ACLU of Michigan Offices a Whistlestop Along Route for Detroit-to-Flint Water March

June 30, 2015 3:00 am

When marchers take to the streets on Friday for a mass walk from Detroit to Flint to call for better access to clean water, the ACLU of Michigan heaquarters in Detroit will be one of the stops along the way.

“The Detroit to Flint Water Justice Journey," which is being held by the People's Water Board coalition, will begin on Friday, July 3 in downtown Detroit and end in Flint on July 10.

Marchers will stop at ACLU of Michigan headquarters at 2966 Woodward Ave. at about 11:45 a.m. on July 3. There, ACLU of Michigan staff attorney Brooke Tucker and investigative reporter Curt Guyette will talk about the organization’s involvement in various aspects of the issue.

Lila Cabbil, one of the organizers of the event, said the walk will underscore the impact of a growing water crises around Detroit and Flint:

“The walk itself is simply the thread that weaves together a series of important public events to highlight the issues by hearing from people on the front lines – local residents personally affected by unclean and unaffordable water, concerned citizens, people committed to water justice including public health workers, attorneys, pastors, elders and youth."

Key events include

  • an 8 a.m. "send off" ceremony at the Underground Railroad Memorial at Hart Plaza in Detroit, followed by a 9:30 a.m. meet-up at Central United Methodist Church, 23 E. Adams Ave.
  • a cultural event and town hall meeting in Highland Park that same afternoon
  • a public cross-county speak out in Pontiac on Sunday, July 5
  • a rally at Flint’s Town Hall on July 1

Added Kim Redigan, another event organizer. “The focus is on connecting caring communities at these public events and sharing our collective concern for clean, affordable water upheld as a human right and to affirm that water is a sacred trust that should be held as a common rather than a commodity.”

For more information or to join the march, visit the People’s Water Board or phone 313-579-9071.

The Peoples Water Board is coalition of labor, social justice, environmental, and conservation organizations working together to protect our water from pollution, high water rates, and privatization.