On September 13th Crain’s Business Detroit will use Matty Moroun’s abandoned train station to host their annual “Homecoming” event. This three-day event will kick off at the old Central Train Depot, where the wealthy elite will hear about all of the “great opportunities” in Detroit ripe for investment. In announcing the event, Mike Duggan said, “What’s more symbolic of this city’s decline and rebirth than the images of the Michigan Central Depot four years ago and the images today?” As the Duggan administration touts the image of a Detroit experiencing rebirth, it fails to acknowledge or seriously address the racist and unequal basis on which that “rebirth” is taking place.
While Duggan claims that his administration has not prioritized billionaires like the Illitch family, Dan Gilbert, and Stephen Ross, his actions show the exact opposite. Detroit has been recently named one of the nation’s most segregated cities AND the poorest, with 40 percent of the population making less than $26,000 a year. Not only does Duggan’s administration fail to address these issues in a concrete way, he in fact champions policies that fortify the growing inequalities. These policies have created two Detroits: the “New Detroit” reserved for the white and wealthy, and the old Detroit that is left to rot away, reserved for the minority and poor and working-class.
The Charlevoix Villages Association (CVA) has already had a serious impact on the City administration's attempt to shove down our throats development plans that would lead to our displacement. We have made clear to them that there is growing and active oppostion within our community to their plans. But we know that only a mass movement throughout the City can stop displacement and resegregation. That is why we need all opponents of the growing inequality in Detroit to mobilize and show Duggan and his rich backers that DETROIT IS NOT FOR SALE!