Oh my. I was cruising through some olden day files ain "mydocuments" for other
purposes and came accross the entry after my signature line, It was from some
heady days just after my graduation from High School and when I moved in to
Flint and lived with some Black Panthers and engaged in radical things of the
time on the East Side of Flint. I also was on the local community college
student government which was a hot bed of radicalism back then and was a
reportor with the "Freedom Reader" mentioned here. I also was one of the
organizers of this event which sought free medicine for all. A bit player for
sure but an event organizer of this blast from the past.
And here all these many years later we are still fighting for universal
healthcare, and I'm still fighting for at very least a single payer
system...Sigh...BTW that year I was also associated with John Sinclair and the
Ann Arbor Sun, several anti-war groups, and was a McGovern delegate all the way
to the state convention.
I also helped to bring the likes of Angela Davis, John Sinclair, Maceo Dixon
(of the Socialist Workers Party), and William Kunstler to the campus as
speakers. Oh and Andrew Young, and Julian Bond too.
OH and I and some pals got the Doctor Ross mentioned here to play for the
benefit. He was a sort of blues guru in these parts. A rather talented, but
sadly total alcoholic blues master. We scraped up fifty bucks (which was a lot
for those days) and a fifth of some rotgot whiskey to pay him. He played
acoustic guitar with a harp on a three legged stool. He was so drunk when he
came on three of us, including me had to help him on the stool. He kept getting
started with his performance and then kept falling off the stool. Finally we
kept picking him up and tthen I stood behind him with my hand on his back for
gentle support. It took him a while to get going. But, then there was "magic"
and he rocked on for well more than an hour without assistance.
And there was, of course lots of sex, drugs and rock and roll going on then too
which is probably why I didn't get my degree for a while.
The revolution got dashed that year imo, or at least for awhile.
The McGovern thumping reminds me of the election of today. But, rememember it
was followed by watergate. And seeds of watergate abound today.
But I digress. This is a bit hard to read but is the best I can get from the
digital archives of the Ann Arbor Sun from the Ann Arbor Library:
Mark Farner Sings For Free Health! | Freeing John Sinclair
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Mark Farner Sings For Free Health!
Ann Arbor Sun, February 18, 1972
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Mark Farner Sings For Free Health!
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Mark Farner, lead singer and guitanst in Grand Funk Railroad, made a surprise
appearance on February 4th in Flint at a benefit for a Free Medical Clinic
that some brothers and sisters are trying to set up. Mark took the stage by
himself and sang a tune, accompanying himself on accoustis. The tune is called,
"Flint, You're Making Me Sick" and is directed at the choking pollution that
greets you on a visit to the city. The benefit was organized by the same people
who put out the killer Flint paper, the Freedom Reader, which was started with
some help from Mark, who also serves on its editorial board. Also appearing
at the rally were Big Red and the Sherm Mitchell Quartet, both from Flint, and
Doctor Ross, and old time Flint bluesman who really boogies. The Up were
scheduled to play, but their eqüipment truck broke down on the way up, so they
couldn't. Speakers included John Sinclair, members of the Vietnam Vets,
and Ann Berrigan, daughter of the mprisoned Reverend Daniel Berrigan. Ballenger
Field House was packed, so the benefit produced over %1500 which can now
go to provide free medical care for people who need t. It's great to see other
communities setting up the kind of people's institutions which Ann Arbor
has been developing recently; as the Freedom Reader put it "With the cost of
medical expenses getting higher all the time, people just can't afford to
take care of their health. All the money this government spends on war and it
doesn't even provide for the people. It is obvious that the people who run
this government do not care for its' citizens, so we have to care for
ourselves." Brother Mark, who's newest album, E Pluribus Funk, is definitely
worth
checking out, is beginning to put his tremendous economie and political power
in the service of the people. The more our bands do that, the more of our
needs we'll be albe to take care of, and the more we'll be about to make our
communities the kind of, places we all dream about. BUILD THE RAINBOW NATION
?
Michigan-boogie
Ann Arbor Sun, February 18, 1972 ?
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