Flint, Michigan: home of General Motors and the birthplace of the United Auto Workers Union. I was born here in 1960. My grandfathers, uncles and my dad all worked in the factories. My great grandfather participated in the great sit-down strikes in 1936/37.
Flint's heyday, in the mid-20th century, created a middle class of factory line workers who were very well-paid and very ill-educated. The plant closings started in the 80's, Michael Moore's film, "Roger & Me", documented the sociopolitical impact of factory closures during this time. GM continued to downsize until well into the 21st century, ruining the infrastructure of the community.
Flint's crime-rate was documented, in 2007, as the third worst in the United States. The next year, when gas prices climbed past the $5.00-a-gallon mark, the fallout caused the eventual bankruptcy of GM. Flint has taken a turn for the worst and is fading fast. I've been documenting the city's decline since 2007 in photographs of building structures, roads, factory demolitions, etc.
