Better 40 Years Late Than Never (I guess)
Quote:
Sallie Sanders wishes her parents could be at the Corinthian Baptist Church today when Gov. Jennifer Granholm presents her with the keys to her new house in Hamtramck.
It should have been their home.
In 1963, her parents, Ammie and Alonzo Flowers, were forced to find another home for her and her seven siblings after Hamtramck officials decided to demolish three predominantly African-American areas of the city in the name of urban renewal.
The Flowers were among 144 plaintiffs who successfully sued Hamtramck for racial discrimination. U.S. 6th Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith, a U.S. district court judge at the time, decided in favor of the displaced residents in 1971.
After years of delays that included appeals, haggling over a proper settlement and inaction on the part of city officials, construction began in the 1980s on a senior citizens high-rise to house displaced residents.
But it wasn't until 2003 that city and Wayne County officials and lawyers for the plaintiffs announced a plan to begin construction on affordable single-family homes that included homes for sale and for rent.
The final chapter in the case may be written during this year and the next as 104 homes are built or rehabbed to finally fulfill the court order for 350.
http://freep.com/article/20100118/NE...k-neighborhood
