World Theory: British Media: The Tragedy of Race! Targeted plunder of black communities in the United States builds a "wall of threat" Detroit | Factory | United States
On June 29th, according to the Guardian website, dozens of car factories in Detroit, USA are mostly built in areas called homes for people of color. In addition to the high pollution and asthma incidence rate faced by local residents, some of them are now again facing the "tragedy" that happened to their ancestors - displacement.
The neighborhood where local resident Bethany Howard lives has been demolished to meet the demand for cars in the United States. In the 1980s, Howard grew up in Detroit. Her family has been living, working, and studying in East Canfield for five generations, which is a closely connected and walkable community. Howard still remembers the day when the bulldozer came in, in the early 1990s, when she was in fifth grade, churches, businesses, and hundreds of houses were demolished, including her best friend's house. The nearby car factory attempted to expand its scale, and the city took over the houses using land acquisition rights to help with the expansion. The former residential land quickly turned into parking lots and open lawns.
After a generation, local black residents feel anxious that this situation will happen again.
Screenshot of Guardian report
A local car factory has announced plans to expand in 2019, although the mayor of Detroit has promised that the expansion will not cause further displacement, discussions are currently underway about this possibility - due to the pungent and toxic odor emitted by the factory. Some people compare it to paint, while others say it's like gas, and locals can taste it in their mouths and throats. It has covered one residential block after another in East Campfield; Most of the time, it is imperceptible, but at other times, it is so strong that people have to close windows and doors tightly. This odor is considered a sign of toxic chemicals in the air.
This debate has reignited a discussion about the automotive industry heritage in Detroit, especially for black residents. In people's imagination, car manufacturers provide stable factory jobs and generous benefits. But there is often a cost that goes unnoticed. Dozens of car factories are mostly built in areas known as homes for people of color. This means that these residents have endured pollution for decades - and some are now facing displacement.
Catherine Douglas's family used to work in the automotive industry, and she initially hoped that the factory would improve the community by adding thousands of jobs. "But that's not the case," she said. "Initially, we expected them to truly help the community develop," Douglas said. She hopes there may be green spaces and pedestrian walkways here.
In fact, the city government claimed at the time that the majority of residents were satisfied with the buyout process. "They paid him a sum of money and he bought another house in a better community," said Darnell Gardner, a Detroit native.
However, construction projects have displaced thousands of residents and flattened 150 businesses. At the same time, the factory received hundreds of millions of dollars in tax incentives from the Detroit city and state governments, while the government paid for the relocation expenses of residents from its own treasury. This corresponds to other similar cases in history. In 1981, over 4000 residents were driven away from a similarly prosperous community in Poletown in order to make way for General Motors factories. Among them, the majority of people are of color.
In fact, most of Detroit's automotive facilities are located in communities historically designated as red lines. According to BridgeDestroit analysis, these previously underinvested areas are experiencing more air pollution, which comes from 49 existing and former car factories.
Douglas, who is nearly 70 years old, said she watched as the neighborhood went from "once very prosperous" to "now almost a desert.". She said she watched as the community lost its schools, pharmacies, and laundry, leaving only a doctor's office and a few churches. On the contrary, factories have brought a lot of traffic, debris, and common health problems.
The empty streets of Detroit
In 2019, the factory announced plans to build a new car assembly line and promised to bring 5000 new job opportunities, agreeing to prioritize hiring Detroit workers, although the number of job opportunities it created was questioned after reports suggested that some "new" employees were actually transferred from other factories.
Even though Detroit Mayor Mike Dugan promised that residents would not be evicted, community members still pleaded with the state government to refuse to issue expansion permits. Their concerns include that the community is already facing high pollution and high incidence rate of asthma. Black people in Detroit are three times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than white people, and the community around the factory is one of the postal codes with the highest asthma hospitalization rates in the city.
But the state government approved the factory and requested an increase in air monitoring and community welfare to address public health issues. The state also accepted the factory's suggestion to reduce its emissions from another factory in Warren to increase emissions in East Campfield, a wealthier white community. "The new facilities of the factory should not be allowed to expand to the backyard of residents solely based on emissions," said Andrew Bash, a lawyer representing residents in the East District who filed a civil rights complaint with the Environmental Protection Agency. The complaint claims that the state government discriminated against black residents when approving the permit.
"Thousands of people have been systematically displaced due to repeated expansion. Their limited green space has been flattened and given to car factories, only turning into parking lots," Bash said. "Really, this is just the latest brick of a surging wall built through decades of racism and targeted plunder of black communities."
According to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, at least 188 residential plots have been affected by the odor of the new factory. These odors may indicate the presence of harmful chemicals in the air, such as volatile organic compounds or VOCs, which are associated with the worsening of asthma and irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat. The updated research focuses on investigating whether volatile organic compounds can lead to adverse delivery outcomes.
"My chest is feeling stuffy. I can really taste the smell of smoke in my throat," said Kimberly Starks, an employee at Southeast High School, a public school adjacent to a factory. "There is always a pungent smell of gas."
"A few days ago, there was a noticeable smell of paint outside. We also had days when we could smell a strong smell of gas," said Ritchie Ackerman, an employee of the nearby non-profit organization East District Community Network.
The article points out that since the new factory was built, it has added over 50000 pounds of toxic volatile organic compounds to the nearby air. For many years, the senior management of the factory has stated that these emissions will not pose any further health risks to nearby residents. But since 2021, the facility has been issued 8 air quality violation tickets, one of which was received last month. The spokesperson for the factory, Jodie Tyson, stated that the odor issue will be resolved when the company installs a new device to capture emissions.
Detroit City Council member Latisha Johnson, representing residents of East Campfield, said, "There is a community sandwiched between two factories, old and new, making them bear all the emissions from these two factories. This is a bit excessive, and I think it needs to be addressed."
However, the mayor, who initially promised not to experience displacement, still favored the expansion of the factory. "The Mayor's Office continues to represent residents in calling on the state government to address odor issues. This is entirely a state regulatory issue," said agency spokesperson John Roach.
Robert Shaw's backyard is almost connected to the walls around the factory, and he is one of the locals who welcomes buying out. Xiao Bo, who is recovering from cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, said his health has been affected by the factory. Since the expansion of the factory, Xiao Bo has been fighting against pollution in his backyard, gathering his neighbors, attending meetings with elected officials, conducting his own air monitoring, and participating in other efforts to solve this problem. I have already experienced so many things. He said, "This is very laborious and the pressure is very high." I don't have many choices right now. "
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