Reparations

Detroiters have two weeks to help determine the qualifications for incoming reparations task force members. Participants of the first community meeting say they want Black Detroiters to be part of the conversation.

Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield said community input is not only valued, it’s necessary if the taskforce is to be successful. She is asking that residents participate in a Feb. 24 community meeting to help shape the reparations committee.

Michigan’s Democratic Black Caucus chair, Keith Williams, has been working on Black Michiganders’ rights to reparations for years. He said Detroit’s participation in repairing the harm that was caused will set the tone for the rest of the state.

Despite rising home prices and stabilizing taxable property values, Detroiters who lost homes to tax foreclosure – or who have struggled to pay – say they still want reparations for past overassesments.

Detroit voters approved the creation of a reparations taskforce in November. BridgeDetroit spoke with longtime community development expert and reparations supporter Lauren Hood to learn what the taskforce will mean for Detroiters.

Highway removal is the easy part. Reparations is where it gets complicated.

Equity experts joined the Mackinac Policy Conference to discuss how systemic racism has perpetuated the racial wealth gap in Michigan and how reparative policy can reverse those outcomes.

In honor of Juneteenth, City Council Pro Tem Mary Sheffield will introduce a resolution recognizing the City’s unjust treatment of Black people and, if approved, Detroit would join a growing national reparations movement.

The Rev. JoAnn Watson of West Side Unity Church writes about how a House bill to study reparations is moving closer to a vote and about the legislation’s Detroit history.