Opinion: Demolition of I-375 can never erase the sins of the past

On Thursday, there was quite a celebratory mood expressed by many who honestly believe ― or at least are trying hard to convince the rest of us to believe ― that the $104.6 million federal grant awarded to the City of Detroit to dismantle the I-375 freeway will somehow manage to retroactively heal the simmering racial division that was stretched and torn wide open more than 60 years ago when, for the sake of a freeway, an entire Black neighborhood was paved over and erased with barely a second thought.

It boggles the mind that anyone could have the audacity to say this project will in any way rectify what happened to the families and business owners of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley all those years ago — especially when you consider that many of them were only given 30 days to relocate once the decision had been made to demolish their homes.

Buttigieg: Fixing I-375 means acknowledging those who were displaced to build it

For those who don’t know the history, in 1959, a hundred thousand Black residents were displaced to make way for that freeway, many only given only a month to vacate their homes. Among that hundred thousand were successful Black business owners, including 10 restaurateurs, eight grocers, 17 physicians, and six drugstore operators.

Paradise Valley was nationally renowned for its music scene. Its venues ran shows around the clock, hosting some of the most famous names in the entertainment industry. That entertainment district provided not only some of the best live shows but provided steady work to a number of Detroit’s Black population. But Paradise Valley only managed to survive a few more years once Black Bottom had been paved over.

Three generations of lost Black wealth

Imagine what kind of socio-economic foundation that could have been built into place to anchor Detroit’s Black population if Black Bottom and Paradise Valley had been allowed to thrive and naturally progress through today?

Imagine the Black wealth that could have been passed down from one generation to another, helping to sustain one generation after another. Imagine a Black Detroit that didn’t have to struggle constantly to come from behind, but was actually ahead of the game ― or at least up to speed with everyone else.

The new project, according to an AP News report, “will create a slower-speed boulevard that aims to improve safety by removing a steep curve and adding LED lighting, while removing 15 old bridges and two stormwater runoff pump stations and building out wider sidewalks, protected bike lanes and pedestrian crossings.” (The Wayne County Executive’s office was not involved in the development of the plan for 375.)

Maybe it’s just me, but somehow that doesn’t sound like a fair trade.

New 'Hastings Street' musical explores Detroit's Black Bottom community

How about giving some of this land that was snatched from the root of what could have spawned a prosperous Black economy to modern day Black businesses to help them succeed? Or possibly giving priority to those Black businesses that managed to survive the destruction green-lit by Detroit’s notoriously racist Mayor Albert Cobo, whose efforts to destroy a community were rewarded by having Cobo Hall named after him?

If you want to rectify the sins of the past, I believe those measures could be an honest way to repair the breach.

Because all I heard on Thursday was a well-produced show, as good as any you may have seen at a club in Paradise Valley, designed to gain support for a project that somebody already knows is being built over a nest of PR land mines.

Progress, perhaps — but hardly compensation

I want to make clear that I am not opposed to the new project. But I am opposed to the disrespectful narrative used to promote it.

This isn’t about whether the new project is good or bad. We’ll see.

One thing I can tell you for sure: To say that this project can make up for what has been lost, or the injustices perpetrated upon the black community, is a lie told either by someone who doesn’t know any better, or someone who hopes that you don’t.

I say it’s time to tell the truth. That's the least Detroit’s black population is owed.

Warren C. Evans has been the Wayne County Executive since 2015.