DETROIT — The city's reparation effort took a step forward Friday with the introduction of a group of Detroiters who will lead a task force that will recommend ways to address systemic discrimination against the Black community.
The Committee of the Reparations Taskforce was a ballot initiative passed by more than 80% of Detroiters during the November 2021 election. Voters approved creating a reparations commission that would focus on housing and economic development initiatives. The City Council appointed the 13 members of the task force in the past month.
Task force members as well as City Council President Mary Sheffield spoke of the broad institutional racism Black people have faced in Detroit and the nation on Friday at a press conference at West Side Unity Church, "mere blocks from the former home of the mother of the civil rights movement Rosa Parks," Sheffield said.
"African Americans have been unjustly enslaved, segregated, murdered, brutalized, incarcerated, denied housing and mortgages, displaced, faced redlining, environmental injustices, gentrification and more. Evidence of this systemic racism are still present today," Sheffield said.
Sheffield spearheaded the ballot initiative after talks with activists who pushed for the measure amid nationwide calls to compensate descendants of slaves.
"I am so glad that we as a city are joining that local movement (of reparations), paving the way to stimulate economic growth and opportunity," Sheffield said.
Task Force co-chair Lauren Hood spoke of its lofty goals. "We are not talking about a one-time payout, but a paradigm shift in the kind of policies and practices that govern our community from this moment on," Hood said. The impact of the task force should be felt for generations, she added.
She noted the Black community and others have been talking reparations "since Emancipation," referring to the 1863 proclamation issued by President Abraham Lincoln that changed the legal status of enslaved Blacks to free citizens. Hood said the task force would be the group to "steward the process in engaging as many people as possible in this conversation."
Task force member the Rev. JoAnn Watson, a former City Council member, listed nearly 20 Detroit policies and programs that she hopes will be addressed. She cited the over-assessment of property taxes that cost Detroiters an estimated $600 million, various damages from the "illegal" bankruptcy declared by the city government in 2013, the subsequent rule of an emergency manager, the rewarding of major tax subsidies given to big developments and taking back management of Belle Isle from the state of Michigan.
The task force is supposed to develop short-, mid- and long-term recommendations within the next year to address the creation of generational wealth and boost economic mobility and opportunity in the Black community. The panel is required to submit a written report of its findings and recommendations to council no later than 18 months from its first formal meeting. There's plenty of specifics to be worked out, including potential funding of any recommended changes in policies or new programs.
An initial meeting is planned next month, Sheffield said, and a website focused on the reparations effort is in the works.
Sheffield and others pointed out the Detroit group will study what other major cities are doing across the country to help inform Detroit's approach. Sheffield cited Evanston, Illinois, which became the first U.S. city in March 2021 to make reparations to its Black residents. The city council approved distributing an initial $400,000 to eligible Black households. Recipients would receive $25,000 for home repairs, mortgage assistance or down payments on property.
California established a task force in September 2020 to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the first reparations bill into law that year.
