Written by Sean Thomas-Breitfeld A new book titled A People’s Atlas of Detroit, co-edited by Linda Campbell, who directs BMP’s work in Detroit, narrates the lived experiences of people engaged in political battles central to Detroit’s future and that of urban America. The book features contributions by over fifty leaders from movement-building efforts in Detroit, […]
On February 21, 2020, the Mary Turner Center for Advocacy honored Linda Campbell and the Detroit People’s Platform with the Nida Donar Social Justice Award. Linda has worked for over forty years in the nonprofit and governmental sectors. Her career began in public health and social services, working at the Center for Disease Control in […]
In the late 90s and early 2000s, one of the Building Movement Project’s founding members, Linda Campbell, was working with service providers struggling with shrinking budgets and increased need in her own hometown of Detroit. Linda watched as public funding for services to people living in poverty was cut. At the same time, the City […]
Written by Sean Thomas-Breitfeld Recently, I was in Detroit for a community summit organized by our partners at the Detroit People’s Platform and led a workshop on coalitions and alliances. Since the power imbalances between Detroit’s community members and the city’s corporate and elected leaders are so big, local groups turn to collaboration as a strategy for […]
Written by Linda Campbell and Daniel Kravetz “On Nov. 8, 2016, Detroit residents voted into law the nation’s first Community Benefits Ordinance (CBO). The law requires any developer receiving over a certain threshold of local public subsidies or tax breaks to engage with a local advisory council to address community concerns. As with traditional Community Benefits […]
Written by Linda Campbell Detroit, Michigan, recently became the first city in the nation to pass an ordinance designed to give community members a voice in negotiations with big developers. Large-scale developers often receive financial support from taxpayers in the form of grants, tax abatements, and land transfers. In exchange, they sometimes promise community members […]
Written by Sean Thomas-Breitfeld with artwork by Sean Bieri, courtesy of www.metrotimes.com Detroit and many cities across the country that experienced disinvestment, white flight and redlining a generation ago, are now grappling with economic “redevelopment” efforts that notoriously and blatantly bypass communities of color. Since redevelopment so often means removing long-time residents to transform neighborhoods […]
Written by Linda Campbell I experience inequality when my 40 year plus near perfect driving record causes my insurance rates to be 3x that of my suburban peers. I experience inequality when the police respond to an accidentally tripped house alarm in less than 5 minutes at my daughter’s midtown condo. I experience inequality when […]
Written by Murphy Austin “We have worked out a system to deal with the system.” These words, spoken by Detroit People’s Platform member Jocelyn Harris at our annual meeting, stand as a testament to the growing enthusiasm behind our method for social change in Detroit. Since its very first meeting on June 1st, 2013, the People’s Platform has […]
Written by Frances Kunreuther This blog post is due to the courtesy of openDemocracy. Bill and Billie Hickey live in Brightmoor, a neighborhood about twenty minutes away from the gentrified Midtown area of Detroit. Most people in Brightmoor live in poverty (50 per cent of residents have an annual income of under $25,000) , and the community has the largest […]
