Whitmer-Gilchrist Administration Passes

By Sherri Kolade

The Whitmer-Gilchrist Administration recently passed its 50day, second-term mark.

The real impact of their tenure in the government is felt across the state of Michigan, Detroit, and the economic growth that trickles down to the Black/ BIPOC residents.

Sunday, February 19, marked the first 50 days of their second term, which Whitmer recently touched on.

“On day one, I told you I would work with anyone to grow our economy, help Michiganders feel safe, improve our infrastructure and lower costs to help families put food on the table. Fifty days in, I want to provide a progress report,” Whitmer wrote in an email statement. Their administration got the ball rolling early in the year

50-Day Mark

also introduced a budget proposal, including tax credits for childcare and preschool teachers, a temporary pause of the sales tax on electric vehicles and more.

“2023 is off to a productive start, but the work is far from over,” Whitmer said. “Let’s keep getting it done.”

Their administration also reaffirmed and expanded legal protections for LGBTQ+ residents following the Michigan House and Senate passage of an amendment to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.

“Every Michigander deserves to be treated with dignity and respect under the law,” Whitmer said. “I’ve been calling for changes to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to strengthen legal protections for our LGBTQ+ community for years, and I am proud that we are finally getting icle after the address that Black development is important in a majority Black city.

“We definitely want to ... have our voices be heard,” he said of economic improvements for and by “people who look like us.”

Osbern added that while he was inspired by the address, he hopes to see even more tangible change with more decision-making level involvement on the back end of business deals and not just down the line at the worker level.

“Like they say, ‘If you’re not at the table you’re on the menu.’ We definitely got to be at the table making these decisions,” he said.

Duggan told the Michigan Chronicle that Black ownership is crucial.

“I think Black ownership is critical for development, for homes, for businesses, and it has been exciting to see,” Duggan said, adding that Motor City Match is also a great partnership with some busi- it done.” nesses, like Detroit Pizza Bar. “We have 144 new businesses in this city [177 percent of them minority-owned].”

Duggan said even when he was running for mayor he had meetings with potential business owners who said they don’t have the funds to start their businesses, which allows Motor City Match to make up the difference. “We get 300 applications a quarter and this is allowing people from Detroit to start businesses.”

Duggan’s lengthy speech was framed by an upbeat tone that suggested the direction the city is headed: a positive one, and it’s not hard to see why.

According to a University of Michigan Economic Forecast, while the nation is on the cusp of a national recession, Detroit’s reputation for resiliency is now manifesting itself in other areas as well.

Unquestionably, there is a growing sense of optimism in Detroit with more jobs expected to be created, more earnings anticipated,

Second Term

Gilchrist agrees.

“Our vision for Michigan must be inclusive and big enough for everyone to thrive. With this amendment of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, we are taking long-overdue action to help ensure full civil rights protections for Michiganders, no matter their gender identity or sexual orientation,” Gilchrist said. “Let us build on this progress and continue our work to create a more equitable and prosperous Michigan.”

Progress also looks like eating healthy at a reasonable price.

Whitmer also recently proclaimed March 6-10 as School Breakfast Week.

Whitmer highlighted her education budget initiative to offer free breakfast and lunch to all 1.4 million public school students in Michigan. The state would become just the fourth to get this done and improve the overall health and wellness of students across the state.

Black students, and and more prospects expected for residents – even though hard economic realities like unemployment still exist.

Detroit’s continued success in luring well-paying jobs is a major contributor to its healthy economy.

“Despite projections of a mild national recession, the Detroit economy has proven to be more resilient today supported by multiple years of balanced budgets for the city post-bankruptcy. We will continue employing the administration’s growth and opportunity strategies to further sustain and grow the City’s economy and improve the quality of life for Detroiters,” said Jay Rising, chief financial officer of the City of Detroit.

Duggan told the Michigan Chronicle that the revitalization of Michigan Central is a long-awaited opportunity that is just as symbolic as it is a tangible reminder of what the city is all about – a good rebirth.

“It means a lot for people,” he said of Michigan Central. “People are going to be really pleased at how people restored it.” others in the BIPOC community at large, are often impacted by pricey school lunches.

The address can be viewed at detroitmi.gov or on the City of Detroit Facebook and YouTube pages.

“What we saw consistently was that families of color, particularly Black families, had food insecurity rates that were twoto-three times as high as white households,” said Elaine Waxman, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute in a Word in Black article. “That’s not a new story, but again, particularly early in the pandemic, it was really exacerbated for Black families.”

Research shows that children who eat breakfast are more likely to reach higher levels of

Are We Continuing a Legacy of Victimhood?

By Sherri Kolade

Black people in our plight of standing against racism, narratives that are continually perpetrated against us, and police brutality, among other things –too much is going on. Are we perpetuating the narrative of victimhood or still pushing through with power and offense rather than defensive tactics that keep us stuck?

According to FBI statistics, hate crimes increased by 23 percent between 2016 and 2020. Racism and ethnicity-based offenses accounted for 65 percent of all hate crimes in 2020 and saw a 23 percent increase in that time. In 2020, there were around 3,000 hate crimes against Black people across the country; these crimes increased by more than 40 percent between 2019 and 2020 and by nearly 60 percent between 2016 and 2020. Moreover, Giffords asserts that such numbers are probably an undercount.

While hate crimes have raged against the Black community for generations dating back to slavery and the Jim Crow era, Black people have faced many issues and have overcome them each time. Yet, is there a legacy of victimization that is keeping Black people stuck?

Trauma can impact people in different ways.

Defined as a “deeply distressing or disturbing experience” or even a physical injury, trauma can manifest itself in ways that show up most unexpectedly.

De’Nisha “Dinah” Beasley (who holds a double Master’s Degree in social work and theological studies) has over 14 years of experience serving in mental health, social work and education arena, working as a restorative healing specialist in inner-city communities, and is the executive director for a non-profit organization focused on saving children from child sexual exploitation. Beasley, the founder of the Center for Restorative Services and Solutions (The CRSS) where she utilizes her knowledge of trauma-informed and restorative practices to help individuals heal from trauma, restore relationships and build healthy communities. She told the Michigan Chronicle that she sees children handling trauma by acting out at school and elsewhere.

“Behavior and academics are all related to trauma,” Beasley said.

Detroit resident and mental health advocate E’yandra Otis agrees. “[We] need to take a bigger look at mental health, period,” Otis told the Michigan Chronicle. “A society cannot move forward if we have so many people have trauma not addressed, not spoken about.... You have to make victims feel safe to share their stories.”

Former U.S. President Barack Obama’s well-known words turned into a movement that continues to remind Black people, among others, that we are our own change agents and revolu- tionaries especially when it comes to rebuilding lives beyond the trauma and noise.

Previn Martin, of Detroit, told the Michigan Chronicle that the state of race in Detroit is “in flux” right now and sometimes working beyond the trauma requires practical work.

“I think it still needs a lot of work. I think there are some struggles that there’s always going to be between the races, and then that’s not just white, Black, Arabic and Hispanic and things like that,” he said, adding that Black people in particular are still traumatized on the effects of British-led colonialism among other things. “I think it has a lot to do with where you are within your socioeconomic group. [And with the queen’s death] a lot of colonialism feelings are coming up. I personally believe that the whole monarchy system is very, very outdated.”

Annie Mae Holt of Detroit told the Michigan Chronicle that as part of the Baby Boomer generation moving from Birmingham, Ala., to the city (during the week of the 1967 Rebellion) she speaks from experience on race as a transplant.

“I continue to see us as citizens in Detroit fighting to make things better,” she said, adding that even in her adult daughters she sees how they take on different impressions of race and it’s all about coming together to find a solution. “[We] just gonna have to start getting together and having a healthy dialogue.”

The former educator added that it’s about being the village and looking after one another. “We the village,” Holt said.

The solution to the obvious wealth gap, which also impacts trauma? More money needs to be added in lower-income areas to redistribute tax wealth.

Kalani Ture, a senior fellow at Yale University’s Urban Ethnography Project and assistant professor at Mount Saint Mary’s University in Maryland, said that the Black experience in America leaves a lot to be desired, and reparations are needed.

“Furthermore, racism remains a caustic carcinogen wasting African American life such that in this post-George Floyd era, marked with replacement theory terrorists, the normalization of trauma, violence, and grief colors the daily news and extinguish any hope that we will become a more perfect union,” the social scientist and African American Studies professor, told the Michigan Chronicle.

Jerjuan Howard of Detroit told the Michigan Chronicle that the state of Detroit is segregated. “Economics plays a role in it, race in Detroit,” he said echoing similar thoughts, and adding that neighborhoods need to be shown a lot more love. “There’s a lot of great stories on the westside, eastside, the north end. The solution is to tell our own narrative a lot more, embrace each other a lot more.” achievement in reading and mathematics, perform better on assessments, have increased memory and concentration and maintain a healthy weight.

“It’s hard for kids to learn on an empty stomach,” said Governor Whitmer. “Every student should be able to start their day with a nutritious meal so they can stay energized throughout the day and focus on class. Let’s deliver on my budget proposal to offer all 1.4 million public school students in Michigan free breakfast and lunch, saving families over $850 a year and helping them succeed.”

For more information visit michigan.gov/whitmer.

From gun laws,” said Dr. Brian Stork a urologist and gun violence researcher at the University of Michigan health system. “We have to do both. We need more services for mental health care and we need common sense gun reforms. It’s not an either or choice.”

Dr. Strok was a part of a group of physicians and mental health experts who spoke out in support of a multiple gun violence bills pending in Michigan legislature. The bills include universal background checks, safe storage, and extreme risk protection orders. mental health, an easy-to-use mobile app, a 24-hour nurse line and the MIBlue virtual assistant, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are ready to help you feel your best — without the stress.

“Firearms are the most common method of completed suicide in the United States, and they are dependably lethal. Very often there are warning signs indicating that individuals are in imminent distress. In these situations, an Extreme Risk Protection Order can be a life-saving intervention that can enable us to interrupt the deadly progression from impulse to action,” said Dr. Sonya Lewis, a psychiatrist, and Vice President of the Michigan-based group, Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence.