The business of philanthropy:
Detroit’s gospel giants featured in local exhibit
Focus:HOPE raises the non-profit bar
Page B1
Page C1
POWERED BY REAL TIMES MEDIA
Volume 80 – Number 34
michiganchronicle.com
May 3-9, 2017
Fox 2 Detroit News accused of shaming black elected officials By Councilman Scott Benson Special to the Michigan Chronicle
On Monday, Fox 2 News aired a story seeking to make an issue of the number of Detroit City Council employees that do not live within the city of Detroit. While Fox 2 News retains the right to pursue stories that they feel are in the public interest, it is questionable and concerning that they have a pattern of aggressively seeking to shame and embarrass elected officials, who overwhelmingly are black, with flimsy stories that seek to sensationalize trivial or Councilman even non-isScott Benson sues.
COMMENTARY
For the sake of full disclosure, I was included in the Fox 2 piece. According to the reporter, it is apparently newsworthy that one out of my eight employees is not currently a Detroit resident. That particular employee was a longtime resident of Detroit until he and his family were the victims of a violent crime and moved outside of the city limits for their own safety. I also have a part-time consultant on a six-month contract who does not reside in Detroit. Prior to his untimely death, our beloved Bruce Feaster, may God bless his soul, was a part-time employee who lived in Harper Woods. However, all of my staff members, past and present, work tirelessly every day for the city. I am proud of my team and even prouder of my well-established track record of working to bring thousands of jobs to Detroiters —more than the one or two positions Fox 2 chooses to highlight. Last week, I joined the mayor to break ground on the new $95 million Flex-N-Gate facility, which will bring over 600 jobs to my district, about 400 of which will be online by the summer of 2018. In 2015, my involvement in the community engagement process with Linc Logistics brought 200 jobs to the 3rd District, with 80 percent of those jobs going to Detroiters. These are the stories that need to be told. I personally support residency for city employees, but people
See SHAME page A-4
WHAT’S INSIDE
The tangled web of the
Jacksons See page D-1
$1.00
The power of brotherhood By Keith A. Owens Senior Editor
“Dennis and I were just talking and we said hey, let’s do something so that the next generation can see what happens when brothers come together, stay together, work together, pray together, lose together, win together. And I think that hopefully that’s what this naming will mean. It will mean that anybody from anywhere can accomplish anything.” — Dr. Bill Pickard That conversation took place nearly half a century ago, when a young Bill Pickard and Dennis Archer were roommates at Western Michigan University in a dormitory semi-humorously known at the time as “Hungry Hall,” because it was the only dormitory on campus that didn’t serve food. Archer was planning on going into education, and Pickard’s major was social work. The two were also bonded through their fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, which created a valued social network and place of refuge on the predominantly white campus during the 1960s. But it was Ron Hall, the third man completing the trio of brothers, who both Archer and Pickard acknowledge was the genius of the group. A mathematics major, Hall was actually one of the co-founders of the Epsilon Xi chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha on WMU’s campus that they all joined. Before his untimely death last year, Hall more than established himself as one of the most respected, gifted and astute business leaders in (at least) the entire state of Michigan.
William F. Pickard
Dennis W. Archer
Ronald E. Hall
Half a century later, thanks to a generous $3,050,000 philanthropic gift to the university from Dr. Pickard, a trio of new university facilities will be named in honor of the trio of brothers who met and became friends on the WMU campus, and who remained hugely supportive of each other, and of their university, throughout the years. From the press release:
dent of the American Bar Association as well as a former trustee; and
to honor the people so critical throughout his life really illustrate the transformational power that comes from friendship, common goals and powerful learning experiences.”
“Acting at its April 27 meeting, the WMU Board of Trustees approved naming two campus residence halls and a Heritage Hall conference room for the three alumni who met at WMU in the 1960s. They are: • Ronald E. Hall, a 1965 WMU alumnus, Detroit civic and business leader and automotive executive who died June 1, 2016, halfway into his eight-year term as a WMU Trustee; • Dennis W. Archer Sr., a 1965 WMU alumnus, former Detroit mayor, former member of the Michigan Supreme Court and past presi-
• William F. Pickard, a 1964 alumnus who is a current WMU trustee, longtime Detroit entrepreneur, and founder and chairman of the Global Automotive Alliance. Action by the WMU board April 27 means that, in recognition of a $3,050,000 gift recently made by Pickard to the university and in celebration of the three friends’ lifelong bonds and ties to WMU, the two residence halls that comprise the Western Heights complex will be named Hall-Archer-Pickard Hall East and Hall-Archer-Pickard Hall West. In addition, a conference room on the main level of Heritage Hall will be named the Hall-Archer-Pickard Conference Room.” “The lifelong bonds these men nurtured over the years are exactly the kinds of connections we wish for all of our students,” said WMU President John M. Dunn. “Trustee Pickard’s gift and his desire
Reminiscing about the conversation he and his old college roommate shared all those years ago, Pickard said “We never thought it would be anything like this, of course. I thought Dennis would become principal of a school, I thought I would become head of the Flint Urban League, or something like that. Pontiac Urban League. But Ron was the smartest guy. I mean, can you imagine a black guy, a math major?” But regardless of what they had imagined at the time, the careers of all three men — one from Cassopolis (Archer), another from Flint and the third a Cass Tech graduate from Detroit — their collective trajectory of overwhelming success and
See BROTHERHOOD page A-4
Additional $1.6 million in funding for the Water Residential Assistance Program for 2,000 low-Income Detroit residents The Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA) Board of Directors this week approved a $1.7 million reallocation of WRAP (Water Residential Assistance Program) funding to the City of Detroit, as well as to the City of Flint, upon its return to GLWA as a contract customer, which is a program requirement. This brings the total commitment for Detroit eligible low-income residential households to $7.3 million since WRAP was launched on March 1, 2016. The reallocated funding is from the uncommitted 2016 bill assistance funds from GLWA’s three major county partners — Wayne, Oakland and Macomb. Of the $1.7 million being reallocated, just over $1.6 million will be directed to the City of Detroit, and approximately $132,000 will be set aside to provide future assistance to eligible Flint households once Flint executes the proposed long-term contract with GLWA. “The decision by the GLWA
consumption in the city are also eligible for a free water conservation audit, and up to an additional $1,000 for minor household plumbing repairs based on audit results.
Board of Directors to reallocate uncommitted funding to Detroit and Flint reinforces the spirit of regional collaboration that was at the heart of the Authority’s formation,” said Sue F. McCormick, chief executive officer of GLWA WRAP, which is administered by Wayne Metropolitan Community Action Agency, provides qualifying customers at or below 150 percent of the federal pover-
ty threshold with help in paying current and past-due water bills. Eligible customers receive a $25 monthly credit toward current water bills with any arrears suspended for 12-24 months. Customers who make their monthly payments for six months receive an additional credit of up to $350 toward the arrearages (up to $700 during a 12-month period). Qualifying residents with water usage exceeding 120 percent of the average household water
“We are committed to making sure every Detroit water customer has a path toward assistance,” said Gary Brown, director of the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department. “The reallocated funding for Detroit allows us to continue this help by enrolling up to 2,000 more Detroit households who face financial difficulties in paying their water bill. This is in addition to the nearly 6,000 enrolled in WRAP now. A robust and comprehensive program with a 90 percent retention rate, WRAP has reduced Detroit low-income residents’ water account balances and decreased their bill to the average residential bill of close to $50 for a two-person household.” Since its inception in March
See FLINT page A-4