A new collective is hoping to bring black-owned businesses some much needed media attention

Earlier this year we published a story about three black-owned businesses who felt they were being pushed out of the city thanks to Detroit's current renaissance, among other things. Larry Mongo, Darnell Small, and Gerald Watson were all forced, or being forced, out of their leases for various reasons. We asked the question: Could the uptick in Detroit's new businesses be forcing long-time businesses owners out? Or is this a question of race and racism?

Well, as we suspected, these three businessmen aren't the only ones feeling black-owned businesses in the city are getting a raw deal. A few days ago Donna Terek of the Detroit News reported that a new collective is in the process of forming. Us Too Detroit plans to grab attention for black-owned businesses by, among other things, compiling a directory of the nearly 32,000 small businesses in the city that are owned by African Americans. 

The group also wants to bring back the shopping crawls of the '90s, the first of which is scheduled for April 18. 

Us Too Detroit is also still in the process of looking for black-owned businesses to join their cause. They're asking those businesses to connect with them on Facebook. Check out Us Too Detroit's Facebook page here.