Detroit Reparations Task Force gets to work: 'We are stewards of this process'

Detroit — Many brought up slavery, the razing of the Black Bottom neighborhood to build a freeway, the millions in over-assessments in property taxes, the thousands of homes lost to foreclosures, and the deep personal injustice their families endured and rose above.

The Detroit Reparations Task Force launched its first public meeting to explore ways to stop the deep institutional racism Black Detroiters have faced. While there many impassioned speeches by the 13 members of the task force and residents, the tone was mainly that of a respectful listening session for this unprecedented effort.

"We are doing something that has never been done before. There is no template," said Lauren Hood, task force co-chair. "We are stewards of this process. Reparations work is sacred, and we are here to treat it as such.”

Jeffrey Robinson and other task force members said Thursday’s meeting was about listening and setting procedures rather introducing specific measures. “What’s the saying 'How do you eat an elephant?' One bite at a time,” Robinson said before the meeting at the Coleman A. Young Municipal building downtown Thursday night. He is a principal of a Detroit public school and teaches African American studies at Wayne State University.

The task force is required to submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to the City Council in 18 months or sooner. City Council President Mary Sheffield, who was a major force behind effort , said Thursday the task force has been given a $350,000 budget, which will support the task force as it launches a series of meetings throughout the city.

The task: Recommend ways to address systemic discrimination against Black Detroiters. Thursday's meeting came nearly two years after Detroit voters overwhelmingly approved creating a reparations effort focused on housing and economic initiatives. The goal is to develop short-, mid- and long-term recommendations. The task force has no legislative power.

Among the most common themes mentioned was compensating Detroiters who lost homes due to being overcharged in property taxes by the city, the devastating impact of subprime predatory lending, the hundreds of million in tax incentives given to wealthy developers, and the decline of Black-owned businesses.

Task Force co-chair Keith Williams was among many who mentioned his own family's history and the systemic racism Black Detroiters faced. "My father went through hell like many folks who lived in Black Bottom. Today, I stand on the shoulders of folks who went through the trauma of racism and being displaced and the loss of income and wealth."

Black Bottom was a near eastside neighborhood demolished for redevelopment in the late 1950s to early 1960s and replaced with the Lafayette Park residential district and a freeway. The area was bounded by Gratiot Avenue, Brush Street, the Detroit River, and the Grand Trunk railroad tracks. Tens of thousands of residents were displaced and an estimated 400 Black-owned businesses were wiped out, according to various historical records.

More than a dozen residents want some form of compensation for the tens of thousands of Black Detroiters who lost homes through foreclosures during the Great Recession and the subprime mortgage crisis during the late 2000s. Many Detroiters also had to deal with inflated valuations that led to higher tax bills and foreclosures. A Detroit News investigation published in 2020 found residents were overtaxed by $600 million over a seven-year period from 2010 to 2017 after the city failed to accurately lower property values in the years following the Great Recession.

Khary Frazier, founder of Detroit is Different media group, was among many who praised the contributions made by Black Detroiters. Their "resilience, brilliance, and ingenuity has changed the world," Frazier said. He also spoke out against the long-standing practice of giving tens of millions in tax incentives to wealthy developers.

Frazier also called for tax on wealthy developers that will help fund the city's reparations effort. Frazier's comment brought up a point that has yet to be addressed, and that is how any reparation effort will be funded. 

laguilar@detroitnews.com