Voices From Benton Harbor, MI

Poisoning The Residents Of Benton Harbor:
Whirlpool Heir Upton Fights for
Corporate Interests in Congress

Rev. Edward Pinkney
PHOTO/Lenette Evans

By Dorothy Pinkney

     Fred Upton, the heir to Whirlpool, U.S. Representative from St. Joseph, Michigan, third highest ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and among the richest in Congress, continues to push to steal all lake front property from the citizens of Benton Harbor. The property the City received for giving up 22 acres of pristine beach front is toxic. Whirlpool, Harbor Shores, Cornerstone Alliance, Fred Upton and the Herald Palladium newspaper all knew that the property the residents of Benton Harbor received in exchange for the lake front property was filled with toxic lead and arsenic — two major poisons.

     “Whirlpool backed Harbor Shores Development obtained a 106-year lease of 22 acres of prime land of Jean Klock Park to develop a Jack Nicklaus Signature golf course for the rich with a view of Lake Michigan. Jean Klock Park is the city’s only major park used by Black residents for family reunions, baptisms, picnics, swimming, concerts, and play location for our children on Lake Michigan,” reports the blackpressusa.com.

     Fred Upton is also rallying for health care reform that will benefit the corporations. Fred Upton championed an approach to Medicare prescription drug benefits that imposed high costs on seniors. He protected drug companies by preventing the U.S. from negotiating bulk discounts on prescriptions for seniors instead of supporting legislation to stop the suffering of the American people. Fred Upton is attempting to protect the estimated $200 Billion annual profit of the private health insurance industry.
     Do not be afraid. Do not be marginalized. Speak truth to power.

Quotes From the Community:

  “Of course the religious community can be relieved that quoting scripture, even against ‘the powers that be’ is alright. The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. The battle with Whirlpool and Fred Upton is a fight until the end. Rev Pinkney is the new president of the Benton Harbor chapter of the NAACP. They could not have selected a better leader. A true hero!”
— Rev. Smith
 
“I learned that courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. I am requesting the people who live in Benton Harbor conquer that fear of Whirlpool, Berrien County Courthouse and Fred Upton.”
— William J Barnes 

 “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. I would like everybody to just go home and look in the mirror and say I will not accept evil in my community.” 
— Paul Nelson 
Berrien County Corruption Needs to Stop!

“On the morning of September, 27, 2009 I (Dennis Knowles) was not allowed to attend a meeting on the Jean Klock Park project. Residents in the city of Benton Harbor should be included in any meeting that is pertaining to Harbor Shores, Cornerstone Alliance, or Whirlpool. Residents should be invited.  It is beyond the beach and Jean Klock Park. Its about the takeover of the city of Benton Harbor. The problem with Cornerstone Alliance with Scott Elliott, is that it’s a “control issue” and residents should ALL be invited. The residents are being affected by one culture to another. There are major foreclosure and high water bill issues here that need to be addressed because there is a lot of major corruption in Berrien County and people are being ignored rather then dealt with here. This has got to stop right now!”
— Dennis Knowles