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‘Seismic shift in Michigan politics’ paves way for urban economic development, pols say

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‘Seismic shift in Michigan politics’ paves way for urban economic development, pols say

Mar 21, 2023 | 1:40 pm ET
By Anna Gustafson
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‘Seismic shift in Michigan politics’ paves way for urban economic development, pols say
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Rep. Kristian Grant (D-Grand Rapids) speaks about the need for economic development through a racial equity lens during a March 20, 2023 press conference at Linc Up in Grand Rapids. | Photo by Anna Gustafson

For the state lawmakers gathered Monday at Linc Up, a Grand Rapids-based nonprofit focused on racial equity, the push to invest in Michigan’s disenfranchised urban cores is, ultimately, about acknowledging that Black Michiganders and other marginalized residents have long been pushed from their homes in the wake of racist policy and new development — and fully correcting that wrong. 

“When we look at urban economic development, it’s really a conversation around how do we handle investment for core parts of the state that have been underinvested in for so long, and how do we stop punishing those areas?” said state Rep. Kristian Grant (D-Grand Rapids), the first Black woman to represent Grand Rapids in the Michigan House.

Grant led a roundtable at Linc Up where state lawmakers met with affordable housing advocates and nonprofit, state and community leaders to discuss strengthening economic development in disenfranchised communities across the state. 

Following the event, which was closed to the media, Grant and other Democratic legislators held a press conference to highlight policy they hope will be championed during the budget process under a new Democratic-led Legislature. Following November’s election, Democrats maintained the governorship and won control of the House and Senate. 

It’s now the first time in nearly 40 years that Democrats have this trifecta, and amid a flurry of action around gun reform, repealing Right to Work, LGBTQ+ rights, and ensuring access to abortion, lawmakers said Monday they also want to see the new majority focus on urban economic development through a lens of racial equity. 

‘Seismic shift in Michigan politics’ paves way for urban economic development, pols say
Michigan lawmakers gather at Linc Up in Grand Rapids for a March 20, 2023 roundtable on urban economic development. | Photo courtesy of Rep. Kristian Grant’s office

In addition to Grant, lawmakers who spoke at the press conference included Reps. Tyrone Carter (D-Detroit), Amos O’Neal (D-Saginaw), Donavan McKinney (D-Detroit), Will Snyder (D-Muskegon) and Joey Andrews (D-St. Joseph). 

“For the first time in 10 years, we have a speaker … from Detroit; we also have a leader of the Senate from Grand Rapids — the largest and second largest cities in Michigan,” Carter said of House Speaker Joe Tate (D-Detroit) and Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids). “So we can look at what hasn’t taken place in these quarters.”

Previous Republican leadership in the Michigan Legislature has been predominantly white and often represented more rural or suburban areas of the state, such as former Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) and former Speaker Jason Wentworth (R-Farwell).

“A major element of the seismic shift in Michigan’s politics is that many of our urban cores — which are more often than not represented by Democrats — are now represented by members in the majority,” Brinks, who attended the roundtable but not the press conference, said in a prepared statement. “As our majority for the people crafts legislation to grow and support our state’s economy, we’re excited to work with partners who are committed to equity, the environment, and creating high-quality jobs.”

As has been the case for Black-majority communities across the United States, Michigan cities and neighborhoods with a majority of Black residents, from Detroit and Grand Rapids to Saginaw and Benton Harbor, have long faced underinvestment, a lack of affordable housing, overtaxation, and policies that have torn apart communities of color — such as building highways that split Black neighborhoods, the lawmakers said Monday.

Now, legislators said there must be policies aimed at empowering residents who have invested in their communities for years but are being forced to move in the wake of gentrification — such as boosting affordable housing and increasing pathways to homeownership. These policies, the lawmakers said, must represent an end to the gentrification that has largely benefited white developers and property owners and led to soaring rental prices in areas where Black residents largely do not have homeownership because of structural racism.

“Poverty is written into policy,” Grant said.

‘Seismic shift in Michigan politics’ paves way for urban economic development, pols say
Rep. Tyrone Carter (D-Detroit) encourages state investment in urban cores during a March 20, 2023 press conference at Linc Up in Grand Rapids. | Photo by Anna Gustafson

University of Michigan researchers recently found a nearly 30% difference in homeownership in historically redlined neighborhoods compared to non-redlined ones. Redlining is a now illegal — but still unofficially used — practice of denying bank mortgages to applicants of color and steering them to marginalized areas.

“Once upon a time, Detroit was the hub of the largest Black homeownership in the country,” Carter said. “We’ve lost population. …We have to look at some of these root causes, whether it was the overtaxation, whether it was people just leaving, tearing down abandoned homes that could have been salvaged.”

O’Neal said communities across the state have faced similar issues. 

“When I grew up, we had small businesses all throughout the neighborhood — minority owned; all those are gone,” said O’Neal, who grew up in Saginaw. “[Interstate] 675 goes right through my neighborhood. Those neighborhoods that were thriving and had businesses and corridors — they’re gone. So how do we reinvest in the urban core?”

Part of that answer lies in elected officials being intentional about racial equity when distributing state funds, O’Neal said.

“Communities have been disenfranchised, marginalized and just left out,” O’Neal said. “And so when you talk about policy, we send millions of dollars throughout the state, and what I hear and what I know my colleagues hear, are where are the benefits to us — the residents that are a block or two away from the major developments.”

McKinney, whose district covers Northeast Detroit, said the state must address root causes around foreclosures — which he said left Detroit to become “a renter majority city.”

Many of his constituents “lost their home to a simple water bill,” McKinney said.

While Carter said the fallout from years of structural racism and biased policy is “not going to be fixed overnight,” it’s crucial that racial equity is centered in budget and policy conversations moving forward, he and the other legislators said. 

“This conversation is a long time coming,” Andrews said. “A lot of our urban areas have been neglected in the conversation around economic development for far too long.”

‘Seismic shift in Michigan politics’ paves way for urban economic development, pols say
Rep. Kristian Grant speaks with the media during a March 20, 2023 press conference about urban economic development at Linc Up in Grand Rapids. | Photo courtesy of Rep. Grant’s office

As lawmakers debate the Fiscal Year 2024 budget, legislators at Monday’s event said there must be a focus on urban economic development that empowers longtime residents and doesn’t push people of color from their homes. 

A Whitmer spokesperson said in a statement sent Tuesday to the Advance that the governor included a wide range of housing investments in her proposed budget.

That proposed budget includes $100 million for the state’s Community Downtown Economic Development program to provide grants for community development efforts in downtowns, $50 million for Revitalization and Placemaking Program grants to rehabilitate vacant, underutilized and blighted structures, and $50 million for the Housing and Community Development Program to address affordable housing needs.

“Gov. Whitmer believes that homeownership is a key part of achieving the American dream, and that every family deserves a safe, affordable place to call home so they have the foundation to pursue their potential,” Whitmer spokesperson Stacey LaRouche said. “That’s why she launched her statewide housing plan to create or preserve 75,000 homes, stabilizing housing for over 100,000 Michigan households.

“The governor is also investing in home energy efficiency and making weatherization improvements in over 15,000 households, lowering costs for Michiganders,” LaRouche continued. “Increasing housing access and affordability is good for Michiganders and grows our economy, ensuring Michigan maintains a competitive edge in attracting and retaining talent.”