1:26:00
I say we have
the colour picture,
1:26:02
not the black-and-white.
1:26:03
Plenty of media here
that covered Columbine.
1:26:05
You know, there are
some networks, especially,
1:26:08
that go from, unfortunately,
tragedy to tragedy.
1:26:11
And, uh, I feel bad for them.
Because that's all they see...
1:26:16
The tragedies.
1:26:18
We're just trying
to crunch right now
1:26:22
for the five and the six.
1:26:24
Today, we're feeding
CNN and Fox, so...
1:26:28
- The national media had never
visited Buell Elementary,
1:26:32
or the Beecher school district
in which it sat,
1:26:35
or this part of Flint
ever before.
1:26:38
And few, if any, of these
reporters bothered to visit it
1:26:41
even when they were here now.
1:26:43
If they had ventured just
a block away from the school
1:26:47
or the funeral home,
they might have seen
1:26:49
a different kind of tragedy
that, perhaps, would contain
1:26:51
some answers as to why
this little girl was dead.
1:26:57
For over 20 years,
this impoverished area,
1:26:59
in the hometown
1:27:01
of the world's
largest corporation,
1:27:03
had been ignored as completely
as it had been destroyed.
1:27:06
With 87% of the students
living below
1:27:10
the official poverty line,
1:27:12
Buell and Beecher, and Flint,
did not fit into
1:27:15
the accepted and widely
circulated story line
1:27:18
put forth by
the nation's media.
1:27:20
That being the one
about America
1:27:25
and its invincible economy.
1:27:32
The number-one cause of death
among young people
1:27:35
in this part of Flint was
homicide. The football field,
1:27:38
at Flint-Beecher, was sponsored
by a funeral home.
1:27:41
The kids at Beecher have won
1:27:45
13 state track championships,
1:27:47
but they've never had
1:27:49
a home track meet.
1:27:52
Because around
the football field,
1:27:54
all they have is
this dirt ring.
1:27:59
Years ago, someone here
named the streets,