8 GROUNDCOVER NEWS MOTHER'S DAY GEMMA BONNEY U-M student contributor “Fix it or shut it down!” rang out from the small crowd gathered on the curb outside of the Central Campus Classroom Building (CCCB) on U-M campus on April 10. The statements "Mold = State Sanctioned Death Sentence" and "Free Krystal Clark!" were written across posterboards and displayed to the public. Cars and a Blue Bus honked in support, and several people driving by looked on in curiosity, unaware that at a correctional facility just 8.6 miles away, there are approximately 1,800 women living in an unsafe environment. Mothers fighting for improved healthcare and living conditions. Daughters fighting for their lives. Two hours prior to this scene, about 40 people got plates of food and found a seat in Room 0420 of the CCCB. They were gathered there for a Lunch & Learn, before a rally for Justice For Women at Huron Valley. The event was put on by three organizations including the sociology department’s Project Community course; Survivors Speak, a nonprofit with the goal “to give the voices back My Mother ... The outstanding and wise woman, she never gives up hope and never gives in, but faces many obstacles silently. She is my favorite character. She is known as Felicia Wilbert, “Truths or Lies” author to you, but she is known to our family as Mother, granny and friend. My mother cleans, cooks, tussles our obstacles while writing at late hours feeding her fans literature fantasy stories, whether true or false. People told her she was stupid, ugly and wasn’t going to make it and I, her son, encouraged her to focus, breathe and launch because she is beautiful, creative, and she is going to make it! They were haters and they couldn’t read anyways. She laughed with confidence knowing I believed in her. I needed her for many years, for her knowledge and strength to complete my essays because I would undergo writer’s block. In the summer, Mom would give me real lemonade squeezed down to the pulp, add sugar, add water and chill it with some ice cubes to help me, and in the winter mama’s hot cocoa with caramel drizzled around the coffee cup, warm milk on the stove, cocoa powder with whipped cream and gummy SAVON SALVADOR Groundcover vendor No. 273 bears with sprinkles on top to warm me up. And it worked, I would write like I was making a song featuring Drake. Moments when I was down, she always slid money to grease my pockets but never overstepped; I would sort clothes and mysteriously there was money in my pockets. My mother went through dark times. We didn’t always have lights, but we had candles to meditate. She didn’t even buy anything for herself unless she knew we were covered and that was her rerunning clothes. She just asked God in prayer, “Lord, after all my financial obligations are resolved, may I buy myself some Bath and Body Works so that I may smell outstanding. Amen.“ Who wouldn’t love someone to those who have been unjustly silenced;” and Michigan Innocence Club, a student-led organization based around innocence work and the criminal justice system. During the information session, attendees heard about the conditions at Women’s Huron Valley correctional facility (WHV), along with the story of one woman in particular: Krystal Clark. WHV is the only women’s prison in Michigan, and the conditions are horrendous on every front. As was explained at the Lunch & Learn, women with health issues are repeatedly given inadequate care, or denied it altogether. Their medication is not being given, their dosage is reduced or substitutions are made to their original prescription. Women have complained about the mold infesting the prison, and there are reports of inmates being ordered to clean it off the walls without masks on, and workers painting over it in order to pass inspections. One woman was in need of mental health assistance and upon request was denied access to the help she needed. She saw guards place bets on her likelihood of committing suicide before later taking her own life. Overall, the facility is costing women their mental and physical health, when it should only be their time they are losing. Krystal Clark is experiencing health complications due to the mold in the prison. Clark has been incarcerated for over 13 years, and in that time, her health has visibly deteriorated. In 2023 it was found that Clark had the mold Aspergillus growing out of her ears and in her lungs. This common mold can cause diseases “including localized infections, fatal diseases [and] allergic responses,” according to the National Library of Medicine. The mold in her ears is visible, and growing to overtake her ears. She is having a hard time breathing, among other issues, and her face is drooping, contributing to the visible difference in her health. Clark is in desperate need of help, and the group championing her cause has recognized that the best person to save her now is Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer has the ability to provide medical clemency, which is a type of executive pardon. If provided to Clark, she would serve the rest of her sentence outside of jail, and would be able to seek the life-saving care that she needs. MAY 1, 2026 Sentenced beyond bars: the fight for justice at WHV This campaign is about more than just Clark’s health and freedom — the broader goal is to get the facility shut down. The women in the prison and the organizations outside who are working on this do not want to see other women suffer the way Clark has. Anyone can help. People can find links to the emails of the Parole Board as well as Governor Whitmer on the website for Clark’s freedom at this freekrystal.com/support/ see KRYSTAL page 13 who is unselfish and wholeheartedly supportive? I couldn’t trade nobody else with my mother because she was just that caring. When you see her on Liberty Street in Ann Arbor, uplift her, give her a smile and the biggest hug you can. Because she has had rocks thrown at her instead of marshmallows. She has had family and friends turn on her because she had a vision and purpose. She cried at night because she didn’t think there was any help, hope or desire. Her heart sank because they attacked us and wanted to kill her only child and world. She lost everything to build her son back up and keep her only grandchild alive but also safe. That’s why she writes, because I told her to write about her pain. I want you to do that for me, supporters. Don’t be rude, be kind and supportive to Felicia Wilbert. I want you to look at your trials and tribulations and reflect on what has happened in your life and reach out and know that as mothers and fathers you can always make it — just try because my mother did it! I love you Groundcover, I love you Felicia Wilbert — because that’s my Mother.
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