Comments at the Michigan Rebuilding Community Conference

One Party Rule 

Thank you. I’d especially want to thank Norm DeLyle and everyone from the Michigan Disability Rights Coalition, and Paul Ecklund and the Michigan Disability Housing Work Group. And all my colleagues. Receiving the Corrie Bair Award is a great honor. 

I also want to thank Congressman Barney Frank for his comments yesterday. I think his comments about the Defense Budget and its affect on affordable housing were particularly on target. We certainly need a National Housing Trust Fund and Congressman Frank has been a champion of the Trust Fund for many years. He will be missed. 

I never knew Corrie Bair but I have know many others who have received the award including the late Cheryl Trometter and they have all done amazing work. I am proud to be included in such a great group. 

I’ve been an organizer for 25 years and was trained by Shel Trap from National Training and Information Center who also trained ADAPT, an organization Corrie helped to start in Michigan. Over the years we have had lots of victories including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Community Reinvestment Act. Victories in Washington, Lansing, across the country and in our cities. We seen many of our cities rebuilt and a strong middle class develop. But now that is threatened. Recently we’ve had some big loses. Programs are being cut such as support for housing, education, food and legal assistance. We can’t even expand Medicaid, even though it will cost us nothing. That’s 400,000 children, PWD and low wage workers that won’t get health care coverage. Job training programs and the Earned Income Tax Credit that helps working people have been slashed while millionaires/billionaires are protected. We’ve seen Right to Work pass hurting the working middle class. We’ve also had tax cuts for businesses made that are paid for by tax increases on seniors. Our cities have been taken over by unelected Emergency Managers. Now they even want to change how we elect the President of the United States. This is all just crazy. 

But as Ed Roberts, the Father of Centers for Independent Living and the Disability Movement said, out of threats come opportunities. We have many opportunities, opportunities to organize and take control of our lives. We need to come together!!! Dare I say, we may need to become political! One party rule doesn’t work for North Korea and it doesn’t work for Michigan. If we don’t, there will be no community development, no rebuilding communities. I challenge you to break new ground, to take back what is ours. We can’t go on this way! We can’t continue down this path. It’s time to take action, together. 

So everyone, as Barney Frank said yesterday, get out your cell phones and start calling: 
US Congress (202) 224-3121 
State Senate (517) 373-2400 
State House (517) 373-6339 

And I would like to recommend that everyone get a copy of this pamphlet; the Citizen’s Guide to State Government and use it everyday. 

Let’s get organized! It’s our only chance. Thank you, 
Frank