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Born and raised in Benton Harbor. I’m a 2005 graduate of BHHS with two college’s degrees. But I blame all of this on corrupt leaders that sat in official offices back then. They took whether than putting that money back into the city. As a result, the city suffered greatly. Let me say this, most of BH residents have at least a high school diploma or GEDS but the struggle still lies within. Due to not having equal opportunities. However, a lot of improvements in the city has happened but with time my city will rise again. Keep roaring Benton Harbor I’ll represent my city no matter where I go.
I was born in Benton Harbor Mercy Hospital & grew up in Riverside. My dad went to BH High & mon St Jo. Fond memories as a youth! My family moved to Arizona years ago (dad hated cold weather & was stationed @ Williams AFB during WW2). Technology allows me see how things have changed. Saw you comments & wanted to respond
My Dad worked at Plant 7 that used to be Downtown. He retired after Whirlpool change the tax lease for the plant from 5 years to every year. Same thing happened to my Dad in the 80s when Clark equipment company left for, Iowa. Just like the washing machines that Plant 7 made. 5 years after he retired, the plant closed and moved and hundreds of local employees were out of work. Now the call center is the only positions that Whirlpool hires locally.
Same here and after watching the crime statistics and thinking about when in the 90's the area ranked highest murder per capita in the Nation... I wonder if that was reason why Whirlpool moved their manufacturing and also if there is any relationship to causation like from a hostile takeover perspective where slick narcotics dealers caused the crime rates and compelled the community to not be as conducive to keep the production jobs. I also, having first hand experienced threatening people towards my Dad not "getting them in" over the years he was either Union something or having the seniority or I don't really understand, I wonder like if he was targeted to be murdered or slow killed and if other employees from the plants were as well. I wonder what those statistics look like for Whirlpool employees in regards to health issues, cause of death, age of death, how many are alive versus dead, etc. I know there has to be something causation like narcotics, sexual deviant sodomizer and/or inbreed causation whether mafias or other insurgent like groups ecclesiastical provinces schools & church hubs where sleeper cells flow. I've also collected evidence not far from Benton Harbor of the "Havana Syndrome" health assaults and battery's... so guessing once that remote sensing stations concealed wireless assault weapons transmissions started happening; that mass sound, body and mind control effect is a significant causation in the deviants deviations causing incidents and thus the statistics the way they are. I think the root cause needs to be further investigated and diverted and/or removed. I do recall hearing how the narcotics divisions lost their ability to keep seizures due to their trafficking and being the cause of crime due to desperate cadets or candidates or others coming in to create those positions to further that not required in such ratio or magnitude economy. Definitely a threat to the community and all the way up to the Nations brain trust.
@@williamh4172 Art M worked as an engineer for Clark. He brought home a Bulldozer, Loader and Excavator in 83'. The neighborhood kids came out to see the giant equipment. They offered him to move to Iowa, but all our family is in Michigan.
Worked at one of the "tech ctrs" in BH, Last I knew Whirlpool employed 6500 in the area. There is MUCH going on with Whirlpool besides the call ctrs ! Technology Centers for washers, dryers, dishwashers, small appliances, cooking and refrigeration are all centered there. I would like to see a study on how much money has been granted to Benton Harbor over the yrs., I would bet more than any other Michigan city !
@@daghostxxx1797 current statistics show that the number of employees of Whirlpool is 4000. Another example how they have slowly moved jobs out of Benton Harbor but have agreed to keep the HQ in BH for the foreseeable future.
Benton Harbor. The home of Heathkit. I got my Ham License back in 1968 when I was 15-years-old. My first Heathkit was a HW-100 transceiver. Years later I upgraded to the HW-101. Did you know that Heathkit had retail stores as well as ordering through their catalog? I had my Dad take me to the Hopkins Minnesota store so that I could look at the display models. Back in the 1960s, Heathkit sold an Analog Computer you could build. Ham Radio got me into high technology, and later into computers and software development. I'm retired from the Army as well as my job as a IT Consultant. Bring back Heathkit!
I built several of their kits back in the 70’s and had the opportunity to visit Benton Harbor in the early 80’s only to find that Heathkit had relocated to St. Joseph after being bought by Zenith. They still had a remnant of a store that sold a few kits but the St Joseph location was building Zenith computers for the government.
Born and raised here (in Fairplain) from late 70's to late 80's before we moved to St Joe in 1989. Still have family and friends in the area. All of my formative memories happened here and I used to ride my bike all over this town. My Parents are both retired Benton Harbor Area School Treachers with 35+ years on the job. Was surreal to not even recongize some places in this video after knowing it like the back of my hand and to see some of the ones I did be boarded up or not even exist anymore like Mercy Hospital and my barber shop (Lady T's. It was on the same street by the High School you saw the State Cop on). Also saw a few friends houses and spots I've worked and played at. I'm grateful I got to grow up here. It made me not take anything for granted and to enjoy the good things in life when they happen. Thanks for the video, New Sub here. PS - When you mentioned the State Police my heart sank for a split second. MI State Police are the last Cops you ever want to deal with. Period. They were actually a punchline on The Simpsons at one point in the late 90's. PPSS - Speaking of my old Barber Shop (Lady T's) you spoke on the 2003 riots. I had just moved from LA to Tacoma, WA in 2003 (after moving out of Michigan in 2000). I came home from work one day and turned on the NEWS only to see an Armored Personal Carrier rolling right by my old Barber Shop (you too drove on that same street)! I called my parents to ask what was going on and they filled me in. They had had the guy that passed away in Grade School and High School. My mind was blown.
I grew up in the Twin Cities. I moved out in 1979 after graduating from St Joe High in 1975. I read electrical meters for I&M Electric in Benton Harbor in 1978. It is sad to see what has happened to the area and shocked to see Mercy Hospital was gone. I saw in the video my old classmate's marina he owned along River View Drive on the Island. The book *The Other Side of the River* was written about my neighbor three doors down from me and the sheriff in the book grew up next to me before moving to Fair Plain.
I am surprised you didn't talk about how BH is the home of the once flourishing House of David. They had the largest amusement park and fruit markets in the USA at one time. The decline of BH started with the decline of them. Also, BH used to be where Al Capone and his gang would hangout. He has a suite at the Hotel Vincent on Main Street. My parent grew up in BH and I live in the area. It is slowly getting better. I have hope for it.
Benton harbor is getting worse by the minute. What's need to happen is that the mayor need to start a project to fix or demolish a bunch of the downtown homes. The orchards mall needs to be owned by the city and needs to be restored some. The owner of the orchards mall literally uses that mall as a tax right off because it's a depriving buisness. So that mean the rich owner of the mall doesn't even pay taxes on that 2+ million dollar building. I can't believe the mayor has even let that happened with the mall. Benton Harbor has a very good chance of turning everything around, with the right people behind it. Unfortunately the mayor and everyone that works for the city only care about their own job stability. Their not up for the project and they don't want to take the risk of everything failing and they end up fired.
I can vouch for this. I actually live in Benton Harbor, Michigan… I can tell you this. The overall crime rate in Benton Harbor is 171 percent above the National average and the overall violent crime rate is 723 percent above the National average
@@russs7574 it’s not going to make a difference no matter who’s in charge. The state’s governor hasn’t done nothing to help Benton Harbor out, and the town’s mayor can do only what he can do. And I know the town’s mayor personally and very well. And I don’t want to be rude but this is my personal opinion. I don’t like Democrats. I don’t like Republicans. I don’t like Liberals. I dislike Democrats more than Republicans. I dislike liberals even more. I don’t even like politics in general.
@@dishdog215 it’s funny how you expect the poor to make up for the bad behavior of the wealthy that literally stole billions in wage theft. Have you always been a simp?
@@dishdog215 and what does this guy do about the jobs corrupt politicians like China Joe Biden help send to China!!!!! Corrupt politicians got paid by China for American jobs!!!!!! The problem America doesn't have enough good paying jobs for people that are not able to do high tech jobs!!!!!! It's government's job to keep city's nice looking, and safe!!! Government has failed at doing the jobs they where elected to do, because they all became corrupt and only think about themselves!!!!! China Joe Biden is all about regulation, and taxes that keep Americans from opening a successful business!!!!! Wake up fool!
Part of the reason that they're shipped out of country is that the American people want cheap. To pay an American worker a decent wage, insurance, and retirement costs much more than 3rd world countries. Please give the American consumer some of the fault for this. Econ major.
I worked in that abandoned motel on Riverview Drive in the mid 70's as a night auditor, during my first year attending LMC. It was called The Travel Inn Motel and it's restaurant was called The Captain's Table. It was a very nice clean establishment and the restaurant/bar was packed during weekends. One of the owners, Antonio, occasionally visited in the middle of the night with a companion, asked me for the key to his room, and away they went. We had a few short conversations and he sometimes asked me if I can be trusted to be "Discreet". (There was a rumor that he had a "business" in Chicago and traveled to a marina near the motel in his yacht when experiencing certain legal issues.) I used to be discreet.
I live in Texas and at one time worked in Healthcare. Met a lot of nurses that relocated from Michigan and they thought they had hit the jackpot. Nurses are miserably paid there. Michigan is a beautiful state and it's a shame what elected officials have done to it. Vote them out!! 🙅🏻♀️
Yep. Rick Snyder, a Republican, when he was running for election, promised he wouldn't promote "right-to-work" if he was elected. He won, the gerrymandered Michigan legislature voted for right-to-work, and instead of vetoing the legislation as he said he would, he signed it. So collective bargaining is gone, and Michigan employers can pay the least they can get away with. Republicans turned Michigan into another Mississippi. Used to be a nice state.
@@scottparis6355 I work in Michigan and I feel the pay is pretty good in the non union sector. If your employer is nickle and diming you then consider working for someone else.
There are times that I miss BH, actually Benton Heights, I grew up there in the 70s and 80s. But I am very glad my mom sent me away as it turned out to be the best thing for me. If you can find pictures of old BH before the riots, it once was a very nice looking place to live.
My Mother grew up in B.H., graduated from B.H. High-school in 1938 I recently saw a Greybric yearbook on ebay for sale and saw her andher brothers photos in the posted pics of the item. Things were very nice back then and it was a great place to raise kids. Silver beach close by, my uncle worked and ran the train at The house of David in Coloma, and as us kids growing up in the 50s and 60s, Rocky Gap was a favorite beach and picnic hangout. Tons of wonderful memories in and around this city. I could talk my family's history in this town for hours. My Grandmother and Grandfather are buried in the Cemetery out on North Shore drive near the lake. Fun fact; Joe Louis had his summer home in Stevensville outside of St Joseph.
and muhomad ali the boxxing champ owned his house in berrien springs that was once owned by al capone there is an apartment building on main street BH that was once a hotel that AL capone used to rent the penthouse in when he needed to lay low
I went through Benton Harbor back in the late 70s. We went fishing on the pier. We counted over 40 abandoned factories and didn't stop to get a bit to eat. We never went back.
@@aaronsimpson8329 wow! You are right. I looked at the map and it's gone. It was were I94 highway came to Lake Michigan south of Benton Harbor. It may not have been right in BH. That was 50 years ago.
I'm a rocket football coach for Benton harbor and there is real effort to turn the community around. The commissioner first name Jerry is doing a good job. As well as Dillon Barnes Jr. He runs the football programs
I live in Minnesota. My grandparents lived in Sawyer michigan in a swedish christian community. We drove to St. Josephs a ton as a kid and Benton Harbor was trash when i was growing up. Silver Beach is awesome is St. Joe. My grandparents never wanted us to go to Benton Harbor.
@@grantmourning189 well when your family lives in Bethel beach of course they’re afraid of Benny Ha. They’re probably afraid of their shadow or to go to Michigan City 🤣
Some ways to help fix American cities: Change who you vote for. Try to buy American as much as possible. Treat other as you would want to be treated. I find it frustrating when I go to Hobbie Lobby "for example" almost everything is made in china, not good for the American worker. Same with Lowe's and Home Depot, more and more items are coming from china, not good for American cities. Vote for politicians that will bring jobs back. Thanks for posting....
The sprawling suburbs are insolvent. They can not be properly maintained because the infrastructure cost are more the tax revenue and the state of Michigan gutted revenue sharing. Not to mention wages have been stagnant in the area for decades.
@@knoway35951 Bring back jobs, more people move in = more tax revenue. Open borders that flood the country with overly cheap labor will always cause stagnant wages. It boils down to the face that way too many jobs have gone overseas with the help of our own government. Time to start the BBQ.....
Agreed. I'd be willing to spend an extra 10-20% I''ll say to support American workers. I blame politicians just as much as greedy companies who will do anything to boost profits.
@@jetsons101 well one of reasons this companies left the rust belt was cheap labour in Asia not open borders ,the Midwest has been losing population for almost half century,maybe bringing more legal immigrants will save this place.we have almost 10 million job openings
@@knoway35951 I think you failed to see the point look at St Joseph just across the river they have been voting Republican or conservative since the beginning the city is thriving Benton harbor has been voting the opposite liberal Democrat the city is falling apart jobs are gone and crime is high this is what he said vote politicians in that will be for improving the city not just themselves in their pockets
MI cities are in disrepair. Lived in Lansing most of my life. Was delivery driver around the state. And absolutely horrible what's become of the state.
I left Michigan 15 years ago for Florida. Enormous difference here. Michigan has allowed liberal policies and conduct to propagate a monster problem. Don't keep repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results. That truly is insanity.
I grew up in Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo in the 70s and 80s, Had my first two jobs in Benton Harbor, Batson Printing and McDonald's. Watching this drive I saw many places I recognized despite how long it's been since I've been back in that area. It's sad to see how much of my old area is still in such bad shape but I'm not that surprised. Thank you for this trip down memory lane.
I live in a nearby, and it’s crazy how different Benton Harbor feels from the rest of the county. It’s truly ridiculous how segregated our area is. Parts of Benton Harbor are changing (slowly) for the better though.
It's very sad to see how Benton Harbor have gone down I've had a very lot of good childhood memories there back in the late 60's and 70's. I really do miss the old Benton harbor, MI. 😥
As bad a place as Benton Harbor is, it is important that you point this out so maybe there will be people or organizations as well as the government that could help revive this city. You did a good job.
Almost every penny pumped into the city on a state level in the last 40 years including the school system was embezzled. It reached a point where an emergency city manager was appointed by the state to fix things. People of Benton Harbored said that the guy appointed should go back to school to learn how to be an emergency city manager. Guess what? He was the very guy teaching the class how to do that.
I've driven through a few times going to lake Michigan beaches. Never had any problems. Bought a tank of gas and nobody around was my race. No problems. Looked like that area had recently gotten a major upgrade. Don't think it's all bad.
What a sad, sorry place. There seems to be a lot of this in all parts of the U.S. it really feels like the beginning of the long slow death of America.
Very sad place. After being raised there for 32 yrs moved away FOR GOOD in 2005, only to go back to visit family and saw how miserable and run down it’s gotten. They don’t demolish abandon building and homes keep up thru out the town, just awful.
One thing I found strange, is that in all of the driving you did, I didn't see (or notice) any grocery stores or smaller food marts. I saw a dollar tree or some other similar chain type store but that was about it. Even in the downtown stretch, it looked like there were no places to buy food, either a store or a restaurant. Pretty grim looking place all over though.
@@ladyofjazz448 I was going to mention food deserts, but this is even worse than I've seen in some places I've been to in the US. It's quite jarring for someone who lives in a country where even small towns have at least a medium size grocery store and a few little shops for quick food supplies.
At one point there were multiple grocery stores on Main St. Alone. The building shown @8:22, for instance, was a national grocers store and there was another 6 blocks down the street.
They call that food deserts. It's really sad this exists. A large chunk of the west side of the city I live near (pop 150,000) has only one grocery store and that is a Super Walmart.
Well Chris, say what you want about Benton Harbor. I grew up here all my life. And if you really want to see bad in any city or state, pretty sure, it wouldn’t be hard to find . We live our life, just as you do sir. Go to work every day. Pay bills and take care of our family.
Thats right Michelle...We are Benton Harbor born & raised, smart educated & productive citizens...everything & everyone in BH is not bad! Every city has problems, some are just kept out the news...
If anyone is interested you might want to get a copy of the book "The other side of the River" by Alan Kotlowitz, It is about a young black male who was found dead floating in the river between the piers leading to Lake Michigan. I grew up in Benton Harbor and watching the video I had a lump in my throat. I was born at Mercy Hospital which is no longer there, went to Benton Harbor Junior High, which is no longer there, graduated from Benton Harbor High, which was almost no longer there, graduated from LMC (Lake Michigan Junior College) which is no longer there. I had a South Bend Tribune paper route that started at Pipestone and Britain, went past the Dairy Queen and Mercy Hospital (which is no longer there) and ended up in Fairplain. Later I had a News Palladium paper route on which started on Mcallister and Empire. I was in a Rock & Roll band and we played at the High School for victory dances and at the country club after our High School prom. Actually we played all over SW Michigan. There was a chapter in the book that I mentioned above where the author, who was a good friend of our singer, followed us to Holland MI where we were playing one night. It's amazing but at that time Benton Harbor was a wonderful place to live. I had fellow students who went to MIT, Havard, Harvard law school one of whom was on the Harvard Law Review, as was Barack Obama. I graduated from BHHS in 65 and left in 67 after graduating from LMC (which is no longer there). Thank you for walking (Driving) the steps that I walked through so many years ago. I wish I could see it again as it was then and not how it is today. I can still hear the haunting waul of the whistle blowing on the train at House of David, and the sound of the fog horn Blowing on the North peer.
That's right. You know, there are thousands of towns and cities like this or have been like this at one point in America. I was born and grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. was a steel manufacturer that was active between 1900 and 1977. My father and all my uncles worked there from the day they graduated from high school in the 1950's. During the heyday of the business, Youngstown Sheet and Tube had over 27,000 employees. By 1923, it acquired the assets of the Brier Hill Steel Company and the facilities of the Steel and Tube Company of America, which made it the fifth-largest steel manufacturer in the country and the largest employer in the Mahoning Valley. Sadly, the workers lost their jobs, beginning in the middle 1970's. The restructured Briar Hill and Tube of America were merged, and my father continued working with around 6,000 other workers. On 1982, the America Tube Company filed for bankruptcy and closed. The closing of the mills decimated Youngstown and the surrounding areas. It looked a lot like Benton Harbor does, only bigger. Segregation, abandoned homes and buildings, drugs, murders, empty lots, and lack of good job opportunities. Mid 70's through the 1980's, manufacturing jobs were lost all across America, as greedy companies wanted to make more profit and moved to Mexico or overseas.They all made their profits on the backs of the workers and when they want even more $, just throw the workers away like trash. It's happening now with Dodge Chrysler in Detroit as they are slowly laying off thousands of workers to make more profit by outsourcing much of the manufacturing ofthe parts to other countries. Oh, Dodge/Chrysler is owned and managed by a foreign conglomerate. People should just by all used cars and leave them with their overpriced stuff.
Warren and Detroit are absolutely the same thing now. Not sure when the last time you were in Warren was but things have changed. My friend just retired from central dispatch ( in Warren ) and stabbings at Fitzgerald high school and shootings and home invasions north of 8 mile are now an every day thing.
I live in Downtown Warren, 1 block south of city hall and very near the GM Tech Center. Quiet neighborhood - except when they’re having a concert in front of city hall, I can lie in bed and listen to it. South Warren is pretty bad, I will agree with that. But still better than Benton Harbor.
@@Huggy1959 . My in laws lived on Dallas, it was a very nice quiet street until they found a woman and a small child both shot in the head execution style on the street behind them, plus the serial arsonist that plagued the south.. Thus we didn’t have to ask them twice to move and they are now up here near us. The Warren-Sterling Heights border areas are now a hotbed of crime as well. But, I agree it’s no Benton Harbor ….yet.
Grew up in Benton Harbor from 1962 - 1972. The number of memories watching this is huge. So many places I remember. You got close to my old house but turned before you got there.
You neglected the other side of Fairplain where the nicer homes are. Where neighbors help neighbors. Where we care about our community. Come back in the summer and the sun is shining. Benton Harbor is not all that bad.
Also neglected all of Harbor Shores (a PGA golf course) and all of the million dollar homes along it. There wasn't a good portrayal of the beautiful Arts District with breweries, nice restaurants, and boutique shops. The main part of town may be in disrepair, but it also looks much better on a sunny day in July rather than a rainy day in May.
I am so glad mom moved us out of there in the mid 80s. I’ve went back a few time to visit and was depressed to see what has happened to the city where I was born. I cannot believe my old school off Donald Adkins was closed!!
0:37 should have made a left. You could have hit up Aldi, and talked about the abandoned Walgreens or the dead seagull problem at the four times failed mall.
I've lived in Benton Harbor, since 1974. To this day I have never seen the presence of that many police. The riot in 2003, I lived right around the corne and didn't even hear it. Believe it or not there are some nice neighborhoods in Benton Harbor.
I grew up in Benton Harbor 1950's !960's. Lived in Alanta for twenty years. They even talk about the city down there. When nobody cares, what do you expect? Benton Harbor and St. Joe "used" to be called The "Twin Cities".
We are coming from Missouri to see the Great Lakes for a mini vacation and decided to stay in Benton Harbor. Hopefully our tourist dollars help this community. Its sad to see what was once a thriving city fall into decay.
Having worked for an engineering company in Benton Township for 5 years in the early 2000’s and having a mother in law from Watervliet. Who attended parochial school in Benton harbor in the 50s and 60s. Back then Benton Harbor was a factory town and St Joe was a sleepy beach town, the industry started leaving in the 70s and property values started dropping. Beach property has only gone up. Riots have not helped, race hustlers made the situation worse. I was around for the 03 riots, the cycle rider had a riding suit and helmet so there was no way that the police could tell race or sex. Furthermore African Americans that I worked with who moved into Benton Harbor found it a bad place to live due to the acceptance of crime by long term residents. Add to that mismanagement and outright corruption by local officials render the efforts of the locals who work for things to improve ineffectual in average times.
I have several rental units in Benton Harbor. I think the leadership is poor but the locals show no respect for the area and litter everywhere. Not sure if they tried to make Benton Harbor nice the locals would just trash it anyways 😢
This is wildly random. But are any of your rentals opening up June of 2024? I'm trying to move into a 2 bedroom; currently in a St. Joseph 1 bedroom. +1 cat , wife & daughter.
You use the word segregation to describe Benton Harbour and you are entitled to your opinions, everyone is. But I've lived in cities throughout Michigan and see it in a slightly different way. When well intentioned elites, through government policies and incentives try to tip the scales, disaster ensues. After graduating high school my now wife and I went to WMU in Kalamazoo. Beautiful town with a lot of history and well kept Victorian homes. Driving around the city in the 80s you would definitely label it as a affluent white city. The campus was different, it was much more diversified through government student loans and programs that I didn't qualify for. The enlightened elites running the school taught us how racism could only exist when there was an imbalance of power. Therefore, only whites were racist because they were in a position of power. I don't know what "power" I ever had which is why I suspected it was changed to "privilege". White guilt was the undercurrent of life on campus. I suppose in their ivory towers it made them feel virtuous, but on the ground, the racism most whites felt from blacks was palpable. Most segregated themselves with things like the black only section of the cafeteria, which I found out the hard way my first week on campus. There was a double standard that allowed black people to do and say things that whites or Asians would get expelled for. Affirmative action was in full force. The racial tension was enough to cause us to move off campus after our freshman year. We enjoyed living in the apartments we moved into for two years until it became subsidized. Within 6 months it became a hell-hole, so we moved again. Eventually we left the city. My wife and I have returned on occasion and hardly recognize the city. If you point out the elephant in the room you're shamed. I've seen this happen over and over, and one thing I'm certain of, when government gets involved and tries to fix a problem like a lack of diversity with programs that incentivize something artificial, it only leads to disaster. Life is short and I have no intention on wasting it on trying to carpet the world, I'll just wear slippers. And this insanity will continue until people hold themselves accountable for their own success and not marry the government to get by. I figure for the next 20-30 years I have left on this planet, there will always be a place I can escape to to avoid the madness. I'll continue to pray that we can someday live in harmony, but as long as race hustling exists I don't see anything changing.
Ronald Reagan hit the nail on the head when he said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
Yeah, the thing that boggles my brain is that these communities keep voting in the same political party over and over and over with no challenge or incentive to actually get things done. This same political party is literally trying to genocide poor and minority people through abortion. The level of Stockholm syndrome is absolutely baffling.
Thank you for the truth!!!!!! Just pure FACTS that happen everywhere!!! It's so predictable as well. But people can't speak the truth any longer!! I know the truth though. Not hard to figure out either!!!!!
@@glad4music I remember when I was in this area, that I was surprised that there is a good brunch restaurant in Benton Harbor, called Mason Jar Cafe. There also is a good record store, like a block away. I think it's called Three Pillars Music.
i visit Michigan for work 3-4 times per week. driving as far as Detroit, up to Flint, Lansing etc. honestly it seems like a huge portion of the state is either already like this, or on its way to being. old everything, abandoned buildings, TERRIBLE (and i can’t emphasize that word enough) roads, garbage just thrown everywhere etc. it’s depressing.
honestly, many folks here are lazy as fu** when it comes to picking up after themselves. People can be sitting on a bench with a trash can within reach and they will still throw their trash on the ground or leave it on the bench when they get up to leave. I see people throw things out of their car windows almost daily...police used to enforce the litter laws back in the 80's & 90's and you'd see signs everywhere warning people of being fined for it yet you rarely see those signs anymore.
Wow. Barely even a mention of downtown BH arts district which has tons of great restaurants and breweries, high end apartments, and the best music and art scene in the area. New businesses are opening up there all the time, and it's very safe. It's a popular spot for tourists and locals. Also even in the neighborhoods in BH, most "victims" are actually involved in drugs, crime, and fighting. It's not like random people get attacked just walking down the street.
Class of 07 BHHS graduate...some of us are busy building our empires elsewhere to take back, and plant new life in our beloved hometown. When you ride by. You can't see the love, talent, and beauty of BH. You've had to have grown up there to have been touched by its heart.
24:11 That’s a famous road in Denver. In Denver’s eastern side, it’s the most sketchy strip in land in all of Colorado. Then, it enters Aurora and divides Adams and Arapahoe counties (like 8 mile road is a county line).
Benton Harbor is in a revival of the downtown area. New businesses and renovations are starting. Funny thing, right across the bridge there are million dollar houses while slums are on the other side of the bridge. There is a shopping area Southeast of town that a lot of the citizens shop at, however, too many Michiganders in this area of Southwest Michigan choose to cross the border into Indiana to do their purchasing. This has hurt cities in Michigan that have lost jobs and tax revenue. I live in a village 12 miles south of Benton Harbor, but try to frequently shop there just to help the local economy.
I am a BHHS Grad with 2 post secondary degrees. I have one sister that lives in the city limits and two more in the areas. I love my city and most people from there will say the same. I appreciate this video because it reminds me that there is still work to do in my home town. I have so much more to say but I reserve the right…
Hey!! Mr. Featherstone I remember you being my gym teacher at Martindale. I'll never forget that jump rope competition called "Jump rope for heart" back in 1998 😁 I moved away right after that! Great memories‼️
My favorite BH story is seeing this guy jump on the hood of some lady's car at the Wendy's drive through and she sped off going probably 40 mph with him clutching to the hood. I still wonder if that guy is okay and if he ever got his hat back that flew off. I just wanted my 4 for 4, but I got dinner and a whole ass show.
Caught it on a clean day. I grew up outside of Benton harbor and I’m here bout every day. It’s crappy to look at. Just dont go there at night and you will be ok.
I currently live in Benton harbor and it is getting bad here there has been 27 shootings in the last 2 months and there is now talks of a FBI post being put in Benton harbor due to neglect for following the law and shootings and murder
Benton harbor was a BEAUTIFUL town in the 20’s 30’s 40 A 50’s and eary 60’s. Benton harbor got very black after the 60’s. And then the city management did too. And the management was crooked AF to the point that the state had to come in and appoint leadership. But the damage was done. It’s a Run down thread bare city. But some of the residents, black white and otherwise, are some of the most wonderful people You’ll ever meet. The city does not have much but it still has some soul left.
If even half of BH residents took more pride in their own yards, it'd be a start to cleaning it up aesthetically. Outsiders can only come in and do so much for the citizens. Crime also needs to be addressed but that's a whole nother comment to leave.
I absolutely do NOT miss living in the Glove. This video reaffirmed that. One notable thing, is the remarkable lack of graffiti everywhere, including on abandoned buildings and public facilities. Not even the taggers want to be there!
As always a great informative video! I always enjoy your honesty and not sugarcoating the problems these cities and communities have. Keep up the good work Chris!
The roads look like crap, just like where I'm at in the Detroit suburbs near 11 mile. Especially after the governor ran and got elected with promises of fixing the roads. Not until lately, election year, almost 4 years later is the governor stepping road repairs/replacement. Just recently someone actually won a law suit against the state because they were seriously injured because of poor roads.
Road construction is everywhere in the state for the past 5 years. The haters have no integrity. Every new pothole that popped up in March, Gretch got the blame. The freeze thaw dynamic will have the state scrambling forever no matter who is elected.
I've seen some weird and unpleasant stuff in my life, but the one time I was in Benton Harbor was unforgettable. One incident I was at a stoplight and my daughter yelled a guy had no pants and I saw that he was dancing. Drove away immediately and very quickly after that. I also met some lousy people that I'm not going to discuss publicly. Never going back.
The drug use man... Just being honest, the poor economics of the surrounding rural areas where I grew up didn't help, but when the swarm of illegal aliens came into the small towns to work on farms and for construction companies, it destroyed the county... That use to be my home, place is all the ghetto anymore.
Sad to see the state it's in now... The South West side of the state back in the day use to be so much different. The old ways of living and values are dead and gone. I moved to the Flint area with my family about 15 years ago due to the job market being better at the time. I hated it here and thought things back home would stay the same, but as time went on and I got older, I realized that's not how things work. From the coast of the lake to KZoo, everything is familiar to me, but just not the way I remember it :( All the love and soul is gone
It's unfortunate that there are so many cities that way in Michigan... but it's almost always the case that the areas right outside of those cities are pretty nice. But those nice areas always get over shadowed by the negativity of the primary city of that area.
Kalamazoo is doing fine. I mean crime may be a little higher and there is a homeless problem (like most cities) but it's actually growing and is actually pretty vibrant.
@@magikzebra6552 No, it's not and will never be what it was 20 years ago. You can't say there is a bunch of crime and homeless people, then say it's fine. City also looks neglected as hell... People might be alive but that place is not doing good.
Idk why but theres always just something so perfect about benton harbor in the fall i used to work at a retail store and every autumn i always loved being there I miss working in benton harbor ngl ended up leaving bc i didnt like working retail but i always liked the stories and how shit always seemed to be happening all the customers were rly chill aswell loved how open many people were to conversation
The Lake Michigan beach in Benton Harbor looks amazing. I wonder if it would be emptier in the summer since it’s in Benton Harbor. That would be a benefit.
Benton Harbor was not even close to the worst town I’ve seen. I thought it would be a lot worse. I’d consider Flint and Saginaw to be far worse Michigan cities. East St. Louis (IL) actually shocked me on being worse than expected. Benton Harbor is beautiful comparing to that place.
BH is worse than both flint and saginaw. They cleaned the city up from the looks of it. New roads and sidewalks, New houses, old houses demolished. Did the same thing in South Bend Indiana
@@ramboeastwood1522 BH is poorer than those two cities, but it was not nearly as sketchy in my experience as Flint & Saginaw. BH only has 6,000 people. So, one crime there inflates it’s crime rate comparing to the far larger Flint and Saginaw.
@@jag92949 true. I know all them cities. I'm from South Bend Indiana, my father was born in BH, gotta cousin in Flint, never been to Saginaw tho. But yea I'm going strictly off crime stats. Muskegon Heights is fucked up to. U ever been to South Bend?
@@ramboeastwood1522 I’ve not been to Muskegon Heights. I’ve been to South Bend. It’s a ghetto, that’s a small upgrade from Gary. But, Notredame University is nice and it’s north of the city limits. I don’t like South Bend’s former mayor, Pete Buttigieg. He’s now in charge of the US transportation sector.
@@jag92949 yea South Bend is ghetto too. High violent crime rate, high murder rate but yea it's a little better than Gary but if it weren't for Notre Dame, SB would be just like Gary. ND money keeping SB and the area in general above water. That's only reason SB hasn't fell like Gary has is because of Notre Dame. You'd think local people would be more supportive of the University. If not for ND, SB would have no sustainable income and wouldn't have funds to demolish whole neighborhoods and rebuild like they have been. Stil the same people in them neighborhoods tho so only matter of a decade or 2 before it's trashed again
My Father's side of the family is from Benton Harbor. It was nowhere near as bad in the 80's. We used to visit from Detroit and had a ball every time we went.
Im from downstate michigan near detroit but living in upper michigan now. its normal to see michigan state police patroling towns and will be the ones to show up if your neighbor calls the police on another neighbor up here. The blight, rotting houses and boarded up buildings, along with trash are a state wide problem. lots of it where im at up north. ive found 2 needles since moving here. one was right on the shore of lake superior.
@@markbajek2541 there are 2 drug rehab places within 10 miles and even if it was diabetics that is extremely horrible of them because my kids could have stepped on it. I read the news. They do drug busts all the time in the UP. I've lived many other places including metro Detroit and never found needles on the ground anywhere
This city of Benton harbor. Is perhaps a very vicious spawning cycle of non accountability with no progression for positive. But rather enjoy seeing another in the negative.And what has transpired in a seemingly delightful trend is that. The mother's of younger mothers who are now from 30 to 45. Have passed around and exchanged boyfriends, intentionally or secretive out of spite. And the byproduct of this trend of uneducated and family ethics. Runs into their children who have systematic problems from poor diets, excessive alcohol and laced up marijuana which in turn produces children with ADHD and other learning disabilities. Because they cannot focused nor have the natural love of a parent who cares nothing more than federal and state aid,along with partying with tax monies.Then redirecting the blame off themselves Can easily enjoying the company of another based upon what they're driving. But refuse to really sacrifice themselves from selfishness for the sake of their children. This is the very reason of why most women there who have many children from different fathers. Can do only nothing more than prostitute themselves. Because the father's have no skills and run from their responsibility. And when or if you should come across a woman from there. She try hiding her secrets so as you may in heart take in her children into a better environment.She systematically try to place her past choice responsibility upon you as her kids dad's from what they were lacking. I feel sorry for children there and some of the men and women there who really try. And so wished I did not come across someone I know there. Who knowingly treat my son bad, despitefully because of her and the rest of her kids shortcomings. Being sneaky behind my back character assaulting with a knowing married socalled outward proclaimed man of God ,who did nothing more than bluffed what he had around that city,burning women who unfortunately died last November with his secrets. So with the Byron Tate. I've nothing against nor hatred of anyone. Though have learned a narcissistic woman cares or show no empathy towards her very own children.Will induce disrespect openly and introduce lies to her very own children and family to shift blame. Then blame the very one from the root cause of her problems,just as she shifted lies that she wasn't married as I met her. And this is the very reason of what led up to some events now.
I came here with my future wife to see the lake and the light house in the early 2000's. On our trip back, we got chased all the way by a storm off the lake. It was a memorable trip and I have good memories of Benton Harbor. I hate to see cities decay. Nice video and commentary.
Mercy was very run down. Their were 2 hospitals. Mercy and the one in Saint Joseph. They merged together and moved everything to the one in SJ years ago. Mercy had many different uses before they took in down.
As a frequent visitor to Michigan, it seems to me that the state government is determined to drive business out of the state. Take auto manufacturing-almost all new assembly plants (BMW, HONDA, NISSA, HYUNDAI, etc.) are built out of state-why? There is plenty of cheap land in Michigan and lots of labor. Face it, the state does NOTHING to make it a good place to operate-high taxes, high costs, terrible infrastructure and pro-union labor laws. Go back a century-when Detroit WAS the center of the USA auto industry-Detroit had access to iron ore from Minnesota via the Great Lakes, timber, coal, and excellent rail connections-now that city is a burned out shell of itself. Had MI politicians actually done something (like leasing old plants for $1/year, cutting taxes, improving infrastructure-they might have attracted foreign companies....but no.....just keep driving them away! At some point the tax base will simply cease to exist-and places like Benton Harbor will cease to exist (or become wars of the state).
The MI government is legendarily terrible. From Granholm overseeing Michigan getting hit the worst in the late 2000’s recession, Snyder’s poison water in Flint, & Whitmer’s horrific COVID lockdown and infecting nursing homes with the virus; Michigan has gotten the blunt of terrible politicians. At least, Illinois throws their terrible governors in prison.
I was born in and spent most of my childhood in BH, until my parents and I moved to IL in the mid 2000s. Just in the last 20 years to see the differences is crazy, as you're driving through town I can see where old buildings were once before. There are some places I'm surprised you didn't drive by though, like people have said in the comments. I wish I could give back to my town or figure out a way to try to get it going towards a better direction. There have been some improvements in areas around town, I really hope it keeps up.
Born in Benton Harbor. Mercy hospital which is long gone. In 2003 the riots that started was over the police chase, correct but it was also a white officer who reached speeds of 100mph plus and was told to call off the persuit but didnt. Leading to the crash. The motorcyclist was known by "Tshirt" he always wore fresh white T's. He crashed into the front porch and died. It was a crazy hot summer. Whirlpool did manufacture in BH but moved out and did nothing for those left behind unless you were a call center expert or a tech person. All blue collar jobs were gone. Schools and city were taken over by the state and feds for awhile. Corruption was rampant. They need to take parts off of older cop cars just to keep some newer one running. Crazy. Developers buy up the cheap land further pushing the poorer families out. No jobs. Bad schools,crime and a pretty solid line called the St Joe river dividing the two cities and their peoples. Sad
We live on May Street Benton Harbor. It's what you make of it. No matter where you go you'll find Hate if that's what your looking for , you'll also find poverty, homelessness and whatever else you fancy. Now the coast line , lake Michigan is Beautiful indeed.
Good old Benton Harbor. So one the most important parts of their infrastructure has been fixed and you now gave safe drinking water. In addition you have alot boarded up buildings and land. It's surrounded by water. (Lake michigan) You have poor black families starting to leave. Oh yea and multi billion dollar company in whirlpool. This sounds like this will be one of the biggest gentrification project we ever seen in about 10 years. They already fixed the most important infrastructure problem. The next thing will be figuring out how to buy up the abondon buildings and land dirt cheap and then figuring out how get rid of all the poor people. I know if this will happen for sure but Benton Harbor sure seems like a place for Gentrification heaven being so close to that water. In sure whirlpool has to be licking there chops to start buying up all parts of the city. Once they fix the school situation. Either through open enrollment in the county or charter schools. Oh gentrification will be in full effect
Facts! I grew up here, still have property. Tried last year to buy more but nothing was for sale. It's a lake town! location, location, location. Popular tourist area even at its worst. Also the crime stats are misleading. There is no random crime in a town 6,000. Everyone knows Everyone. Policing is predatory. Probably 2-1 with no action day in and day out. Mostly petty crime from the same few bums. I called the police once to complain and they came and sat down with us for hours. They literally have nothing to do most of the time.
not born a raised in ben har buy migrated from west memphis ark at the age of ten people say what they wanna say about my home town but if u makr it there u make it anywhere i was an ex gang member < Thug but ended up with a high tech with my own business on the side so when i went to the atl ga i was already prepared now a successful business in savannah ga where its ok its up to the individual God has the final say so be blessed
Acrually whirlpool taxes do go to the city of BH i know because i owned a house there so they sent me a statement im sure that money is spent on the township
To be fair, you mention 8 mile road as a segregation line when in reality it is the Detroit city limits border. I had plenty of friends who went to Henry Ford High School that is south of 8 mile in Detroit who were all white. In regards to Benton Harbor, are you saying it's pitiful shape is the result of the same segregation? If so then you are implying that Blacks left in charge of their city will turn it into a ghetto? If not, name one Black cosmopolitan city with great stats in the US. So how does this happen across America? Look to the Great Society Program of the 60's. Blacks were voting Republican so this program was to put as many on Govt programs, removing the Black male as head of household and replacing him with money. The nuclear family dropped from over 80% to about 15% today. We are now five generations into baby mommas. All for the voting bloc. Take a good look around Benton Harbor. It is really nothing but a new era plantation subsiding on Govt programs. Instead of voting for Dems, they should be hanging them.
The gray skies and constant wet are depressing me so bad I can't finish the video, I moved away from Michigan 25 years ago. I immediately got sober and quit drugs....
Some years ago I lived in the notorious 48205 zip code in Detroit. When I moved there in 1984 there was a restaurant, long abandoned, boarded up. It was my understanding that they were held up so many times they gave up and threw in the towel. Then one day the boards were taken off, someone cleaning it up, fresh paint and a week later an independent donut shop opened. One man, there every morning at 3am working until 11 at night. Nice young man, about my age (early 30s). I asked him why would he open shop in a neighborhood like this. He looked both ways to make sure nobody was looking and he showed me two bullet scars on his abdomen then told me his story. I was born in Lebanon 🇱🇧. Things have gotten really bad there and after being shot twice I gathered up what money I had and headed to the USA 🇺🇸 I knew I would be killed if I stayed there. I got a really good deal on this place! People who have lived here all their lives don’t realize what a treasure they have. The worst neighborhoods in Detroit are like a vacation compared to every day life in Lebanon 🇱🇧. Sometimes I wonder if tighter border restrictions aren’t actually counterproductive.
Grew up just south of BH/SJ in a tiny town on Lake Michigan. BH is just the mini version of Detroit. With the great migration for jobs, the violent crime went sky high, and of course everyone is going to flee across the river and over the hill . Once whirlpool up rooted most of their operations, it was the final death blow. It’ll come back tho, just will be called gentrification and frowned upon but there’s no other route back to a functioning town.
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I live in BH right now.
Hello
Please do a video of Madison Heights, Michigan, Chris that’s where I live
Born and raised in Benton Harbor. I’m a 2005 graduate of BHHS with two college’s degrees. But I blame all of this on corrupt leaders that sat in official offices back then. They took whether than putting that money back into the city. As a result, the city suffered greatly. Let me say this, most of BH residents have at least a high school diploma or GEDS but the struggle still lies within. Due to not having equal opportunities. However, a lot of improvements in the city has happened but with time my city will rise again. Keep roaring Benton Harbor I’ll represent my city no matter where I go.
I was born in Benton Harbor Mercy Hospital & grew up in Riverside. My dad went to BH High & mon St Jo. Fond memories as a youth! My family moved to Arizona years ago (dad hated cold weather & was stationed @ Williams AFB during WW2). Technology allows me see how things have changed. Saw you comments & wanted to respond
I hope you’re right. I currently live in Benton Harbor. And thus far. Things have not changed nor has got any better I’m sry to say
I was there for a short while when I was a child and never knew it was right across the lake from Milwaukee. 🤷🏾♂️
It use to be a fairy that went from Milwaukee to Benton Harbor, I was there in 78/79.
♥️✝️💜
My Dad worked at Plant 7 that used to be Downtown. He retired after Whirlpool change the tax lease for the plant from 5 years to every year. Same thing happened to my Dad in the 80s when Clark equipment company left for, Iowa. Just like the washing machines that Plant 7 made. 5 years after he retired, the plant closed and moved and hundreds of local employees were out of work. Now the call center is the only positions that Whirlpool hires locally.
Same here and after watching the crime statistics and thinking about when in the 90's the area ranked highest murder per capita in the Nation... I wonder if that was reason why Whirlpool moved their manufacturing and also if there is any relationship to causation like from a hostile takeover perspective where slick narcotics dealers caused the crime rates and compelled the community to not be as conducive to keep the production jobs. I also, having first hand experienced threatening people towards my Dad not "getting them in" over the years he was either Union something or having the seniority or I don't really understand, I wonder like if he was targeted to be murdered or slow killed and if other employees from the plants were as well. I wonder what those statistics look like for Whirlpool employees in regards to health issues, cause of death, age of death, how many are alive versus dead, etc. I know there has to be something causation like narcotics, sexual deviant sodomizer and/or inbreed causation whether mafias or other insurgent like groups ecclesiastical provinces schools & church hubs where sleeper cells flow. I've also collected evidence not far from Benton Harbor of the "Havana Syndrome" health assaults and battery's... so guessing once that remote sensing stations concealed wireless assault weapons transmissions started happening; that mass sound, body and mind control effect is a significant causation in the deviants deviations causing incidents and thus the statistics the way they are. I think the root cause needs to be further investigated and diverted and/or removed. I do recall hearing how the narcotics divisions lost their ability to keep seizures due to their trafficking and being the cause of crime due to desperate cadets or candidates or others coming in to create those positions to further that not required in such ratio or magnitude economy. Definitely a threat to the community and all the way up to the Nations brain trust.
My dad worked for Clark Equipment company for 27 years before they left.
@@williamh4172 Art M worked as an engineer for Clark. He brought home a Bulldozer, Loader and Excavator in 83'. The neighborhood kids came out to see the giant equipment. They offered him to move to Iowa, but all our family is in Michigan.
Worked at one of the "tech ctrs" in BH, Last I knew Whirlpool employed 6500 in the area. There is MUCH going on with Whirlpool besides the call ctrs ! Technology Centers for washers, dryers, dishwashers, small appliances, cooking and refrigeration are all centered there. I would like to see a study on how much money has been granted to Benton Harbor over the yrs., I would bet more than any other Michigan city !
@@daghostxxx1797 current statistics show that the number of employees of Whirlpool is 4000. Another example how they have slowly moved jobs out of Benton Harbor but have agreed to keep the HQ in BH for the foreseeable future.
Benton Harbor. The home of Heathkit.
I got my Ham License back in 1968 when I was 15-years-old. My first Heathkit was a HW-100 transceiver. Years later I upgraded to the HW-101.
Did you know that Heathkit had retail stores as well as ordering through their catalog? I had my Dad take me to the Hopkins Minnesota store so that I could look at the display models. Back in the 1960s, Heathkit sold an Analog Computer you could build.
Ham Radio got me into high technology, and later into computers and software development. I'm retired from the Army as well as my job as a IT Consultant.
Bring back Heathkit!
My dad used to supply Heathkit with cases. Grew up in Riverside. Fond memories as a kid, but glad I'm in Arizona!
The Benton Harbor Lunchbox.
@@David53D They had models for 6 meters, 2 meters, 10 meters, 11 meters.
Hero Jr. Hero 1 and Hero 2000 robots were awesome !
I built several of their kits back in the 70’s and had the opportunity to visit Benton Harbor in the early 80’s only to find that Heathkit had relocated to St. Joseph after being bought by Zenith. They still had a remnant of a store that sold a few kits but the St Joseph location was building Zenith computers for the government.
Born and raised here (in Fairplain) from late 70's to late 80's before we moved to St Joe in 1989. Still have family and friends in the area. All of my formative memories happened here and I used to ride my bike all over this town. My Parents are both retired Benton Harbor Area School Treachers with 35+ years on the job.
Was surreal to not even recongize some places in this video after knowing it like the back of my hand and to see some of the ones I did be boarded up or not even exist anymore like Mercy Hospital and my barber shop (Lady T's. It was on the same street by the High School you saw the State Cop on). Also saw a few friends houses and spots I've worked and played at. I'm grateful I got to grow up here. It made me not take anything for granted and to enjoy the good things in life when they happen.
Thanks for the video, New Sub here.
PS - When you mentioned the State Police my heart sank for a split second. MI State Police are the last Cops you ever want to deal with. Period. They were actually a punchline on The Simpsons at one point in the late 90's.
PPSS - Speaking of my old Barber Shop (Lady T's) you spoke on the 2003 riots. I had just moved from LA to Tacoma, WA in 2003 (after moving out of Michigan in 2000). I came home from work one day and turned on the NEWS only to see an Armored Personal Carrier rolling right by my old Barber Shop (you too drove on that same street)! I called my parents to ask what was going on and they filled me in. They had had the guy that passed away in Grade School and High School. My mind was blown.
I grew up in the Twin Cities. I moved out in 1979 after graduating from St Joe High in 1975. I read electrical meters for I&M Electric in Benton Harbor in 1978. It is sad to see what has happened to the area and shocked to see Mercy Hospital was gone. I saw in the video my old classmate's marina he owned along River View Drive on the Island. The book *The Other Side of the River* was written about my neighbor three doors down from me and the sheriff in the book grew up next to me before moving to Fair Plain.
I am surprised you didn't talk about how BH is the home of the once flourishing House of David. They had the largest amusement park and fruit markets in the USA at one time. The decline of BH started with the decline of them. Also, BH used to be where Al Capone and his gang would hangout. He has a suite at the Hotel Vincent on Main Street. My parent grew up in BH and I live in the area. It is slowly getting better. I have hope for it.
Should’ve
It was a huge gambling town way back in the days of Al Capone. It was doomed from the start.
Benton harbor is getting worse by the minute. What's need to happen is that the mayor need to start a project to fix or demolish a bunch of the downtown homes. The orchards mall needs to be owned by the city and needs to be restored some. The owner of the orchards mall literally uses that mall as a tax right off because it's a depriving buisness. So that mean the rich owner of the mall doesn't even pay taxes on that 2+ million dollar building. I can't believe the mayor has even let that happened with the mall. Benton Harbor has a very good chance of turning everything around, with the right people behind it. Unfortunately the mayor and everyone that works for the city only care about their own job stability. Their not up for the project and they don't want to take the risk of everything failing and they end up fired.
I can vouch for this. I actually live in Benton Harbor, Michigan… I can tell you this. The overall crime rate in Benton Harbor is 171 percent above the National average and the overall violent crime rate is 723 percent above the National average
Vote Blue, No Matter Who, right?
@@russs7574 it’s not going to make a difference no matter who’s in charge. The state’s governor hasn’t done nothing to help Benton Harbor out, and the town’s mayor can do only what he can do. And I know the town’s mayor personally and very well. And I don’t want to be rude but this is my personal opinion. I don’t like Democrats. I don’t like Republicans. I don’t like Liberals. I dislike Democrats more than Republicans. I dislike liberals even more. I don’t even like politics in general.
Well said, sir.@@scotthopkins9458
Bingo!!!! IT's all the evil white mans fault too, right!!!! Until this BS story is done away with, nothing will change.
@@scotthopkins9458I work from home and plan to buy property here it’s extremely affordable atm
This is what you get when jobs are shipped out of country and greedy corporations don't want to pay a living wage. Its disgraceful.
Start your own company and pay people more than yourself !!! Be the change you want to see in the world !
Drugs and lasy people will Destroy a city!!!! Blame Democrats for Giving lasy people everything!!! BLM&Democrats=💩💩💩
@@dishdog215 it’s funny how you expect the poor to make up for the bad behavior of the wealthy that literally stole billions in wage theft. Have you always been a simp?
@@dishdog215 and what does this guy do about the jobs corrupt politicians like China Joe Biden help send to China!!!!! Corrupt politicians got paid by China for American jobs!!!!!! The problem America doesn't have enough good paying jobs for people that are not able to do high tech jobs!!!!!! It's government's job to keep city's nice looking, and safe!!! Government has failed at doing the jobs they where elected to do, because they all became corrupt and only think about themselves!!!!! China Joe Biden is all about regulation, and taxes that keep Americans from opening a successful business!!!!! Wake up fool!
Part of the reason that they're shipped out of country is that the American people want cheap. To pay an American worker a decent wage, insurance, and retirement costs much more than 3rd world countries. Please give the American consumer some of the fault for this. Econ major.
The fact that I was born here is crazy, glad i moved out before it got this worse.
I worked in that abandoned motel on Riverview Drive in the mid 70's as a night auditor, during my first year attending LMC. It was called The Travel Inn Motel and it's restaurant was called The Captain's Table. It was a very nice clean establishment and the restaurant/bar was packed during weekends. One of the owners, Antonio, occasionally visited in the middle of the night with a companion, asked me for the key to his room, and away they went. We had a few short conversations and he sometimes asked me if I can be trusted to be "Discreet". (There was a rumor that he had a "business" in Chicago and traveled to a marina near the motel in his yacht when experiencing certain legal issues.) I used to be discreet.
I live in Texas and at one time worked in Healthcare. Met a lot of nurses that relocated from Michigan and they thought they had hit the jackpot. Nurses are miserably paid there. Michigan is a beautiful state and it's a shame what elected officials have done to it. Vote them out!! 🙅🏻♀️
Vote out all the BLUE in 22.🗽👍
Stay down there with your evil politicians. And coward cops. And self righteous cultists. God hates Texas.
Yep. Rick Snyder, a Republican, when he was running for election, promised he wouldn't promote "right-to-work" if he was elected. He won, the gerrymandered Michigan legislature voted for right-to-work, and instead of vetoing the legislation as he said he would, he signed it.
So collective bargaining is gone, and Michigan employers can pay the least they can get away with.
Republicans turned Michigan into another Mississippi.
Used to be a nice state.
@@scottparis6355 I work in Michigan and I feel the pay is pretty good in the non union sector. If your employer is nickle and diming you then consider working for someone else.
everything is miserably paid here lol
There are times that I miss BH, actually Benton Heights, I grew up there in the 70s and 80s. But I am very glad my mom sent me away as it turned out to be the best thing for me. If you can find pictures of old BH before the riots, it once was a very nice looking place to live.
I think everyone can figure out why places like Benton Harbor and Flint are decimated, while suburbs and adjoining towns to those cities thrive.
My Mother grew up in B.H., graduated from B.H. High-school in 1938 I recently saw a Greybric yearbook on ebay for sale and saw her andher brothers photos in the posted pics of the item. Things were very nice back then and it was a great place to raise kids. Silver beach close by, my uncle worked and ran the train at The house of David in Coloma, and as us kids growing up in the 50s and 60s, Rocky Gap was a favorite beach and picnic hangout. Tons of wonderful memories in and around this city. I could talk my family's history in this town for hours. My Grandmother and Grandfather are buried in the Cemetery out on North Shore drive near the lake. Fun fact; Joe Louis had his summer home in Stevensville outside of St Joseph.
and muhomad ali the boxxing champ owned his house in berrien springs that was once owned by al capone there is an apartment building on main street BH that was once a hotel that AL capone used to rent the penthouse in when he needed to lay low
I went through Benton Harbor back in the late 70s. We went fishing on the pier. We counted over 40 abandoned factories and didn't stop to get a bit to eat. We never went back.
There's no peir in benton harbor
@@aaronsimpson8329 wow! You are right. I looked at the map and it's gone. It was were I94 highway came to Lake Michigan south of Benton Harbor. It may not have been right in BH. That was 50 years ago.
@@aaronsimpson8329 Tiscornia Park and the North Pier is Benton Harbor.
@@Sinanju07 technically no they're not they're in what's considered st joe.
I'm a rocket football coach for Benton harbor and there is real effort to turn the community around. The commissioner first name Jerry is doing a good job. As well as Dillon Barnes Jr. He runs the football programs
I live in Minnesota. My grandparents lived in Sawyer michigan in a swedish christian community. We drove to St. Josephs a ton as a kid and Benton Harbor was trash when i was growing up. Silver Beach is awesome is St. Joe. My grandparents never wanted us to go to Benton Harbor.
I was born in Mercy Hospital...born and raised in Benny HaHa
@@grantmourning189 well when your family lives in Bethel beach of course they’re afraid of Benny Ha. They’re probably afraid of their shadow or to go to Michigan City 🤣
Some ways to help fix American cities: Change who you vote for. Try to buy American as much as possible. Treat other as you would want to be treated. I find it frustrating when I go to Hobbie Lobby "for example" almost everything is made in china, not good for the American worker. Same with Lowe's and Home Depot, more and more items are coming from china, not good for American cities. Vote for politicians that will bring jobs back. Thanks for posting....
The sprawling suburbs are insolvent. They can not be properly maintained because the infrastructure cost are more the tax revenue and the state of Michigan gutted revenue sharing. Not to mention wages have been stagnant in the area for decades.
@@knoway35951 Bring back jobs, more people move in = more tax revenue. Open borders that flood the country with overly cheap labor will always cause stagnant wages. It boils down to the face that way too many jobs have gone overseas with the help of our own government. Time to start the BBQ.....
Agreed. I'd be willing to spend an extra 10-20% I''ll say to support American workers. I blame politicians just as much as greedy companies who will do anything to boost profits.
@@jetsons101 well one of reasons this companies left the rust belt was cheap labour in Asia not open borders ,the Midwest has been losing population for almost half century,maybe bringing more legal immigrants will save this place.we have almost 10 million job openings
@@knoway35951 I think you failed to see the point look at St Joseph just across the river they have been voting Republican or conservative since the beginning the city is thriving Benton harbor has been voting the opposite liberal Democrat the city is falling apart jobs are gone and crime is high this is what he said vote politicians in that will be for improving the city not just themselves in their pockets
MI cities are in disrepair. Lived in Lansing most of my life. Was delivery driver around the state. And absolutely horrible what's become of the state.
Lansing is a corrupt dump.
bc they have been funneling money
@@StarGirl-g8n
Yup. Lots of graft.
I left Michigan 15 years ago for Florida. Enormous difference here. Michigan has allowed liberal policies and conduct to propagate a monster problem. Don't keep repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results. That truly is insanity.
I was born here but was fortunate enough to escape the poverty mindset of Benton Harbor. I miss the beach ⛱ tho
The beaches are so nice 😩
Yes! Real beaches not man made.
my grandmother co-managed the beach there when i was a kid. Pastor Ella Mobley
I grew up in Benton Harbor and Kalamazoo in the 70s and 80s, Had my first two jobs in Benton Harbor, Batson Printing and McDonald's. Watching this drive I saw many places I recognized despite how long it's been since I've been back in that area. It's sad to see how much of my old area is still in such bad shape but I'm not that surprised. Thank you for this trip down memory lane.
I live in a nearby, and it’s crazy how different Benton Harbor feels from the rest of the county. It’s truly ridiculous how segregated our area is. Parts of Benton Harbor are changing (slowly) for the better though.
Saginaw is the same way with the Saginaw River being the dividing point. They have a similar history with what happened.
It's very sad to see how Benton Harbor have gone down I've had a very lot of good childhood memories there back in the late 60's and 70's. I really do miss the old Benton harbor, MI. 😥
As bad a place as Benton Harbor is, it is important that you point this out so maybe there will be people or organizations as well as the government that could help revive this city. You did a good job.
AMEN...I AGREE 💯 %
Almost every penny pumped into the city on a state level in the last 40 years including the school system was embezzled. It reached a point where an emergency city manager was appointed by the state to fix things. People of Benton Harbored said that the guy appointed should go back to school to learn how to be an emergency city manager. Guess what? He was the very guy teaching the class how to do that.
I can't make this crap up from the haunted third floor of the high school to the ghost of Ernie Hudson's mom he saw that one afternoon.
Government is *never* a help.
"I'm from the government and I'm here to help."
I've driven through a few times going to lake Michigan beaches. Never had any problems. Bought a tank of gas and nobody around was my race. No problems. Looked like that area had recently gotten a major upgrade. Don't think it's all bad.
"I bought gas and no one killed me so.....it's not detroit!!!
It basically goes back to that old American proverb: Don't start nothin, won't be nothin.
What a sad, sorry place. There seems to be a lot of this in all parts of the U.S. it really feels like the beginning of the long slow death of America.
We been like this 💀 we ain't sad nor sorry lmao
This has been going on for at least 20 years, ever since Clinton, Bush and Obama gave our employment away.
Leftist globalist not killing us slowly but quickly! Trump 2024
Very sad place. After being raised there for 32 yrs moved away FOR GOOD in 2005, only to go back to visit family and saw how miserable and run down it’s gotten. They don’t demolish abandon building and homes keep up thru out the town, just awful.
It is precisely that. Liberal policies and conduct are ruining this country. Learn from experience instead of suffering from it!
One thing I found strange, is that in all of the driving you did, I didn't see (or notice) any grocery stores or smaller food marts. I saw a dollar tree or some other similar chain type store but that was about it. Even in the downtown stretch, it looked like there were no places to buy food, either a store or a restaurant. Pretty grim looking place all over though.
Usually in the inner city there are extreme food deserts. Which is the case here. That means no grocery stores close by or access to healthy food.
@@ladyofjazz448 I was going to mention food deserts, but this is even worse than I've seen in some places I've been to in the US. It's quite jarring for someone who lives in a country where even small towns have at least a medium size grocery store and a few little shops for quick food supplies.
On the south side of Fairplain, there is the large shopping area. It's not great, but there is a Meijer and Aldi there.
At one point there were multiple grocery stores on Main St. Alone. The building shown @8:22, for instance, was a national grocers store and there was another 6 blocks down the street.
They call that food deserts. It's really sad this exists. A large chunk of the west side of the city I live near (pop 150,000) has only one grocery store and that is a Super Walmart.
Well Chris, say what you want about Benton Harbor. I grew up here all my life. And if you really want to see bad in any city or state, pretty sure, it wouldn’t be hard to find . We live our life, just as you do sir. Go to work every day. Pay bills and take care of our family.
Thats right Michelle...We are Benton Harbor born & raised, smart educated & productive citizens...everything & everyone in BH is not bad! Every city has problems, some are just kept out the news...
Yes, a small portion does!! A large portion DOES NOT!!!!!!!!
I stay in Benton Township/fairplain right down the street from discount tire and saint joseph has it’s bits too that is not so great as well.
❤️
If anyone is interested you might want to get a copy of the book "The other side of the River" by Alan Kotlowitz, It is about a young black male who was found dead floating in the river between the piers leading to Lake Michigan.
I grew up in Benton Harbor and watching the video I had a lump in my throat. I was born at Mercy Hospital which is no longer there, went to Benton Harbor Junior High, which is no longer there, graduated from Benton Harbor High, which was almost no longer there, graduated from LMC (Lake Michigan Junior College) which is no longer there.
I had a South Bend Tribune paper route that started at Pipestone and Britain, went past the Dairy Queen and Mercy Hospital (which is no longer there) and ended up in Fairplain. Later I had a News Palladium paper route on which started on Mcallister and Empire.
I was in a Rock & Roll band and we played at the High School for victory dances and at the country club after our High School prom. Actually we played all over SW Michigan. There was a chapter in the book that I mentioned above where the author, who was a good friend of our singer, followed us to Holland MI where we were playing one night.
It's amazing but at that time Benton Harbor was a wonderful place to live. I had fellow students who went to MIT, Havard, Harvard law school one of whom was on the Harvard Law Review, as was Barack Obama. I graduated from BHHS in 65 and left in 67 after graduating from LMC (which is no longer there).
Thank you for walking (Driving) the steps that I walked through so many years ago. I wish I could see it again as it was then and not how it is today. I can still hear the haunting waul of the whistle blowing on the train at House of David, and the sound of the fog horn Blowing on the North peer.
Lake Michigan College is still open and thriving.
Rule of Thumb: Avoid any place that refers to their community as "the community".
Rule of Thumb #2: Avoid any place that a rapper gave a shout out to.
😭
Corporations went bankrupt or moved away this is the result ... any city any state
That's right. You know, there are thousands of towns and cities like this or have been like this at one point in America. I was born and grew up in Youngstown, Ohio. Youngstown Sheet and Tube Co. was a steel manufacturer that was active between 1900 and 1977. My father and all my uncles worked there from the day they graduated from high school in the 1950's. During the heyday of the business, Youngstown Sheet and Tube had over 27,000 employees. By 1923, it acquired the assets of the Brier Hill Steel Company and the facilities of the Steel and Tube Company of America, which made it the fifth-largest steel manufacturer in the country and the largest employer in the Mahoning Valley. Sadly, the workers lost their jobs, beginning in the middle 1970's. The restructured Briar Hill and Tube of America were merged, and my father continued working with around 6,000 other workers. On 1982, the America Tube Company filed for bankruptcy and closed. The closing of the mills decimated Youngstown and the surrounding areas. It looked a lot like Benton Harbor does, only bigger. Segregation, abandoned homes and buildings, drugs, murders, empty lots, and lack of good job opportunities. Mid 70's through the 1980's, manufacturing jobs were lost all across America, as greedy companies wanted to make more profit and moved to Mexico or overseas.They all made their profits on the backs of the workers and when they want even more $, just throw the workers away like trash. It's happening now with Dodge Chrysler in Detroit as they are slowly laying off thousands of workers to make more profit by outsourcing much of the manufacturing ofthe parts to other countries. Oh, Dodge/Chrysler is owned and managed by a foreign conglomerate. People should just by all used cars and leave them with their overpriced stuff.
Warren and Detroit are absolutely the same thing now. Not sure when the last time you were in Warren was but things have changed. My friend just retired from central dispatch ( in Warren ) and stabbings at Fitzgerald high school and shootings and home invasions north of 8 mile are now an every day thing.
I live in Downtown Warren, 1 block south of city hall and very near the GM Tech Center. Quiet neighborhood - except when they’re having a concert in front of city hall, I can lie in bed and listen to it.
South Warren is pretty bad, I will agree with that. But still better than Benton Harbor.
@@Huggy1959 . My in laws lived on Dallas, it was a very nice quiet street until they found a woman and a small child both shot in the head execution style on the street behind them, plus the serial arsonist that plagued the south.. Thus we didn’t have to ask them twice to move and they are now up here near us. The Warren-Sterling Heights border areas are now a hotbed of crime as well. But, I agree it’s no Benton Harbor ….yet.
Warren is totally fine. I'm there every week to visit a friend, and I live in Detroit on the west side. They are nothing like each other.
Grew up in Benton Harbor from 1962 - 1972. The number of memories watching this is huge. So many places I remember. You got close to my old house but turned before you got there.
You neglected the other side of Fairplain where the nicer homes are. Where neighbors help neighbors. Where we care about our community. Come back in the summer and the sun is shining. Benton Harbor is not all that bad.
This video is primarily about Benton Harbor. Not Fair Plain. I didn’t neglect to show anything in Fair Plain.
@@ChrisHarden Fairplain IS Benton Harbor so you only targeted the “hood” areas huh
@@TSixSix
Nope.
Fair Plain is Fair Plain.
Benton Harbor is Benton Harbor.
It's pretty straight forward.
Also neglected all of Harbor Shores (a PGA golf course) and all of the million dollar homes along it. There wasn't a good portrayal of the beautiful Arts District with breweries, nice restaurants, and boutique shops. The main part of town may be in disrepair, but it also looks much better on a sunny day in July rather than a rainy day in May.
I am so glad mom moved us out of there in the mid 80s. I’ve went back a few time to visit and was depressed to see what has happened to the city where I was born. I cannot believe my old school off Donald Adkins was closed!!
0:37 should have made a left. You could have hit up Aldi, and talked about the abandoned Walgreens or the dead seagull problem at the four times failed mall.
And stopped by orchards mall lol
That place is so weird, is it still open?
Worked in BH for 20+ yrs, best story I've got is the cops running the hookers from out in front of the Walmart......on Christmas Day, hahahahahaha.
I've lived in Benton Harbor, since 1974. To this day I have never seen the presence of that many police. The riot in 2003, I lived right around the corne and didn't even hear it. Believe it or not there are some nice neighborhoods in Benton Harbor.
It’s these ghost guns they’re making that the police is trying to get off the streets. The FBI and ATF is here also.
Mostly near the river
I grew up in Benton Harbor 1950's !960's. Lived in Alanta for twenty years. They even talk about the city down there. When nobody cares, what do you expect? Benton Harbor and St. Joe "used" to be called The "Twin Cities".
They still are, I just didn’t call it that in the video because they’re anything but twins.
Benton Harbor has the best Secretary of State office I’ve ever been to. It was clean, and I waited only one hour without an appointment.
We are coming from Missouri to see the Great Lakes for a mini vacation and decided to stay in Benton Harbor. Hopefully our tourist dollars help this community. Its sad to see what was once a thriving city fall into decay.
Update: Upon return, we now love both St. Joseph and Benton Harbor. The people in both towns were pleasant and polite!
Holy Shit
Having worked for an engineering company in Benton Township for 5 years in the early 2000’s and having a mother in law from Watervliet. Who attended parochial school in Benton harbor in the 50s and 60s.
Back then Benton Harbor was a factory town and St Joe was a sleepy beach town, the industry started leaving in the 70s and property values started dropping. Beach property has only gone up.
Riots have not helped, race hustlers made the situation worse.
I was around for the 03 riots, the cycle rider had a riding suit and helmet so there was no way that the police could tell race or sex.
Furthermore African Americans that I worked with who moved into Benton Harbor found it a bad place to live due to the acceptance of crime by long term residents. Add to that mismanagement and outright corruption by local officials render the efforts of the locals who work for things to improve ineffectual in average times.
I have several rental units in Benton Harbor. I think the leadership is poor but the locals show no respect for the area and litter everywhere. Not sure if they tried to make Benton Harbor nice the locals would just trash it anyways 😢
This is wildly random. But are any of your rentals opening up June of 2024? I'm trying to move into a 2 bedroom; currently in a St. Joseph 1 bedroom. +1 cat , wife & daughter.
And the people on these channels always forget to tell them that their politicians are crooks
That’s pretty much everywhere now in varying degrees
You use the word segregation to describe Benton Harbour and you are entitled to your opinions, everyone is. But I've lived in cities throughout Michigan and see it in a slightly different way. When well intentioned elites, through government policies and incentives try to tip the scales, disaster ensues. After graduating high school my now wife and I went to WMU in Kalamazoo. Beautiful town with a lot of history and well kept Victorian homes. Driving around the city in the 80s you would definitely label it as a affluent white city. The campus was different, it was much more diversified through government student loans and programs that I didn't qualify for. The enlightened elites running the school taught us how racism could only exist when there was an imbalance of power. Therefore, only whites were racist because they were in a position of power. I don't know what "power" I ever had which is why I suspected it was changed to "privilege". White guilt was the undercurrent of life on campus. I suppose in their ivory towers it made them feel virtuous, but on the ground, the racism most whites felt from blacks was palpable. Most segregated themselves with things like the black only section of the cafeteria, which I found out the hard way my first week on campus. There was a double standard that allowed black people to do and say things that whites or Asians would get expelled for. Affirmative action was in full force. The racial tension was enough to cause us to move off campus after our freshman year. We enjoyed living in the apartments we moved into for two years until it became subsidized. Within 6 months it became a hell-hole, so we moved again. Eventually we left the city. My wife and I have returned on occasion and hardly recognize the city. If you point out the elephant in the room you're shamed. I've seen this happen over and over, and one thing I'm certain of, when government gets involved and tries to fix a problem like a lack of diversity with programs that incentivize something artificial, it only leads to disaster. Life is short and I have no intention on wasting it on trying to carpet the world, I'll just wear slippers. And this insanity will continue until people hold themselves accountable for their own success and not marry the government to get by. I figure for the next 20-30 years I have left on this planet, there will always be a place I can escape to to avoid the madness. I'll continue to pray that we can someday live in harmony, but as long as race hustling exists I don't see anything changing.
Ronald Reagan hit the nail on the head when he said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
Yeah, the thing that boggles my brain is that these communities keep voting in the same political party over and over and over with no challenge or incentive to actually get things done. This same political party is literally trying to genocide poor and minority people through abortion. The level of Stockholm syndrome is absolutely baffling.
Thank you for the truth!!!!!! Just pure FACTS that happen everywhere!!! It's so predictable as well. But people can't speak the truth any longer!! I know the truth though. Not hard to figure out either!!!!!
This town alongside Salem New Jersey Pine Bluff Arkansas Bessemer Alabama are some of the most dangerous places that no one talks about!
A lot of the people in Benton Harbor came from Pine Bluff, Arkansas. There has been some renewal of the downtown area.
@@glad4music I remember when I was in this area, that I was surprised that there is a good brunch restaurant in Benton Harbor, called Mason Jar Cafe. There also is a good record store, like a block away. I think it's called Three Pillars Music.
Because nobody cares about these little towns, bro
i visit Michigan for work 3-4 times per week. driving as far as Detroit, up to Flint, Lansing etc. honestly it seems like a huge portion of the state is either already like this, or on its way to being. old everything, abandoned buildings, TERRIBLE (and i can’t emphasize that word enough) roads, garbage just thrown everywhere etc.
it’s depressing.
honestly, many folks here are lazy as fu** when it comes to picking up after themselves. People can be sitting on a bench with a trash can within reach and they will still throw their trash on the ground or leave it on the bench when they get up to leave. I see people throw things out of their car windows almost daily...police used to enforce the litter laws back in the 80's & 90's and you'd see signs everywhere warning people of being fined for it yet you rarely see those signs anymore.
Every metro city is like this. A majority of the state is beautiful especially up north
Go a little farther north, north of say US 10 and the state cleans up quite a bit.
@@michaelsteele4587 litter laws are RaYCIsT!
This is what people get when you put leftist globalist in charge! You know WEF build back better! LMAO
Wow. Barely even a mention of downtown BH arts district which has tons of great restaurants and breweries, high end apartments, and the best music and art scene in the area. New businesses are opening up there all the time, and it's very safe. It's a popular spot for tourists and locals.
Also even in the neighborhoods in BH, most "victims" are actually involved in drugs, crime, and fighting. It's not like random people get attacked just walking down the street.
Hi Chris.
Class of 07 BHHS graduate...some of us are busy building our empires elsewhere to take back, and plant new life in our beloved hometown. When you ride by. You can't see the love, talent, and beauty of BH. You've had to have grown up there to have been touched by its heart.
24:11 That’s a famous road in Denver. In Denver’s eastern side, it’s the most sketchy strip in land in all of Colorado. Then, it enters Aurora and divides Adams and Arapahoe counties (like 8 mile road is a county line).
Colfax...we called it Cold Facts.
Benton Harbor is in a revival of the downtown area. New businesses and renovations are starting. Funny thing, right across the bridge there are million dollar houses while slums are on the other side of the bridge. There is a shopping area Southeast of town that a lot of the citizens shop at, however, too many Michiganders in this area of Southwest Michigan choose to cross the border into Indiana to do their purchasing. This has hurt cities in Michigan that have lost jobs and tax revenue. I live in a village 12 miles south of Benton Harbor, but try to frequently shop there just to help the local economy.
Roger, I'm from 20mi north (south haven), we do all our bidnez in Holland/K-zoo. Never shop local, can't with all the tourists !
I am a BHHS Grad with 2 post secondary degrees. I have one sister that lives in the city limits and two more in the areas. I love my city and most people from there will say the same. I appreciate this video because it reminds me that there is still work to do in my home town. I have so much more to say but I reserve the right…
Hey!! Mr. Featherstone I remember you being my gym teacher at Martindale. I'll never forget that jump rope competition called "Jump rope for heart" back in 1998 😁 I moved away right after that! Great memories‼️
My grandmother used to work at whirlpool and lived in benton harbor, glad she got out
My favorite BH story is seeing this guy jump on the hood of some lady's car at the Wendy's drive through and she sped off going probably 40 mph with him clutching to the hood. I still wonder if that guy is okay and if he ever got his hat back that flew off. I just wanted my 4 for 4, but I got dinner and a whole ass show.
Your too funny
Caught it on a clean day. I grew up outside of Benton harbor and I’m here bout every day. It’s crappy to look at. Just dont go there at night and you will be ok.
I had no idea, I thought the whole area was pretty nice. My dad worked for Whirlpool and went there a lot.
The whole area surrounding Benton Harbor is pretty nice. Just not... Benton Harbor. Unfortunately so.
@@ChrisHarden What about the Harbor Shores development, Sul Lago Rd, All of the homes off M-63 in BH, or Higman Park areas of Benton Harbor?
@@mdavisyates those are all in Benton Harbor proper, and yes those areas, along with Fairplain are nice.
I currently live in Benton harbor and it is getting bad here there has been 27 shootings in the last 2 months and there is now talks of a FBI post being put in Benton harbor due to neglect for following the law and shootings and murder
Benton Harbor reminds me of Highland Park, MI. I never thought much about this city, just always see it on the way to Chicago.
Exactly I live right down the street from hp and like flint
Benton harbor was a BEAUTIFUL town in the 20’s 30’s 40
A 50’s and eary 60’s. Benton harbor got very black after the 60’s. And then the city management did too. And the management was crooked AF to the point that the state had to come in and appoint leadership. But the damage was done. It’s a Run down thread bare city. But some of the residents, black white and otherwise, are some of the most wonderful people
You’ll ever meet. The city does not have much but it still has some soul left.
If even half of BH residents took more pride in their own yards, it'd be a start to cleaning it up aesthetically. Outsiders can only come in and do so much for the citizens. Crime also needs to be addressed but that's a whole nother comment to leave.
Benton Benton harbor sounds worse than Detroit and Pontiac. The more I watch your videos more I learn 😌
Yeah no Detroit is by far worse.
You can't compare a small ass city like Benton Harbor to a big city like Detroit and no Detroit is way worse than Benton Harbor
I absolutely do NOT miss living in the Glove. This video reaffirmed that.
One notable thing, is the remarkable lack of graffiti everywhere, including on abandoned buildings and public facilities. Not even the taggers want to be there!
As always a great informative video! I always enjoy your honesty and not sugarcoating the problems these cities and communities have. Keep up the good work Chris!
The roads look like crap, just like where I'm at in the Detroit suburbs near 11 mile.
Especially after the governor ran and got elected with promises of fixing the roads.
Not until lately, election year, almost 4 years later is the governor stepping road repairs/replacement.
Just recently someone actually won a law suit against the state because they were seriously injured because of poor roads.
Road construction is everywhere in the state for the past 5 years. The haters have no integrity. Every new pothole that popped up in March, Gretch got the blame. The freeze thaw dynamic will have the state scrambling forever no matter who is elected.
She's just fixing "M"/ "US" designated or MDOT controlled roadways, not local city streets without that designation.
Yeah, I just moved to Michigan from Wisconsin and the roads here are terrible compared to where I lived before.
I've seen some weird and unpleasant stuff in my life, but the one time I was in Benton Harbor was unforgettable. One incident I was at a stoplight and my daughter yelled a guy had no pants and I saw that he was dancing. Drove away immediately and very quickly after that. I also met some lousy people that I'm not going to discuss publicly. Never going back.
The drug use man... Just being honest, the poor economics of the surrounding rural areas where I grew up didn't help, but when the swarm of illegal aliens came into the small towns to work on farms and for construction companies, it destroyed the county... That use to be my home, place is all the ghetto anymore.
You saw Willie Joe, there's a video about him somewhere on youtube. He's been at that for multiple decades for worse or worse.
I see this guy all the time in BH.
@@mdavisyates one of videos I pulled up looks like he has short, tight shorts. Looks like I missed out on the local legend putting on a show.
@@anihilist724 thanks for the input. Does he do this for fun or money? Do people give him money?
Sad to see the state it's in now... The South West side of the state back in the day use to be so much different. The old ways of living and values are dead and gone. I moved to the Flint area with my family about 15 years ago due to the job market being better at the time. I hated it here and thought things back home would stay the same, but as time went on and I got older, I realized that's not how things work. From the coast of the lake to KZoo, everything is familiar to me, but just not the way I remember it :( All the love and soul is gone
It's unfortunate that there are so many cities that way in Michigan... but it's almost always the case that the areas right outside of those cities are pretty nice. But those nice areas always get over shadowed by the negativity of the primary city of that area.
@@ChrisHarden I was thinking those cops were following you through the whole video 😆 🤣 funny part 😆
Kalamazoo is doing fine. I mean crime may be a little higher and there is a homeless problem (like most cities) but it's actually growing and is actually pretty vibrant.
@@magikzebra6552 No, it's not and will never be what it was 20 years ago. You can't say there is a bunch of crime and homeless people, then say it's fine. City also looks neglected as hell... People might be alive but that place is not doing good.
@@magikzebra6552 Also, you been to other cities? Detroit and Flint has some here and there, not groups.
Whirlpool does have a tech center and an office building within Benton Harbor city limits with your video didn’t mention.
I did mention it at the end actually.
My sister just bought a house there .....I hope she is safe!
Idk why but theres always just something so perfect about benton harbor in the fall i used to work at a retail store and every autumn i always loved being there
I miss working in benton harbor ngl ended up leaving bc i didnt like working retail but i always liked the stories and how shit always seemed to be happening all the customers were rly chill aswell loved how open many people were to conversation
The Lake Michigan beach in Benton Harbor looks amazing. I wonder if it would be emptier in the summer since it’s in Benton Harbor. That would be a benefit.
The beaches are packed usually.
You're correct. BH beaches are never very busy. I live there.
@@MSWaker Riviera Beach, Florida was a ghetto city but had a great free beach park to swim at.
Less crowded only because there aren’t as many parking lots. All the homes by the lake are very expensive.
@@wholesome122 How expensive?
34:48 Petoskey State Park has sand dunes as well.
Benton Harbor was not even close to the worst town I’ve seen. I thought it would be a lot worse. I’d consider Flint and Saginaw to be far worse Michigan cities. East St. Louis (IL) actually shocked me on being worse than expected. Benton Harbor is beautiful comparing to that place.
BH is worse than both flint and saginaw. They cleaned the city up from the looks of it. New roads and sidewalks, New houses, old houses demolished. Did the same thing in South Bend Indiana
@@ramboeastwood1522 BH is poorer than those two cities, but it was not nearly as sketchy in my experience as Flint & Saginaw. BH only has 6,000 people. So, one crime there inflates it’s crime rate comparing to the far larger Flint and Saginaw.
@@jag92949 true. I know all them cities. I'm from South Bend Indiana, my father was born in BH, gotta cousin in Flint, never been to Saginaw tho. But yea I'm going strictly off crime stats. Muskegon Heights is fucked up to. U ever been to South Bend?
@@ramboeastwood1522 I’ve not been to Muskegon Heights. I’ve been to South Bend. It’s a ghetto, that’s a small upgrade from Gary. But, Notredame University is nice and it’s north of the city limits. I don’t like South Bend’s former mayor, Pete Buttigieg. He’s now in charge of the US transportation sector.
@@jag92949 yea South Bend is ghetto too. High violent crime rate, high murder rate but yea it's a little better than Gary but if it weren't for Notre Dame, SB would be just like Gary. ND money keeping SB and the area in general above water. That's only reason SB hasn't fell like Gary has is because of Notre Dame. You'd think local people would be more supportive of the University. If not for ND, SB would have no sustainable income and wouldn't have funds to demolish whole neighborhoods and rebuild like they have been. Stil the same people in them neighborhoods tho so only matter of a decade or 2 before it's trashed again
My Father's side of the family is from Benton Harbor. It was nowhere near as bad in the 80's. We used to visit from Detroit and had a ball every time we went.
Im from downstate michigan near detroit but living in upper michigan now. its normal to see michigan state police patroling towns and will be the ones to show up if your neighbor calls the police on another neighbor up here. The blight, rotting houses and boarded up buildings, along with trash are a state wide problem. lots of it where im at up north. ive found 2 needles since moving here. one was right on the shore of lake superior.
just a diabetic being careless no doubt.
@@markbajek2541 there are 2 drug rehab places within 10 miles and even if it was diabetics that is extremely horrible of them because my kids could have stepped on it. I read the news. They do drug busts all the time in the UP. I've lived many other places including metro Detroit and never found needles on the ground anywhere
@@markbajek2541 thé UP has A LOT of druggies and drug related issues
This city of Benton harbor. Is perhaps a very vicious spawning cycle of non accountability with no progression for positive. But rather enjoy seeing another in the negative.And what has transpired in a seemingly delightful trend is that. The mother's of younger mothers who are now from 30 to 45. Have passed around and exchanged boyfriends, intentionally or secretive out of spite. And the byproduct of this trend of uneducated and family ethics. Runs into their children who have systematic problems from poor diets, excessive alcohol and laced up marijuana which in turn produces children with ADHD and other learning disabilities. Because they cannot focused nor have the natural love of a parent who cares nothing more than federal and state aid,along with partying with tax monies.Then redirecting the blame off themselves Can easily enjoying the company of another based upon what they're driving. But refuse to really sacrifice themselves from selfishness for the sake of their children. This is the very reason of why most women there who have many children from different fathers. Can do only nothing more than prostitute themselves. Because the father's have no skills and run from their responsibility. And when or if you should come across a woman from there. She try hiding her secrets so as you may in heart take in her children into a better environment.She systematically try to place her past choice responsibility upon you as her kids dad's from what they were lacking. I feel sorry for children there and some of the men and women there who really try. And so wished I did not come across someone I know there. Who knowingly treat my son bad, despitefully because of her and the rest of her kids shortcomings. Being sneaky behind my back character assaulting with a knowing married socalled outward proclaimed man of God ,who did nothing more than bluffed what he had around that city,burning women who unfortunately died last November with his secrets. So with the Byron Tate. I've nothing against nor hatred of anyone. Though have learned a narcissistic woman cares or show no empathy towards her very own children.Will induce disrespect openly and introduce lies to her very own children and family to shift blame. Then blame the very one from the root cause of her problems,just as she shifted lies that she wasn't married as I met her. And this is the very reason of what led up to some events now.
I came here with my future wife to see the lake and the light house in the early 2000's. On our trip back, we got chased all the way by a storm off the lake. It was a memorable trip and I have good memories of Benton Harbor. I hate to see cities decay. Nice video and commentary.
Anywhere to work there? Anything to do there? Sad. Pretty bad when even a hospital leaves.
Mercy was very run down. Their were 2 hospitals. Mercy and the one in Saint Joseph. They merged together and moved everything to the one in SJ years ago. Mercy had many different uses before they took in down.
As a frequent visitor to Michigan, it seems to me that the state government is determined to drive business out of the state. Take auto manufacturing-almost all new assembly plants (BMW, HONDA, NISSA, HYUNDAI, etc.) are built out of state-why? There is plenty of cheap land in Michigan and lots of labor. Face it, the state does NOTHING to make it a good place to operate-high taxes, high costs, terrible infrastructure and pro-union labor laws. Go back a century-when Detroit WAS the center of the USA auto industry-Detroit had access to iron ore from Minnesota via the Great Lakes, timber, coal, and excellent rail connections-now that city is a burned out shell of itself. Had MI politicians actually done something (like leasing old plants for $1/year, cutting taxes, improving infrastructure-they might have attracted foreign companies....but no.....just keep driving them away! At some point the tax base will simply cease to exist-and places like Benton Harbor will cease to exist (or become wars of the state).
The MI government is legendarily terrible. From Granholm overseeing Michigan getting hit the worst in the late 2000’s recession, Snyder’s poison water in Flint, & Whitmer’s horrific COVID lockdown and infecting nursing homes with the virus; Michigan has gotten the blunt of terrible politicians. At least, Illinois throws their terrible governors in prison.
I was born in and spent most of my childhood in BH, until my parents and I moved to IL in the mid 2000s. Just in the last 20 years to see the differences is crazy, as you're driving through town I can see where old buildings were once before. There are some places I'm surprised you didn't drive by though, like people have said in the comments. I wish I could give back to my town or figure out a way to try to get it going towards a better direction. There have been some improvements in areas around town, I really hope it keeps up.
I think if someone like Chokwe gets in office Benton Harbor will get a second chance.
If you get good candidates in office the people must support them or there is no hope. Don't keep expecting someone else to do the dirty work.
Born in Benton Harbor. Mercy hospital which is long gone. In 2003 the riots that started was over the police chase, correct but it was also a white officer who reached speeds of 100mph plus and was told to call off the persuit but didnt. Leading to the crash. The motorcyclist was known by "Tshirt" he always wore fresh white T's. He crashed into the front porch and died. It was a crazy hot summer. Whirlpool did manufacture in BH but moved out and did nothing for those left behind unless you were a call center expert or a tech person. All blue collar jobs were gone. Schools and city were taken over by the state and feds for awhile. Corruption was rampant. They need to take parts off of older cop cars just to keep some newer one running. Crazy. Developers buy up the cheap land further pushing the poorer families out. No jobs. Bad schools,crime and a pretty solid line called the St Joe river dividing the two cities and their peoples. Sad
Another great video of a Michigan city. Sad to see this decline. Thanks for always adding some light hearted moments to these videos Chris.👍
Thanks, Shelby!
At 30:30 in the video, no more trash scattered around. Where is the civic pride in BH? Poor doesn't mean you have to be nasty and filthy. Real talk.
People that don't live in Michigan thank that 8mile road is a race divide. It's really mixed right on 8mile and up.
Born and raised in Benton Harbor. Lived about a block from the high school. Graduated 1981. Sad. Nowhere but up.
I often think I should have never left Michigan at 17. I miss the weather and trees etc. But idk if the economy is bad...MAYBE it's for the best.
It's the Pontiac and worse of the West and I know it was bad 15 years ago. I can't imagine it's any better but hope it is.
💙From Detroit
I really enjoy your videos and learning more about the country, one city at a time. 😊 Thank you!
We live on May Street Benton Harbor. It's what you make of it. No matter where you go you'll find Hate if that's what your looking for , you'll also find poverty, homelessness and whatever else you fancy. Now the coast line , lake Michigan is Beautiful indeed.
And in some places, you’ll find more bad than you’ll find good. It’s unfortunate but it’s true.
Still a little short on history. N o mention of either the House of David or Heathkit.
Or the largest outdoor fruit market in the country !
Good old Benton Harbor. So one the most important parts of their infrastructure has been fixed and you now gave safe drinking water. In addition you have alot boarded up buildings and land. It's surrounded by water. (Lake michigan) You have poor black families starting to leave. Oh yea and multi billion dollar company in whirlpool. This sounds like this will be one of the biggest gentrification project we ever seen in about 10 years. They already fixed the most important infrastructure problem. The next thing will be figuring out how to buy up the abondon buildings and land dirt cheap and then figuring out how get rid of all the poor people. I know if this will happen for sure but Benton Harbor sure seems like a place for Gentrification heaven being so close to that water. In sure whirlpool has to be licking there chops to start buying up all parts of the city. Once they fix the school situation. Either through open enrollment in the county or charter schools. Oh gentrification will be in full effect
It already started and the water still isn’t safe to drink yet they’re demanding people to pay high water bills each month
Facts! I grew up here, still have property. Tried last year to buy more but nothing was for sale. It's a lake town! location, location, location. Popular tourist area even at its worst. Also the crime stats are misleading. There is no random crime in a town 6,000. Everyone knows Everyone. Policing is predatory. Probably 2-1 with no action day in and day out. Mostly petty crime from the same few bums. I called the police once to complain and they came and sat down with us for hours. They literally have nothing to do most of the time.
So many questions...society needs to start working on the answers.
Education is the key, and that begins at home.
not born a raised in ben har buy migrated from west memphis ark at the age of ten people say what they wanna say about my home town but if u makr it there u make it anywhere i was an ex gang member < Thug but ended up with a high tech with my own business on the side so when i went to the atl ga i was already prepared now a successful business in savannah ga where its ok its up to the individual God has the final say so be blessed
Acrually whirlpool taxes do go to the city of BH i know because i owned a house there so they sent me a statement im sure that money is spent on the township
I must say tho, those stats are horrible and I could never see myself living near there. I wouldn’t wanna live a mile near that area.
To be fair, you mention 8 mile road as a segregation line when in reality it is the Detroit city limits border. I had plenty of friends who went to Henry Ford High School that is south of 8 mile in Detroit who were all white. In regards to Benton Harbor, are you saying it's pitiful shape is the result of the same segregation? If so then you are implying that Blacks left in charge of their city will turn it into a ghetto? If not, name one Black cosmopolitan city with great stats in the US. So how does this happen across America? Look to the Great Society Program of the 60's. Blacks were voting Republican so this program was to put as many on Govt programs, removing the Black male as head of household and replacing him with money. The nuclear family dropped from over 80% to about 15% today. We are now five generations into baby mommas. All for the voting bloc. Take a good look around Benton Harbor. It is really nothing but a new era plantation subsiding on Govt programs. Instead of voting for Dems, they should be hanging them.
LBJ was a Democrat who started it all, he wasn’t a Republican
south Warren, north of 8 Mile is pretty "diverse" these days. and crime is going up.
The gray skies and constant wet are depressing me so bad I can't finish the video, I moved away from Michigan 25 years ago. I immediately got sober and quit drugs....
GREAT !
Chris, your videos are excellent!
Some years ago I lived in the notorious 48205 zip code in Detroit. When I moved there in 1984 there was a restaurant, long abandoned, boarded up. It was my understanding that they were held up so many times they gave up and threw in the towel.
Then one day the boards were taken off, someone cleaning it up, fresh paint and a week later an independent donut shop opened. One man, there every morning at 3am working until 11 at night. Nice young man, about my age (early 30s). I asked him why would he open shop in a neighborhood like this. He looked both ways to make sure nobody was looking and he showed me two bullet scars on his abdomen then told me his story.
I was born in Lebanon 🇱🇧. Things have gotten really bad there and after being shot twice I gathered up what money I had and headed to the USA 🇺🇸 I knew I would be killed if I stayed there. I got a really good deal on this place!
People who have lived here all their lives don’t realize what a treasure they have. The worst neighborhoods in Detroit are like a vacation compared to every day life in Lebanon 🇱🇧.
Sometimes I wonder if tighter border restrictions aren’t actually counterproductive.
7:39 East St. Louis: Hey Chris, do I not exist to you? I have the highest homicide rate per 100,000 people.
Grew up just south of BH/SJ in a tiny town on Lake Michigan. BH is just the mini version of Detroit. With the great migration for jobs, the violent crime went sky high, and of course everyone is going to flee across the river and over the hill . Once whirlpool up rooted most of their operations, it was the final death blow. It’ll come back tho, just will be called gentrification and frowned upon but there’s no other route back to a functioning town.