Detroit’s Reparations Task Force is in the early stages, but members of the new commission grappling with how to make amends for long-standing systemic racism in the United States are preparing what new housing and economic development opportunities may look like for Detroiters.
Detroit’s task force co-chairs Lauren Hood and Keith Williams said the city’s challenges are different from others. That includes places like San Francisco where a similar committee this year proposed $5 million in cash payouts to citizens as one of many recommendations (this one particularly controversial) and Evanston, Illinois, where a body decided up to $25,000 should go to applicants of housing programs. In Detroit, cash payouts could be part of the discussion but compensation requires a shift in policies and practices in how the city governs Black Detroiters, Hood said. Housing stipends also require specific qualifications.
“On the surface, it looks good because you get some money, but it's really restricted in how you spend it. It's like having a coupon for a store that doesn't sell what you want,” Hood said. “In my mind, it’s more than local government … I think that in a city like Detroit, with regards to housing and economic development, there are a lot of institutional and organizational actors that could play a role in applying redress. The responsibility shouldn’t just be the government.”