“Since marching with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 48 years ago (Detroit-June 23, 1963 and Washington DC August 28, 1963), most of my life has been advocating for civil rights and social justice. Family, friends, and others seem to regard me as the “Go To” person for resolution to matters bureaucracy tends to complicate.
“As a Christian, mother of two sons, grandmother of eight, and civil rights activist with experiences of racial and social injustices, I have a personal and moral duty to ensure my family and community continue to inherit the constitutional provisions they are entitled to morally and legally in every area of their lives. PA-4 returns this State to an unpleasant, unfair, and unconstitutional past. This legislation is a painful reminder of the sacrifices and ultimate sacrifices, people paid to have a better life for themselves and others while mandates were disregarded then too. Countless Black Americans met their death with freedom papers in their hands because a select few people refused to acknowledge their rights and freedom.
“PA-4, the Emergency Manager law, severely compromises rights by excluding people from the legislative process and alters the separation of powers. This legislation denies participation and access to the decisions that affect our lives presently and in the future in ways from which we may never recover.
“The danger represented by PA-4 can be seen by the impact of the Emergency Manager appointed to the Detroit Public Schools system, Robert Bobb, who left DPS with a greater budget deficit. When Emergency Managers appointed under PA-4 do damage like this, there will be no way for taxpayers to recover wasted funds or institute legal action against the individual responsible.
“The legislators that enacted PA-4 did so willfully, knowing it is an affront to the Constitution under which we live. Unless the Constitution has been repealed—and it has not—PA-4 should and must be struck down.”
