The Flint River Lead Poisoning Catastrophe in Historical Perspective

By Tom Stephens, NLG Detroit and Michigan Chapter The facts of the Flint River lead poisoning are essentially undisputed. Enabled by Michigan’s unprecedented “emergency management” policies affecting primarily African-American cities, it’s a case of spectacular regulatory failure at all levels of government. The big remaining question is why has this disaster happened? Investigators have focused […]

NLG Attorneys Challenge Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law

By Henry Schneider and Cynthia Heenan, NLG Detroit and Michigan Chapter Recent crises have focused national attention on Michigan’s Emergency Manager Law. In fall 2015, news broke that Flint’s 100,000 residents had been consuming lead-contaminated water for two years. Flint began drawing its water supply from the Flint River in 2012 to save money under […]

President’s Column: NLG at Forefront of Civil Rights Struggles in Michigan

By Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan, NLG President On February 14, I spent my birthday surrounded by a couple hundred people paying tribute to the warriors of Detroit’s activist community at the NLG Michigan and Detroit Chapter’s Annual Dinner. That night, the room was filled with activists young and old, law students, veteran advocates, movement lawyers, […]