Debating a Plan for a Blacks-Only Fund to Finance an ‘Africa Town’ in Detroit
The New York Times
October 13, 2004
By STEPHEN KINZER
DETROIT, Oct. 12 – Amid the overgrown vacant lots on Grand River Avenue, punctuated by boarded-up buildings that testify to what might have been, Steve’s Soul Food stands as a lonely landmark. It is a vibrant black-owned business, a place where politicians come to meet voters and where people of all races gather every day to feast on fried chicken, collard greens and pigs’ feet.
For years, city officials and others here have been looking for ways to encourage blacks, who make up the majority of the population in Detroit, to build more businesses like Steve’s. Their latest and most hotly debated idea is to create an “Africa Town” fund that would lend city money to entrepreneurs, but only if they are black.