Now in her 20th year as the director of the Flint School of Performing Arts, she is still excited about the school’s impact on the community – and grateful that her career path led her to direct the largest community arts school in Michigan, serving more than 3,500 people who share her passion for the arts.
Smith was born in Quebec in 1773 to a soap-maker. He married his first wife Mary Reed in 1798, spoke French and English, and worked in the family butchery. However, Detroit records from only two years later list Smith as a fur trader with the Chippewa population. In the search for opportunity, fur trading was a particularly lucrative field at this point in history, thanks to European fashions. Pelts, especially beaver and sea otter, as well as occasionally deer, bear, ermine and skunk, could make a man rich, if he were hardy enough to navigate the territory and savvy enough to trade with the native population. It is clear that by 1807, Smith had become fluent in the Chippewa-Ottawa dialect of the Algonquin language in order to augment his wealth.
GLSC is Michigan’s largest dance club, with approximately 300 members representing a cross-section of the community spanning all walks of life. Men, women, college students, forty-somethings, retirees, singles and married couples come from all over, some from as far away as Sarnia, Canada to join in on the fun. The group meets every Wednesday at the Flushing Roll Haven Center for a one-hour group lesson taught by a professional instructor followed by an open dance with a deejay spinning continuous music throughout the evening. A different dance is taught each month, such as the waltz, country, ballroom and swing, among many others. Leo and Marge enjoyed their first evening at the club so much they decided to join, and have been members for the last six years. “We do a little bit of everything, but the West Coast Swing is my favorite,” says Leo.
The mission of CFI is to promote and provide an improved quality of life for residents of distressed communities through economic development and affordable housing solutions. And their motto is Developing With The Community In Mind. Glenn says the organization started out with a passion for helping people, overwhelming community needs, perseverance and an ability to bring together the right resources to address longstanding community problems. “Essence and I decided that we wanted to be a part of the solution in Flint rather than the problem. Many people complain and that’s fine, but we took our frustrations and turned them into action.” The result of these actions has been great projects and programs that do not duplicate any other effort going on in the community. “It has required a lot of hard work and a great deal of sacrifice, but we would not have it any other way,” says Glenn. “We are doing everything we can as an organization to create equitable and sustainable programs and communities.”
Upon hearing Mama Sol, speak, rap, sing or recite her poetry, it takes only a few seconds to understand how passion-driven the Flint artist is. Somehow, she has found time to be a motivational speaker, published author, lyricist, hip-hop standout, teacher, poet, college basketball player, emcee and mother. Even a bout with breast cancer hardly slowed her down. Currently, she is especially focused on delivering her message to youth, and was ecstatic about performing in her home town for Martin Luther King Day ceremonies. Sol, whose latest CD, Inside Out, was released on iTunes last fall, loves the unifying aspect of the holiday event. “You have in the audience young people who know hip-hop, but maybe not much about Martin Luther King and you have older people who might not know much hip-hop, but remember Dr. King. To be part of something that bridges the gap between history and hip-hop is amazing and beneficial to people of all ages.”
Gordon has long been friends with Al Foster, who had competed with a team in the World Class Double-block snow carving competition at Snowfest. “It always sounded like a lot of fun, so after a few years of telling the guys to bring me on, they finally did,” Gordon remembered. Al, who has been involved in snow carving since 1995, says that as a fellow artist, Gordon was a natural fit for Team USA- Flint. Ryan Leix joined the team one year after Gordon, and Sam Licavoli rounds out the group as the newest member, having joined in 2014.
Turns out, Kearsley Street is named for Jonathon Kearsley, a two-time Mayor of Detroit who fought in the War of 1812 and had nothing to do with Flint.
At only one pound, five ounces, Kaidyn was considered a micro preemie, on the smaller end of the scale for babies found in the Hurley Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit. “He was so tiny, my wedding ring could fit on his arm,” Alicia remembered, “and my husband Terry’s ring fit on his leg.” Given his size, the official chance of Kaidyn’s survival was 50:50, and even then, the doctors thought the likeliness that he would have developmental or health issues was significant. But Alicia says that she never doubted he would make it. “I give glory to God for his story, and I am so grateful to the NICU team at Hurley,” she says.
Born to parents who met in Flint after migrating from the South, Bruce grew up surrounded by and immersed in music. “My father was the oldest of his siblings, so our house was the meeting place for the whole extended family. Every weekend, it was packed with people, and music was a big part of those gatherings. My sister and I used to practice dancing with the TV show American Bandstand. I was pretty good and my dad was so proud of us. He’d call us out to give little performances in front of the family.” As a child, Bruce remembers his sister’s friends loving to practice dancing with him too. “When I went to school, I used to dance with the girls at recess while the boys played ball,” he chuckled, “so I guess you could say I was endeared to dance from a young age.” In middle school, Bruce taught his friends to dance in preparation for parties. “Dancing was part of the social fabric of the black community,” he remembered, “because music in general played such a huge role. Fabulous black musicians performed in Flint, and after their sets, they came to houses like my aunt’s and played for us all night.” By the time Bruce was in high school, he was involved in sports like wrestling, football and swimming, but dancing remained an important part of his social life. “All the kids would practice, you know, when a big dance was coming up,” he explained.
