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Black Slate Digest

This is where we share our thoughts and encourage you to share yours. Ase`.

Oct 27, 20233 min read

We Need Adam!

October 27, 2023

The Black Slate Inc. Detroit


On October 17th, 2023 at approximately 4:14pm Adam Hollier announced his second candidacy for Congress, seeking to oust Shri Thanedar for the seat of US Representative for Detroit Michigan’s 13th District.


He chose to make his announcement at the Historic Shrine of the Black Madonna on Linwood in Detroit. His choice of place for his announcement says a lot about who Adam is. A man who knows and respects the strong legacy of Black political representation that was born from this place. A place that fosters the belief of “if we work together, if we stand together, we win”. This is the place of Coleman Young, of Barbara Rose Collins, of Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick of Joann Watson. This is the place where representation matters.


Adam shares a sacred trust for those who have come before him. Because of his knowledge of our history, of Detroit’s History, of his Family’s history, Adam also knows who he is. We need Adam!


Adam Hollier is a product of Detroit. He has that “Don’t quit” mentality of Mr. Burt, my middle school math teacher, who constantly drilled this mantra into our young minds. He has a love for where he comes from, like my brother Terence who reps Detroit no matter where he is in the world. He has the full support of his wife Dr Krystle Woods Hollier, PhD, LP., a sacred woman who is dedicated to healing. Adam is a servant, like Coach Khinde of the Shrine, there anticipating what needs to be done next, and then executing, while shouting “put me in the game”. We need Adam!


In the words of Warren Evans, Wayne County Executive, supporter of Adam Hollier, “aside from all that, Adam is qualified”. He received his Bachelor's Degree from Cornell University in Industrial and Labor relations. Adam, earned his Masters Degree from the University of Michigan in Urban Planning. As a State Senator for Detroit’s 2nd District, Adam was focused on creating policies that strengthened our neighborhoods. He brought in dollars that were used for career and business development, education and public safety. Aiming to make Detroit a whole and vibrant community for all of its citizens. As a State Senator, Adam accomplished much through building coalitions.


The Black Slate has a history of endorsing Adam for elected office. “We have built a relationship with Adam for more than 12 years,” says Kandia Milton, Chairman of the Black Slate, Inc Detroit. “Over the years he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to representing the interest of his constituents -Detroiters. And he has delivered!”. His knowledge, optimism, and dedication to service, has earned him the Black Slate Inc Detroit’s 2nd endorsement for Congress.

We make this endorsement early, and purposefully. “For 50 years the Black Slate has been at the forefront electing candidates who are capable and have our best interest at heart,” says Milton. “Our decision to endorse Adam early was strategic and consistent with our mission and history of ensuring that we elect the best candidates for our community.” It is our full intention to see that Adam is our US Representative because we fully believe that he can do the Job, and do it well. We seek to engage you, our City, to support this political strategy. Doing so ensures that we regain a seat of power at the preverbal table, that we have someone looking out for our interest. We need to ensure that we don’t dilute our political power but instead demonstrate a show of force and political strength. We need Adam!



Written by Ashanti Kafi, Kandia Milton.

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Apr 6, 20233 min read

Tax Talk 101


By Ashanti Kafi


I’ve noticed, as I’m sure you all have, There has been a lot of recent discussion about tax credits, tax abatement, and rebates given to corporations as it relates to redevelopment of the City of Detroit. Particularly in Downtown Detroit. And I began to ask myself “Do I really understand what this means?” “Is what’s happening good for the city and good for me, a single taxpayer?” So, I started to research to understand how it all works. This is not the most entertaining subject, but come to school with me. Here’s what I’ve learned.


Corporations pay taxes on commercial property that they own, the same as a homeowner pays taxes on their residential property. The difference however, is how those taxes are calculated. And how the municipality, in this case, the City of Detroit, uses that tax revenue.


I own my home in Detroit. My property taxes, like yours, if you own residential property, are primarily calculated using a formula that is based on market value and land use. We know this to be the assessed value. The assessed value is further calculated to get to a taxable value. The taxable value is multiplied by a Mill or a rate, which has been predetermined at the voting booth.


The formula for calculating taxes on a commercial property is based on future or projected income the property will generate.


For Instance, If I purchased a commercial storefront on Woodward. And I’ve projected that I would lease out that space for $7,000 per month or $84,000 per year. The property taxes that the City will make me pay would be based on that $84,000, in the assessment calculation. The assessed value is further calculated to get to a taxable value. The taxable value is multiplied by a Mill or a rate, which has been predetermined at the voting booth.


As voting citizens we’ve agreed that our tax revenue generated from the collection of taxes on real property will go to things such as state education, the general city fund, debt services, the library, school operating expenses, school debt, waste management (trash collection) and Wayne county.


Whereas, how tax revenue is generated and used from commercial properties, particularly commercial property development in Downtown Detroit is a little more complicated. The State of Michigan allows struggling cities to create governing bodies such as the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) and the Downtown Development Authority (DDA) which define how captured tax revenue is used to finance the redevelopment of a zoned area within its jurisdiction. In our case, Downtown Detroit.


These governing bodies have determined that most of the tax revenue generated from within these zones Downtown stays Downtown. They have also decided to use Tax Abatement and Tax Increment Financing (TIF) as strategies to draw commercial investors/developers to the City for the purpose of redeveloping Detroit.


Tax abatement is the process of eliminating, reducing, or postponing the payment of property taxes. While Tax Increment Financing is a financial strategy that gives tax money back to the investor or back to the zone using tax revenue generated from other sources.



We don’t want to persuade you in any direction on how to feel about what’s happening in our City. Simply to state facts. The redevelopment of our City has just been underway within the last 10-15 years. To get to where we are today, our elected officials have been crafty in how this redevelopment of our great city gets financed. Due to the size of our undevelopment, and the state of our neglected infrastructure and property supply, the cost to transform Detroit is enormous. Our Mayor and City Council have adopted the strategy of rebuilding our City from the Center out. Their approach delays the redevelopment of residential neighborhoods outside of the Downtown area. This delay affects the administration of our schools, the development of residential housing, mental assistance programs and the like.


But I see momentum happening beyond Downtown on the horizon. We’ll talk about those later as well as if tax credits are applied equitably.

Peace!


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