“Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.”
― Arnold Joseph Toynbee
Michigan City, Indiana is located 50 miles east of Chicago and 40 miles west of South Bend. Like most cities in the Rust Belt, it was once a bustling town filled with vibrant businesses, primarily various forms of manufacturing and industrial-steel production. From 1947-1975, economically speaking, life was good. However the city, like much of Northwest Indiana, has lost the vast majority of its industrial base, pushed the black population out of what was formerly housing projects, and replaced the former dwellings with the Blue Chip Casino, Hotel and Spa, owned by the Boyd Gaming Corporation.
Today, Michigan City is overflowing with “big-box” stores and cookie-cutter restaurants: Walmart, Home Depot, Olive Garden, Hobby Lobby, Burger King, etc. Low-wage service sector and retail jobs comprise the majority of employment among 18-35 year olds, but increasingly middle-aged to older people as well. This is typical for Rust Belt cities and towns. Hell, these days, this is typical for a good portion of the United States. Michigan City is a story of deindustrialization, racial segregation, neoliberalism and cultural degradation. In short, it’s a microcosm of global capitalism.
Economic and Cultural Apartheid
According to the US Census Bureau, Michigan City’s total population estimate for 2013 is 31,494. Blacks account for almost 30 percent of the city’s total population. Without doubt, extreme segregation plagues Michigan City: blacks live on the West-side and East-side of town, whites live on the North-side or South-side and also inhabit the more rural areas. Latin American families are scattered throughout the city, but mostly reside in poorer neighborhoods.
Accordingly, economic segregation follows as homes in the black neighborhoods sell for $40,000 while homes in some white neighborhoods, located less than a mile away, are going for $1.8 million. Honestly, what’s happening is a form of apartheid: blacks stay in their neighborhoods; whites stay on their side of town. On summer afternoons, blacks walk the streets and hang out in local parks. Whites lounge comfortably in their air-conditioned homes. In the black sections of town, the cars are old, rusty and falling apart. In the white neighborhoods, people meticulously groom their lawns and maintain their swimming pools. There’s no need for physical walls. The invisible walls are omnipresent.
Although blacks account for almost 30 percent of Michigan City’s population, they own only 13 percent of the city’s businesses. Further, the homeownership rate for the state of Indiana is 71 percent while it’s only 58 percent in Michigan City. The median household income in the state of Indiana is $48,374; in Michigan City, it’s $36,115. Officially, 15 percent of the state of Indiana is living below the poverty line while that number jumps to 25 percent for those living in Michigan City. The national unemployment rate is 6.3 percent; Michigan City: 10.9 percent. In an already absurdly conservative state, residents of Michigan City endure even lower standards of living, lower levels of employment, rates of homeownership and high school/college degrees than their Hoosier counterparts. When speaking with residents in Northwest Indiana, you’ll often get the impression that state politicians in Indianapolis have never cared much for folks in the region. After all, a significant portion of them are black and brown, not to mention unionized and liberal.
Let’s be clear: there is more to the story than empirical data, studies and reports. Northwest Indiana residents remain in a state of spiritual, emotional, physical and social deadlock. Weekdays consist of robotic-like actions: wake up, work, come home, eat, watch TV, sleep. Weekends consist of alcohol and drug abuse. Others play video games. Some exercise. Food options are limited, with fast-food and chain restaurants dominating the landscape. People in the black neighborhoods frequent local gas stations where fried foods and candy are served cheap. Their clothes are tattered, their shoes worn. Poor whites can be found in the local truck-stops and greasy spoon diners. On hot summer days, Latin Americans hang out in local parks, barbecuing with their families and friends. In the meantime, very little is exchanged between the three communities other than the occasional nicety. According to most residents, Michigan City has been extremely segregated for as long as they can remember.
People living in black and brown neighborhoods understand how the system functions on a fundamental level. They grasp the notion that wealthy individuals and powerful institutions oppress and repress them on a daily basis. They know the local politicians are corrupt. But they have restricted options. Largely, they vote for the Democratic Party—if they vote at all. At the very least, the majority of local Democratic politicians unapologetically defend Social Security, public infrastructure programs, organized labor, women’s reproductive rights and Medicaid. They support a minimum wage increase and expanded public transportation. Republican politicians, on the other hand, continue to spout empty rhetoric about “hard work,” “individual responsibility,” God, gays, immigrants, Muslims and guns. Local conservatives, like their national counterparts, cater to the very worst of white-American society. Regardless, neither party is adequate. Third party options are limited to Libertarian candidates, and they garner no more than 5 percent of the vote in any election. In short, inhabitants of Michigan City do not have viable progressive party options during election cycles.
In the latest midterm elections, over a week ago, only 31 percent of registered LaPorte County voters went to the polls whereas 38 percent voted in 2010. Nationally, voter turnout in the 2014 elections was the lowest in 72 years,with Indiana registering the lowest turnout of all states at 28 percent. Mirroring the nationwide elections, those who did go to the polls overwhelmingly chose Republican candidates to their Democratic counterparts. Consequently, after decades of these trends, Indiana has transformed into one of the most conservative states in the U.S. As Gary, Indiana activist, lawyer and author Brian Bullock notes in a recent TruthOut article “The Ultra-Right-Wing State Nobody Mentions”:
The national media should call the politics, governors and legislatures of Indiana, what they are: archconservative. Indiana should be spoken of in the same way that Wisconsin, Arizona and Texas are. The state should be seen as deeply anti-immigrant, institutionally racist, anti-poor, corporatist, privateering, anti-choice and conservative. Indiana, in fact, has been at the forefront of the conservative agenda in the states, and it should be known as such to the rest of the nation. This is important because as long as Indiana flies under the radar, national civil rights, environmental, civil liberties and other progressive organizations will not focus their efforts on assisting their local affiliates to fight against Indiana’s regressive political climate. At a minimum, the national media should hold a bright light to what’s happening in Indiana so that the voters in the rest of the country can accurately assess how far to the right presidential or vice presidential candidate Pence is and — given ALEC’s success in the state — the media can issue citizens of other states a warning about what’s in store for them.
The Chicago Connection
Back in May of this year, the Michigan City School Board voted 4-3 to privatize custodial and maintenance services in the school system, outsourcing the jobs to Sodexo, a multinational corporation based in France. According to Sodexo’s Annual Fiscal Report for 2012, the company employs over 241,000 workers, operating in 80 countries, while raking in over $24 billion in revenue. It’s amazing that Sodexo even knows where Michigan City is located, let alone the fact that it’s now operating an entire sector of the Michigan City School System. Upon further examination it’s clear that there’s a Chicago Connection, as the Michigan City Schools Superintendent, Barbara Eason Watkins and Assistant Superintendent, Xavier Botana, are proteges of Arne Duncan, an Obama lackey, former CEO of Chicago Public Schools,and current US Secretary of Education.
Long-time labor and public education activist George N. Schmidt recalls Watkins tenure at CPS:
Eason-Watkins spent her career catering to the high-stakes testing regime installed under Mayor Daley. She has been an (often outspoken) champion of the privatization of curriculum and just about every teacher bashing stunt that has victimized the teachers working in the hardest inner city schools since she moved into the top office suites seven years ago. We defy anyone to show us one disagreement Eason-Watkins ever had with Arne Duncan on behalf of teachers or the students. She even gives credibility to the odious DIBELS program which is still being foisted on Chicago’s elementary teachers and students years after it has been completely debunked in the professional journals. After her appointment to the post of “Chief Education Office” by Arne Duncan and the Chicago Board of Education in July 2001, Barbara Eason-Watkins loyally followed every policy of the Duncan administration. The list of her policy atrocities is long. Eason-Watkins provided the public and press with the dubious data that were used to close and privatize dozens of schools under “Renaissance 2010.” It was Eason-Watkins who seconded Arne Duncan’s claims – often ex post facto – that the more than 60 schools he had closed were “failing” schools (even though at the time, most of those schools were closed of other reasons, including “underutilization” and security problems). Ask the teachers who were slandered, then ousted, at Austin, Calumet, Collins, Englewood, Harper and Orr high schools whether Barbara Eason-Watkins deserves to be remembered as anything other than a teacher bashing hatchet person for the Duncan and Daley administrations.
All of this, of course, unfolds under-the-radar. Sure, there have been news reports, a few write-ups in the local papers and scattered public meetings, yet very few residents in Michigan City understand the scope of Sodexo’s operations. Even fewer understand the interconnected relationship between local school officials and national figures such as Arne Duncan and Barrack Obama. Many Michigan City residents would be interested to hear that Watkins’ decision to head-up the local school system was made while vacationing at her second home in Michigan City. At a time when most are struggling, Watkins enjoys a $155,000 salary and vacation properties. The revolving door of corrupt and inept political leadership opens in Chicago, and closes in Indiana. Indeed, the neoliberal agenda knows no bounds. Cronies from Chicago replace ‘good ol’ boys’ in Indiana, as local residents endure the consequences of back-room-political deals and a nonexistent investigative-media.
Organizing at the Local Level
More than four months ago, my friend and political ally, Ron Landtroop, asked me to help him run a campaign for Michigan City School Board. Of course I agreed to volunteer my time. After years of late-night political discussions and Ron’s undivided support for my social justice activism, it was the least I could do. After all, Ron was running for the right reasons and with progressive principles. The campaign had limited funding and organizational infrastructure, but contained dedicated organizers and a vision, dynamics often lacking in local elections. As former president of his local union, Ron unequivocally supported the labor movement and provided a workable platform for working-class citizens. He was unaligned with any major party and this factor resonated with many of the people we spoke with at events. Unfortunately, with three open seats and four candidates, Ron barely lost a seat on the board, accumulating 20.9% of the vote.
Nonetheless, the election process afforded us a genuine opportunity to connect with local residents. We set up pot-lucks, frequented local political functions, published letters in the regional newspapers and knocked on doors. To us, knocking on doors and holding public events was the most worthwhile portion of campaigning. Rarely, if ever, do Michigan City residents talk politics, let along attend political functions. We spent the majority of our door-knocking efforts in poor, black neighborhoods. It was a humbling experience. Many of the homes and structures in these neighborhoods are falling apart. A good portion of them should be condemned. Walking from home to home left me feeling anxious and depressed. Sometimes people were too scared to answer the door, as many black residents are frightened by the threat of police searches or the occasional “no-knock” raid. There were guard dogs at almost every house, with “No Trespassing” signs to boot. One house was occupied by several 16 to 17 year old kids. As they smoked cigarettes on the patio, one of them informed me that no “adults” stayed in the home. I moved on to the next house.
After several weeks of knocking on doors, it occurred to me that the landscape of Michigan City would look quite familiar to those living in deindustrialized regions around the globe, from Lancashire to Latin America. A loss of viability and hope plagues people around the world. Michigan City is just one example. At the same time, it’s a case study in neoliberal globalization. This small, yet common midwestern city represents the very worst of global capitalism: violence, drug abuse, prison-executions, privatized commons, casinos, clinically depressed citizens, empty factories, hyper-materialist consumer products, crumbling infrastructure, racial apartheid, environmental devastation and the list goes on. A few months ago my neighbor across the street was held up at gun point. He was playing songs to his friends on his apartment patio. The thieves took his money, phone and guitar. Now he’s scared of black people. He told me that he’s going to buy a gun for protection.
The cycle is vicious. Violence leads to more violence. Boredom leads to drug abuse. Drug abuse leads to prison. Poverty leads one to the casino, hoping for monetary success and a good time. Meanwhile capitalists take advantage of their former manufacturing colonies, extracting vital resources, gentrifying neighborhoods and selling off the rest. Citizens might not be engaged in the electoral process, but they understand how the system works. People aren’t dumb; they’re disempowered and impoverished. The sooner leftists make a serious effort to organize these communities, the sooner we’ll begin to develop alternatives to the capitalist system. After all, these very same communities were, at one time, the engines for global capitalist growth, but also hotbeds for radical labor activism. It’s our job as activists, organizers, educators and journalists to remind people of their progressive history.
There’s a political vacuum in the American Rust Belt. If the Left fails to fill this void, the Right surely will.
Vincent Emanuele is a community organizer, writer and radio journalist. He lives in Michigan City, Indiana and can be reached at [email protected]. On November 23rd, Vince will be speaking on the “Race, Militarism and Masculinity” panel at the Earth at Risk – Social Justice and Sustainability Conference in San Francisco, California. Keynote speakers include Derrick Jensen, Alice Walker, Chris Hedges and Vandana Shiva. Information can be found at: fertilegroundnstitute.org
2 Comments
Sorry Vinny, but the Right has already filled the vacuum. Last time the EMT’s, aka progressive activists, checked there was no pulse. Maybe it’s time for another zombie culture article. How long is it going to be before the so-called progressive left realizes that the majority of Americans – that vote – want neofascist stooges to govern for and over them? Hint, this is a rhetorical question.
I think you are right. If they haven’t gotten the message by now, they never will.