Lawsuit Forces City of Detroit to Issue Policies on Demonstrations in Downtown
Efforts by corporate rulers to crush dissent is thwarted
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
A lawsuit largely initiated by the Michigan American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of Moratorium NOW! Coalition and Women in Black demanding the right to demonstrate downtown has prompted the City of Detroit Corporation Counsel to draft an agreement purportedly aimed at protecting free speech and the right to assembly.
The suit stemmed from the role of security firms owned by billionaire Dan Gilbert who has been given dozens of foreclosed buildings downtown. Gilbert, who heads a Detroit Blight Removal Task Force, is championed daily by the corporate media for efforts to further drive out African Americans and working class residents not only from the financial district but throughout the city.
Federal Hardest Hit Funds given to the State of Michigan five years ago purportedly to provide assistance to people facing foreclosure has not been adequately allocated to those in need. Over $100 million has been turned over to private contractors to demolish so-called “blighted homes” many of which could be rehabilitated for human habitation.
Efforts led by the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to declare a “state of emergency” and a halt to foreclosures, evictions and utility shut-offs has been vigorously fought against by the banks and their surrogates in state, county and local governments in Michigan. Due to the role of the banks, Detroit has lost over 250,000 residents since 2000.
The Moratorium NOW! Coalition organized and led numerous rallies, demonstrations and leaflet distributions throughout the financial district downtown during 2012-2014 designed to expose and oppose the imposition of emergency management and bankruptcy in the largest African American populated city in the United States. Targeting the banks and other financial institutions for their role in the destruction of Detroit, Moratorium NOW! Coalition advanced the slogan “Cancel the Debt: Make the Banks Pay!”
The Privatization of Police Services in Detroit
Gilbert's firm has hired private police and security guards who monitor the political activities of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition and other organizations. These private security agents travel in vehicles, on bikes and on foot telling activists during 2014 that Campus Martius and other areas were privately managed and any form of leafleting or protests were prohibited.
Although the City of Detroit was not named as a defendant in the suit, it has a vested interest in setting guidelines for the usage of public parks and space in the municipality. The aggressive actions by the private security firms and the city police will only serve to escalate tensions and consequently spark additional demonstrations and conflicts with the authorities.
In a press release published by the Michigan ACLU on the guidelines issued by the City, it says that "’These new rules represent a victory for the free speech rights of Detroiters,’ according to Brooke Tucker, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan, which filed the federal suit in January against the privately owned Detroit 300 Conservancy nonprofit that manages Campus Martius and the privately owned Guardsmark security firm that patrols the downtown park. Public parks belong to the people, irrespective of who manages or secures them. We’re very pleased that the City of Detroit has acknowledged the fundamental right of people to gather and express themselves in public spaces and that it is working with us proactively to ensure that the right is respected throughout the city.’"
This same press release continues pointing out that “In 2014, Moratorium Now members went to Campus Martius to pass out fliers and gather petitions opposing Detroit’s bankruptcy. But moments after they arrived and began soliciting signatures and distributing fliers near the southern end of Campus Martius by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, they were approached by a Guardsmark security officer who ordered them to leave the park or risk arrest. He told them that petitioning and leafleting were not allowed in the park.”
The ACLU notes that “The suit has not yet been dismissed, however. Tucker said that the ACLU will continue to monitor the implementation of the new rules and stands ready to litigate the case if, for some reason, the Detroit City Council does not make the interim rules permanent by incorporating them into an ordinance.”
A Right to Dissent Must Be Upheld
The principal issue in this struggle is whether dissent will be tolerated over the plans to remake the city in the image of the ruling class and further facilitate the underdevelopment and forced removal of the majority population. Moratorium NOW! Coalition members have welcomed the progression of the lawsuit so far and will test the willingness of the City of Detroit to uphold the right to freedom of speech and association.
At present the organization is mounting a campaign to win an indefinite moratorium on property tax foreclosures numbering over 62,000. A six-week suspension of the foreclosures was granted by the Wayne County Treasurer on March 31.
A demonstration scheduled for April 16 at the Michigan State office building in Detroit will demand the release of the remaining $251 million in Hardest Hit Funds to pay-off delinquent property taxes and keep people in their homes. A coalition of organizations have participated in the campaign by hosting an emergency town hall meeting in March as well as a series of leaflet distributions and mass demonstrations outside the Wayne County Treasurer’s office on Monroe Street downtown.
To read the City of Detroit agreement and other documents related to the case just log on to the following website:
https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-detroit-agree-interim-rules-protect-free-speech-public-parks?redirect=free-speech/aclu-detroit-agree-interim-rules-protect-free-speech-public-parks
By Abayomi Azikiwe
Editor, Pan-African News Wire
A lawsuit largely initiated by the Michigan American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of Moratorium NOW! Coalition and Women in Black demanding the right to demonstrate downtown has prompted the City of Detroit Corporation Counsel to draft an agreement purportedly aimed at protecting free speech and the right to assembly.
The suit stemmed from the role of security firms owned by billionaire Dan Gilbert who has been given dozens of foreclosed buildings downtown. Gilbert, who heads a Detroit Blight Removal Task Force, is championed daily by the corporate media for efforts to further drive out African Americans and working class residents not only from the financial district but throughout the city.
Federal Hardest Hit Funds given to the State of Michigan five years ago purportedly to provide assistance to people facing foreclosure has not been adequately allocated to those in need. Over $100 million has been turned over to private contractors to demolish so-called “blighted homes” many of which could be rehabilitated for human habitation.
Efforts led by the Moratorium NOW! Coalition to declare a “state of emergency” and a halt to foreclosures, evictions and utility shut-offs has been vigorously fought against by the banks and their surrogates in state, county and local governments in Michigan. Due to the role of the banks, Detroit has lost over 250,000 residents since 2000.
The Moratorium NOW! Coalition organized and led numerous rallies, demonstrations and leaflet distributions throughout the financial district downtown during 2012-2014 designed to expose and oppose the imposition of emergency management and bankruptcy in the largest African American populated city in the United States. Targeting the banks and other financial institutions for their role in the destruction of Detroit, Moratorium NOW! Coalition advanced the slogan “Cancel the Debt: Make the Banks Pay!”
The Privatization of Police Services in Detroit
Gilbert's firm has hired private police and security guards who monitor the political activities of the Moratorium NOW! Coalition and other organizations. These private security agents travel in vehicles, on bikes and on foot telling activists during 2014 that Campus Martius and other areas were privately managed and any form of leafleting or protests were prohibited.
Although the City of Detroit was not named as a defendant in the suit, it has a vested interest in setting guidelines for the usage of public parks and space in the municipality. The aggressive actions by the private security firms and the city police will only serve to escalate tensions and consequently spark additional demonstrations and conflicts with the authorities.
In a press release published by the Michigan ACLU on the guidelines issued by the City, it says that "’These new rules represent a victory for the free speech rights of Detroiters,’ according to Brooke Tucker, a staff attorney at the ACLU of Michigan, which filed the federal suit in January against the privately owned Detroit 300 Conservancy nonprofit that manages Campus Martius and the privately owned Guardsmark security firm that patrols the downtown park. Public parks belong to the people, irrespective of who manages or secures them. We’re very pleased that the City of Detroit has acknowledged the fundamental right of people to gather and express themselves in public spaces and that it is working with us proactively to ensure that the right is respected throughout the city.’"
This same press release continues pointing out that “In 2014, Moratorium Now members went to Campus Martius to pass out fliers and gather petitions opposing Detroit’s bankruptcy. But moments after they arrived and began soliciting signatures and distributing fliers near the southern end of Campus Martius by the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, they were approached by a Guardsmark security officer who ordered them to leave the park or risk arrest. He told them that petitioning and leafleting were not allowed in the park.”
The ACLU notes that “The suit has not yet been dismissed, however. Tucker said that the ACLU will continue to monitor the implementation of the new rules and stands ready to litigate the case if, for some reason, the Detroit City Council does not make the interim rules permanent by incorporating them into an ordinance.”
A Right to Dissent Must Be Upheld
The principal issue in this struggle is whether dissent will be tolerated over the plans to remake the city in the image of the ruling class and further facilitate the underdevelopment and forced removal of the majority population. Moratorium NOW! Coalition members have welcomed the progression of the lawsuit so far and will test the willingness of the City of Detroit to uphold the right to freedom of speech and association.
At present the organization is mounting a campaign to win an indefinite moratorium on property tax foreclosures numbering over 62,000. A six-week suspension of the foreclosures was granted by the Wayne County Treasurer on March 31.
A demonstration scheduled for April 16 at the Michigan State office building in Detroit will demand the release of the remaining $251 million in Hardest Hit Funds to pay-off delinquent property taxes and keep people in their homes. A coalition of organizations have participated in the campaign by hosting an emergency town hall meeting in March as well as a series of leaflet distributions and mass demonstrations outside the Wayne County Treasurer’s office on Monroe Street downtown.
To read the City of Detroit agreement and other documents related to the case just log on to the following website:
https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-detroit-agree-interim-rules-protect-free-speech-public-parks?redirect=free-speech/aclu-detroit-agree-interim-rules-protect-free-speech-public-parks
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