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‘Jap’ and ‘Sunnie’ kept Paradise Valley poppin’
Detroit community baseball diamond renovation complete Page B1
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Page B1 POWERED BY REAL TIMES MEDIA
Volume 80 – Number 23
michiganchronicle.com
February 15-21, 2017
Black
State of the schools: DPSCD prepares to battle
in Blue:
How the rebellion of 1967 shaped the lives and careers of two Detroit police officers Part 2
By Keith A. Owens Senior Editor
Mary Jarrett Jackson, the first female deputy police chief in Detroit history — and the first female chief of any major department in the world — who was appointed by Mayor Coleman Young in 1986, was already a veteran of the Detroit Police Department when she got the nod for the promotion. After applying for a position on the DPD in 1957, she was hired one year later. This means that by the time Young had been elected as the city’s first black mayor in 1974, Jackson had already been toiling away inside the belly of the beast for close to two decades.
By Roz Edwaard
DETROIT
MANAGING EDITOR
I
1967- 2017
n a political climate rife with enacting shortsighted and ill-advised action to dismantle the country’s most important institutions and critical legislation, the State of Michigan has joined the ranks of the reckless with its decision to close 38 Michigan schools. Twenty-four of the schools to be shuttered include 16 DPSCD and eight EAA schools which are primarily located in low income communities of color. DPSCD is currently comprised of 114 schools.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
As the battle rages over the fate of DPSCD schools and the students affected, school board officials assembled announced plans to engage the services of the Miller Canfield law firm to oppose the state’s decision.
Mary Jarrett Jackson Anthony Holt
“We made a motion to pursue with Miller Canfield a declaratory injunction.” said Iris Taylor in a special meeting last week at the DPSCD offices in the Fisher Bldg. “We are going to attempt to work with the state as we move forward and at the point where we feel it’s appropriate to initiate that decision, we’ll be ready to go.”
Wayne State University Police Chief Anthony Holt was a black youth of only 17 years when the city erupted into chaos, but much of what he saw and experienced during those five days, and in the ensuing years, made him believe that the best way to make things better for the next generations was to become a police officer himself. He has been police chief since 2008 and an officer for 40 years.
After a closed session, the board members voted 7-0 authorizing DPSCD to take legal action when timely and appropriate to present why they believe the school closures suggested by the SRO cannot legally move forward.
In their own words, because they tell their own stories the best, two of Detroit’s finest recall their experiences from an earlier Detroit that dramatically shaped their lives and careers.
Opponents of the proposed closings erupted in cheers at the announcement. “We’ve been engaged with Miller Canfield prior to tonight … they did the preliminary work when Judge Rhodes was here, so the board with this motion is basically saying to proceed with the work that’s already been done,” said DPSCD board member Angelique Mayberry, adding, “It’s financially prudent to stay with the firm.”
MARY JARRETT JACKSON When Mary Jarrett Jackson first approached the Detroit Police Department for employment in 1957, her desire was to work in the DPD lab. She certainly had the qualifications for the position, but that didn’t matter to the white male officers seated behind the desk that day, who thought it was hilarious that a black woman actually thought she could ever get a job like
Retired federal Judge Steven Rhodes, who successfully managed Detroit’s bankruptcy case, was appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder as the fifth Detroit Public Schools’ emergency manager to assist with
See SCHOOL
CLOSINGS page A-4
See BLACK
WHAT’S INSIDE
IN BLUE page A-4
Hey! You forgot to take your money with you! Too many Detroiters not claiming tax credit, losing money By Keith A. Owens Senior Editor
Remembering
Ala true Jarreau original (1940-2017)
See page D-1
Either a lot of Detroiters have so much money in their bank account that there just isn’t room for much more, or perhaps they don’t know about the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) that they may be eligible for. Lisa Howze, Detroit’s chief government affairs officer, says that she — and her boss, Mayor Mike Duggan — are pretty certain the problem isn’t too many rich Detroiters. Which means not enough people know about the EITC, which is why Howze is now in charge of the effort to help educate more Detroiters this tax season about how they can claim their fair share of the literally millions of dollars that go unclaimed every year. So if you don’t make a whole lot of money, and could use some more, this bit of information just might be for you.
$1.00
MC: What is the issue we need
Lisa Howze – Keith A. Owens photo to let people know about? LH: The issue is that there’s been an estimated $80 million per year that’s left on the table in unclaimed federal income tax credits, in the city of Detroit. So when you think about where that number come from. The IRS estimates that about $327 mil-
lion comes back to the City of Detroit for residents who do file and claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) So they account for that being about an 80 percent uptick. So when you do the math, the 20 percent that’s not being account-
See TAX
CREDIT page A-4
North End ‘godmother’ makes transition Dolores Bennett brought joy to many See page A-5