Justice for Benton Harbor

Community leader jailed for up to 10 years with no evidence. This fight will go on until we win!

The impoverished people of Benton Harbor, Michigan, are waging a courageous fight against corporate power — against the giant Whirlpool Corporation that runs their city and region. Recently, one of the leaders of this fight, Rev. Edward Pinkney, was unjustly convicted on phony vote fraud charges in the community’s attempt to unseat corporate backed officials. In a tremendous victory for the movement against corporate power in Benton Harbor and nationally, the Michigan Supreme Court exonerated Rev. Pinkney. This, however, was after he spent 2 ½ years in prison where his life was endangered by guards and administrators. For years, Rev. Pinkney fought the theft of prime lakefront land by Whirlpool, and he was among the first to warn communities of the Emergency Manager dictatorship in Michigan that kicks out elected officials and sells off a city’s public assets to the corporations. The result of this Emergency Manager dictatorship was seen in Flint, Michigan where the Emergency Manager switched the city’s water to the filthy Flint River, poisoning a whole city. One of the important lessons in the victory in this struggle is that the movement must defend its leaders. People in Benton Harbor and across the country rose to the challenge! The People’s Tribune has been covering the fight in Benton Harbor since 2005 because of its importance to all of America. We continue to devote article space in every edition to this struggle. Please order copies of the People’s Tribune to share with others. Click on “Archives” to see all of the articles published over the years. Banner photos by Valerie Jean

Articles Covering Benton Harbor

Benton Harbor Water

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.

Is Benton Harbor, Mich. Water Safe to Drink?

Group fighting to get lead and other toxins out of a town’s drinking water say they had a hard time getting straight answers from the EPA about whether their water is safe to drink.

Community demands public officials insure every Benton Harbor, MI resident has safe water

BENTON HARBOR, MI — Let the truth be known. It is simple matter of law that the people of Benton Harbor, Michigan deserve safe...

Benton Harbor, MI event: ‘Learn the Dangers of Lead in Your Water’

Editor’s note: Below Sandy Reid of the People's Tribune interviews Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, MI, a small largely African American town, about...

Occupy the PGA! Mass demonstration in Benton Harbor

The attack on democracy in Benton Harbor, MI shows that the corporate power structure aims to crush anyone who stands in its way. It is a process under way across America. After ...

The struggle for democracy in Benton Harbor and the country

The Rev. Martin Luther King must be turning over in his grave over what is happening in Benton Harbor, Michigan and around the country. Today automation, computers, robots ...

We can’t allow Benton Harbor High School to close

Let the truth be told in the city of Benton Harbor, Michigan, a small city just beside Lake Michigan. The land is so valuable that Whirlpool, the dominant ...

Governor attacks Benton Harbor school system, creating crisis

Let the truth be told by the people of Benton Harbor. The tentative agreement between Benton Harbor’s school board, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other ...

Benton Harbor community demands high school stays open

“Closing down the high school will be educational genocide. The much trumpeted zero percent college readiness is false. I have about 15 friends who are ...

We must stop the cover-up of Benton Harbor contaminated water

I am the current President and CEO of Black Autonomy Network Community Organization, better known as BANCO. I am also Pastor of God's Household of Faith ...

Voices from Benton Harbor

  Whirlpool has destroyed our community, tactics used in gentrification across the United States. We only have one high school and they have torn...

We demand justice in Benton Harbor

The fight in Benton Harbor is a war, not a conflict. It is about whether Americans will have prosperity and democracy or live in poverty under the heel of corporate ...

The future of Benton Harbor schools is in trouble under new CEO

The new CEO of the Benton Harbor Area Schools told a local TV news program that his installation at the helm of the school district is in effect a state ...

The ‘new lead,’ PFAS contamination, in Benton Harbor

I want to wrestle with you. I want to cry in public. I want to maybe cry out loud. I want to holler out loud. I want to shout out loud and even suggest that America needs a revolution ...

Benton Harbor children’s garden ‘a learning tool’

Emma Kinnard, a longtime community activist in Benton Harbor, MI, the impoverished city run by the Whirlpool Corp., spoke at a Martin Luther King Day luncheon in Detroit ...

Contaminated water in Benton Harbor destroys families

Let the truth be told. This was a very bad year for the residents of Benton Harbor. Whirlpool Corporation has completely taken over the city of Benton Harbor, which ...

Benton Harbor, MI, has higher lead levels than Flint

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 ...

Occupy the PGA: Mass demonstration in Benton Harbor, MI May 26

On Saturday May 26, 2018, Occupy the PGA to save our children!—a coalition of Benton Harbor residents, community groups ...

The people of Benton Harbor win a victory against dictatorship!

In a victory for the people in the fight against naked corporate power and defending democracy, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled 6-0 that Rev. Edward ...

Youth are the future of humanity, says Benton Harbor minister

Let the truth be told. I was surprised and shocked in reference to the Benton Harbor school system: that a system controlled by Whirlpool Corporation would even ...

Whirlpool: a poverty pimp

A cold snap during the beginning of the year took a toll on the homeless and the poverty-stricken in the city of Benton Harbor ...

Pinkney case: Will the Michigan Supreme Court rule on the side of justice?

The case of Rev. Edward Pinkney went before the Michigan Supreme Court on November 7, 2017. While supporters came from various parts of the country ...

Charlottesville: We must organize the people

While I feel very good that there has been a quick response by some to denounce the intimidating, harassing, threatening, violent behavior of the ...

How I became a political prisoner

I am Reverend Edward Pinkney, a national and community activist, who tragically, became a political prisoner in the state of Michigan on December 15, 2014. I was sent to prison ...

The battle for democracy in Benton Harbor, MI

Rev. Edward Pinkney, incarcerated for fighting the corporate giant Whirlpool on behalf of the poorest workers of Benton Harbor, has without fail written a monthly column for ...

“Benton Harbor city income tax must pass,” says Rev. Pinkney

We are in life or death struggle in the city of Benton Harbor. Our living conditions (and the planet) are being assaulted by the capitalist system from all directions ...

“Voices of Benton Harbor”

  “The People’s Tribune is right on time! I thank you for your healthcare articles. I live this. They took my Medicaid. I’ve been fighting...

Brokenness but still winning the war

I read Bryan Stevenson’s book, “Just Mercy,” and the story seems very similar to mine. I would like to quote you from his book. “My main years of struggling against ...

Whirlpool Corporation closing Benton Harbor, MI schools

Let the truth be told. Capitalism generates inequality and wealth, status and power. You must recognize the unfairness of a system ...

Soldier of Truth

Phillip A. Bassett‘s new book, Soldier of Truth, is about the author’s eyewitness account of the persecution of Rev. Edward Pinkney for his leadership in a fight against ...

“Whirlpool is a dictator in Benton Harbor, MI,” says Rev. Pinkney

The Whirlpool Corporation has committed genocide in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of a group of people, especially of ...

“This is too dangerous to let go,” says Rev. Pinkney

I was given a potential death penalty—30 months inside the prison system. This with absolutely no evidence, no confession, no witnesses, no crime scene ...

A Great Read: “Soldier of Truth, The Trials of Rev. Edward Pinkney”

“This book gave me a new perspective on what my stepfather has been called by God to do. It gave me insight on what was done, what was said, some insight on what ...

“When a corporation can own a town, we’re in trouble”

Rebecca Fritz, with one of her children, is sounding the alarm about fascism. She fights poverty every day, trying to raise a family on her own. She joined the bus ...

“Mr. Colin Kaepernick, you are my hero,” says Rev. Pinkney

Mr. Colin Kaepernick, you are my hero. I will take a knee with you. Mr. Kaepernick, by not standing during the singing of the national anthem you have exposed ...

Voices from Benton Harbor

“I know we all live, only to die, but no mother should ever lose a son the way I lost my son, Martell Walker-Hadley. He died in police custody, at the Berrien ...

Free Rev. Edward Pinkney!

The People’s Tribune met Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, MI, just after the 2003 rebellion. The police murdered a young man in a high-speed car ...

Fighting the corporate dictatorship in Benton Harbor, MI

Terrance “T-Shirt” Shurn is murdered by police in 2003 in Benton Harbor, MI. Then police violently break up a peaceful vigil, creating an uprising. The Army is brought in ...

“Look out for all our young people!” says Benton Harbor activist

When hanging out at home recently, my daughter noticed a little girl (5-6?) crying at Sorter School (well, what USED TO BE!) and went out to see what was up. The girl had cut her ...

Voices from Benton Harbor

“Our local government has a little more voting power now. But they [the state of Michigan] still has us under emergency managers. There’s some kind of group that oversees things ...

Fighting the Dictatorship in Michigan

The dismantling of democracy is wreaking havoc in Michigan. A corporate dictator law passed in 2011 authorizes the governor to dispatch Emergency Managers ...

Voices from Benton Harbor

“There’s an inequality problem here. There’s no due process. There’s judges sitting here for years locking up 15-year-olds living in extreme poverty. ...

Greetings from Rev. Pinkney!

Over New Year’s, we drove from Chicago to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (near Canada) to visit Rev. Edward Pinkney. Isolated in a prison that looks like a 19th century castle ...

We demand the real criminals go to jail

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King shared a prophetic speech to millions of people called, "I Have A Dream." In it, he quoted the Old Testament Prophet Amos: "But let justice ...

Free Rev. Pinkney!

Defender of the poor and a political prisoner—Rev. Pinkney sounded the alarm early on about the threat of the iron fist of the emergency manager system of corporate ...

“The Pinkney’s have done so much for so many,” says supporter

On Dec. 15, 2014 two people were actually sentenced by the Berrien County courts—Rev. Edward Pinkney, who was railroaded, and his wife, Dorothy. The first thing I take issue ...

“So many young people are involved now,” says Dorothy Pinkney

“I was four-years-old when my parents moved to Benton Harbor’s countryside. When we moved to the city, I saw a different side to Benton Harbor. I remember walking ...

Benton Harbor rally for Rev. Pinkney

On Nov. 24, 2015, Benton Harbor activists gathered in front of the Berrien County Court House to rally for Rev. Ed Pinkney's freedom. He has been ...

Resistance to fascism grows in Benton Harbor

Once the robots began replacing workers in factories and poverty began to spread, the corporations began to impose fascism to contain the workers and guarantee ...

Pinkney case: corporate dictatorship tries to silence movement

Rev. Edward Pinkney was recently moved by the Michigan Department of Corrections from Lakeland prison, near his home, to Marquette prison, almost ...

Benton Harbor votes out mayor!

I think the election process was really good. Mayor James Hightower was voted out! Marcus Muhammad won. It shows that people are awakening. ...

Mass incarceration! We must unify to stop it

You better keep your mind on your freedom and freedom on your mind. You may think you know how the criminal justice system works. But TV is ...

Benton Harbor: “You deserve to be heard!”

I’m running for Commissioner at Large in Benton Harbor, MI. Mary Donald, the previous commissioner passed away. Up to then I had no ...

On Benton Harbor

Benton Harbor, MI is ground zero in the corporate privatization of all things public and the outright theft of government of, for and by the peoples ...

Benton Harbor under the dome

Benton Harbor is like many cities across this country. The people have less faith in the system to do right by them. Not just in the courts, but ...

“I pray the whole judicial system is investigated,” says Benton Harbor Commissioner-at-Large

I’m trying to get Marcus Muhammad elected as mayor in the August election in Benton Harbor. After examining everything we have gone ...

“Build a society where the people, not corporations, make the decisions”

The vicious, cowardly attack on democracy in Benton Harbor, Michigan, shows that the corporate power structure is determined to crush anyone ...

“We are all here together” says Benton Harbor activist

In 2012, Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams from Cleveland, Ohio, were driving in their older model car, in need of repair, when it backfired. ...

Rev. Pinkney jailed for being a spokesperson for the poor

Rev. Edward Pinkney, convicted without evidence of changing dates on petitions in a recall election of corporate-backed Mayor James Hightower, is filing a motion to be ...

“Let’s join together and fight this monster,” says Rev. Pinkney from prison

Today I am speaking from Lakeland prison. If we assume that life is worth living and a man has a right to service, I will say that the ...

Voices from Benton Harbor

The quotes below are from Benton Harbor residents. The community is deeply concerned about the railroading of Rev. Pinkney for his ...

“Folks, it’s time to make some noise!” says Benton Harbor activist

The injustices practiced in Berrien County, Michigan are a long-standing "tradition." The bias of the judicial system and law enforcement has gone ...

“We have to educate the people,” says Rev. Pinkney from prison

I want to talk about the hearing on April 14. It was a major victory for us. We exposed a corrupt system. It showed...

Rev. Pinkney and the struggle for a new society

On the morning of his April 14 hearing, Rev. Edward Pinkney entered the courtroom in prison garb, handcuffed and shackled. His attorney asked the...

Voices from Benton Harbor

“Several young men’s lives have been lost here. The last person they were seen talking to was a policemen. They ended up finding their body later. It's a ...

Community leader jailed for challenging corporate rule

The ruling class has always gone after the leaders of the movement. But we must remember that when they first tried to arrest Rev....

Rev. Edward Pinkney speaks out from prison

It is our constitutional duty as American citizens to hold our elected officials accountable for their work, action and inaction of wrongdoing, which includes judges. ...

Voices from Benton Harbor, MI

"I was subpoenaed by the Prosecutor, but I flipped the script on them and I defended Rev. Pinkney. In early February, I took part in a march organized by Andrews University ...

“This is a fight for us all,” says Rev. Pinkney

“My case represents a direct attack on democracy. This is an issue around the world, and especially here in the U.S. It shows what the corporate ...

Michigan and the country: The struggle is for life itself

Babies in America go hungry while 442 billionaires wallow in wealth. A powerful movement for food, housing, water and other necessities is arising ...

Voices from Benton Harbor

“They dismissed the latest mayoral recall because the mayor can’t be recalled in his last term. The recall effort was because the city is operating ...

Rev. Edward Pinkney’s statement to the Judge

“I’ve committed no crime. In fact, if I was anyone else, I would not be here. I can’t say if anyone changed the dates on the ...

Imprisoning our leaders will not stop the movement

On December 15, Rev. Edward Pinkney of Benton Harbor, Mich. was sentenced to 2 1/2 to 10 years in prison on a trumped-up ...

Voices from Benton Harbor

“They wrongfully convicted a man who did no crime. This is like a set up. They don’t ship people off that fast to prison. They took ...

On the significance of the Rev. Edward Pinkney trial

It was a sad day for justice in America. Rev. Edward Pinkney, a staunch leader in the struggle for justice and for the needs of the poorest workers in the community of ...

Stop the corporate assault on Benton Harbor, Mich.

The attack on democracy and the conviction in March of Rev. Edward Pinkney on phony charges symbolizes an entire process under way in America. ...

Standing together for a new America

The USA proclaims itself the "land of freedom," but the reality is we live under the world's most corrupt legal system. It has rigged courts, bribed judges, phony trials, extortion ...

Victory for the people!

A Berrien County judge ruled that the contested Benton Harbor recall election against the corporate allied Mayor James Hightower will go forward! But we can’t let up. Rev Edward Pinkney, a ...

Whirlpool rules a town through its corporate puppets

Gentrification has tremendously changed the city of Benton Harbor. Many in this former industrial town—that at one time had plenty of jobs— are now living in dire poverty. Over the ...

 Judges rule evidence is not needed to bring activist to trial

The good ol’ boy club in Berrien County, MI Courthouse, is usually male, white, of European descent, and lives in St Joseph, Michigan. Judge Charlie LaSata, Judge Sterling Schrock and ...

Fighting the corporate dictatorship in Michigan

Benton Harbor, MI has become ground zero in the struggle against the corporate dictatorship sweeping across our country. Rev. Edward Pinkney has been fighting ...

Benton Harbor is becoming a police state

The Berrien County Sheriff's department has created a police state surrounding the legal recall of Benton Harbor’s Mayor James Hightower. A Benton Harbor resident, ...

Benton Harbor under the new face of Jim Crow

The new face of Jim Crow is all across the county of Berrien in Michigan. The prosecutor, sheriff, County Clerk’s Office and the Mayor, James Hightower of Benton Harbor, are making it harder and ...

State of Michigan forces greater debt on Benton Harbor

The State of Michigan forced a $2.3 million loan down the throat of the citizens of Benton Harbor. The loan will keep them in debt. If you make a loan to pay off debts you ...

Unsolved murders, Karrington Penny, and corporate power

The Public Safety Department of Benton Harbor, Michigan, is in need of citizen input, an independent evaluation of its services and employee practices. Public works of Benton Harbor ...

Should Whirlpool pay taxes?

The question is: should Whirlpool pay taxes and water bills? Benton Harbor residents must pay taxes and water bills. Why shouldn’t Whirlpool, with its annual 2012 ...

Recall Benton Harbor School Board members

The Benton Harbor School Board’s key function is to be flexible and responsive, to provide leadership, policy development and communication to the community. Three school board members, Willie ...

Benton Harbor schools in shambles; School Board called “crooked.”

Benton Harbor is under misguided leadership, corrupted from the top to the bottom. The schools are in shambles. The school district has it own dictator, Leonard Seawood, ...

Positive news from Benton Harbor

A city income tax will help restore the city of Benton Harbor. A Michigan-based research group, citizens research council of Michigan, says city income ...

Gentrification Is Alive In Benton Harbor

Benton Harbor, Detroit, and other cities—a total of six, plus three school districts—no longer have voting power in the state...

Say no to corporate control of Benton Harbor

We must say no to the dictator and slave master, Whirlpool. They are destroying the city of Benton Harbor by stealing land and by driving the people completely out of the city to build a ...

Whirlpool and Emergency Manager move to take control of Benton Harbor Parks

Every American ought to have the right to vote and their vote should mean something. Everyone ought to have the right to clean air and clean water, to integrity and transparency in a democracy ...

Good Riddance To Emergency Manager Joseph Harris

After several tumultuous years, Joseph Harris, the Emergency Financial Manager in Benton Harbor, Michigan, is finally gone. He was a total failure. Joseph Harris...

Benton Harbor Schools are in Shambles

Governor Rick Snyder, who passed a law giving unprecedented and dictatorial powers to unelected Emergency Financial Managers, was invited to be the Grand Marshall...

Benton Harbor’s Emergency Financial Manager Should Be Terminated

Since Mr. Joseph Harris arrived in Benton Harbor, the city operating deficit, list of unpayable and pension plan deficits have increased significantly. Elected leaders, ...

Quote from Rev. Pinkney

“The Emergency Financial Manager, Mr. Harris, has destroyed all of the homeless camps in the city of Benton Harbor and violated the constitution rights of...

Corrupt Judge Denies New Jury Trial in Pinkney Case

By Rev. Edward Pinkney It is our constitutional duty as American citizens to hold our elected officials accountable for their words, actions and inaction of...

Marian Kramer at Benton Harbor Rally!

Activist Marian Kramer speaks to folks at a rally to support Reverend Edward Pinkney. Pinkney and the community are fighting the corporate take-over of their town. Corporate...

General Baker at Benton Harbor Rally!

Speech by General Baker in Benton Harbor, Michigan to support Reverend Edward Pinkney who has been charged with voter fraud.

Nelson Peery at Benton Harbor Rally!

Speech by Nelson Peery in Benton Harbor, Michigan to support Reverend Edward Pinkney who has been charged with voter fraud.

Reverend Edward Pinkney at Benton Harbor Rally!

Reverend Pinkney speaks on his behalf at a rally of support in his defense against charges of voter fraud. For more intormation E-mail: info@speakersforanewamerica.com http://www.speakersforanewamerica.com

Maureen Taylor at Benton Harbor Rally!

Speech by Maureen Taylor in Benton Harbor, Michigan to support Reverend Edward Pinkney who has been charged with voter fraud. Pinkney and the community are fighting...

Benton Harbor Videos

This video section was last updated in 2014.

Ethel Long-Scott on Harmonics with Gregory Correa

Ethel Long-Scott of the Central Coordinating Committee for the Freeing of Rev. Edward Pinkney talks about why Rev. Pinkney was imprisoned for changing dates on recall petitions of a corporate backed mayor in Benton Harbor, MI. She discusses what this case means for the struggle for a democratic America and against corporate rule, not only in the state of Michigan, but in America today.

The Benton Harbor Struggle

Truth be told, the charges leveled against Reverend Edward Pinkney in Benton Harbor, MI are but the latest saga in a ruthless pursuit of naked corporate rule that is gripping the state of Michigan. In 2011, current Governor Rick Snyder signed into law legislation that codified the fascist offensive already in motion. The law, a.k.a., Emergency Manager law, dispatches unelected ‘managers’ to designated cities and school districts and issues ‘edicts’ that fast track the sale of precious public assets to bondholders, banks or other corporate interests, privatizes public services, dismantles collective bargaining agreements, and more. They are empowered to even dissolve municipalities and school districts, all the while replacing local elected officials altogether.

Response to 12/15/2014 Sentencing of Rev. Edward Pinkney (4/4) – Marian Kramer

Part 4 of 4
Featured Speaker: Marian Kramer, Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO); and widow of General Gordon Baker, Jr.

The Trial of Rev. Edward Pinkney, 2014

Defend Edward Reverend Pinkney!
These are some of the voices who are supporting Reverend Pinkney in his trial on election fraud.

Marian Kramer at Benton Harbor Rally!

Activist Marian Kramer speaks to folks at a rally to support Reverend Edward Pinkney.
Pinkney and the community are fighting the corporate take-over of their town. Corporate interests want to turn the lakefront town into an expensive resort area.
info@speakersforanewamerica.com
http://www.speakersforanewamerica.com

General Baker at Benton Harbor Rally!

Speech by General Baker in Benton Harbor, Michigan to support Reverend Edward Pinkney who has been charged with voter fraud.

Nelson Peery at Benton Harbor Rally!

Speech by Nelson Peery in Benton Harbor, Michigan to support Reverend Edward Pinkney who has been charged with voter fraud.

Reverend Edward Pinkney at Benton Harbor Rally!

Reverend Pinkney speaks on his behalf at a rally of support in his defense against charges of voter fraud.
For more intormation
E-mail: info@speakersforanewamerica.com
http://www.speakersforanewamerica.com

Maureen Taylor at Benton Harbor Rally!

Speech by Maureen Taylor in Benton Harbor, Michigan to support Reverend Edward Pinkney who has been charged with voter fraud.
Pinkney and the community are fighting the corporate take-over of their town. Corporate interests want to turn the lakefront town into an expensive resort area.
info@speakersforanewamerica.com
http://www.speakersforanewamerica.com

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