The People Issue Generation Z is already changing the world (and Michigan) in both large and small ways By MT staff It’s 2019, and Millennials are still getting stereotyped by the media as a bunch of whiny little entitled kids. OK, boomer, we have some bad news for you: The oldest millennials are nearly 40 now — far from whiny little entitled kids — and that makes you hella old. It also means that there’s a new generation coming of age now: Generation Z. Defined as the generation born starting in the late ’90s, the somewhat ominously named cohort — what comes after ? — is different from millennials in that it never really knew a time before the digital era. Many basically grew up with a smartphone in their hands, and while much has been made about the ways technology and social media have warped our souls, it can also be a powerful sword if wielded masterfully. In that sense, Gen Z have proved themselves to be warriors. Witness the survivors of last year’s Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida, who took to social media with the hashtag #NeverAgain, giving the gun-control debate a jolt of energy and urgency. Earlier this year, the Sunrise Movement posted a viral video showing elementary school children confronting California Sen. Dianne Feinstein about supporting a Green New Deal. (“There’s no way to pay for it,” Feinstein says dismissively. “We have tons of money going to the military,” a young girl expertly responds. A recent study of the Pentagon’s budget by an MSU professor revealed, essentially, a $21 trillion black hole.) Then there’s Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish activist whose quest to save the planet from anthropogenic climate has amassed millions of followers on social media, leading her to recently be named Time magazine’s person of the year — the youngest person ever to hold the distinction — and triggering President Snowflake in the process. It’s certainly the case here in Michigan, too. 12-year-old Mari Copeny, better known on social media as “Little
Miss Flint,” is somewhat of an analog to Thunberg, using social media to raise awareness about the ongoing Flint water crisis. Others have made an impact in smaller ways, from squeezing in gun control and environmental activism in between school and work, to using their high-school graduation speech to speak out against injustice, to simply helping keep jazz and an iconic rock album alive. We present to you our 2019 Generation Z people of the year. —Lee DeVito
Mari Copeny, aka ‘Little Miss Flint’ On a recent Thursday afternoon, Amariyanna “Mari” Copeny — better known on social media as Little Miss Flint — is carrying empty cardboard boxes out of Grand Blanc’s Woodland Park Academy into a recycling bin. She and other volunteers have just finished unloading toys, electronics, and food for a holiday drive for local families. As we enter through a side door propped open by a case of bottled drinking water, we’re greeted by a staff member folding more cardboard boxes. When we ask to speak with Loui Brezzell, Mari’s mother, Mari pipes up: “I’m Little Miss Flint.” Mari leads us to her mother, but we overhear Mari tell her sister and her aunt she doesn’t want to do an interview at this moment. She’d rather be helping set up the toy drive. On a gymnasium stage, Brezzell guides us through tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of donations — $5,000 worth of books, roughly $18,000 worth of toys, and another $3,000 worth of Amazon Fire tablets. There are winter coats, uniforms, backpacks, school supplies, and what Brezzell estimates to be another $8,000 to $9,000 worth of “stuff.” Later, we duck into a kindergarten classroom to start the interview. While Little Miss Flint wasn’t initially thrilled about pausing her fundraiser prep work
14 December 25-31, 2019 | metrotimes.com
Mari Copeny, aka “Little Miss Flint.”
to speak with a reporter, she eventually lets us into her world. Before becoming one of the many faces of the Flint water crisis, Mari was a beauty pageant contestant, which is how she earned her nickname, “Little Miss Flint.” Mari says she doesn’t remember much from that period in her life, and frankly doesn’t like reminiscing on it. However, she does remember pageants as being “dramatic,” as parents would often get upset if their child didn’t win first prize. “All of the moms complained about how their kid didn’t win,” Mari says. “I’m kind of too old to be wearing a crown and sash around, traveling around. That’s just a little bit baby-ish.” The events of the next few years would see Little Miss Flint grow up faster than most. When the #BlackLivesMatter campaign against police brutality started, Mari got involved. “Back before the water crisis kind of made headlines, she was already kind of known [for] trying to help the kids
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not be so afraid of the local police,” Brezzell says. “She was always taking cupcakes to police officers and little fun stuff.” Then the Flint water crisis hit. In 2016, Mari, then 8 years old, watched as her mother covered her sister Keilani in an ointment and plastic wrap because she was breaking out in mysterious rashes. What they didn’t know is that the tap water flowing from their own faucets was contaminated with lead and other toxic chemicals. “We didn’t know what was causing it,” Brezzell says. “We thought it was the detergent or something. Then, we found out it was from the water.” Of course, we now know that in 2014, while under state-appointed emergency management, the disastrous decision was made to try to save money by switching the city’s drinking water source from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the Flint River. But the leaders didn’t bother to treat the water properly, resulting in lead being leached from the pipes into the drink-
