He went down in a hail of gunfire. At 21, Leon Wilson’s life as a flashy drug dealer and partier, who’d just bought champagne from a Saginaw Street market, appeared near its end. He bled from his head and back, wounded by masked men in a drive-by. Two weeks later Wilson woke from a coma […]
With a nod to its past and an eye on its future, Cafe’ Rhema is grounded in Flint’s recovery efforts. Although it adorns itself in 1920s motif, the place has a modern mindset and mission to move Flint forward. Recently celebrating a three-year anniversary, the popular spot for beverages, meals and cultural gatherings exemplifies the […]
For Natalie Pruett the job is both business and personal. An independent planning consultant for the City of Flint, her vision for the community helps shape its future. But as a resident and hometown native Pruett’s work also affects her and her neighbors. She authored Flint’s five-year blight elimination plan, initiated in 2015, as a […]
Ravi Yalamanchi has seen hard times in Flint’s neighborhoods. Facing a challenging housing market, Metro Community Development’s CEO for the past 20 years is helping lead the charge to repopulate high-vacancy areas and stimulate revitalization. While the positive movement has been slow, Yalamanchi is hopeful for a citywide rebound. As Metro Community Development promotes home […]
The Russells are a family on wheels. Parents Noel and Kay take regular bicycling adventures with son Noel II, 10, and daughter Noelah, 12. A recent bonus of the family fitness routine is the “I Bike Parks” program, which lets participants explore trails at Bluebell Beach, Flushing County, and Max Brandon Parks. The program is […]
There was a time when Marie Herron sent her children to class believing the dismissal bell marked the end of their day. With the coming 2016-2017 school year, Herron’s expectations have been raised. Eleven Flint Community Schools will incorporate health, recreation and leadership programs during and after traditional classroom hours. A $2.9 million C. S. […]
Louise “Lulu” Ogadinma wears a different uniform than most women she knows. If she were a firefighter or even a delivery truck driver her occupation would make her rare. But Ogadinma’s choice to don a helmet and jersey makes her especially unique among peers. As a player-owner of the Flint City Riveters football team she’s […]
As a kid he saw himself rocking microphones on stage one day. Charles Boike was so immersed in hip-hop and rap culture he even watched old movies in the genre. Films like 1983’s Wild Style were to adolescent Boike the classics that inspired him in ways that still powerfully impact his adult life. “We thought […]
Life wasn’t always so sunny. In fact, there were cloudy days for Mama Sol, the Flint-based rap artist and poet whose name translates in Spanish to “sun.” While in New York working in the ad division of a major urban fashion company, she fell in with a rough social crowd and was grazed by a […]
For Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha the work has just begun. Widely celebrated as a heroine for her role in exposing the public health issue stemming from Flint’s lead-contaminated municipal water system, she has entrenched herself in the next stage of providing professional care. “I was just doing my job,” Hanna-Attisha says of her efforts to show […]