Kathryn Douglas, whose family has worked for the automotive industry, has lived in East Canfield since the 1950s. The project was expected to keep thousands of jobs, but it came at a cost: more than 20 residential blocks just west of the site would need to be demolished to make room for the facility. In the late 1980s, Chrysler announced plans for a $1bn assembly facility in Detroit, nextdoor to its first-ever plant. ‘It just exists’: a community dwindles after buyouts “Are they gonna just try to buy us all out? What am I supposed to do then?” said Howard. Are they gonna just try to buy us all out? What am I supposed to do then? East Canfield resident Bethany Howard It means that those residents have dealt with decades of pollution – and some now face displacement, again. Dozens of auto factories were mostly built in areas that people of color called home. In the popular imagination, carmakers provided solid factory jobs with generous benefits – in 1914, Ford Motor Company memorably announced it would pay $5 a day, double the going rate for factory workers at the time, and reduced the workday from nine hours to eight.īut there has been a toll that often goes unremarked on. The controversy has reignited a conversation in Detroit about the legacy of the auto industry, particularly for Black residents. The stench is thought to be a sign of airborne toxic chemicals.īethany Howard and her parents in their family home. It has blanketed block after block of homes in East Canfield most days it’s undetectable, but others it’s so strong that people have had to keep windows and doors shut tight. Others have said it resembled gas, and they could taste it in their mouth and in the back of their throat.
And although Detroit’s mayor promised the expansion would not cause any further displacement, this possibility is now being discussed – because of a pungent and noxious odor emitted by the factory. The plant – which later became Fiat Chrysler and is known today as Stellantis – announced plans to expand in 2019 and produce Jeep Grand Cherokees and Dodge Durangos. The plant churned out gleaming SUVs and trucks, and land where homes once stood soon turned into parking lots and empty lawns.Ī generation later, Black residents are anxious that it is happening all over again. A nearby Chrysler automotive plant sought to expand, and the city took over homes using eminent domain to help make way.
0 kommentar(er)
