The Michigan Chronicle salutes the 2015 Men of Excellence. See tab inside.
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Grace Jones sharing her unique story. See page D-1.
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Volume 78 – Number 43
WHAT’S INSIDE Massive funds needed to save Bert’s (Page A-3) A GoFundMe page has been started to raise funds for Bert’s, the venerable jazz club owned by Bert Dearing that is scheduled to go on the auction block July 20-22 for a bid price of $700,000. Far less than needed has been raised thus far. Losing Bert’s would be a tremendous blow for Detroit, especially at a time when in many respects the city is resurging. See page A-3.
July 8-14, 2015
$5 million job training grant, …If Detroiters are serious about curbing crime perfect timing for Detroit
START SNITCHING
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
According to information from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released its most recent data in June of this year, unemployment in the Detroit area has dropped dramatically between April 2014 and April 2015, from 7.8 percent to 5.1 percent. But there is a large gap between the Detroit area and Detroit proper, which is why the recent announcement of a $5 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to bolster Detroit’s workforce development efforts is more than welcome news. It’s close to a blessing.
Paradise ValleyHarmonie Park transformation (Page B-1) The Carr Center, a multidisciplinary arts center, community house and cultural destination located in the Paradise Valley-Harmonie Park neighborhood, has commissioned the creation of an art installation that is making the area that much more of a destination for Detroiters and metro Detroiters.
Pastor E.L. Branch, Third New Hope Baptist Church, addresses the audience.– Jason Flowers photos
By Keith A. Owens For all of those who continue to trumpet the news that Detroit is coming back, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on all that progress that hasn’t yet arrived in Detroit outside of the downtown area.
Rewriting history (Page B-4) There are those who maintain that the Confederate flag is a symbol of White superiority. “No wonder the coward who was welcomed into Emanuel African Episcopal Church had draped himself in that heinous flag,” writes Julianne Malveaux. “No wonder racism is so intransient. No wonder the sale of Confederate paraphernalia rose with the election of President Barack Obama.”
Pastor Curtis C. Williams
Fr. Norman Paul Thomas
“If you report a crime to Crime Stoppers, no one, not us, not the police, no one will know your identity. At Crime Stoppers we are obsessive about being anonymous. Here are the precautions we take There are no caller IDs at Crime Stoppers, the 1-800 SPEAKUP number goes to a call center that is actually in Canada. They aren’t even handled in the U.S. Calls are never recorded.
Bishop James Williams II
“Callers are never asked for their name, or their phone number or any kind of identifying information. Pastors all over Detroit have been giving their word that 1 800 SPEAKUP is 100 percent anonymous,” said Broad. Added Pastor E.L. Branch: “This is important to all of us. If you won’t make it for
Pastor Darren Penson
See CURBING
CRIME page A-4
Pastor Brian Relford
At last week’s press conference when the announcement was made on the city’s east side, Eric Seleznow, deputy assistant secretary for employment and training for the US Department of Labor, joined Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and Michigan Talent Investment agency Director Stephanie Comai to announce the deal that will specifically target those who have been most difficult to employ. The grant will help the city establish a new workforce initiative, which in this initial phase is expected to place 1,500 Detroiters in full-time employment, focusing on veterans, disabled, youth, returning citizens and the long-term unemployed. “Our success as a city depends on making sure all of our residents have the opportunity to participate in Detroit’s recovery,” said Mayor Duggan. “This grant will allow us to develop new strategies that have never been used before to employ our returning citizens and others and measure our results.” US Secretary of Labor Tomas E. Perez, who officially awarded the grant, said, “We cannot afford to ignore the challenges facing our young people today. We have a moral obligation to do all we can to ensure that opportunity
See GRANT page A-4
Gentrification
How it helps, but at what cost? By Steve Holsey The first apartment building I ever lived in, Cadillac Square Apartments in downtown Detroit, was basically ethnically balanced when I moved there in 1976. In fact, there may have been more Black tenants than White. It is a completely different situation now, as reported to me by a White friend who recently moved into the building. In addition to the Black tenants now being outnumbered, they mainly live on the lower floors where the rent is less. Not long ago I lived in the Lafayette Pavilion in Lafayette Park, also downtown. I moved out years ago because the rent increased to levels I could no longer afford. Since that time it,
$1.00
Patrice Young
“It is here that we can dismantle the code of silence that has had such a devastating effect. The code of silence has resulted in so many grieving families,” said John Broad, president of Crime Stoppers, at last week’s press conference when a group of Detroit religious leaders came together at the Greater Quinn AME Church in Detroit to publicly register their dismay at the rising level of violence in Detroit and to encourage Detroiters to come forward to help combat the epidemic.
Freedman’s Bank ongoing significance (Page C-1) The Freedman’s Bank 150th Anniversary Tour recently arrived at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. The bank was founded shortly after the end of the Civil War. It closed in 1874, hurting the very people it was intended to help, but its significance remains.
That’s going in the right direction, but still ranks Detroit’s unemployment at twice the rate of the Detroit metropolitan area. Statewide, unemployment in Michigan dropped from 5.7 percent in March to 4.8 percent in April.
Snitching is no longer a bad word.
In the rest of Detroit, violence is still out of control and while no one really wants to say that the police are losing, it’s clear they aren’t winning. And one major reason for why is a lack of cooperation from too many of Detroit’s residents who are either afraid to report crimes to the police, or who flatout don’t trust the police and would prefer to honor a blood-drenched code of silence that is costing more and more Detroiters their lives.
In July 2009, the unemployment rate in Detroit was 27.8 percent. By April of this year, according to the most recent data provided by the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget, unemployment in Detroit dropped from 11.7 percent in March to 10.2 percent in April.
See GENTRIFICATION page A-4