Meet the Candidates: Sister Audrey Young-Muhammad

Editor’s Note: This is the fifth of the Flint City Council Interview series. Flintside will host conversations with candidates running for office. We’ll talk about local politics, ask what they love about Flint, how they’ll improve the city, and get to know each candidate and a bit of their story. 

FLINT, Michigan — Sister Audrey Young-Muhammad, running for election in Flint’s second ward, is a resident of Flint’s downtown. Growing up, she describes a disciplined upbringing, recalling her mother as a vital influence who taught her a love of nature, the importance of health, and respect for her peers.

“My mom always taught me to love nature. When I say love nature, we lived in the projects, and we had a tree that she planted and grew right in front of our building. She had a garden every year right in front of her house — we were very involved with gardening and growing our own food.”

She attended high school in Flint and recounts fond memories of the friends she made as a youth, many of whom she still connects with decades later. She would go on to receive a bachelor’s degree in Occupational Therapy and a master’s degree in Business from Baker College.

Her entrance into politics came through working for the Jesse Jackson presidential campaign in 1984. She was still a youth at the time, but worked in the campaign office in downtown Flint. More recently, she has been engaged in politics by working on Karen Weaver’s campaign staff, as well as sitting on the board for the Gloria Coles Public Library, where she currently serves as the board’s secretary.

To address low wages, Sister Young-Muhammad hopes that bringing in outside investors and developers would create more job opportunities in Flint. However, she is clear that she opposes the construction of data centers.

She also hopes to revitalize preexisting businesses throughout Flint, her ward in particular, and advocates for greater access to small business loans. The hope is that this would allow people who own property across Flint — and in the second ward specifically — to revitalize the buildings and businesses they already have.

“We have to do better with hourly rates, bringing viable jobs here where people don’t have to work two and three jobs to survive. It’s another form of neglect for the children and the families. Flint is really good with the cost of living as far as rent compared to many other areas, but the cost of living and the amount of money that people are making is devastating,” Sister Young-Muhammad said.

To address crime on an individual level, Sister Young-Muhammad would like to substantially increase law enforcement measures throughout the city. She points to Sergeant Paul Spann’s work at the Haskell Community Center, where he educates residents on the signs of gang activity and how to report evidence to law enforcement. She believes bringing these kinds of education programs into schools would help law enforcement more easily prosecute criminals.

“It’s got to be a collab between the community and the police,” Sister Young-Muhammad said. “If the police know who it is that’s out there doing the crimes, we expect that you go out and do a formal arrest, or at least put them on a watch.”

Sister Young-Muhammad hopes to bring a vision for Flint reminiscent of governance before the 2011-2015 emergency management era. She believes her experience and perspective can lead the community in revitalizing old parts of the city that may have gone neglected.