Written from the perspective of a school board member, this essay strings together a series of e-mails authored by Elena Herrada, documenting the closing of democracy in Detroit, Michigan, the incredible fight-back from communities, and the appetite of corporate and emergency managers hungry for a take-over. Herrada provides a distinct line of analysis as the only Latina member of a predominantly African American district where, as she describes, first they closed the factories, then they closed the churches, and now they have closed the schools. Herrada's piece provides evidence of the devastation of systemic and strategic disinvestment in public education and the vibrancy of communities struggling for their futures. Detroit may be our national canary in the mine, a city fundamentally betrayed and resisting with all its might. © 2012 American Psychological Association.

Crisis privatization Charters School closings Emergency manager

privatization education Michigan Detroit democracy United States