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Volume 76 – Number 48
WHAT’S INSIDE
August 7-13, 2013
The Voters Have Spoken
Duggan v. Napoleon Mandela birthday celebration (Page A-3) On July 18, Nelson Mandela, one of the most beloved and respected freedom fighters in history, reached the age of 95. A big celebration took place on July 24 at Fellowship Chapel on Detroit’s west side.
The Belafonte, Jay-Z clash (Page B-4) Iconic singer, actor and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte believes that rap superstar Jay-Z (and others on his level) could do more for the Black community on a grassroots level, and had no problem going public with his disappointment. Jay-Z was deeply offended and wasted no time responding.
The best keeps getting better (Page C-1)
Photo Credit: Barbara Barefield
By Bankole Thompson SENIOR EDITOR
Yesterday, Detroiters spoke loud and clear, despite the expected low voter turnout, that they want former Detroit Medical Center CEO Mike Duggan and Wayne County Sheriff Benny Napoleon to advance to the general election, thus creating a dramatic and unprecedented political race.
White Construction is consistently acknowledged as one of the foremost Black owned businesses in the United States. Guiding the ship is W. Bernard White, founder and president. The company has completed projects not only in Detroit but numerous other cities as well.
For months we’ve seen a mayoral field that attracted nearly 20 candidates, most of whom were aware of the fact that they were not qualified to become the chief executive of this great city, and knew they had no chance of winning. These nonentities were edging close to reducing the Bankole mayor’s race to a political cartoon or joke when it was, Thompson by necessity, an incredibly serious search for leadership of this city in the era of chapter 9 bankruptcy and the presence of an emergency manager.
Look who’s 40! (Page D-1)
A surprising number of celebrities from the recording industry and Hollywood have reached the age of 40, or will have reached it by the end of the year. In some cases it comes as a real surprise, as in the case of Tempestt Bledsoe, Maxwell, Tyra Banks and Savion Glover. On the
Road Again!
Letter from the President Welcome aboard the eBus, the Fifth Third Bank Empowerment Mobile. Over the years, the Fifth Third eBus has become somewhat of a tradition each August in Detroit. Kind of like a family reunion, we work with non-profits and community partners each year and it’s a great time to catch up with each other.
We believe that the more information we provide and the easier it is to access the better the experience will be when it comes to using banking services. It’s where the word ‘power’ in empowerment comes from. Taking it into the neighborhoods each August not only provides those tools right where people live and work but also illustrates what you can expect from Fifth Third Bank in our financial centers all year round.
Our employees from all different parts of the Bank provide service-time and fill in as ambassadors and instructors on the bus and they too get reacquainted every August. So it’s not a stretch to say that the eBus is part of the rhythm of the neighborhood, showing up and providing services, education, and even some fun. Kind of becomes something to look forward too.
Other non-profit partners join us on the eBus to provide their special services as well and together we believe that we fulfill, even if just for a limited period of time, a mission of commitment to the communities we serve. Ranging from basic services information to opportunities for residents to sign up for assistance programs, our partners get to interact directly with their constituents.
But I don’t think you’d ever question whether the eBus has run its course, or run out of gas so to speak. We have evolved the eBus to meet the needs of the community over the years and what started out as the Home Ownership Mobile has now turned into the Empowerment Mobile. Empowerment implies that we are attempting put the knowledge of managing personal finances into the hands of our customers and citizens of our communities.
And finally, yes, the eBus experience is fun. Food and music and some days even dancing have been hallmarks of an eBus stop.
We’re Back! On Saturday August 3rd, the Fifth Third eBus will be returning to southeastern Michigan. From August 3rd through September 2nd, the bus will travel to Detroit, Ypsilanti, Flint, Warren, Shelby Township, Dearborn, Southfield, Port Huron and Wayne to bring resources that focus on financial wellness, good health and basic needs to help our community residents. This month will mark eBus’s ninth season visiting southeastern Michigan and is on track to top last year’s attendance of more than 2,200 residents that came out to take advantage of the community services offered on the bus.
continued on page 3
So if you can be there, make the Fifth Third Empowerment Mobile, or eBus, one of your traditions this August.
The Fifth Third eBus is on the road again! Check out the special insert in this week’s edition to find out when the eBus will be in your town.
The last series of debates did not reveal a lot, much to the chagrin of all present, and that includes debate organizers. What was supposed to have been an opportunity for candidate to offer taxpaying residents meaningful dialogue, including laying out real and feasible plans became an anger and frustration conference. It was an agony to attend some of the primary debates. I felt that Detroit was being Photo Credit: Andre Smith
Detroit at the crossroads…and a fascinating mayoral race By Steve Holsey ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
There has never been a more unusual, a more challenging, or even a more scary time to be a Detroiter than right now. We are a city with an emergenmanager COMMENTARY cy who is, in essence, running the show, forcing the mayor and everyone else previously in power to take back seats. A city that, despite a resilience that has been proven repeatedly, finds itself in chapter 9 bankruptcy. How embarrassing is that! Not many among us could have ever imagined such a thing happening.
How many cities have an incarcerated former mayor?
umes — and in a city that is approximately 85 percent Black.
This is the city that is synonymous with cars and, in fact, put the nation on wheels. Also the city that is world renowned for some of the greatest and most enduring music the world has ever known.
What it says is that Detroiters have had enough, they are tired of the same old thing, disgusted with poorly behaving public officials, sick of robberies, infuriated by car theft and through-theroof insurance rates, angered by gun-toting young hoodlums, disappointed about having so many street lights that don’t work, angered by basic city services lacking, unable to believe why things progress so slowly, and let’s not forget being tired of being the brunt of mean-spirited, most often unfair jokes.
But the Motor/Music City is also famous for its shamefully high crime rate, good neighborhoods gone bad, poorly performing schools, and on it goes. But something very different is going to develop and emerge from all this. The fact that Mike Duggan, a White man, was the top vote getter in the Primary Election, with the Black favorite coming in second, speaks vol-
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The people are fed up with being fed up!
There are those who will make
an issue of Mike Duggan’s race — some will even sarcastically refer to him as “a White savior” — but the truth is, this is not about race. It is about having someone in the city’s top office who can bring about real and lasting change. What worked before will clearly not work now. In essence, people are more than willing to try something new. The next mayor could be White, Black, Hispanic, Asian or anything else. Just so he is a person of integrity, and someone who has a lot of things to bring to the table that are unprecedented. At this juncture it cannot be any other way. Detroit has long been “a tale
See CROSSROADS page A-4
Back-to-school time is right around the corner, and providing much-needed information is the special “ACHIEVE” tab in this week’s edition.