Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T21:36:36.289Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

WHEN DEMOCRACY DISAPPEARS

Emergency Management in Benton Harbor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 December 2018

Louise Seamster
Louise Seamster*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology,University of Tennessee-Knoxville
*
*Corresponding author: Louise Seamster, Department of Sociology, University of Tennessee, 913 McClung Tower, Knoxville, TN 37996. E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this case study, I look at Benton Harbor, Michigan’s tenure under a state-appointed “emergency manager,” with extensive local powers replacing all local elected government, and a single imperative to balance the city’s budget. The law, ostensibly race-neutral, wound up targeting almost all of Michigan’s cities with significant Black population. The law ultimately disenfranchised half the state’s Black population but only two percent of Whites. This law invalidates a basic civil right and prerequisite for urban political theory: electoral democracy. Who holds power in the urban regime when the state takes over? Drawing on forty-four interviews, observations and archival research, I argue a White urban regime governs without elected representation in this majority-Black city. The ideological framing of emergency management as “neutral,” and Black politics as “corrupt” or “self-interested,” provides the logic to blame Black governance for structural disinvestment and White-led extraction.

Keywords

RaceUrban PoliticsCitizenshipDisenfranchisementGovernanceUrban RegimeWhiteness
Type
State of the Discipline
Information
Du Bois Review: Social Science Research on Race , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , Fall 2018 , pp. 295 - 322
Copyright
Copyright © Hutchins Center for African and African American Research 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

6th Circuit Case Phillips v. Snyder (2016). No. 15–2394.Google Scholar
Alexander, Michelle (2010). The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. New York: The New Press.Google Scholar
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit, City of Pontiac Retired Employees Association, et al. v. Louis Schimmel, et al. (E.D. Mich. Aug. 9, 2013) (No.2:12–CV-12830).Google Scholar
Atwell, Meghan Salas, Fehr, Stephen, Huh, Kil and Russell, Aidan (2013). The State Role in Local Government Financial Distress. Philadelphia; Washington, DC: Pew Charitable Trusts.Google Scholar
Anderson, Michelle W. (2012). Democratic Dissolution: Radical Experimentation in State Takeovers of Local Governments. Fordham Urban Law Journal, 39(3): 577.Google Scholar
Anderson, Michelle W. (2013). The new minimal cities. Yale Law Journal, 123: 1118.Google Scholar
Barnes, Sandra L., Robinson, Zandria L., & Wright, Earl II (Eds.). (2014). Repositioning Race: Prophetic Research in a Postracial Obama Age. Albany, New York: SUNY Press.Google Scholar
Becker, Howard (1967). Whose Side Are We On? Social Problems, 14(3): 239–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bedford, Chris (2009). Benton Harbor Local Food Plan Powerpoint. < https://vimeo.com/23363256> (accessed February 22, 2018).+(accessed+February+22,+2018).>Google Scholar
Bell, Derrick (2004). Silent Covenants: Brown V. Board of Education and the Unfulfilled Hopes for Racial Reform. Oxford; UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Blitchok, Dustin (2013). Emergency Manager Lou Schimmel Retires Where He Started: Pontiac. The Oakland Press, August 17. <http://www.theoaklandpress.com/article/OP/20130817/NEWS/308179956> (accessed February 13, 2018).Google Scholar
Burawoy, Michael (1998). The Extended Case Method. Sociological Theory, 16(1): 4–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bracey, Glenn (2015). Toward a Critical Race Theory of State. Critical Sociology, 41(3): 553–572.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Browning, Rufus P., Marshall, Dale R. and Tabb, David H. (Eds.) (1997). Racial Politics in American Cities. New York: Longman Publishers.Google Scholar
Carmody, Steve (2018). Michigan Court of Appeals Hears Arguments in Flint Water Crisis Class Action Lawsuit. Michigan Radio, January 9. <http://michiganradio.org/post/michigan-court-appeals-hears-arguments-flint-water-crisis-class-action-lawsuit> (accessed February 15, 2018).Google Scholar
Chatman, Jamaal M. (2012). Abstention Against Will: The Perpetual Disenfranchisement of African Americans in Voting and Politics. Journal of Race, Gender and Poverty, 3: 43–60.Google Scholar
Davis, Angela (2005). Abolition Democracy: Beyond Empire, Prisons, and Torture. New York: Seven Stories Press.Google Scholar
Doan, Michael D. (2017). Epistemic Injustice and Epistemic Redlining. Ethics and Social Welfare, 11(2): 177–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Du Bois, W. E. B. (1935). Black Reconstruction. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co.Google Scholar
Friedman, Milton (1965). Capitalism and Freedom: A Leading Economist’s View of the Proper Role of Competitive Capitalism. With the Assistance of Rose D. Friedman. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Gillette, Clayton P. (2014). Dictatorships for Democracy: Takeovers of Financially Failed Cities. Columbia Law Review, 114(28): 1373–1462.Google Scholar
Glaser, Barney, and Strauss, Anselm (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory. London: Weidenfeld and Nicholson.Google Scholar
Glenn, Evelyn N. (2002). Unequal Freedom: How Race and Gender shaped American Citizenship and Labor . Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Gryczan, Matthew (2013). Running on Emergency Time: Benton Harbor’s Collaborative EM Looks for Quick Exit, Takes Lessons from His Native Detroit. Crain’s Detroit, June 9. <http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20130609/NEWS/306099998/running-on-emergency-time-benton-harbors-collaborative-em-looks-for#> (accessed July 3, 2017).+(accessed+July+3,+2017).>Google Scholar
Hammer, Peter J. (2018). The Flint Water Crisis, the Karegnondi Water Authority and Strategic–Structural Racism. Critical Sociology, DOI:0896920517729193.Google Scholar
Harris, Richard (2016). Farewell to the Urban Growth Machine. In Amy Bridges and Michael Fortner, J. (Eds.), Urban Citizenship and American Democracy, pp. 125–158. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.Google Scholar
Heibutzki, Ralph (2010). BH City Commission Withdraws Harbor Shores Support; EFM a No-Show for First Public Meeting. Benton-Michiana Spirit, April 22. December 27, 2015. <http://bentonspiritnews.com/bh-city-commission-withdraws-brharbor-shores-supportbrefm-a-noshow-for-p3184–111.htm> (accessed February 13, 2018).Google Scholar
Holden, Matthew Jr. (1971). Black Politicians in the Time of the “New” Urban Politics. Review of Black Political Economy, 2(1): 56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horan, Cynthia (2001). Racializing Regime Politics. Journal of Urban Affairs, 24(1): 19–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hughey, Matthew W. (2010). The (Dis) Similarities of White Racial Identities: The Conceptual Framework of ‘Hegemonic Whiteness.’ Ethnic and Racial Studies, 33.8: 1289–1309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hunter, Floyd (1963 [1953]). Community Power Structure: A Study of Decision Makers. Garden City, NY: Doubleday.Google Scholar
Jackman, Michael (2017). How Detroit Students Made a Federal Case Out of the City’s Broken Schools. Metro Times, September 6. <https://www.metrotimes.com/detroit/how-detroit-students-made-a-federal-case-out-of-the-citys-broken-schools/Content?oid=5391880> (accessed February 17, 2018).+(accessed+February+17,+2018).>Google Scholar
Jones, Ross (2017). Wayne County Manager in Business with County Vendor, Out-Of-State Govts. WXYZ, July 27. <https://www.wxyz.com/news/local-news/investigations/wayne-county-manager-starts-business-with-county-vendor-out-of-state-govts?page=2> (accessed February 10, 2018).Google Scholar
Kirkpatrick, Lucas O., and Breznau, Nate (2016). The (Non)politics of Dispossession: Exploring the Racialized Geography of Emergency Managers in Michigan. Social Science Research Network. <https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2754128> (accessed February 15, 2018).Google Scholar
Klein, Naomi (2007). Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism . New York: Henry Holt and Company.Google Scholar
Kleine, Robert, Kloha, Philip, and Weissert, Carol S. (2002). Fiscal Distress Indicators: An Assessment of Current Michigan Law and Development of a New “Early-Warning” Scale for Michigan Localities. Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at Michigan State University, Submitted to the Michigan Department of Treasury September 30.Google Scholar
Kornberg, Dana (2016). The Structural Origins of Territorial Stigma: Water and Racial Politics in Metropolitan Detroit, 1950s–2010s. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 40(2): 263–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LaFaive, Michael and Schimmel, Louis (2011), “State Should Reform Public Act 72 of 1990,” Mackinac Center, January 10. <https://www.mackinac.org/14290> (accessed February 15, 2018).+(accessed+February+15,+2018).>Google Scholar
Littman, David L. (2012). Detroit Bankruptcy: America’s Leading Indicator? Mackinac Center, March 27. <https://www.mackinac.org/16673> (accessed February 15, 2018).+(accessed+February+15,+2018).>Google Scholar
Logan, John R., and Molotch, Harvey R. (1987). Urban Fortunes: The Political Economy of Place. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Manza, Jeff, and Uggen, Christopher (2006). Locked Out: Felon Disenfranchisement and American Democracy. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mead, George H. (1936). Movements of Thought in the Nineteenth Century. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Michigan Civil Rights Commission (2017). The Flint Water Crisis: Systemic Racism Through the Lens of Flint. February 17. <https://www.michigan.gov/ocuments/mdcr/VFlintCrisisRep-F-Edited3–13–17_554317_7.pdf> (accessed February 13, 2018).+(accessed+February+13,+2018).>Google Scholar
Mills, C. Wright (1956). The Power Elite. London: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Mills, Charles (1997). The Racial Contract. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Minghine, Anthony (2014). The Great Revenue Sharing Heist. Review Magazine, Michigan Municipal League, March/April. <http://www.mml.org/advocacy/great-revenue-sharing-heist.html> (accessed July 3, 2017).Google Scholar
Moore, Wendy Leo (2008). Reproducing Racism: White Space, Elite Law Schools, and Racial Inequality. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Press.Google Scholar
Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss (Doc. #41) and Denying Defendants’ Motion to Stay Proceedings (Doc. #47), Catherine Phillips, et al v. Richard Snyder, et al (E.D.Mich. Nov. 19, 2014) (No. 2:13–CV-11370).Google Scholar
Oosting, Jonathan (2015). Plan to Fill Budget Hole, Shift School Aid Money, Headed to Gov. Rick Snyder after Senate OK. MLive, February 26. <http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2015/02/plan_to_fill_budget_hole_shift.html> (accessed February 13, 2018).+(accessed+February+13,+2018).>Google Scholar
Pinho, Kirk (2015). TONY SAUNDERS, 29: CFO and chief restructuring officer, Wayne County. Crains Detroit, March 20. <http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20151010/AWARDS4015/310099999/tony-saunders-29>>Google Scholar
Plerhoples, Tina, and Scorsone, Eric (2010). An Assessment of Michigan’s Local Government Fiscal Indicator System. Senate Fiscal Agency Issue Paper (September). <http://www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa/publications%5Cissues%5Clocalgovfiscalindicatorsystem%5Clocalgovfiscalindicatorsystem.pdf> (accessed February 15, 2018).+(accessed+February+15,+2018).>Google Scholar
Ray, Victor and Seamster, Louise (2016). Rethinking racial progress: a response to Wimmer. Ethnic and Racial Studies 39(8): 1361–1369.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reed, Adolph (1999). Stirrings in the Jug: Black Politics in the Post-Segregation Era. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.Google Scholar
Robinson, Zandria (2014). This Ain’t Chicago: Race, Class, and Regional Identity in the Post-Soul South. Chapel Hill, NC: UNC Press Books.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sapotichne, Joshua, Rosebrook, Erika, Scorsone, Eric, Kaminski, Danielle, Doidge, Mary, and Taylor, Traci (2015). Beyond State Takeovers: Reconsidering the Role of State Government in Local Financial Distress, with Important Lessons for Michigan and its Embattled Cities. Michigan State University Extension White Paper, August 31. <http://msue.anr.msu.edu/uploads/resources/pdfs/beyond_state_takeovers.pdf > (accessed March 5, 2018).+(accessed+March+5,+2018).>Google Scholar
Savage, Chris (2011). And So It Begins. Emergency Financial Mgr. Fires Entire Government of Benton Harbor, MI. Eclectablog, April 15. <http://www.eclectablog.com/2011/04/and-so-it-begins-emergency-financial.html> (accessed July 3, 2017).Google Scholar
Savage, Chris (2012). Emergency Mgr Joe Harris Puts Benton Harbor City Radio Station Equipment on Ebay – Updated. Eclectablog, February 8. <http://www.eclectablog.com/2012/02/joe-harris-puts-benton-harbor-city.html> (accessed December 28, 2015).Google Scholar
Seamster, Louise (2015). The White City: Race and Urban Politics. Sociology Compass 9(12): 1049-65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seamster, Louise (2016). Race, Power and Economic Extraction in Benton Harbor. PhD Dissertation, Department of Sociology, Duke University. DOI:10.31235/osf.io/6qx9j.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seamster, Louise, and Ray, Victor (forthcoming). Against Teleology in the Study of Race: Towards the Abolition of the Progress Paradigm. Sociological Theory.Google Scholar
Skidmore, Mark, and Scorsone, Eric (2011). Causes and Consequences of Fiscal Stress in Michigan Cities. Regional Science & Urban Economics, 41(4): 360–371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Small, Mario Luis. ‘How Many Cases Do I Need?’ On Science and the Logic of Case Selection in Field-Based Research. Ethnography, 10.1(2009): 5–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Rogers (1997). Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, Lindsey (2012). Independent Audit of Benton Harbor’s Finances Reveals Problems. Michigan Radio, January 5. <http://michiganradio.org/post/independent-audit-benton-harbor%E2%80%99s-finances-reveals-problems> (accessed July 3, 2017).+(accessed+July+3,+2017).>Google Scholar
Spreen, Thomas Luke, and Cheek, Caitlin (2016). Does Monitoring Local Government Fiscal Conditions Affect Outcomes? Evidence from Michigan. Public Finance Review, 44(6): 722–745.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stack, Carol (1974). All Our Kin. New York: Harper and Row.Google Scholar
Stanley, Jason (2016). The Emergency Manager: Strategic Racism, Technocracy, and the Poisoning of Flint’s Children. The Good Society, 25.1: 1–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staff, Stateside (2013). Outrage after Highland Park High School’s Library Material Gets Dumped in The Trash. Michigan Radio, July 9. <http://michiganradio.org/post/outrage-after-highland-park-high-schools-library-material-gets-dumped-trash> (accessed February 13, 2018).Google Scholar
Stone, Clarence (1989). Regime Politics: Governing Atlanta, 1946–1988. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas.Google Scholar
Stone, Clarence (1993). Urban Regimes and the Capacity to Govern: A Political Economy Approach. Journal of Urban Affairs, 15: 1–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stone, Clarence (2005). Looking Back to Look Forward: Reflections on Urban Regime Analysis. Urban Affairs Review, 40(3): 309–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vlasic, Bill (2013). Federal Judge Halts Legal Challenges in Detroit Bankruptcy Case. New York Times, July 24. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/25/us/judge-clears-path-for-detroit-bankruptcy-case.html> (accessed February 15, 2018).+(accessed+February+15,+2018).>Google Scholar
Wang, Shu, and Crosby, Andrew (2017). Emergency Managers in Michigan: Just What the Doctor Ordered? Michigan Applied Public Policy Brief, Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. <https://ippsr.msu.edu/sites/default/files/MAPPR/EmergencyManagers.pdf> (accessed February 23, 2018).+(accessed+February+23,+2018).>Google Scholar
Woods, Clyde (2017[1998]). Development Arrested: The Blues and Plantation Power in the Mississippi Delta. New York: Verso.Google Scholar
Wrege, Louise (2016). Uzelac Awarded Key to the City. Herald Palladium, January 5. < http://www.heraldpalladium.com/news/local/uzelac-awarded-key-to-the-city/article_443167df-d1dd-5b2a-aab7–17a770ca6f7b.html> (accessed March 4, 2018).+(accessed+March+4,+2018).>Google Scholar
Wrege, Louise (2017). Benton Harbor City Income Tax Poses Pros, Cons. Herald Palladium, September 24. <http://www.heraldpalladium.com/news/local/benton-harbor-city-income-tax-poses-pros-cons/article_90a25b4c-523d-5235–9547–b7c07e33f4e0.html> (accessed February 27, 2018).Google Scholar