“It was the law in the United States that Africans were three-fifths of a person, that we could not vote, could not own property,” said Detroit City Councilwoman JoAnn Watson during a public hearing Dec. 1, the day Gov. Snyder announced the first step in the takeover process, a 30-day “initial review.”
“It was against the law for us to escape from slavery, but it was the unpaid slavery of Africans on which this country was built,” Ms. Watson declared. “We have the right to self-determination and freedom, the right to control our own destiny. No way in heaven are we going to let somebody come in from Lansing and take our city.”
Ms. Watson, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, most council members, and UAW President Bob King denounced Gov. SnyderÂ’s move at a press conference that evening. They called on Gov. Snyder at least to repay $220 million the state owes Detroit under a previous agreement, which would staunch the cityÂ’s expected deficit of $150 million.
Youth in Benton Harbor rally against Snyder's appearance there
Gov. Snyder has refused to do so, despite the stateÂ’s recent announcement that it expects to end its fiscal year with a budget surplus of up to $1 billion. The surplus resulting from cuts in revenue-sharing funds to municipalities, aid to the schools, and public assistance.
The statewide Michigan Forward organization has collected over 190,000 petition signatures to repeal Public Act 4, which would, once verified, stop Gov. SnyderÂ’s move in its tracks until the Nov. 2012 election. But Gov. Snyder has told U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D-Detroit) and others that he plans legal action to block enforcement of the referendum process.
Masses of people have turned out for public hearings, rallies and marches. Black elected officials across the state have brought pressure to bear on Gov. Snyder.
Slavemaster Snyder targets majority-Black governments in Michigan
“It is our understanding if you choose to appoint an Emergency Manager to oversee Detroit, that would mean that approximately 50 percent of all the African American citizens in the State would be living under the authority of unelected managers,” Congressman Conyers and 65 elected officials wrote Gov. Snyder