The Fight for Racial Equity in Brightmoor

August 6, 2024
Economic Justice
Good Governance

The current fight for the use of a Racial Equity Toolkit in the Brightmoor Framework process makes us think:

In Detroit, over the last 10 years, every imaginable racial disparity has gotten worse: the Black-white income gap has increased; the Black-white homeownership gap has increased; the Black-white home value gap (2) has increased; the Black population has decreased by 100,000 while the white population has slightly increased at the household level.

These harms have continued in the face of demands from residents across the city for racial equity through real outcomes. Racial Equity recognizes community needs and priorities rather than pre-determined buckets or categories deemed as acceptable by those in power.

Examples of racial equity toolkits and processes have been shared with the Planning and Development and the Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity (CRIO) departments repeatedly for years, yet leaders and reps continue to push what many see as a stripped down, ‘all lives matter’ version of equity that intentionally omits specific inequities experienced by majority Black Detroit.

The administration’s claim that the law prohibits the use of racial equity as a frame does not seem to be the case in other cities including nearby Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The city administration has taken residents through:

  • 19 strategic neighborhood plans,
  • 12 community benefit agreements (CBAs) triggered by the Community Benefits Ordinance,
  • a city-wide rezoning process,
  • 10 years of municipal budgets,
  • and is currently working through the MASTER PLAN planning process.

All of this and more without the frame of RACIAL Equity. How much in the way of harm to Black Detroiters has their ‘color blind’ approach done in the last 10 years?

History will point to the failed leadership of Planning and Development, Civil Rights, Inclusion and Opportunity departments, along with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation as the opposition to the call for a robust and racially just Detroit.

IN THE NEWS: Check this out from Outlier Media’s Detroit Documenters
Public Meetings Report on Development (link)

Residents demand respect from public officials

by Detroit Documenters
July 31, 2024

Anthony Zander and Mandy Mitchell of the city’s Department of Civil Rights, Inclusion & Opportunity, tried to give a presentation on the concept of equity toolkits in Brightmoor last week, but the residents weren’t having it. 

Zander said equity is when “our residents enjoy equal access to the city’s resources regardless of race, gender, age, ability, sexual orientation or other features of identity.” Community members instantly contested this definition, saying the toolkit doesn’t fix historical inequities. “We know that the inequities exist and that the disparities are not being addressed in our community,” said one person. Zander accepted that a better use of language would have helped to convey the city’s message more clearly. 

Participants also criticized officials for comparing Detroit to cities like Oakland, California, where demographics are vastly different. “Don’t come over here anymore with anybody else’s data. Bring our data,” demanded one resident. 

These two issues dominated the remaining meeting time. Despite the repeated intervention of both Deputy Mayor Todd Bettison and City Council President Pro Tem James Tate, the presenters ended the meeting without having advanced past the general introduction of equity toolkits. 

Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) representatives will be at the Brightmoor Framework Meeting this Thursday August 8th from 6-8pm at the Crowell Community Center 16630 Lahser Rd, Detroit, MI 48219