The Flint Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., in collaboration with the Delta Research and Educational Foundation (DREF), has received a grant of $3,500 from the Community Foundation of Greater Flint (CFGF) to support youth programming. Specifically, the funds will support the chapter’s Delta Academy and Delta GEMS initiatives for girls and the EMBODI program for boys.
Help end hunger in your community and around the world by participating in the CROP Hunger Walk on Sunday, Oct. 6 from 1:30-6pm at Bush Park in Fenton. This year’s walk has a ‘50s theme because CROP is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The event is hosted by Jazzercise Fenton. Funds raised fight hunger locally and globally. Registration and Introductory Remarks will take place at 1:30pm. The walk/Dance beings at 2pm.
Since before the booming days of the auto industry, Greater Flint has been a promising destination for people coming to the United States. Since its beginning, immigrants have contributed to the city’s culture and infrastructure. In the high times of the auto industry, immigrants from all over Europe brought with them their hard work, mechanical engineering skill and business sense. Later, immigrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East joined them and added more. As Flint grew, the International population grew and, today, continues to grow. Greater Flint benefits from each and every new idea and skill that is brought to the area.
Having grown up in Hong Kong, Kai Fai (Ray) Lum didn’t know what to expect when, at 16, he arrived in Flint to be reunited with his father. “It was culture shock. It was language shock,” remembers Lum. “When the plane touched down at Bishop Airport, I noticed that the houses all had metal things sticking up out of the tops. I had no idea what they were until I found out that they were antenna for the TV or radio. We didn’t have TV in Hong Kong when I was growing up. It blew my mind.”
The Latinx Technology & Community Center of Greater Flint (previously named Hispanic Technology & Community) is a community service and educational agency established to secure equal opportunities for Hispanics and other minority individuals, as well as the local community. According to LTCC Director, Asa Zuccaro, the name was changed to Latinx at the beginning of 2019 because it is a more inclusive term. “Latinx is a term encompassing everybody, Hispanics and anybody with Latin American origins,” says Zuccaro. “Through our work here, we are breaking language and cultural barriers for a healthy community.”
I came to Flint from South Africa and I am working toward my nursing degree. I have followed a strict vegetarian diet since birth. My family adheres to the practice of Hinduism and I love to read, swim and travel. I have three sons.
Arab-American Heritage Council (AAHC) Executive Director, Devin Bathish is proud of the roles that Arab Americans have played in Flint’s history. “Arab-Americans have been a part of Flint since the 1940s,” he says. “We came to Flint because of the opportunities of the auto industry and the population. We moved in, worked in plants and set up groceries and small business. We have been successful here.” His own family immigrated to Flint from Palestine in 1970 and he has called Flint home since then. “I am proud to be from Flint and it is wonderful to see the city’s people succeed,” he adds.
In the late 60s and early 70s, Flint began to see an influx of immigrants from India. They were drawn to the great potential of a city thriving. Doctors, educators, accountants, engineers and other professionals came to the city to try their hand at prosperity. “My family was one of the first to settle here,” recalls former president Bharat Rao. “My father went all over the United States looking for the best place to start his practice and he found no better place than Flint.”
When taking over as executive director of the Flint Jewish Federation (FJF) in 2011, Steven Low wasn’t sure what to expect. After arriving and finding his feet, he was pleasantly surprised. “I came from the St. Louis area, and the level of enthusiasm and passion here in the Jewish community and our collaborations are astonishing,” he says. “I think Flint is one of the best-kept secrets around and I wish I had discovered it a lot sooner.” For nine years now, Low has been one of the nearly 10,000 Jewish individuals who call Greater Flint home.
The religion of Islam has many followers from all walks of life and nationalities, and many of them call Greater Flint and Genesee County home. “We have a growing Muslim population,” explains Niman Shukairy of the Flint Islamic Center, “and our community is very diverse. We have Syrians, Egyptians, Sudanese, Jordanians, Palestinians, Pakistani and Yemeni, as well as a large African-American Muslim Community.”
As part of this year’s welcoming week celebration, the International Center of Greater Flint in partnership with the City of Flint and Genesee County hosted a welcome reception at the Greater Flint Arts Council. The purpose of the event was to welcome immigrants and refugees, and to acknowledge their contributions to this nation and Genesee County. Since the beginning, immigrants have contributed much to art, culture, community and commerce. Let’s work together with everyone who calls Genesee County home, as we move toward a better future.
I was born and raised in Haiti until the age eleven and a half. I have been married for 22 years to Tony Haywood and we have four beautiful children: Aujaurie, Cyerra, Caleb and Carlens, our adopted son in Haiti. I speak three languages and I own and operate Unique Children’s Center in Flint, where we serve children from infant, preschool, PreK and before- and-after-school care. I have been in business for almost ten years and I have a brother who resides in Lansing and is also in business (Good Painting). I run a foundation in Haiti named after my mother, Le Foundation de Nelie Desir. Through my foundation, my family and I give away needed goods such as clothing, food and personal hygiene items, as well as paying for medical needs and children’s tuition. I love being a Haitian and despise what is going on there, though I do enjoy going to my native home and spending time with my son and family. Haiti has a rich culture and the natives there are so friendly and hardworking. They make means with whatever they have.
