#BlackHomesMatter advocates to call on Whitmer to compensate over-taxed Detroit homeowners

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib is teaming up with prominent civil rights activists Cornel West and Rev. Dr. William Barber II to kick off a “#BlackHomesMatter” event to call attention to illegally inflated property taxes that led to a crushing wave of foreclosures in Detroit.

The virtual event is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Jan. 13 and will end with a performance by Detroit gospel group the Clark Sisters.

The speakers will call on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to investigate illegally inflated property taxes and develop a plan to compensate Detroit homeowners who were over-billed by hundreds of millions of dollars or lost their houses.

The city of Detroit has acknowledged it over-assessed the value of homes for years, causing inflated property tax bills that are to blame for the largest number of property foreclosures since the Great Depression.

The event comes after Detroit City Council in late November defeated a proposal by Mayor Mike Duggan to help tens of thousand of Detroit homeowners who were over-taxed. Under the plan, impacted homeowners would have been eligible for discounted, city-owned properties and given priorities for jobs, affordable housing, and other government assistance. But the proposal did not include refunds.

A majority of council members rejected the proposal, saying it didn’t go far enough.

You can click here to register for the virtual event.

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