Prole: Westland Activist Cheryl Graunstadt
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March 2002
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How does one transform oneself from a mother of two to a mother for an entire community? Cheryl Graunstadt did just that. She is the mother of two daughters, works for an insurance agency, is an environmental activist, and is the only woman serving on the Westland City Council. Her story is similar to that of Erin Brockovich: a mother with no formal education, making an impact in her town and a difference in the lives of her children and many others.
In May 1991, Graunstadt received a letter from the principal stating that Cooper School, the school attended by her two daughters and approximately 300 other children, was built over a landll. The letter claimed that investigations had been made and there was no danger. Graunstadt decided to show this letter to Joan Lintelman, a friend who was more involved with environmental issues, and the two of them went to the school to look at the property.
They discovered glass and metal coming out of the ground intermixed with the gravel and stone on the play-ground. Behind the property, they found something even more alarming: orange ooze coming out of the ground known as leachate.
Leachate occurs when rain soaks into the ground and mixes with chemicals. The Michigan DNR, which had been doing its own investigations, suggested that the school take action, and within days after the letter was sent out an 8' fence was erected around the playground. Given the school’s claim that there was no danger, this seemed like an extreme measure to Graunstadt and Lintelman, raising their suspicions.
That Monday, Graunstadt and Lintelman went to the Wayne County Health Department to nd information on Cooper School. The le was 2" thick and contained information about cancer statistics and the rate of cancer in children exposed to certain chemicals and toxins.
Graunstadt could not believe it — it just seemed so unreal to her. “Of all the things I thought I had to worry about,” she said, “sending my children to a site of contamination was not one of them.” Graunstadt and Lintelman gathered information and made copies to bring to the upcoming PTA meeting.
At
the meeting, Graunstadt faced new challenges and opposition.
The meeting was packed with parents and even a camera
crew. While she had some supporters, she was shocked to
nd she also had a lot of opposition from many of the
parents. Graunstadt was accused of causing trouble by
challenging the status quo, and people shouted out that
she should just move if she didn’t like the school.
For someone who describes herself as being shy and reserved, speaking out was a difcult task. But, in the midst of the yelling and the cameras, Graunstadt was able to muster the courage to do it. “You nd strength within you that you never thought you had,” she said. “I was like a mother bear ghting for my cubs.” Graunstadt and other concerned parents decided to form a group to protest the School Board’s lack of action concerning Cooper School.
The work of the group took over Graunstadt’s life and turned it upside down. There were numerous meetings, with people coming and going from her house. She photocopied the papers she had taken from the le at the Health Department for all interested parents of the group. The group made yers, buttons, and T-shirts and even picketed the school board. This lasted all summer long.
Their efforts paid off: That September, a new round of testing was done, and the Board decided to move the children to an empty building across the street. Eventually, all 40 acres of Cooper School were fenced in, the school was shut down, and warning signs were posted.
The long-term effects of being exposed to the landll pollution aren’t known, and many parents remain concerned. Graunstadt’s eldest daughter experienced hair loss in fourth grade, hives in sixth, and a seizure in high school. No doctor was able to explain the cause of these health problems.
A high percentage of children who attended Cooper School have learning disabilities. The state never did a health study, so there is no way to know if these incidents are directly related to attending a school built on a landll, but parents can’t help but wonder.
After the Cooper School incident, Graunstadt became involved in other environmental issues, including fighting an incinerator built next to Federal Elementary School in Dearborn Heights. After her work on Cooper School, Graunstadt gained condence and was not afraid to speak out. She began to attend City Council meetings and write letters to the local paper to express her concerns on environmental issues. In 2001, a friend suggested she run for City Council.
This shocked Graunstadt, who thought of herself as a reserved mother, with no interest in politics. However, through her experiences, Graunstadt had become a mother to more than just her daughters, but a mother to all the Cooper School children. She was active in her community, no longer afraid to challenge injustice, and able to see herself as someone who could make a difference. In 2001 she ran for City Council and received more votes than any other candidate in the city.
When asked what motivated her to become so involved with her community when she never had been before, Graunstadt’s response was that it was mostly for her two daughters: “I didn’t want my girls to be afraid to question things like I was.” In this time of apathy, she wanted to show the next generation that you should care about your environment and that one person can make a difference.
Monica Heger is a student in the University of Michigan School of Literature, Science, and the Arts.