Bankable Marketing Strategies
SPOTLIGHT
JILL SCOTT
moves to Renaissance Center
See page D-1
See page C-1 POWERED BY REAL TIMES MEDIA
michiganchronicle.com
Volume 78 – Number 48
Young black men, it’s your choice
WHAT’S INSIDE Walking for a worthy cause (Page B-1) The United Negro College Fund’s 27th Annual 5K UNCF Walk for Education returns to Belle Isle on Saturday, Aug. 22. The goal is to raise $650,000 to, among other things, provide scholarships for Michigan students.
Vital student loan facts (Page B-4) If you are a college student or a recent college graduate, student loan debt is not only likely, but probable. Paying back college loans can take years, even decades. There are many things that students and potential students need to know to avoid the pitfalls. Charlene Crowell gives the facts.
Business is a family affair (Page C-1) One of Detroit’s major business success stories is Bankable Marketing Strategies, founded by Sharon Banks. The company, now located in the Renaissance Center, continues to grow. Son Eliot is creative director specializing in social and digital media.
Downtown gets another new restaurant (Page C-4) Everywhere one looks in downtown Detroit, there is a new eatery of one sort or another. One of the most recently opened is Central Kitchen + Bar, located in the First National Bank Building. The owner is Dennis Archer Jr. and partners.
By Steve Holsey
Warren Evans
Al Garrett
More concessions for AFSCME?
Squeezed
again
By Britta Lee and Keith A. Owens
W
hen you hear the doctor say that this is going to hurt you more than it will him, you know for certain you’re in for some serious pain. That’s pretty much the way AFSCME has been feeling ever since the Wayne County Commission voted last week to approve Wayne County Executive Warren Evans’ preferred solution of a consent agreement as the best way to solve the county’s massive financial crisis. To the union, it seems that every time they make a concession, the only reward they get for their willingness to concede is a demand for more concessions.
And yes, this is going to hurt.
The small amount of opposition registered by the commission vote of 12-2-1 indicates Evans’ argument won handily over the vocal discontent expressed by AFSCME, which would have much preferred the option of a neutral evaluation. Evans announced the decision, saying it will help the county continue “on its road to financial recovery.” “A consent agreement is the best option for Wayne County because it keeps the county’s elected leadership in the driver’s seat to solve our own problems,” said James Canning, Wayne County’s director of communications.
See CONSENT
AGREEMENT page A-4
Back in top form (D-1) Multitalented Lauryn Hill has had a number of personal issues and has made numerous career missteps, but she gave a performance recently on “The Tonight Show” that was nothing less than spectacular. Looking great, Hill presented a highly stylized version of the standard “Feeling Good,” featured on the just-released album “Nina Revisited…A Tribute to Nina Simone.”
What prompted this commentary is the fact that I am fed up with crime as committed by young black men. Far more often than not, when a horrendous crime is captured on a security camera — a robbery, a beating, whatever — the criminals are young black men, sometimes teenagers or even younger.
COMMENTARY
Among other things, this is embarrassing for the African American community. It gives justification to the many whites — and more than a few blacks — who make no secret of the fact that they are scared of black men, especially if they are young. Maybe I am a bit naive — I’ve been told that before — but I fail to understand the rationale behind the ever-increasing criminal activity in Detroit, which is a giant thorn in the side of a city that is struggling to reinvent itself, and obviously progress is being made. But as long as there is rampant crime, and the fear of crime, Detroit’s progress will be hindered, and the “good areas” will continue to only be downtown, Midtown, Indian Village, Palmer Woods and a few others. I dare say that the majority of people in Detroit have been touched by crime in one way or another. Which is not to suggest there is not crime in other cities, but the focus here is Detroit. I, for one, have been held up at gunpoint and had a car stolen. One of the most horrific aspects of the crime wave is how random it has become. It is impossible to fathom why, for example, there would be shootings at block parties, shots fired though windows of homes for no reason, arguments settled with gunfire…and why, by the way, is gun possession so prevalent? Most of the young, or not-so-young, black men committing these crimes are not doing so because they do not have a job or are hungry, and it is doubtful that most of them are “angry.” Their motivation is something else entirely, and they are operating with a seared conscience and a badly distorted sense of what they think they have a right to do. The number of young black men in jail because of deliberately having chosen the “gangsta” lifestyle is heartbreaking. I know one young man personally who
See YOUNG
BLACK MEN page A-4
HUD secretary promotes green strategy By Keith A. Owens CHRONICLE SENIOR EDITOR
After making his welcome announcement Friday morning that Detroit will be receiving an $8.9 million allocation to help the city become better prepared for future floods and other natural disasters, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro paid a visit to the Green Garage in Midtown. The purpose was to further discuss ideas with a small, handpicked group of community leaders for how to make Detroit more energy efficient in a way that will best benefit lower income residents, both in terms of cost savings and health benefits.
$1.00
August 12-18, 2015
Some of the groups represented include the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), NextEnergy, Focus: HOPE, Mayor Duggan’s administration, Southwest
Julián Castro Housing Solutions, the Kresge Foundation, and the Department of Housing and Revitalization for the City of Detroit. “We wanted to get folks together today to talk about some opportunities that exist going forward with the strong push that the President and his administration are plan-
ning, as well as some efforts at HUD that have been long under way,” said Castro. “The President is focused on Detroit. It matters to him personally. “I don’t need to tell anyone around this room how urgent this is. Climate change is real. Fourteen of the 15 hottest years on record have been in this century. The carbon dioxide levels are the highest in 800,000 years. I still couldn’t believe that figure when I read it.” He continued, “We want to play our part in terms of encouraging innovative housing efforts and urban revitalization efforts that have the effect of cutting carbon pollution, increasing energy efficiency, and making communities better prepared for what we know we will be the results of climate change for years to come.” Along those lines, Castro made a point of
See GREEN
STRATEGY page A-4