desk for the People’s Tribune.
