Task Force Points the Way to Building the Middle Class in Detroit

By: Scott Benson As a Detroit city councilmember, I have taken a deep interest in what we can do to help build the Black middle class. Building generational wealth for Black families has always lagged that of non-Black families. In 2023, I formed a Wealth Generation Task Force to look at ways the city can address the economic inequities the Black community faces. Detroit is one of the largest majority Black cities in America, with approximately 80 percent of our residents being of African American descent. Traditionally, the remedy to improve economic mobility has been job creation, but a wider array of policies must be considered if we are going to improve the economic fortunes of our community. My task force included experts in law, government, workforce, labor, finance and philanthropy who play a role in addressing this issue. We took a holistic view and studied what needed to be done at the policy level to increase Black generational wealth, with the goal of developing 10 implementable policies in Detroit. We identified six policy areas essential to addressing the generational wealth gap. They include education, entrepreneurship, employment, banking, property ownership, and healthy neighborhoods. Focusing on these policy areas will help...