My Son Asked Why the Hood Has So Many Churches and Liquor Stores. My New Book is the Answer.
- Rajah Smart
- Jul 20
- 5 min read
“Dad, why are there so many churches and liquor stores in the hood?”
The question came out of nowhere, as the most profound questions from kids often do. It was simple, direct, and it stopped me in my tracks. Because the answer is anything but simple. That question took me back to my own childhood, to a different Flint, and ultimately, it became the invisible thread that runs through my new book.
For those who don’t know me, I’m Flint through and through. I was raised for most of my life on the North Side, on Josephine Street, right there between Detroit and Dupont. I’m a product of Cook and Martin Elementary, Bryant Middle School, before it closed its doors for
good, and a proud graduate of Beecher High School.
The Flint I grew up in was different. It was much more full of life. Don’t get me wrong, we were still considered poor, but there was something there. A pulse. A sense of community and industry, even as the "last hired, first fired" reality of deindustrialization began to take its toll. We had neighbors, block parties, and a feeling that we were part of a city that, while tough, was still whole.
But my son’s question hangs over a different landscape. Why are there so many churches and liquor stores? Why are there no grocery stores? Why do the neighborhoods look the way they do? It took years of work as an educator and researcher, and a whole book, to find the real answer. It’s not an accident. It’s a design. The answer lies in the city's very geography, in the policies that shaped it. It’s found in decades-old decisions like discriminatory zoning, which dictated what could be built where, often leading to a disproportionate concentration of certain businesses in Black neighborhoods. It’s in the legacy of redlining, which drew literal lines on a map to choke off investment from our communities.
And now, that work is complete. I’m thrilled to announce my new book, 'Flint Reimagined: A Critical Geography of Race and the Right to Thrive'.
This book is my answer to my son’s question. It’s a deep dive into how our city was built, how systems of inequality were baked into its streets, schools, and water pipes, and how all of it is connected. But it’s not just an exposé of the problems. It’s a celebration of our resilience and a concrete, actionable blueprint for how we can build a better, more just future. It’s a call to action for all of us who believe in Flint’s right to thrive.
The manuscript is finished, and the journey to publication is officially underway. To follow along, learn more about the CGR framework, and be the first to know about release dates, please visit my website at www.mieon.net.
Let's start the work of reimagining Flint together.
Synopsis
Chapter 1: A City, Race, and Space
This chapter sets the stage with a stark, data-driven portrait of Flint, Michigan. It moves beyond general statistics to present a "Tale of Five ZIP Codes," a powerful comparative analysis that contrasts key socioeconomic indicators (income, home values, unemployment, health outcomes) in three predominantly Black city ZIP codes with two adjacent, predominantly White suburban ZIP codes. This framing immediately and undeniably illustrates the deep, geographically concentrated racial disparities that define the region.
Chapter 2: Critical Geography
This chapter establishes the book's theoretical foundation by introducing the Critical Geography Race (CGR) framework. It explains how this innovative lens, which merges Critical Geography and Critical Race Theory, is used to analyze how race, policy, and space intersect. The chapter argues that CGR is essential for understanding how systemic racism is physically embedded in a city's landscape and social structures.
Chapter 3: Policies Important to Analysis
Here, the book delves into the historical and legal architecture of inequality. The chapter traces the impact of key federal, state, and local policies, including Jim Crow laws, redlining, discriminatory zoning, the Fair Housing Act, and the pivotal Milliken v. Bradley Supreme Court decision. It argues that these policies did not operate in isolation but formed an interlocking system that created a self-perpetuating cycle of disadvantage for Black residents.
Chapter 4: Health
This chapter uses the Flint water crisis as a primary case study of environmental racism. It provides a chronological review of the crisis, detailing the decisions that led to the lead contamination and the subsequent dismissal of residents' concerns. The analysis connects this modern tragedy to a deeper history of medical racism, explaining how past injustices fostered a profound and justified mistrust between the Black community and public institutions.
Chapter 5: Unequal Education
This chapter critiques traditional metrics of academic achievement and examines the deep-seated educational inequities in Flint. It analyzes how Michigan's school funding formula has perpetuated resource disparities between wealthy and poor districts. The tangible impact of this funding gap is brought to life through the "Tale of Two Classrooms," a narrative device illustrating the stark differences in resources and opportunities available to students.
Chapter 6: Divided by Design
This chapter delivers the powerful argument that racial segregation in Flint was intentional. It meticulously examines how discriminatory zoning laws and the federal practice of redlining were used as primary tools to enforce segregation, confine Black residents to specific neighborhoods, and systematically choke off investment and resources from these communities, creating a city literally "divided by design."
Chapter 7: Work and Dispossession
This chapter explores the racialized impact of deindustrialization on Flint. It details the decline of the auto industry and argues that its consequences were not borne equally. The analysis shows how "last hired, first fired" practices, combined with the geographic isolation of Black neighborhoods (spatial mismatch), disproportionately harmed Black workers and led to widespread economic dispossession and downward mobility.
Chapter 8: CGR Analysis
This chapter provides the quantitative validation for the book's central arguments. Using statistical methods including bivariate correlation, factorial analysis, and independent samples t-tests, it demonstrates statistically significant, geographically concentrated racial disparities across every key indicator—income, housing, employment, and healthcare. This empirical analysis provides rigorous support for the CGR framework's claims.
Chapter 9: A City Reclaimed?
Pivoting from analysis to action, this chapter synthesizes the book's core findings on how historical injustice and spatialized racism created the Flint crisis. It then shifts focus to the powerful counter-narrative of community resistance and resilience. The chapter highlights the long history of grassroots activism in Flint, framing it as the essential moral and practical foundation upon which any meaningful future must be built.
Chapter 10: Reimagining Flint
The final chapter serves as a forward-looking, actionable blueprint for restorative justice. Moving beyond critique, it outlines specific, CGR-informed policy recommendations designed to dismantle the structures of inequity. It offers concrete models for transforming housing, fostering equitable economic development, reforming education, and ensuring environmental justice, providing a hopeful and practical guide for reimagining Flint as a just and thriving city.
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