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Michigan Chronicle
Vol. 84 – No. 23 | February 10-16, 2021
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A Month in the Making: Metro Detroit Black History Month Activities Bring Generations Together
By Sherri Kolade Who loves Black History Month? We do! And these local and area events and activities are a great way to feel the love all month long. We have the opportunity for our history to be front and center as we celebrate our people in a way that the whole family can take part. We’re talking multigenerational fun for everyone. And during this special month, take time out to gather together or (for those still quarantining, virtually) and celebrate all that’s melanated with several upcoming events in the area. This non-exhaustive list highlights several diverse events happening that people can celebrate from near or far. The Southfield Public Library is proud to host a bevy of Black History Month activities and to “remember, educate and celebrate it.”
From Left To Right: Sonya Mays, Roderick Hardamon, Kenyetta Hairston-Bridges
Building Detroit:
Black Developers Are Key To Detroit's Comeback By Donald James Special to The Chronicle
The library is highlighting distinguished African Americans on their website, https:// southfieldlibrary.org/, and social media page each day with a link to a library resource to learn more about that individual and what role they played in history. They recently kicked off the celebration earlier this month highlighting Rosa Parks and Oprah Winfrey. As an extension of that program there are markers up at the Southfield Civic Center, located at 26000 Evergreen Road in Southfield, of distinguished Black people. Visitors can walk around and learn about national figures both historic and modern-day as well as local officials. “We encourage families to learn together about Black History,” Kelly Ireland Rembert, outreach librarian at Southfield Public Library, said. “When you know your history, you can expand on it and grow. We know COVID makes learning different. We encourage families to go back to the basics by reading together, acting out a play of someone you admire and this can be done together or over FaceTime. Students get a chance to see the Black Lives Matter movement
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HISTORY page A6
WHAT’S INSIDE
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t is almost impossible to drive on any main street in Detroit or through any neighborhood without seeing development or redevelopment projects, either in its early stages, nearly finished or recently completed. Unbeknownst to the average person, many of the projects – rehabilitation, new construction, mixed-use or single/ multifamily housing developments - are being spearheaded by Black developers. One such developer is Dennis Archer Jr., who is leading a development team to build a small-format Meijer store which will be located at 1475 E. Jefferson, near downtown Detroit. When completed later this year, the 42,000-square-foot store will be called Rivertown Market. Archer is also leading a development project in the new Paradise Valley Cultural and Entertainment District in downtown Detroit. From the 1920s through the 1950s, the District was home to numerous African American owned businesses and entertainment venues.
“There are two buildings that we acquired in January of last year on Randolph St.,” said Archer, who points to this spring for development activities to begin. “The buildings will be redeveloped into mixed-use, where there will be space for offices and hospitality usage.” Another noted Black developer is Emmett S. Moten Jr., founder, president and CEO of The Moten Group LLC. Once called Mayor Coleman A. Young’s “economic guru” and “development czar”
in the 1970s into the late 1980s, Moten has moved exponentially into the private sector of development. In 2007, he engineered the $82 million development deal that renovated the abandoned downtown Fort Shelby Hotel into a Double Tree Suites by Hilton featuring 203 guest suites and 56 apartments. While Moten doesn’t like to speak about his ongoing or future projects, he did talk about the current renovation of the downtown historic United Artists Building. When completed in late 2021 or early 2022, the $56 million project, said Moten, will feature 148 apartments, 20 percent of which are designated “affordable.” According to Moten, project partners are Roy Roberts, Tom Goss, Jim Thrower, Larry Brinker, Robert Charles and Richard Holsey. The late O’Neil Swanson was also a partner. “We all have equal ownership,” said Moten. “And we all have the same idea to do something constructive in the community and hire our people.” Doing something constructive to make communities better in an overwhelmingly African American city is paramount for many local Black developers. Yet, in many cases their paths to pursue development and redevelopment projects in Detroit are far more difficult than those of white developers. What Black developers find, for the most part, are challenges unique to them, which include, but are limited to the lack of access to capital and difficulties in acquiring land. As for access to capital, Marvin Beatty, civic leader and developer of
Gateway Marketplace, which when opened in 2013 was the city’s first major retail center built in four decades, had an interesting perspective about banks and Black developers that he shared in a 2017 interview with The Michigan Chronicle. “If banks and institutions don’t loosen the way they do business with us, the way they do business with others, we’ll continue to struggle in our communities to see ourselves develop,” Beatty said. “We have the skills and the intellect to do exactly the kind of thing that Dan Gilbert is doing. But if we don’t have the same access, we will not have the same opportunity.” Sonya Mays, president & CEO of Develop Detroit Inc., agrees. “For banks, there’s a long history of Black people being seen as high risk for financial opportunities that would provide capital for Black developers,” Mays said. “It leaves many Black developers in a place where we have to bootstrap it or not do the project at all. We really do need to rethink, as a community, about equity impairment and how Black people can better access capital to do this work as developers. And lending institutions need to reexamine the disparities and rethink their business models regarding Black developers.” Mays said America is littered with examples of programs that offset risks, shift risks or mitigate risks for the pursuit of a greater social good. Archer agrees that not having access to capital presents major problems for
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Life or Death Could Depend On Your Zipcode By Sherri Kolade
Breaking the Generational Curse:
The History of Poverty in Black Detroit Roots. A3
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DEVELOPERS page A2
What is your zip code? That could be a determining factor of your life expectancy and what kind of healthcare you receive, says Dr. Asha Shajahan, a family medicine specialist and medical director of the Community Health Program for Beaumont Hospital, Grosse Pointe. Some zip codes show a life expectancy of 76 years of age while another anticipates life expectancy of 86 years of age. Some of the contributing factors according to Shajahan could be poor housing, poor education, violence-filled neighborhoods, and more. “Grosse Pointe’s average life expectancy is 83 years of age. Detroit’s different zip codes have a different life expectancy. One particular life expectancy drops to 63 years of age.” Many are well aware that
high poverty and disparity rates in healthcare have resulted in the tragic deaths of many Black Detroiters particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of January 28, the U.S. had surpassed more than 25.6 million
total cases and 429,000 deaths due to the pandemic, according to a report from the non-profit organization Kaiser Family Foundation. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Preven-
tion study, Blacks, Latinos, and Native Americans are dying from COVID-19 nearly three times the rate of white people. Shajahan has published work on how implicit bias training done correctly can improve healthcare. “It appears in general with the COVID-119 pandemic we did see a lot of the disparities really focusing on the African American community,” Shajahan said. “Having worked in this space we know structural racism plays a big part in the African American communities (and how they perceive healthcare systems).” She added that a deeper look into social determinants of health, like where a person lives, their transportation situation and beyond, “plays a role in determining if you get good
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