Obama supporter at Joe Louis Arena. PHOTO BY DALE RICH
By Shea Howell Special to The Michigan Citizen
Barack Obama’s June 16th rally in Detroit brought a message of hope, faith and vision.
It was a Motown moment that showed how much this country is changing. It resonated with a new kind of politics, asking us to recognize the “core value” that “change comes from the bottom up.”
“If we are honest, we know our problems are not just the result of one person or one party but go back decades.” [more]
DETROIT — The 2008 primary race for the highest office in the nation has brought millions of new voters to the polls. With the end of the primary season and the beginning of the general election, many more will finally become active participants. But what about access to the polls for those whom society has attempted to marginalize?
The purging of Florida citizens, ex-felons and non-felons alike, from voter rolls in 2000 is just one example of a state apparatus intentionally eliminating minorities from the election process. In addition, new photo ID laws popping up around the country create more barriers to voter participation. [more]
Jerry Bell with hydroplane being finished in shop. / PHOTO BY DIANE BUKOWSKI
Owner-driver Jerry Bell and Golightly students are angry
By Diane Bukowski The Michigan Citizen
DETROIT – The Eastpointe-based, international American Power Boat Association has effectively banned the only African-American, Detroit-based team from participating in the historic 100th running of the Gold Cup races on the Detroit River this July 11-13.
The races, which require city permits and expenses for police and recreation department services on city owned-property, will take place July 11-13 on the Belle Isle section of the river. They are the boating equivalent of the Indianapolis 500 auto race. The Gold Cup, first awarded in 1904, was first captured by a Detroit driver, Christopher Smith of the Chris Craft company, in 1914. [more]
Public gem under private development
Belle Isle’s permanent cement slab. / PHOTO BY ACHILLE BIANCHI
Promised funds have yet to reach city
By Eric T. Campbell
The Michigan Citizen
DETROIT—According to its website, the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix race sets aside $100,000 yearly to the Detroit Recreation Department Partner’s Fund, to be administered directly to the restoration of the island.
This money is supposed to increase by $25,000 each year for a contract that began with the 2007 race and extends through 2011. But area activists say that the money has yet to reach the island as promised.
Belle Isle has undergone a series of transformations since the historic, 982-acre site was purchased by the City of Detroit in 1879.
The express purpose of the island as public park space for the benefit of Detroit residents is also changing shape as private interests look to profit from ‘underdeveloped’ prime real estate.
The newly paved race paddock on the southern end of Belle Isle indicates a long-term presence for the Grand Prix race-car series. Also, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick revealed plans for a maritime academy that will be a fenced-in compound consisting of 10 new buildings and two parking lots and will cover a half mile of water-front property.
The Detroit Grand Prix Association and the Downtown Detroit Partnership (DDP)—a partnership of corporate and civic leaders—brought the Detroit Grand Prix to Belle Isle in 2007.
Roger Penske, chairman of the Penske Corporation and the motivating force behind several recent sporting events, including the 2006 Super Bowl, held in downtown Detroit heads up the Downtown Partnership.
The FOBI and other Belle Isle conservationists initially contested the idea of a Grand Prix return to the island but were swayed by the suggestion that all race profits would go directly to restoration efforts.
Mary Waterstone is getting ready to relinquish her position as President of the Friends of Belle Isle (FOBI), a voluntary organization dedicated to the preservation of the island’s natural environment. Before she leaves she would like to see the fulfillment of a financial commitment made to the island by organizers of the race. Waterstone has been in negotiations with the Detroit Recreation Department to administer monies from the Grand Prix auto race—monies which were agreed upon as a trade-off to the beautification of the island.
“That was appealing to us. [Penske] promised to clean up Belle Isle and help this organization grow,” Waterstone recently told the Michigan Citizen. “We saw Penske making millions to put into historic structures and capital improvements.”
FOBI has been the force behind Belle Isle restoration projects for decades. In 1973, FOBI renovated the oldest building on the island—the administration building. It’s part of a movement to promote the importance of a public location for citizens to appreciate nature and undergo personal rejuvenation.
“There’s no other city in America with a park like this,” says Waterstone.
Waterstone says Penske did initiate a massive clean up of the island prior to the 2007 race. A public relations director for the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix Association confirmed that the DDP put millions into a clean up effort prior to the 2007 race, including improvements to the casino building and the fountain. But along with the clean up came the paving of several acres of grass and trees. The cement slab was designed to be a staging area for race cars and production trucks and remains year round. Many citizens complained that the cement slab was an unsightly, ahistoric addition. The Michigan Citizen fielded several letters of complaint to the editor.
“There’s no question that it defaces the island, but it was our belief there would be millions for the restoration of fabulous, historic buildings,” says Waterstone. “So far, no profits.”
The island fund is managed by the Detroit Recreation Department, currently under the direction of Lawrence Hemingway. Hemingway couldn’t be reached for comment by the time this article went to print.
Waterstone says a larger threat to the island’s appearance is the Maritime Academy proposed by the Mayor which will take up a great part of the west side of the island. Basically a charter school, the academy would include a student commons for hundreds of Michigan students and academic buildings that would cover over a half mile of the island’s north shoreline.
