Have a happy and safe
Full appreciation of Detroit’s
riverfront
Fourth of
July
(Page D-1)
In recent years the beautiful riverfront has experienced a remarkable amount of new development.
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michiganchronicle.com
Volume 78 – Number 42
July 1-7, 2015
Detroit loses two community pillars
WHAT’S INSIDE Pastors divided on same-sex marriage ruling (Page A-3) The Supreme Court’s ruling that same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states is, predictably, causing a huge amount of debate. Perhaps nowhere more so than in the Black church, known for its conservative views on matters pertaining to sexual orientation.
By Steve Holsey On Monday, June 22, Detroit lost two individuals of great accomplishment and whose impact will endure — Brenda L. Rayford, executive director of Black United Fund of Michigan (BUF), and Leon H. Atchison, longest-serving member of the Wayne State University Board of Governors. Rayford, community development activist and social worker, spent the greater part of her life working to ensure that community-based, nonprofit organizations and programs received financial and technical capacity building support.
Milestone for Chene Park (Page B-1) One of Detroit’s most popular venues, the Chene Park Amphitheater, is celebrating 30 years of providing metro Detroit with consistently excellent entertainment. It all started with then-Mayor Coleman Young who felt Detroit should have an amphitheater that would be equal to Pine Knob, now known as the DTE Energy Music Theatre.
Far too much focus on Rachel Dolezal (Page B-4) Julianne Malveaux has had enough of the media and its ongoing obsession with Rachel Dolezal, the White woman who successfully passed for Black and led the Spokane branch of the NAACP. Meanwhile, the stories of deserving real Black remain untold.
Expanding the success of Midtown (Page C-1) “I think Midtown has served us well, but the majority of Detroit doesn’t live in Midtown.” Those words were spoken by the city’s newly hired director of Planning and Development, Maurice Cox. His vision is to repeat things done in the neighborhoods that are working so well in Midtown.
Bert Dearing — Monica Morgan photos
Bert’s supporters fight to keep cultural landmark in
Eastern Market By Keith A. Owens
So much of what has made Detroit a great American city is Detroit music, and Bert’s is synonymous with great American music, Detroit-style. No other city on the planet can compete with Detroit when it comes to musical legacy and global impact, and when it
comes to Detroit jazz, which has produced some of the finest players in the world, there is hardly a single one of them who has not sharpened and refined his/her chops at Bert’s. When the world’s best jazz musicians come through town, they usually end up at
See BERT'S page A-4
The tragedy on Nottingham Street By Roz Edward When is the appropriate time for police to call off a police chase or the vehicular pursuit of a suspected felon — after it’s turned deadly?
But that was not the case in the tragic police chase that resulted in the deaths of two young children on Detroit’s east side, and caused three other children to be transported to a nearby hospital, all in critical condition.
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Melba Dearing (right) and Avery Tucker.
When police chases turn deadly:
According to Detroit Police Department policy, officers can chase if they have probable cause to believe a felony — and not just fleeing and eluding alone — “has been, is being or is about to be, committed.” It also says they can pursue if officers see offenses that pose such a danger to the public that they outweigh the hazards of pursuing the fleeing vehicle.
A national study of people involved in police chases found that 75 percent of the fleeing drivers would have slowed down if they felt safe from capture. The study, funded by the National Institute of Justice, also found that those who flee are overwhelming male with an average age of 26.
Services were held on June 30 at St. Stephen A.M.E. Church. Swanson Funeral Home handled arrangements. Atchison, although regularly noted for his 32-year tenure Leon H. Atchison on the WSU board, at various times held a number of other key positions. They include serving as director of purchasing for the City of Detroit under Mayor Coleman A. Young and director of civic of government affairs for Michigan Consolidated Gas Company.
This is a job for the people of Detroit. For nearly 30 years, Bert’s has been a cultural anchor that has served, saved, entertained, and employed thousands. Perhaps tens of thousands. While many may point to incoming businesses and new development as what is saving Detroit, a comparable argument could easily be made that it is small Black businesses like Bert’s that have been saving this city for years. “I don’t see why we can’t have progress while keeping some things in place. The problem A gofundme campaign has been I have is people started for the benefit of Bert trying to Dearing by his push him granddaughter, Melba: out,” said gofundme.com/saveberts drummer GayeLynn McKinney, a 2014 Kresge Artist fellow. “But this is where the people come in, I hope, who come in and say hey, we want this to stay.”
A number of major organizations, including the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, received local and national recognition due to the Brenda L. Rayford early funding they received from BUF.
Upon his retirement from MichCon, Atchison, who had also taught science in the Detroit Public Schools, became an accountant for NICO, a duty-free operation at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. He later became vice president of public affairs and human resources for Ultimed HMO of Michigan. In addition, he served on the Board of Directors of Omni HMO and was a board member and chair for the Detroit Medical Center. In recognition of his great contributions at Wayne State, the university’s South University Hall was renamed the Leon H. Atchison Hall in 2008. Services were held at Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. The arrangements were handled by Swanson Funeral Home.
Detroit Police chief says ‘urban terrorism’ on the rise By Daniel A. Washington
Lorenzo Harris, 29, was allegedly on the run on Wednesday, June 24, due to a parole violation. As he was being chased through Detroit’s east side, the Chevy Camaro he was driving was allegedly clipped by police, causing it to fly into the air, killing two young children and critically injuring three others. Michaelangelo Jackson, 6, and his younger sister, Makiah Jackson, 3, were struck and killed by the vehicle being chased. Witnesses on the scene report that Detroit police officers and officials have not been entirely truthful about what happened that day
See POLICE
CHASES page A-4
Detroit Police Chief James Craig’s recent comments regarding the widespread violence marking the first week of summer — one that he says was the bloodiest of the year — expressed concern over the rise in “urban terrorism.” It is a term law officials use to describe crime aimed at a large group of people in an urban environment. With rising temperatures and a swell in controversy regarding the
See URBAN
TERRORISM page A-4