Joining us this afternoon for those who are new to the Detroit reparations taskforce public meetings welcome. I want to take a second to do a quick roll call of the members that are present. So sorry, can you guys hear me now? Oh, I can hear myself. All right. Member Callaway is present Member Williams number Lars Sosa here member Tyus member cheek a resident number Robinson. Member Collins, member Parker, member Hicks, member House member Hazel. Member for here and member Jeff here was that that's quorum. Okay, wonderful. So really quickly, I wanted to give a couple of remarks something that I live by something that I kind of do everyday when I wake up. It's the mandate for black people by Mary hooks. For those who are familiar, you know, it's a call and response. But for today, I'll just read it. So the mandate for black people in this time is to avenge the suffering of our ancestors to earn the respect of future generations and to be willing to be transformed in the service of the work which means we know we have a journey ahead of us. Let's stay hang in there together and get through what we need to get through and overcome obstacles together. So everybody that walked in, when you signed in, you received a a quick survey. I'm going to have member Hicks briefly give you an overview of what this is. And yeah, what we're gonna do with it. Remember Hicks, your microphone.
Thank you. As we've been meeting, we've had a lot of back and forth. Some of us have tried to focus some of this back and forth, but it occurs to us when we we have really have not done in my opinion and this is only my opinion, a good job of asking you about what your expectations are of us. To what degree should we drill down on x and y, and so forth? I'm mindful the point of the of the point and I think others are that there is no one answer to any particular set of problems as well. As they are those occasions where to rights writes, I mean two things can be right at the same time or three things can be right at the same time. So at some point, we had to figure out a way and that suggestion on this paper is to figure out a way to kind of measure these things between each other so what you have is a document in front of you. The document essentially restates what our objective is terms of the reparations, it has a brief discussion I asked you to read on what local reparations are, and then in one, one point, I want you to flip it over. And what you see you see a 100 a $10,000 bill. This is obviously a fictitious bill, and what we're trying to do is you to read items A, B, C and D and then try and distribute those things into the categories in which you're in. For example, the first one it says seek apologies for the city, from the city from city government. If that's all you wanted us to do, for example, you would then put 100% Or if you thought it was half of what we should be doing 50% or whatever the case may be. And then second one is seek to identify policy reforms to create equitable, equitable series of programs. So if you wanted us to move into that programmatic area, then you would give us your reaction on and again, if it was 90% of what you think you do put 90 in there, if it was only 10% of you wanted to put that in there. Then the third one is a seek a transformative Agenda for the Future of the troit by changing the basic objectives of local government. Now, this one is a much more ambitious item. In some ways you can say what we're pushing for as local government to be efficient. But do we really want to stop at pushing forward to be GST efficient? Do we want them to be more efficient and Miss allocating our tax dollars? Do we want that to become more efficient and foreclosures you know, no, we may not want that. So we're asking for in that particular instance, is to look at this think, How can we transform our government? What are the objectives? What are the things that we're looking at as citizens in that regard? Okay, and these may not currently be the current list of things that in your mind that government does, government, for example, and I've had the occasion of hope everybody is like a member. The we just recently opened up the Detroit people's food Co Op over on on Woodward Avenue. Well, you know why? Can't government if they're, if they're supporting entrepreneurs and big business and so forth, why can't government support Co Op development in housing and food distribution in any number of areas? If you think that's a significant path for us to investigate then you would give it appropriate score there. The last one D is it's a little more direct. And when I say a little more direct, we've heard and I think all of us are listening as we have set over these months. Some people started off their presentation and have concluded their presentation was said, Cut The Check. You know, just, you know, reparations should just be a cash payment, cut the check. If that's where you are, for example, then tell us that you know, if you think that you're only 70% there, meaning that maybe 30% should be looking at some other kinds of things, then weigh it appropriately. And that's what essentially this survey tends to do. This is on the front end of a likely a series of surveys that we're going to do over time, because part of our responsibility is to put ourselves in the best position to get information guided by your thoughts, your particular priorities and your concerns. We'll figure out a way to write them up. We'll figure out a way to do all of the other things that you would expect out of a panel. But the bottom line is, this is a citizen driven process and we need to make it stay that way. So if you take the time to do that, if you want to. There's room at the bottom on the first page of the form for you give you a name and an email so that if you wanted to follow up with you on something or whatever the case may be, that is on there as well. So that's essentially this form. I hope that it has been distributed as anybody who has not gotten a copy of this particular form.
Wonderful.
Okay, so in that case, toward the end of the meeting, what I'd like to do is someone remind us to kind of remind you to do either finish up the form or turn your form then okay, but will that and I guess the other possibility, because there's no reason why we have to limit this because the room only has certain constrictions. There's no particular reason why you can't go home and copy this particular form, and send it back into us, distributed to your friends and so forth. The more reaction that we get, in terms of distribution of our tasks, as outlined on the on the backside of this is going to be helpful to us. So with that, thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you so much. Remember Hicks. So really quickly, want to take a moment of silence, a really quick moment of silence to reflect on the path they brought us here and the journey that we have before us so if you could indulge me for a moment
thank you all so much. Moving down to line item number for the approval of the agenda. So moved. Any objections?
There's no second suggestion.
Well, there was no second. So member member Parker.
We approve the agenda when the change and public comments after number 10. All
right, sure. Our second Banaras
motion. All right. So
the motion on the floor is to amend the agenda. To include public comment. Any objections? So moved. So we will have public comment briefly. Where would you like to put that number Parker? Under new business after an abyss? Okay, so after new business, we'll have an opportunity for public comment. Thank you so much. Moving down to the approval of the minutes. We do not have the minutes of readily available for our May 4 meeting but they will be available at our next meeting. And we'll make sure everybody gets that. Member Hazel, are you prepared for a Treasurer's Report?
I am. Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you everyone for coming out. I'm Janice Hazel, and I am out of district seven. And we are on the Treasurer's Report is to report that we are making progress. The project manager and I have been meeting and receiving is it on okay and can you hear me now? Okay, thanks. So I don't know if you all heard that. I'm Janice Hazel out of district seven. And then the Treasurer's Report is to indicate that the project manager and I have been meeting we've been we've received a printout from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer which does provide the details of the status of invoices paid and pending. And so we are meeting weekly and I will now be able to have a detailed Treasurer's Report for you financial report in the next meeting, which will be July and the holdup is you can access on our webpage on the City of Detroit's website. The expense report that's provided by the Office of the Chief Financial Officer. However, it does not really give details it only gives you the salaries of our staff gives you operating expenses. And that doesn't tell you anything, because the real picture of finance tells what the organization is doing. So I will have that for you next month. Thank you.
Thank you, Mr. Hazel. Do any of our chairs have subcommittee reports to give number Parker has
a wonderful housing and land use task. Is it on? No, just kidding. Well, okay. The housing land use committee has been meeting that we have come up with 12 recommendations or reparations, and is now in the hands of the task force. And we hope to have something completed within the next couple of weeks and we're going to send it out as to anyone who has come to any of our meetings that gave us their email. It'll be on our website. We'll use other social media to try to distribute it and then any meetings we go to. We will have them available there. Because as got to hit said that we want input It's time now for us to have a community to share with us what priorities they think that we should be looking at. We can't say that we're going to do them all, but we hope to be able to make some determinations. So we also are planning to be at African World Festival with a booth and hopefully we can have 1000s of people to come there and fill out this survey, as well as any other meetings that our staff go to and any meetings that we may attend. We really hope to get a large number of people to say what they think reparations is not only do we want to make sure that we're focusing in on what people want. But also as we write our report, it'd be very good to say that over 5000 people have thought that this particular issue is very important. So that's the report right now. Hopefully, at our July meeting. We'll have the survey completed.
Wonderful. Thank you so much, member Parker. Are there any other chairs that like to report out on subcommittee meetings?
I can give the report with Edith if she'd like to help out on government and
policy member Lars Sosa with the assistance of member Ford.
This is JSON speaker and JSON, Laura Sosa. I'll be reporting out on government and policy sorry, this is a repeat because I did give an update on this about a month ago, but we realized that there are new people in the room each time we came out of member Ford and I along with other community members who were able to join on Saturdays. Based on their availability, we were able to come out of our committee with about six or seven buckets of work. We didn't come out with specific recommendations yet because we've taken we think that we've taken the work as far as we can go as taskforce members. And we like to elicit the feedback and the ideas of community and to work with some consultants to put some flesh to the bones that we've come out with. So as a bit of a repeat, and go over with you with number four. It's help some of the bucket areas that we that we outlined. Um, one was around criminal justice reform. And as a reiteration, when we think about criminal justice or criminal legal reform, it's really three buckets of work there in and of itself, policing, prosecution and penalty, and the impact that policing, prosecution and penalty, the economic impact that it's had on black people in Detroit, and give some specifics around that but I won't go too deep into the weeds right now. Another bucket that we came that we address is an environment that specifically there was a lot of conversation around trucking and the need to regulate how much access trucks for instance, have inside neighborhoods. Another bucket that we came out with was
one of them was creating a committee that would be created after the taskforce is over to look at all the city's policies and ordinances to make sure they're equitable. For example, we need an ordinance or would that would be a law in city terms that we have equitable development in our city it cannot just be focused on one area with the other other areas have been neglected. Also Yes, with the environmental policy, if you notice, all of us in our different communities that are where black people moved when they moved out of the black bottom and southwest Detroit are always around environmental areas. I'm very involved in an Environmental Action Group at Eastside community network. This state allows in the city allows a lot of toxic, toxic gases to be admitted in the air. They don't take care of the residents that live around them. And if you think about where you live, right now, you're probably around a factory or railroad tracks. Um, so that needs to be some policy behind that. And those are like two other things that I think that we really need to focus on. But of course, if you have some more ideas, we want them because we are going to contract a researcher to help us with that. So we want to make sure when we do the RFP to hire them that we have everything in there. We don't want to leave out what's important
and then I'll add fun. Thank you. Remember before we talked about taxes, specifically, income taxes, we'll give you a little more information on that. We talked about parks and recreation. And we also talked about our assets. So here's a brief overview of each of those. When we talk about income taxes, if you live in the city of Detroit and you work in the city of Detroit, you pay twice the income taxes from though you pay two times the income tax, I think at least of a person who does not live in the city of Detroit, but they work in the city of Detroit and otherwise you're penalized were penalized for living here and working here. And we think that that's something that shouldn't be reversed. I guess that is kind of a specific recommendation. But we need the community to help flush that out. We talked about parks and recreation. If you if you're somebody who enjoys go on to the fireworks along the lake, St. Clair or other places outside of the city of Detroit you'll recognize that some of these parks unless you have a municipal ID for those places, you don't have access to those parks. So here you see the jury. Anybody got access to us, and sometimes it's hard to even get down there. So we need to explore whether it's appropriate, in our opinion, to reverse that. So people from outside of the city be paying something or at least more than what residents are paying as a form of revenue stream to fund reparations are prepared. And then in talking about assets, this is a big one. We lost the water department and we lost bail out under a manufacturer bankruptcy. Not everybody knows that that you know, that's what the facts are. But when we lost these assets, we lost huge opportunities for creating wealth for Detroiters. Our Water Department being the Envy not only of the country, but arguably of the world had the ability to borrow water sometimes you bought a water and it says from an municipal source. That's somebody's local water source. They filtered it and they bought it and they sold it. People in the United States have a hard time getting water. When we lost the water department we lost an opportunity to differentiate ourselves as a city and create a lot of wealth for the residents who live here. So these are the buckets that we've outlined. We haven't flushed it out. We want to get your ideas. We're going to have some facilitated discussion today. I'll give you a little bit more information on that when we come back to it but for now, that's our government and policy report.
Thank you government and policy subcommittee. Jay, are there any other chairs that would like to report out on
the Finance Committee? It's gonna be we'll start back up with meeting next week. And we're going to be meeting every other week.
All right, thank you remember Williams? We're making fantastic time. It is 220 So what was a quality of life? Yes, number Hazel.
Thank you. And I chair the quality of life subcommittee. And I invite you to come we have changed from every week on Wednesdays to once a month. Every week was becoming unsustainable. So we are going to be once a month on the second Thursday of the month. So our next meeting on Zoom will be on June 13. And that's 5:30pm and I don't know if there are any fliers around with the website address but the website address you can get the Zoom link and click on it and attend. And so our vice chair is member Camille Collins and the black along with member Yolanda jak two people from me and right now we are working on along with members of the public residents like you and we invite more people. We have business owners, we have PhD candidates. We have civic association presidents who are participating and giving us recommendations and we want more recommendations. So right now we're looking at developing strategies and recommendations to improve mass transit access to healthy food and clean water, urban agriculture and anything else that falls under Quality of Life app obviously, health and well being health care. So we're looking at food deserts, eliminating food deserts in the city of Detroit, something very distressing to me that I've heard from Detroit economic growth Corporation and other entities that there are no food deserts in the city of Detroit. And I dare say that the people who are saying this don't live in the city of Detroit, but they work here and they have two and three and four grocery outlets in their neighborhoods outside the city Detroit, so we need to change that. And a food desert is defined by a grocery store or no grocery store within one mile. of your home. I can say that for sure. Okay, but then when I have to go into Dearborn or southville to go grocery shopping, there are three and four grocery outlets all clustered together in less than a mile of each other. So we need to address that. And my colleague, Dr. Hicks talked about the coops and yes, I'm a member of our new latest Co Op and I invite you to do that. Also. Access to clean water is another area that we're looking at expanding one idea is expanding the Detroit water and sewage department's Lifeline program, which launched I believe, two years ago, so that there's an income tiered cost to water and sewage services. I know my water bill is typically about $10 but the sewage services and the runoff services are like 50 and $60. So my water bill is like around $70 a month. And so we're looking at that and we invite your other recommendations, accessibility and mobility throughout the city is a real challenge I stated in in a meeting with our academic partners, the University of Michigan, of which I'm an alumni that I was traumatized by the Detroit public transit system. And that's 40 years ago that I was going to Cass tech Joy road. I'm still waiting for that joy road. Bus and it's been 40 years. So that joy road bus, okay. Grande River was running, but I had to take the joy road to get to Grand River downtown, and I'm still waiting for the short run. So that is an access and mobility issue. And for someone who didn't start life with handicaps or disabilities, but have develop them in older age, I was all city basketball, volleyball, cheerleading, gymnastics, all of that growing up. I let me see if there's any West Side cubs in the room, because I started out there but developed it and it's very difficult for people with any type of disability, whether it's cognitive, whether it is mobility, whether it's vision, whether it's hearing to get around in the city, so we are trying to come up with recommendations to resolve that education. Obviously, access to attainment of post secondary education free at the Detroit Promise program. We've been hearing doesn't always work for our children. So we need to address that and have something else going for it. And I just want to go back to access of mobility. We know that the city of Detroit is highly redlined in terms of auto insurance in terms of housing, homeowner insurance, and something that was brought to our attention is that similar to the state of Michigan's Insurance Commissioner offering Michigan basic home owners insurance for those who can't get insured by commercial carriers, like a traveler's or a Mutual of Omaha or Allstate, there should be developed a insurance or an insurance program for automobiles in the city of Detroit. By the city of Detroit. And that's one of the ideas on the survey that I hope that you will take. The other thing under mobility is changes to the state's auto insurance PCIP personal insurance, protection, right and 2020 We know there's a big change throughout the state of Michigan, but it really did not help us, particularly people who are on the lower income spectrum in the city of Detroit who are used using Medicaid, those motorist don't get the options of the PCIP reduction in auto insurance like a private so if you have a private insurance such as employer based, you get a better insurance rates and those who are receiving Medicaid, which makes no sense because if you're receiving Medicaid, you are on the lower income spectrum. So we're going to address things like that. So I hope that you will join us and if you can not join us, please participate in our surveys, email our project manager. That email address is Detroit at reparations dot m iterations at repor also reparations at DMI, Detroit mi.gov And it should
be at the bottom of all the surveys. Yeah.
And you can also email me directly which my email address is Detroit. reparations@gmail.com Thank you. Thank
you member Hazel. All right. With that being said Were there any more chairs that wanted to give really quick updates or report report out? All right, fantastic. So the time is now to 27. Member Larson. So do you want to take about three minutes to give an overview is that enough time for you because I do want to give you this solid time for your facilitation. Yes.
So should we just get started? Yeah. All right. Okay, again, this is JSON speaking. We are going to try something a little bit different today. We're going to try to have a conversation y'all. So um, because of the logistics and stuff this there's gonna be need to figure some things out. You will see that all along the windows and on the board in front of you. We've got stickies up, and that's because we may be moving around and participating and subscribing as a group. But first, let me draw in the project manager and have him so I won't misspeak. I want to go over group agreements and the purpose of this activity but first, I want to make sure we can do logistically I tend to want to facilitate discussion, just tell people to jump in, go ahead and talk and respond to each other. Um, and if it gets out of hand, I'll start putting people on stack and the rest of the taskforce or somebody out here can help keep track of who's got their hand up. But I don't know if that's possible because this is a recorded meeting. And I think you need to have a mic is that right?
That's correct. We should have an additional like, Evan had to step away to get more chairs. Okay. So as soon as he returns, we can he can circle the room with the mic. Alright,
so we're gonna try to keep the conversation as organic as possible, but y'all heard it. If you want your comments kept for the record, you probably can't just shout something out. Yeah. Wait for that microphone. Okay. All right. So what are we doing? There's been a lot of questions and interest and subcommittees. Last month, we tested out breakouts and what we learned from both sets of opportunities that people really want to engage. You come here because you want your thoughts to be heard, and you want those thoughts to be incorporated into whatever recommendations get put into our report and put forward to the city council. Um, we're in a small space, so we couldn't do breakouts, and we have not yet figured out what would work in terms of a cadence for subcommittees both with internal taskforce members and what the public so this is a little trial right here to try to get people to engage and get your input and to document it in a way that we can use it and our recommendation so if y'all are willing to try this out with me, let me you say okay, okay, all right. Let's do it. All right. All right. So, um, a little bit more overview was that as we think about this recommendation, um, what some of us might envision is a booklet or binder of sorts, that has the verbiage around what we recommend the harms that we believe had been caused, but also some illustrations, pictures of your participating and pictures of your ideas plastered on the wall. So we've got just clear documentation of not only what it is we think should happen, but what the experience was as we went through this together, okay, so that's what I'm hoping to accomplish with us today. As we get started, I just want to go through some group agreements so that we all are on the same page about how we're going to move in this space we could. Before you on the easel, you will see about four or five group agreements. Those are the ones that I would like for us to start with Madam Chair, may I make a call on you to be valid you Vanna okay. You I'll send you can be Vanna. Okay. Okay. And I can do it. I can do it. So I think some, so I need some volunteers to help me scrub any volunteers and y'all got some, some teacher handwriting need about three volunteers. Thank you come on up lazy come on get lazy your hand y'all she's the first one volunteer my life you right there you at the front you got it. I'm gonna need about three more to work the walls y'all you don't have to volunteer just yet but Lacey you right there in a friend. Group agreement, this agreement. Okay, so we just need a set of rules for us to be able to engage in this space. So the first one up there is love. Mr. The hand in the back. Thank you. You volunteer. Thank you. All right. Work your way to the side. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, we want to go on a roll here. I think this one would be a good place to start. Okay. And we'll get you some markers. So I just want us to make I just want us to be on the same page about how we're going to engage with each other in this space so we can be productive. The first group agreement you'll see up there is love. Really, we're just saying that we are black for the most part. We are here to address black issues. This is going to be a place of healing. And so we agreed to treat each other with love and respect. The second one I believe is accessibility. Probably at least a third of Detroiters experience some kind of disability. I'm so glad that you raised this issue. Remember Hazel, so to the best of our ability, um, employ practices that will make the room more accessible to people. I remember Hazel mentioned blindness, or low vision or being deaf or hard of hearing. You'll notice that every time I take the microphone and say this is JSON speaking that's because there may be people in a room were relying on translators or interpreters. And if you don't announce who you are, before you speak people won't know who's talking if they're deaf or hard of hearing. So I just invite you to try that on. It's an easy hack. It's also a great way for us to get to know each other and for the people who are zooming in. It's it's a great way for them to know who's speaking to what's the next one on their lacing. Yes, and as opposed to No, but sometimes you're going to hear things that you need jerk reaction is to disagree with it, but try to find, find the commonalities, hear what somebody says and instead of No, but it's yes. And here's some more to think about to lean in. And you're also going to hear some things that make you feel uncomfortable, or that you absolutely disagree with but I would just urge us all to lean into that discomfort and try to figure out a way forward as a group because that's where we are we have family and a group.
That's it if I can add I don't know if we're supposed to.
Yeah, so So Lacey is about to add some I guess the next group agreement I will suggest is that wait for the microphone. I would have told you I'll just go ahead and block, you know, blurt your stuff out, but it ain't gonna operate that way. Because the microphone is needed to catch you. So wait for the mic. I'm Lacey. When you said
accessibility, I also think the folks that couldn't be here because of transportation and childcare, etc. That's an accessibility problem that we would share what we learn and how we engage today to as many Detroiters as possible.
So make sure we share Okay, that's a group agreement, make sure we share what we learn is there anything that should be up there? That's not up there from your perspective in the room
are these group agreements that we can all be on the same page with if so thumbs up? Alright, so let's get started. This is this is a conversation that we can all engage in as taskforce members and as community residents equally. I just ask that you wait for the mic to speak. The first question. So we're gonna go through a set of brainstorms. Yeah, you don't go there, but you can get to make your way to the wall now. You made your way. To the wall. So we're going to brainstorm a set of three questions. The first one is, what what are the beautiful things about black folks in Detroit? What are our contributions? What are our aspirations? I really just want you all to share what you think about when you hear that. The next set the next bucket we're going to explore is what are the harms that have been caused? I've just given an overview. I'll slow down. The The next thing we're going to be addressing is what are the harms that have been caused to black folks? And as you think about that, what are the things that the city has done directly? But also what are the things that the city just didn't do anything to stop it? What In other words, what has gotten in our way of being the best of who we can be? That's gonna be the second set. And then the third is going to be and we're gonna go through them one at a time. The third is going to be what are our recommendations for going forward? What is the repair? What are we going to do about it? What do we think the city should do about it? All right, everybody gotta shut our repeater. Okay. The first is going to be what are all the beautiful things about black folks in Detroit? What have been our contributions? What are our aspirations? What are our capabilities? What are our strengths? Who are we as an asset? And then the second thing we're going to talk about and we're gonna talk about them one at a time. The second thing is going to be what happened, the harms that have been caused by the city, or What harm has been caused that the city could have prevented overtime but just didn't. And then the third bucket is going to be what are our recommendations for repair more how do we heal? We got on this time. All right. So um, with that, I'm gonna shut up and just ask the first question, and if you want to be heard, raise your hand if somebody rushed to you with a mic. And as you talk, your ideas are going to be added to the board so that we can document it and use it what do you think about when you think about the beauty of black folks in Detroit? Try to try to, we should have said Be mindful as a group of women be mindful that there are a number of people in a room and we only got one we got a little bit of time.
Hey, wait about one minute or less when he came to me. Like I won't be long winded. And state your name for us, please. I'm here, man. And I'm with the Coalition for Property Tax Justice and a whole bunch of other organizations. One thing that really great about the people of Detroit, I remember the 67 Rebellion. And when people were looting all the stores, that mean we had neighborhood stores back then that meant that the store would get burnt down. And it would be no food in that immediate area. And a lot of people didn't have cars, but one thing I remember about that is we had dog food for days people would come by and just give us bread, give us dog food, and we could sleep on the back porch without locking the doors before that began when the dope was dropped in Detroit, that's when we had problems. So what I love about Detroit is is that we love each other and we still do love
each other and help each other stick together. Like you to hear. Oh, well. What do y'all think about back here?
I miss video I haven't chose over the past year June No. I don't like dope anyway, but I didn't know that but that eat up did dumb but but good. Science and opinion have been bled about some truck over here they want I had the desert nor and keep walking but I haven't been involved in too much Oh, in that type of truck. One of the dumb I cuz I don't drive me live in Abu Dhabi cause at the core so my dad lied and I was listening but kept walking and crying. Got a couple of summers ago. So you know well, it was five more you know that used to have boom it might be done to me or not but still, I'd love to talk to stay beautiful and black. And one that said that heart was count what makes you beautiful. Because up pick up put on all this makeup and shine others Jenna we have to You beauty was doing it.
Detroiters have beauty within us. It's in our hearts. It's what's in our hearts. That makes us beautiful. We got up here after you get like there
Oh yeah. Cecily McClellan. And I just one of the things that I've loved about the city of Detroit is that it has been the home and a bastion of social movement and progression. Many of the movements started here in the city of Detroit. And if we look at the shrines of the Black Madonna the Nation of Islam the first march that before I was in Washington was in here was in the city of Detroit. Detroit has always been a home to very progressive, positive, strong minded African Americans.
Thank you. Not only a great job, we got some folks up here
that if you if you feel if you've
Alright, Baba.
Oh, yeah, Victor Gibson affectionately called Bob Gibson. I think we're really beautiful about Detroit. Is that when we finally had enough that we'll play with you for a minute, we'll let things slide but when we finally had enough this city is capable of coming together like no other city I've seen a man and that's what I'm finally hoping that we will kind of bring us back together and quit, you know, just division that we in our own silos. I'll be working individually, that when we finally say it's time, Detroit will be there. And that's what I love about this city.
Thank you.
Oh, this piece of housekeeping do we have people who are participating by by zoom? What we'll do is check in from time to time to see if there's something
that they can want to have hands raised on Zoom. Okay,
let's let's jump to zoom real quick. We won't make them wait, and then we'll come back to the floor.
But don't forget Miss Lacey. Up here. Right. Well, she she Okay.
The first hand we have on Zoom is Detroit grassroots coalition.
This is JSON and Emberley. If we have tech issues, we can come back to Detroit grassroots coalition, they won't lose their place.
Okay, I want to give them an opportunity to unmute I just asked them to unmute. Okay, thank you
absolutely.
Am going to be having some sort of technical issues on a mine are they okay, can I unmute themselves?
Let's come up to Lacey and then come back to your next personnel zone.
Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is Attorney morale Hemphill. And just to answer the question about what's beautiful body shape the people number one. While we have a national conversation around water and water affordability, we must remember that the architects of water affordability were the late great mother Joanne Watson and of course, the late Marianne Mahaffey. They wrote the first water affordability legislation in the nation, the entire nation, and now that same legislation is still being used across the nation, and Detroit is still a model for water affordability across the nation. So what we do in Detroit with the lifeline plan is being monitored across the state and it's also being used in real time to inform water affordability federally, so across the nation across the United States still, and I know I keep saying the same thing over and over, but I really want everybody to hear that, that we are still the ones who are being looked at and being used as a model of water. We have some of the greatest water in the entire nation. Also, my mother Rosa Parks is often heralded as being someone who belongs to Birmingham. She did some great organizing here in Detroit. Also, when Malcolm X did his his speech message to the grassroots that was delivered here in Detroit. Also, Detroit is where the black middle class was born. There's just so much rich as Mama says, Lee said, so much rich organizing so much rich history in Detroit and it hasn't gone away. We're still doing the organizing. We're still doing that coalition building. We're still fighting for black liberation in real time.
I just want to make sure that all of those things were caught. So I heard national model for water affordability and a couple of the names that were called out we got rich history of civil rights struggle, couple of names called out Yes. And what was the last point you made? The black middle class Oh, yeah, development not only the black middle class, but the middle class period period. Yep. That was specifically black little black middle class. Yes. We're
still the blackest city in the nation. Yes.
Let's come to Lacey and then let's go back online. Thank you so much for that sister. Lacey has
added really quickly before you leave her Can you repeat your name,
please for the record, for the record?
Yes. Attorney neuro hemco
Thank you.
Madam Chair, I want you to keep me on time. Well, I think we should just probably spend 20 minutes with this first portion and then 20 minutes or maybe 15 with the subsequent
Okay, well, we'll give this one about four more minutes. Okay, so then we'll be exactly at 250 Thank you for minute y'all. So
for me, what's beautiful about black people in Detroit is we're like everybody's around the world's big brother, big sister. So we've been the big brother to Chicago. We're the big brother to almost everywhere when it comes to black people. So when I go anywhere in the country, haven't been out the nation yet. It's up to Canada and I say I'm from Detroit. Everybody knows me. It's like Detroit in the house. And to me, that's a pride thing. So I think we were our Detroit swagger and our Detroit pride well in a positive connotation and then the negative connotation is something else. We'll talk about that later under arms. So I think that Detroit is the mecca of blackness. Wakanda country, what current it is all
sustainably. Let's go online real quick.
The next hand we have online is one of the coldest progress
Hello, this is Reuben, James Crowley Jr. to everybody in the room. Everybody. As soon as boom, I want you to hear me clearly. There's been cheating going on in Detroit elections in every elected position. I'm gonna say it again. Every elected position in the city of Detroit is now highly inquest highly, highly in question. Because of the cheating has been going on at the Detroit Department of Elections. Gina Avery Walker and Janice went we cannot lie their way out of this one. There's conclusive, irrefutable still to bear track crew there's a lie living victim. Hey, Mr. Crowley,
can you hear me Mr. Crowley? We are talking about the things that we love about being black in the city, Detroit or the city of Detroit. And tell me what you love Mr. Mr. Crowley.
Oh. Okay. All right. It may because when I said it's a true, Absolute Truth, and I got still to bear proof of what I'm saying. If you notice, nobody is confirmed.
All right, okay. All right. All right.
Well, we're gonna put that under harms just for you. You jumped on this one topic, but we are going to document that for the next one. Okay. Mr. Crowley, thank you.
Thanks. Thank you for that. Thanks for catching that. Is it somebody else waiting online and really
the next hand online is Alicia Roberts.
Alicia, are you there?
Yes, I'm here. How are you? Um, you can actually circle back to me too, because my quote my I want to answer the next question you have on the agenda. You can
go ahead if you thanks for letting us know you jump in here will document it documented. Oh, well, you just
basically, well, I want to start off by greeting everyone in the room. I should be there. I couldn't make it on time because I had a zoom with my PhD group. But anyway, um, I love Detroit. I am a proud Detroiter. However, when we talk about the harm, it comes from our elected officials from City Council all the way up. I live in I'm a witness me and my child. I received that Home Improvement Grant. I have paperwork from 2011 to 2017. With contractors in and out my house, I was homeless for three years. I owe my house because they stole everything that wasn't nailed down. And I went to City Council Mary Sheffield would not even come out her office to talk to me. She sent her a chief of staff out. They told me to go to Detroit rescue mission while I was homeless. I stayed downtown on Tuesdays for months. Me and my child. When I tell you they took from the structure, my doors, my windows, my son's bedroom set all my heirlooms that I inherited from my grandmother who bought this house in the 40s so I have appealed to them everything dead ends. Oh, I'm gonna help you. I'm gonna help. I've been the Mayor Duggan. I've been to Washington DC I've talked to Washington DC, the FBI, just atrocious. My my water inspection my light inspection never passed. So every day I'm living in fear. I don't know if I'm a burn up or not. I'm educated. I'm a teacher by trade. I'm working on my PhD, but do you know that it took a toll on me mentally and physically? I got diagnosed with depression and fibromyalgia in the interim of all of this. So what can we do about it? I'm not the only one. Somebody needs to help me get my house back. I can't afford to do these repairs. My house is in worse condition before I got the grant. I still have a wall open on my second floor. This Alicia,
can you give us the name of that program one more time so we can make sure that we at least look into it to the best of our abilities. Yeah, and
I can give you everybody's name all those crooked people that got their houses done. Yeah, it was called the Home revitalization program to city planning and development. And I have paperwork the paperwork I do have that they didn't steal when it was in my house. I was. I was threatened. I was sexually harassed. You name it and my son and we in and out of shelters and we own a house to help go to different schools. It's atrocious.
You have our email address. Can you send us all that via email, please? Yes, I can. Thank you so much. Thanks
for trusting. Thank
you for sharing. I'm
sorry for your experiences that are here but these are the experiences we do need to hear about. So what I heard from Alicia was that the neglect of government causes or exacerbates health problems in citizens. So she specifically say I'm not the only one this affects a lot of people. I'm gonna try to wrap the first bucket up by throwing out a few more. And then if there are
yes, I might say for the scribe with regards to our caller or our zoom participant, Alicia, I would also put on there that a a repair could be for those home improvement programs by the city of Detroit or the state of Michigan. Wherever the funds are coming on that for our black residents. There is a wraparound service. So if their home is in so much need of repair that they need to leave it during the renovation period that there's some sort of housing program for them so they don't become homeless. As well as some sort of be that that is paid for the storage of their personal items so that they are not a stolen and such as she stated happened to her so that could be a repair that's baked into the programs that people are able to access like the home. I think she said it was the home revitalization program. Thank you for offering that.
So I'll shout out a few things myself. City Detroit does have a rich history of civil rights struggle. We were formerly the the final stop on the Underground Railroad used to be known codename midnight was city Detroit obviously with the largest majority black city so as a system was talking about we offer a model for water affordability. We'll also offer a model for racial, economic and other forms of social justice globally. speaking a little bit about black folks in general, particularly our black women, the most educated group in the country set out to the black to the sisters degrees at the highest rate more than one in five black men are in a top distribution, top third of the income distribution so we are a high earning. Black folks are patriotic we enlist in the armed forces and programs like AmeriCorps and VISTA at the highest rates. And of course, according to the CDC, every report that came out in around 2016 black men are more involved with our children than any other group of men in the country in terms of after school feet and diapering quality time. So yeah, go Yeah, give it a hand. A lot. A lot of great things going on with black folks. And Detroit is as Lacey put it, the mecca for black folks, wonderful things going on with us in spite of the circumstances that we face. So speaking of in spite, yes, let's move on to the next bucket
right on time.
What are some of the things that black folks have come up against either because of the city that we live in? Um, it's done something or sponsored something or because the city sat on its hands.
And we're gonna give this about 15 minutes y'all, so just be conscientious
and taskforce members, please feel free to jump into Okay,
so let's start let's start back here, and then we'll have her interjecting. Then we'll continue in the in the crowd. Thank you.
My name is Kimberly Canty. And I wanted to talk about the beautification of Detroit. The majority of us have participated in the entertainment industry, the Motown which has gone global. Nobody mentioned that I was shocked. We here in Detroit, has made a global impact on the entertainment industry and that was also a harm because the majority of the people in motel were not compensated properly for their contributions. Secondly, we were kidnapped assay to La by the industry, which is another loss. Our history museum has not been taken care of the way it should have been considering the enormous contributions that we've made society. Now we can switch over to the another harm is our legislation. Over the past 30 years, we lost our court which goes into the criminality. We are a million strong and we don't have our own local court. This came behind us prosecuting bustles and nevers for killing malice green. Somehow that's been wiped away. A lot of our young people don't know the history here regarding that, and they don't understand that now. Their jury is from Lavonia, which is mostly populated with EX Nazis from Germany. So are we don't have our own jury pool. We don't have a jury of our peers. Schneider has appointed people and 36 District Court magistrate to make decisions on your life. My daughter just missed her court date. They never mailed it. They denied her approval. Now her job is in jeopardy. She just got a job at the post office which is a wonderful thing. But now that her job is in jeopardy because she will be assessed points. Which she never got the opportunity or due process to fight the ticket. So the worst thing that we have is that we lost our ability of having due process and having our own court and our own jury. Those things will change your life forever. It's difference between of your freedom. You being able to participate economically in life, going to school because they are also titbits to that to getting a Pell Grant if you've been convicted of a felony and all of these things are done through the sneaky little legislations that they pass. So that is our main goal is
try to overturn or rewrite some of these laws because the penalties are severe for us and we don't have money to pay an attorney the majority of us most people here earn $30,000 or less, and are on public assistance. I'm also a caseworker for the state. So the legislation lately that's been passed, they're not going to be paying your DTE bills which we know are enormous. Now your utility bills. The maximum amount for water is 350. My water bill is $200 a month every month once they tack on the Texas the drainage fee is I think $40 So you're not going to be able to afford to live here. legislation. Thank you missed a lot of the things that have gone on in the last 10 years. You're not going to be able to live here the rents increased your utilities increase. You won't be able to afford to live here. If you could state your name one more time. My name is Kimberly Canty. Thank you. Thank you Kimberly. Kimberly sorry to have to cut you off. I mean, you got you had so much rich stuff to share. I just keep in mind no, y'all. We got a lot of people in this room. Let's check it online real quick. And I see a couple hands out there. Your hands been up a couple times. I'll make sure he gets to you. How are we doing online? Although we still have to treat grassroots coalition What was his name? Tom, I promise I'm coming back to him. He we cut them off a little bit earlier. Just because he jumped to here. Let's go to the back where you are Evan? Mr. Crowley. It's cropped. Okay, good afternoon. Good afternoon how aka clang. I'm Herms. I think our education system and our police department. I think that as a retired state social worker with the state of Michigan and how I've watched them change the rules regarding our police department and our children they close the schools. Our kids were bused, they can't be policed and when they can't be watched by the neighbors because you don't know who these people are that they're going to school with their bus to different neighborhoods that number one, they close so many schools in the neighborhood that they were and the good schools they closed the ones that needed to be closed, they kept open. But kids weren't able to experience the neighborhood experience that I did growing up in Detroit that we can walk out everybody walked to school together. All the grandmothers are out on the porch, watching the children go because when there's a stranger in the neighborhood, they recognize that like who you belong to young man, well where are you from young man so they could they didn't get to do that. They didn't get to live that in Detroit, the police department. When you police the neighborhood that you live in, then the kids have a better chance of growing up without felonies or things tacked on to them because you know their dad, you know them well you know better than they do this. So you know better than to do that when we have outside people policing our children that don't know their story. Yeah, then they wind up with felonies and and misdemeanors and stuff on their records at 17. When in your neighborhood. You say you better go home I'm gonna tell you dad are such as such in the police cars parked in the neighborhood. So you know that there's an officer there. So I think that the harm that was done to our children growing up was that there was not a neighborhood experience that we grew up with. They didn't get to be parented by each other are each other's parents. So it's some outside entities and for right now in real time. I have a brother that works for the police department. He's got his 25 years in scared to retire because he has a 12 year old because he has no insurance. How can we allow that to go on that the retirees of the city of Detroit will not have insurance when they retire? That's definitely a no no austerity. I'm hearing austerity is one of the harms that will cause so we got a hand I see you got hands back there, Evan. But I want to come back up top first because this gentleman just had a shiny like mine has been propped up a few times. Hey, man, thank you. Thank you. Hey, Brown. My name is JD Giva represent JMG pallets on the east side of the chart. We've been an adroit doing palette for the last 30 years. This October will be our 30 year anniversary. We we employ 16 peoples because paying taxes and been paying taxes for the last 30 years in have gotten to the point the property that we own they're putting so much on the drainage and even the just the land they have you haven't me paying $1,900 for a vacant land drainage. Then they got me paying 850 for one of my properties. They got me paying five for another they gotta be paying six for another I can't hardly pay the water bill and that's known that drainage and then they taken the drainage and they put it on my taxes and they make me pay interest and Kennedy for my taxes. I can't pay the water bill because I'm trying to keep the property paying taxes. And they are coming at us several ways. And I have x Mona Lee. I will also talk with Amanda, as far as the drainage and it seemed like I'm not getting any help from the city and I told me about Dugan and 2008 when they say the last one they did short turn the Lysol I told him that it will be JMG pellet because we're not going anywhere because the city will come back because it's the Motor City. When I said that I meant what I said. But now that things are starting to turn around, we're out of bankruptcy. They seem like they're putting more pressure on me to stay in this city. And I'm not for sure if we're going to make our 30th anniversary which is October we might be shut down before then. I don't know if that's the right meeting that I supposed to be in but the Spirit bought me They listened and this was coming to the city of Detroit and we have been paying taxes for so long crying out for some help. The rest of the group do not know that I'm here. But God does and you do.
Thank you. Thank you so much for for coming, bro. So two things. I know that the chair was about to say something too, but I wanted to call out two things. One, make sure you give your contact information to folks in the room who might be able to rally some support. Make sure we capture rain tax as a as a harm that's been imposed on Detroiters and chair waves.
When you spoke to James just spoke at the same problem. They charged me with a small space a water bill is $12 and they charged me $700 a month for water draining water runoff. So get my number already filed a Freedom of Information Act with the city of Detroit. That was in November I still ain't got it. So I may have to go to him again. The Lord might have to sue the city get the information. They'll get up, take my numbers, change numbers, and we're gonna talk
we're gonna go to a member Hazel and then go back to the letter back where we had to run away from them to come to my brother. All right, y'all. Let's try to keep our comments short because we got to run low on time for this section.
Okay, this is Janice Hazel, and this is under harms. And one of my concerns is the loss of our spaces and places where music like Ms. Canty mentioned was created the studios as well as performed. And so as a former music industry executive who actually helped those people who were pick out really bad contracts, raising money for them for housing, for medication for medical, etc. We should be looking at how the city of Detroit as well as the state of Michigan through the Michigan Department of Transportation and or our own department of transportation Demolicious and does not save those spaces. One that's in jeopardy right now is united sound systems studio, which is in jeopardy by Michigan Department of Transportation to be demolished for an off ramp for i 94. Why is united Sound Studio built in the 1930s important it's a house. Barry Gordy recorded his first acts there before He created and bought all of those places on West Grand Boulevard, along with John Lee Hooker going way back as well as Parliament Funkadelic Okay, George Clinton. You know, I was there when flashlight was was recorded and others Bootsy Collins, Aretha Franklin, so many of our artists who are from Detroit as well as wrong along the world that you Eurythmics recorded there and it is a place that should be saved. So are it's on city property. It is now owned by the Department of Transportation, the Michigan Department transportation, but it's for sale but they want to demolish it and the Big History is in that buildings basement because that's where the studio is, and it needs to be preserved along with places like the bluebird In on tyerman where those of you who are possibly in your near your 70s were probably partying there, back in the 40s 50s 60s 70s. Those spaces should not run out, and bluebird ends. roof had caved in. So we need to also save those spaces because we're not here to tell the story of how that music was performed and created. Don Davis some of you might remember he owned it at one point in time, but it's sitting there ready for demolishment if we don't speak up, so we need to
know it's not I'm on the board of directors for the Detroit sound Conservancy and the state of Michigan's Department of Motor Vehicles is wants to they've been holding off because we've been advocating for it. They want to demolish it, and that would be a pity and a shame. So one of the harms is how not only the city of Detroit which is not speaking up for us for those spaces and are buying it and making spaces like that retrofitted into multi use multipurpose locations. So we need to speak up on the harms of our cultural legacy such as our creative community. Thank
you. Okay, so I see so I know how many of you waiting Did you wait it up?
Put them up? Yeah, good.
Because my up here helped me keep track of raise your hands. Yeah,
I got one all the way in the back that young lady Yes. To if you've already spoken let's try and give people who haven't had an opportunity to speak. Yeah,
we'll put you back on. Because you haven't spoken first though.
Yep. So we have one young lady back there. I haven't heard from this gentleman here who was standing so he'll be up next. And then this middle area we can go from what does that y'all is right to left and then we can stop in the middle here at the front. So yeah, that's even
let me let me start right here with member Hicks. And then we'll come back there to where you stand in and go in the order that I
got it. You got it. Yeah, yeah, I got my list. So it's 310 right now so please be conscientious of time with your remarks and comments. We do want to try and keep as close in on topic as we can as we start collecting this data. So if you have anything else that goes beyond the time allotment, please email us please, please, please email us. So we're working on harms right now. Thank you for that reminder, we are working on harms right now. Think
about what you want to say 20 seconds or less. Remember Hicks? Yeah,
I just want to do I don't know if this is on or not. But I just wanted to underscore point that Janice has made and this has to deal with the erasure of our history. When you when you really think about and how critical is this you know, individually does it matter whether or not X club is no longer there, whether or not this is no the there and so forth? Well, it matters a great deal as you erase the history. What you do is you're erasing the potential for people to imagine their futures. That's what you're doing. If you think about it in a real mechanical way. All of us remember walking down our city blocks, and we had 20 and 30 houses on a block. I mean, you know, most of us in the rules, remember that okay? Now today, there are sections inside of our community you walk down that block and there's two or three houses on the block. For some younger people who didn't have that early experience. Their sense of what is common is two or three houses on a block. So it reduces their ability to imagine if you will, what a community really looks like, you know, so this whole question of erasing history, and they do it under a lot of different banners. Most importantly, they do it under flagging some kind of safety issue. And then they want then they do it under demolishing, you know, property and so on and so forth. But for everything that's down, it's erased from our history. Very few people know, and can even walk by the Algiers motel. For example, you know, people a lot of people don't even know where it is. Clearly the LDS motel incident is a critical incident that occurs in the city of Detroit that occurred in the city of Detroit that clearly pointed out the extent to which the police had outrageous behavior and abused and even killed citizens in the city and then a number of other those incidents. So this erasure of our history is a critical item.
erasure of history. Yeah, my school. Okay, well, it's not there anymore.
Okay, hold on JSON. So really quickly, y'all. I do want y'all to be considerate if this would be appropriate for this activity or for public comment, because we do have still have a segment for public comment and to also ensure that we make it to that segment, which I'll be offended if we start implementing a timer. This is a beautiful conversation, but I do want to make sure everybody gets an opportunity to speak and then once again, if you don't, please email me, okay, so go ahead, JSON
22nd time are your 22nd to get through. So you says you don't you don't stack
please start a family. I know Oh, priesthood family. What is about 80% Black in Detroit 85%. Most of y'all that are experiencing all these issues and everything are going through a form of gentrification, the biggest problem with that is that I don't see where the black residents are getting anything out of it. I don't see a increase in black businesses. I think that's something that's very important. We need to be able to not only hire our own, but move forward in that area. We have a lot of immigrants coming into town, but they're taking the money up out of the communities, but
only supporting Black businesses.
I hear you say yeah,
thank you very much.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Yes, right to the corner, if you could stand and state your name. And then there was a young lady across from you. I see you in the aisle way. There was somebody across from you. Did you still have a comment? If you're still in that area, okay. And then I'll come to you in the aisle away. Okay.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. My name is LaTonya Martin. I've been to a couple of these meetings. And I never heard anyone speak about the hurts subsidies. These owners that are buying these buildings or already have ownership. Treat the tenants so bad first and foremost, Detroit building and safety inspectors, they do not have mold inspectors. And I know this because I had to call and they didn't have any. They are not finding these owners of these buildings. The deputy mayor said last year at a meeting I asked him, How come every time they build new apartment buildings, they are already full capacity. Right? We have no way of knowing when these units are available, because they're already full. He said we're going to create a website they never did. When you call the Housing Commission, they don't answer the phone. When you go online to try to get in touch with them. The internet is sending you all over the place to different questions instead of the question you asked. We all know how the internet works. Yes, man, right? Yes, man. But the main thing is that these owners of these buildings, I don't know if they're being fined or not, but I'm an activist, okay, and where I live, I help the people where I live.
Thank you. Thank you. So I just say your name once more. And then also please make sure to be our email address. Please, please, please. LaTonya Martin. All right. And my take away from your comment is that it was the HUD subsidies and then just the marketing in general for the new apartment and in the affordable housing availability. Right access to access to affordable quality housing, then the new developments. Yes. Okay. Yes, ma'am. A bit over. Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you so much.
And then over and then up, then over at the end. And then up. Yes.
Thank you, Brenda Andrews. I appreciate the dialogue. And I just say, doing a fine job. But if you want to control the time controlling on the front end, so that those on the back end. Don't have to feel rushed. Yeah, right. Yeah, some people didn't talk five minutes. I'm gonna talk by Brenda Andrews, retired from Detroit police department after 30 years. Appreciate some comments that someone made, you know, back there under the harms, and the young lady alluded to it as residency. That brought a lot of harm to our community. And I can go on and on about that. Certainly the bankruptcy and emergency management brought some other arms, you know, to the city of Detroit and I was part of being in court every day on that lawsuit and losing our medical and any number of things going forward. I definitely, you know, understand
that, but I think somewhere in this discussion, maybe not today, another day, we have to talk about what we as black people need to do is a lot of times we get caught up on what has happened to us, but what are we doing to make things better and one thing I'm gonna say is voting. You can get the statistics and see how many people in the city of Detroit vote I vote in every election. I don't care what it is. So unless we want to rectify some of these things, talking about legislators and what that city council doesn't do, and what this one doesn't do. These are elected officials and we have the power to do something with that. So that discussion, whatever we are doing here, that we don't talk about getting out the vote and voting in critical masses. This is just an exercise in futility. Voters are weighed down at the end and all the way down at the end. Yep. And then up right here. And as a piece of housekeeping, y'all, we're gonna move toward the recommendations. We're gonna have about 10 minutes to talk about our recommendations. There'll be a speed round, but I also want you these are going to stay up you'll have an opportunity to walk the room and write your ideas, get your hand right and capture on a way out or at some point before we leave today. So don't worry if you get this survey take the survey email us whenever you're thinking about something please, please, please, please, please, please, please email us we do check those emails. And then I wanted to add to the voting, comment, informed voting. Don't just go in there blindly. Make sure you do your due diligence and make sure you're an informed voter. Alright, so our next comment all right to harps, and they might also be recommendations that the Michigan Constitution be amended to align with the federal constitution in requiring governments to pay back over taxation. That is something that's in Michigan's constitution, but somehow it's not in the Constitution or laws of 47 out of 50 other states, just St. That's one harm. And the second one is that slavery was based upon party sequitur adventure, and that's a Latin term that means that which comes from the womb follows the womb. So if you're going to repair slavery, you must trace legacy through black mothers. Just saying if you want to be technical about it, because you have to fix slavery. If you're fixing genocide, trace it through black men. But if you're fixing slavery, trace it through black mothers, because the children of white mothers have already inherited from America's Founding Fathers. Thank you. I think we should all be getting that as a recommendation trace and through the heritage of black mothers. All right here we go into so we got to back to back this young woman here. How many arm joints sticking up on live? And then I see one behind you two. So 123 Raise your hand sister. Yeah, I see one and then I see a hoodie and then I see the stripes. And then we can go online. You're very quick comments because I want to leave time for the best part, which is the recommendations. All right. Thank you all so much. Hi, how are you? My name is Sharon sex and I'll be very quick. My basically my thing that I do for Detroit is correct history, which has been wrong to us or forgotten about hundreds of years ago. And I want to invite everybody in the room, including you all on the panel to come out to the Juneteenth Celebration, which is taking place at Camp ward. For those of you who don't know what camp Ward is, that is where the 100 and second color troops trained for the Civil War. They couldn't train over at Fort Worth. Thank you, Wayne, because they were black. So they were put out in the fields over here. And the other thing we're going to get to the harm is that when the brothers came back from the civil war, they were invited to settle down and put up their tents again at Camp Ward, because before they left during the civil war in 1863, March of 1863 I do believe it's March 17 of 1863. Since I know that there are some historians on the panel. That is when the copperhead Democrats won through the city of Detroit and destroyed, burnt down the black community, which you all didn't know about. What was in the black community that they burned down was the first symphony orchestra in Detroit called the African Symphony Orchestra. They also burnt down not one, not two, but three black schools that you all don't know about, which employed not only a superintendent, but six teachers, three of whom were female. They also burned down other businesses which I'm not going to bore you with. But anyhow, so we are celebrating camp Ward because we're the brothers came back after the Civil War. This is where black bottom started for black people. Right next to what used to be Delfield Elementary School renamed as Bunge Elementary School, also consistent across from the Coleman Young Senate. I have information for you history of the site. It was also the site in 1763, where Pontiac and the British had their their little war. So this is very historic site. I'm trying to get it designated as a historic site. So I hope you come out and support us. Plus, we need to redeem what was taken away from the black people in 1863. Nobody was ever got reprimand, rubber but I never got fulfilled for what they lost. And we never got a black Symphony Orchestra again, because someone else shared some of those specifics on the paper marker, grab a marker and then also goes on to the registration table. Sorry. You're good. We definitely want all that to be written. We need the cards and then also at the back if you put the cards at the back, but send us a digital copy. So we can also send that out. I would love to support that or at least send it to Madam Chairwoman. May I ask the gentle lady I didn't share. Michelle and Sharon to definitely provide us with her contact information. Okay, because we need to get all of that in oral histories. Absolutely when form our final report. So definitely some are saying you have her contact but we need to schedule that we haven't history. Okay. So as a piece of housekeeping, what we'll do is take the final comments on harm, we'll see whatever's online. I think that we're just gonna have to do to be continue on recommendations and lets folks have them which good keeping will stay engaged? Yes, yes, we do have survey and we also have public comments. So people want to put their recommendations public comment. I just wouldn't want to be respectful of our time. And I want to keep you all on the hook for next time. Go ahead, brother. Thank you. My name is Rashid Abdullah. And I actually have recommendations I would recommend that maybe that's going maybe to the mental illness epidemic in Detroit as well as drug rehabilitation status of his citizens, the drug rehabilitation and the mental illness. epidemic that's happening in the city. I actually also have a recommendation about it's not many black venture capitalists in this country that that concentrate on black tech startups. Or any other type of startup businesses, which will actually pump wealth into the community for generations. As well as I don't know if this committee ever considered Co Op, real estate development projects. It happened in New York and other major cities where black people actually go into a co op to buy a million dollar apartment buildings and they own it. Own each apartment, in that building. And they go in as a co op, as well. As the charter schools, Detroit used to have a lot of black charter schools. I don't know if that's being considered by this committee as well. Yes, and you don't get to tell him his logic. You know, I mean, because I went to high schoo late and I went to Academy of Detroit. And it was actually a good experience for me. And they had a lot of college preparation that public schools didn't have
her mental health drug treatment, schools.
capitalist, Co Op real estate, co ownership of real estate and more legal representation
black citizens, legal representation and family court and criminal court. Thank you both. Thank you. Thank you. You got more but you just put them on a wall. Okay, final one behind you. Yes, it's right there. That only give a quarter hand race. Thank you. Thank you. My name is Lolita Davenport. I represent the Labor Day organization, which is a nonprofit that is meant to help black people in Detroit as experience abundance, and I want to give recommendations, many of what he shared are very much aligned with the mission that that we have. But really, the heart of it is people and I think the disconnect in our communities where we haven't come together. We've been very separated, very individualized, which has been pushed by capitalism right or banished to take care of itself. But we have delayed the response and delayed the the reaction to problems and harms that have come so we have a people have to step up in mass sooner without apathy, without fear and speaking to the resilience that we've had, which is one of the beautiful aspects of black people and Detroiters. We just need to re engage that in a massive way as both individuals and community thank you, sister, Emily. Well, we got online. We currently do not have any hands raised online. Okay, so can we give a special shout out and thanks to our volunteers, y'all, but we want to work with scribing and to everybody who was able to weigh in and get input and last but not least to the only brother who got my buzzer because I couldn't get it to work after that. He took it like a champion of sport. Thank you so much brother for being such a good sport and letting us cut you off early. And then we ended that practice. Thanks man. We took your idea though, if for point for point of clarification earlier somebody mentioned Black Enterprise and I noted as black business but it was specifically Black Enterprise that somebody noted an opportunity for. Yeah, as a recommendation. All right, y'all. I think this is our discussion. We'll pick this back up another time. Thanks for your participation. Hey, don't forget to walk around in the papers. All right. Well, thank you so much member Lars Sosa. I thought that was fantastic. I hope you guys have an opportunity to again, email us with anything that you didn't get to state today in this room. I do hope that this may be an exercise that we may be interested in pursuing in our upcoming public meetings or if not, this is something that y'all send us via email because we love digital communication. We are going to get right back on track with this agenda. Let's see here. Line item number nine is unfinished business. So to the to the body. Do we have any unfinished business? Going once, going thrice? All right, moving on to line item number 10. Any new business going once, going thrice? Oh yes, the public comments are coming right after new business. So now line, the newly amended line item number 11 is going to be public comment. So for those of you who didn't get to participate in the the exercise, but just had additional comments, we're going to allow you let's see what time it is. It's 330. So is everybody coming? Oh, two minutes, y'all and we're actually going to have our timer for this one. So we're gonna allow you two minutes. Would it be easier Evan to have them stand in the center for you right behind where you are? Charles, is that okay? For your cameras? Is that good? Oh, who said they can't stand I want to Okay, so let's make sure we get okay. So we're good. Okay, so everybody else that has public comment if you could fall in line right behind Evan, who was our community liaison in the beige jacket. I appreciate you all so much. We are going to give you all two minutes for public comment. Oh, you got it. Okay. Remember Jack thank you so much for graciously being our timer and we can go ahead and are you ready to get started? Thank you state your name please to here I made the choice. homeowners were overtaxed illegally $600 million and illegally foreclosed 100,000 homes. My recommendation is that we go to city council meetings and and tell them we want our money and we want it now. This ain't JG Wentworth is our money and we want it now. Also I want us to concentrate on self determination because we do not have self determination. I would love to see that. I recommend that we also write a letter to a have Mike Duggan the task force and have Mike Duggan be approached this man publicly and tell them that we recommend that you give the people back their money and they admit to your harms that you did to us and stealing our money. And then finally, because this wasn't what it is, is a quid pro quo that we're dealing with here and Mr. Duggan told me and Coleman Young the second told me about home repair because I spoke out against him in public comment in city council. He said that's why I'm not getting home repairs. So they are purposely keeping home repairs from people in Detroit. So we need to set up a fun to get home repairs because that's how they move and people out and I thank you for letting me talk. Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing. Good afternoon, Pamela Dewberry district one. My comments to board is where are the minutes from previous meetings? You have these meetings. We only have our meetings once a month. We need minutes because I like to come in and sit down which you have sticker on the door. You weren't going to open the door to 155 and that's upsetting to those that have disabilities. Okay, we have to stand out there and wait. So you need to get the minutes together. Give us time to read the minutes because there's something in there that some people have probably their first meeting. They need to know what was going on last month. And these things you know they need to come up to speed. Thank you Mr. Berry. I just wanted to make an announcement in regards to the water drainage free. Macomb County sued Detroit and one they did not Could you speak up a little bit. Macomb County sued the Detroit water and sewage department regarding the drainage fees and they won they do not have to pay the fee. Only people that are paying the fee. Are Detroiters Wow. However, Macomb and Oakland County residents are using our sewer system. The water comes in at Bell owl at the water treatment plant I'm sorry, Bel Air at the water treatment plant on eight mile and VanDyke. That's how that their sewage runs down through the city to the treatment plan on West Jefferson. This is a violation of the Headlee act for the state constitution. So that's how they won their lawsuit. So we need to sue as well. In order for you to keep your property you have to file suit against the city of Detroit water and sewage department. Also they cannot foreclose on you for fees to my knowledge regarding your property. Taxes. That was something that was done to us another harm from Kwame.
Thank you Miss Canty.
Oh yes, Baba Gibson again. I have so many little rabbit holes. I want to discuss it. I'll just keep my focus on the national. We're trying to also incorporate this local task force in line with the National we keep you know, I see us spend a lot of time at these these little formed little silos, and I don't hear anything getting done with this the minutes whether it's information, we're not getting anything done. So coming July 19, or Juneteenth in the national they're pushing out these cars, they're pushing Biden to if you got to earn Detroit votes, earn it and if he's scared of Trump now, then whatever. But at this point in time we Yeah, I mean, at this point in time, we need to quit playing with this. We need to quit trying to piecemeal partial reparation task forces all over the country. And forget about the National Movement has been going on since hr 40. We are to start combining what we do in knowledge silos, in line with the National steward. I have some postcards here so a friend of mine passed some out there just one step one action, you know, put a stamp on a postcard you can write your name on it, and let flood the national that flood the White House with we want our reparations. We want it on all levels. It's been sitting around sitting around so we need to kind of push this so I will be organizing a stamp out Juneteenth at Kwanzaa park for those who don't know what Kwanzaa Park is is right they own free boats and Puritan come out. I'm gonna get some sponsors. Even if I had to use my own money, get a hot dog hamburger or something bag of chips and bring us 10 Just bring us 10 That's all it costs. Just bring a stamp. You can get a hot dog, Chip, something to eat. And let's look Detroit. That's flooded all over. Let's let Biden know that if you want something from us, you're not gonna be able to just get it just because and make that statement. Well wait till I get in office you already know.
Thank you, Bob Gibson. Make sure to send us those that information about your Juneteenth event to our email so we can do a big blast. Okay. Come on Bob Gibson. Well,
you don't go. Oh, no, no,
thank you.
Cecily McClellan and we we the people of Detroit, also a retiree of the city of Detroit. We have many, many past harms that have that African Americans have suffered here in the city of Detroit, but most recently, and I like to focus on is the emergency man who's been it's been a lot of talk about law. But that law was imposed on over 50% of African Americans in the state of Michigan. And as a result of that, that emergency management law the city of Detroit was robbed as we've often talked about, of the our assets and water department being one major asset and that asset means that it on an annual basis. Glee while are the Great Lakes Water Authority has given us 50 million I mean 50 million we pay in 15 million, obviously was only 35 million, and that these that we are being grossly destroyed, I mean discriminated against in terms of our asset, that that needs to be amended that contract is in place for 40 years. It will automatically renew in 40 years, and therefore it will be 50. There's no cost increase, it will be maintained. The water department was one of the entities that allow black folks to come in and get a job and come into the middle class. So we need to make sure that we go back and look at that emergency management took over our schools and decimated our neighborhoods. So one of the things is we want to Balaji for emergency management. We want the emergency management law appealed and we want every entity that was stolen under emergency management, to be revisited and to be returned.
Yes, ma'am. Thank you so much. Absolutely. So right before we get the next one, the cards are being passed out because we not been awake. We're not waiting. We're not waiting. We're gonna go get some stamps today. We're gonna put them in the mail today. So the cards are coming around today. So we can do a right now this that no no. Okay.
Thank you. All right. We're ready
Good afternoon. My name is Attorney neuro Hemphill and I volunteer at We the people of Detroit. I work on water rights and water affordability. Water is a human right. And we're working to secure the human rights to water right here in Detroit. When we talk about reparations. Some of the things that come to mind as I'm assessing you just mentioned is the return of assets to Detroiters. Again, I work on water rights and water affordability. So the thing that I focus on is the Detroit water and sewage department. She mentioned already the lease, again, the asset that was stolen under the contrive bankruptcy under emergency management where we're getting an inequitable amount of money for the use of our assets with that also the liquidation of the asset right now DWSD is on a 40 year lease agreement that automatically renews and under that lease agreement, if an asset is sold that that previously belonged to Detroit, the proceeds of that asset then gets turned over to Gleevec. And then if an asset is required with those same with that same money, that was that came from the sale of that previous asset, the new asset then belongs to glue. So it's not only an inequitable lease, is it amongst the liquidation of a very lucrative very profitable asset that belongs to Detroiters. So when we look at Detroit, it's not having jobs. And we look at the roads. We look at the house and we look at all of that there could be equitable revenue coming from that also, we pay 87% of the combined sewer overflow from the suburbs. So which is another inequitable thing, and really quickly Finally, I'll talk about education. We pay 87%
You need another sheet
for the combined sewage overflow from the suburbs. So that's processing the soup combined sewage overflow that comes from the suburbs and just so you know, combined sewage overflow, you'll see it as CSO in the documents from DWSD and that's where the storm water and the sewage so the waste that comes from our hands, comes all the way comes to the city of Detroit.
Thanks for turning Hemphill
Can I say one last thing about education, because it's something that's happening right now to our children. So right now, as we know there's an epidemic of opioids and marijuana use amongst our teams right now in in Detroit. What is it? Detroit Public School, CD. Yesterday, I'm proposing and looking at putting more police officers in our schools right now. So that's something that needs to be addressed. My daughter is a student in Detroit public schools. But what we know is that that's a situation that's not happening only in Detroit, but again, with the over policing and the criminalizing of our of our babies. That's the place where they're going to put police yes with our children.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.
Hi, good afternoon. My name is Jeremy. I'm I'm gonna make mine totally brief. But I just want to try to understand the numbers because to me looking at this, you said that 85 And somebody mentioned that 85% of the population of Detroit is black 20% of the people in the city. Only votes are you looking at solution right in front of your face when you got the majority right there. So one of the things that I look towards is trying to understand what the division is within the black community in order to divide this because the solution is right here. Today you're talking about 85%. Future plans may that number may go down to 60% and 50%. And once you've lost that, you've lost just about everything because of the things that was mentioned before that we did have the water and all those assets and all this particular division is costing us a lot in the community. So the only thing that I want to say more is that I've been a part of a lot of different programs in the city in terms of like drugs and rehabilitation and things like that, but we need to sit down. I want to I want to know what you guys solutions is to some of these particular problems that's going to come about this like an index meeting. But also we need to bring financial literacy back into the these programs we need to bring voting campaigns and getting people don't understand how critical it is to vote at the local level and then at state level and we need also military and health issues and just making people building families together and restoration and making sure that overall that that we are comprehensive and in building back the black community and get beyond the division because the last time I looked at it, the majority has always been able to out maneuver the minority. So that's all that I basically have going forward. And I just hope that you guys can look at that some of those misses
Jeremy, JSON, if you could, can you add a voter education to repair civics? Civics, civics, some school isn't already on there. Because I know we were talking about the vote in general but voter education to go along with it, particularly the local level versus okay. Okay, wonderful. Okay. Ready?
Hello. Again, my name is David Detroit resident. I'm bouncing a little bit off the Bible's back here talking about the reparations and I'm talking about cash payment reparations. Along with a anti black hate crime bill in which we should all get right now. This is an important time at which Trump is winning right now and he got what 31 indictments 3434 So the fact of the matter is, is that we have the ball in our court because as Biden goes down, this right here, these are some of our demands. We can demand this and force them to take us seriously. They provided us with nothing. Anti hate crime bill, cash payment, reparations, lineage base and this is something that we can get and I do believe that it's something that's coming in the future.
Thank you so much.
One more thing. Yes, sir. Um,
I think it's very important that education again, a lot of people don't know what a lot of our people don't know what reparations is, or means it's not a program. cash payment is something that we should have got during the 1866 treaties with the Indians.
I agree. I agree. Thank you so much. So we have about 14 minutes left. Emberley Is there anybody online because I see two, two more public comment in public in person on public in person. And I want to make sure everybody's needs we have one. Okay, wonderful. So we're going to give these last three people and we're going to close public comment online and in person
Thank you. Hi, my name is Jean Cunningham. And as I proposed last month, I will again reiterate, I propose global trade with Africa and the Caribbean, utilizing the soon to be vacated Renaissance building for trade and tourism. Offices for every African and Caribbean nation, and any other nation affected by the North Atlantic slave trade to form joint partnerships with Detroit based African American businesses in import export. As I said before 20 years ago, this was part of a program that came out of the Empowerment Zone economic section, known as e 4.1, which was a part of a document called jumpstart in the Motor City, which was approved by HUD, the entire city council, the mayor, the state legislature, and the United States Congress and President. It was never implemented, because the two agencies that was the implementing agencies, the greater Detroit Chamber of Commerce, and the Detroit economic growth Corporation never came up. With a plan. As a result of that. I was appointed to direct a city council task force under the late honorable Barbara rose Collins to come up with a plan in order to create over 50 Import Export businesses in Detroit with the African continent in the Caribbean, that it was never funded. Of the Empowerment Zone Development Corporation went out of business before they can make a decision and the Detroit economic growth Corporation frittered away the money, frankly but all of this information I will put on the back of my statement card and leave with you because it's all a matter of public record. It's in the city archives, whatever's left of the truck minutes but library which was destroyed purposely.
Thank you so much, Mr. Cunningham. I really appreciate that. And thank you for reminding us that you gave this to us. Thank you so much. All right. We have one more in person and then one online.
Yes, my name today read which I'm just calling with a more or less a question from the start of how do we get here at this point. I've heard in sitting here by heard the good of the days of old I've heard the harms of the days of old as well as it leads up to now and what have you Well, I like to say it's an answering that. It's been through government been through politics. It's been through sellouts. It's been through with 60 years of people in politics that through Amazon say the Democrat Party and everything that have done absolutely nothing. Nothing. You can name one thing that you get other than symbolism. Everybody else everybody else gets. gets something for what they do that don't even support them. And whatever. We got to hold ourselves accountable for things they want to have you and hold them accountable for things and why they do it through organization through systems. Malcolm X was made his statements over 60 years ago in everything in regards to what the Liberals are. They're the most evil person even if you're not going to stand on a neck and hold them accountable. We know what the Democrats are what the Republicans are about, and everything but the Democrats were the Democrats they play like you're your friends, and what happens instead of their stab you in the back. It's time to wake up.
Thank you so much. All right. Amber Lee, can we go online?
Online we have Detroit grassroots coalition.
All right. Detroit grassroots roots coalition. Thank you.
Okay, can I be heard thank you so much for your time. I just want us to say to my black Americans, that we need to be focused on our solutions and our repair. And when I say solutions, we are not supposed to be doing the work of government. Detroit has put us in this predicament. So how dare we say that we're gonna waste our time to tell them what to do when they're not going to do it. And I have to underscore that Joe tape is for black Americans. It is an American holiday. Okay, we are not Africans. I hear everybody talking about black folk. I need this committee and I need everybody there to understand that black folk is black American. Just because you're myelinated does not mean you're black. So we really need to get down to when we are talking about is being repaired when you're talking about retirees. You're talking about everybody when you're talking about Baltimore to get their hands on black American reparations is absurd. That's what it is. I really want you to get focused on what reparations are about this task force. of reparations Task Force. This whole display today was a waste of time company surveys that we need to talk about granted the surveys that y'all got from the University of Michigan and Columbia, the young lady who was talking about where the meetings they should be on YouTube. You can sit in every subcommittee meeting to these types of North. American but you want to talk about Middletown, you want to talk about civil rights. You want to talk about some of these things. That black Americans get things done. No, Jamaican was gonna be stepping system. This is a new one.
That's time All right.
Thank you. Thank you so much. So that will end public comment. Thank you all so much for participating. I believe. Let me look at my agenda. We have a few announcements. Well, I'll give my announcements. Again, our email addresses reparations at Detroit mi.gov. So for any ideas that you have, or any suggestions, any have any requirements or feedback that you have from today's session or any other sessions, please tap in with us sign up and make sure that we have your contact information so we can stay connected to you. The back table does have a sheet with some QR codes there are surveys on there talking about feedback for sessions like this for things you'd like us to see that you would like to see us do. There we go. And then also I believe
I'm collecting sir.
Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, complete the surveys. Please complete the survey. And if you can turn them in today. That will be spectacular. There will be somebody at the back to collect them. Oh, I haven't. Okay, Miss member Hazel.
Hi, Janice Hazel. For the gentleman in the reparations, t shirt and all others. I worked in the White House and wrote for President Obama. Please do not say these things in just these rooms. Please write the White House if you don't have a stamp if you have access to the internet please write the White House is very easy. www dot Whitehouse dot g o v. And if you want to search on the on the spot or go to contacts, there's a contact form for you to write what your issue is. So much like the earn the Vote campaign. Please write because that's what counts and your members of Congress office where I've worked as well as the White House if you're not getting if they're not getting actual comments, letters. Phone calls, the White House phone number is area code 202-456-1111. And they do answer the phone and take your comment, but the letters and the emails is what really cost so I hope that people won't just say they're what they want in spaces like this. You got to activate and you've got to actually contact them because, unfortunately, when members of Congress and the President say, Well, I haven't gotten much feedback, or people writing and I did see President Obama walk through the White House office, a presidential correspondence where I was a staff person and he was grabbed up documents what is this? And he would personally respond, but that was the responsibility of people like me. So please, you can do that. If you go to Instagram, Facebook, you can go to whitehouse dot govt and if you don't get one of those cards, you can also write about federal reparations, that's hr 40 or house concurrent resolution for one for all you need to do is put show Bible, Washington DC you don't even need the zip code. It will get there you do. Need to put a stamp on it. If you want to get more detailed, no honestly the post office if you just write President Biden or US President Washington DC, it will get there with a with a stamp. But also if you want to be very detailed, write the White House and that will be a 16th The President 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest Washington DC 20500 Thank you.
Thank you member Hazel member Parker
just want to make an announcement that the housing and land use committee is meeting Monday, June the third at 530. In the back is the Zoom number that you can use come and join us and we'll be discussing our recommendations that we have. So really welcome your type of input.
Thank you, member Parker. Were there any more announcements from taskforce members? All right,
I'd like to I'd like to open the floor for a motion for adjournment. Thank you all so much for joining us this afternoon.