As Donald J. Trump was being impeached by the U.S. Congress, his Attorney General, William Barr, was in Detroit. In an orchestrated public relations stunt, Barr surrounded himself with Directors of the FBI, AFT, DEA, and the US Marshals to announce the launch of Operation Relentless Pursuit, a new “crime fighting” initiative by the Trump administration. Supporting background was provided by Detroit Police Department Chief Craig.

As activists led by young people stormed the stage at the Global Climate Summit in Madrid this week demanding urgent action, Detroiters gathered to voice our concerns over our own regional expression of our changing world. Called together by several environmental justice organizations, and with the support of some elected legislators, over 200 people met at the Cass Commons to strategize about the most recent spill of toxins into the Detroit River.

As thousands of people across the country participated in the December 6th Climate Strike lead by youth activists, many Detroiters were wondering if their drinking water was safe. Sketchy reports were surfacing about the collapse of the shore line holding land long contaminated with toxic chemicals, including uranium. The Wall Street Journal listed the site as one of “America’s forgotten nuclear legacy wastelands” in 2013. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health said in 2011 that the “potential exists for significant residual radiation” on the site.

This week I attended the Detroit City Council Public Health and Safety meeting to speak in favor of the proposed Community Input Over Government Surveillance (CIOGS) ordinance. As the debate over increasing technologies of surveillance and control escalates in our city, this proposal is an important step in requiring community input into the decision by the government to purchase additional technologies. The proposal also outlines important responsibilities for reporting, documenting, and assessing new technologies.

The Detroit City Council voted 6 to 3 to reject Mayor Duggan’s $250 million bond proposal. This is an encouraging sign of new leadership emerging. But the victory is likely to be short-lived. Duggan will continue to push for a bond in some form.

The Detroit City Council is finally showing some good judgment. So far they have refused to be steamrolled by Mayor Duggan into putting a $250 million bond proposal on the March ballot. They have put off the vote on three occasions, demanding changes in reporting, transparency and basic processes of accountability. 

A recent Detroit News article revealed how much effort the Mayor and Police Chief are putting in to make us think constant surveillance is normal. At first glance the article seems to be a simple story about urban gardens and community efforts to create beauty and places for children to play. 

The National Council of Elders held our annual Fall meeting in Greensboro North Carolina. The Council was formed in 2012 by human rights activists Rev. James Lawson, Rev. Phil Lawson, Ms. Dolores Huerta, Dr. Grace Lee Boggs and Dr. Vincent Harding. At the time of the founding, Dr. Harding described the motivation for bringing elders together saying, “We realized that human societies are at their best when youth and elders combine their gifts. We can serve, teach and inspire each other across generational lines as we carry out the never-ending work of ‘creating a more perfect union and a more compassionate world.’”

Detroit has a long history in developing international relationships. During the cold war era, citizens created friendship associations with the then USSR, China and later Cuba. These early people-to-people exchanges formed a context for political leaders to challenge official U.S. policy. Detroit elected officials were among the first to participate in civil disobedience against the apartheid South African government. We established official sister cities around the globe and sent delegation to Pan-African conferences. As one of the first places in the U.S. with elected African American leadership, we became a symbol of liberation, attracting visitors engaged in struggles against colonial empires.

This week I drove up Livernois Avenue to one of my favorite breakfast spots, Noni’s Sherwood Grille. I have been avoiding Noni’s since the spring. In early June I turned the corner off Outer Drive to see the flowering trees that had managed to survive in the middle of the boulevard ripped up by their roots. Their blossoms were still fresh, seemingly unaware that their trees were now dying, no longer able to stand. It was sad sight, signaling another development scheme ripping up neighborhoods.

Water protectors continue to push the Mayor and his administration to develop a comprehensive policy reflecting two fundamental principles: water is a human right and a sacred trust. This week two reports underscored the need for us to think more deeply about the waters that give us life.

The possibility of repealing the third-grade reading statute that requires mandatory retention of students falling below state standards dimmed this week. Republican lawmaker Pamela Hornberger, who chairs the House Education committee, withdrew her support of a provision she helped draft last January to repeal the “read or flunk” portion of the law.

School has barely begun, but many of our youngest students are getting ready for a test that most educators think is dangerous and disastrous. Under the Third Grade Reading statute, children must pass a series of tests and establish a “proficient” reading score, or face being held back from fourth grade. The first of three mandated tests outlined in this process by law must be given within the first 30 days of school.

Two critical moments came together this week. On Thursday the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners approved a new policy governing the use of facial recognition technology in a contentious 8 to 3 vote. The next day, Detroit youth took the lead in joining the Global Climate Strike. Over 4 million people worldwide took public action to encourage serious efforts to face the reality of climate catastrophe.

Over 100 people gathered at Arthur Brush Ford Park in Detroit to celebrate the life of Nkenge Zola. Zola made her transition to the ancestors at the end of August, after many years of battling with cancer. She was 65.

In the midst of public debate about facial recognition technologies, the Detroit Police Department quietly partnered with Amazon’s neighborhood surveillance program, Ring. The news of this partnership was spread by investigative reporters attempting to document the extent of a growing threat to civil liberties. Detroit is one of 14 Michigan cities that have partnered with the Ring “Neighbors” program.

Representative Tlaib has been leading the national conversation opposing this technology and recently cosponsored a bill called “No Biometric Barriers 5 of Housing Act of 2019 prohibiting the use of “biometric recognition technology “ in federal housing programs.

The images coming out of Newark, New Jersey this week could easily be mistaken for Flint, Michigan. Long lines of people, mostly black and brown, are pictured next to stacks of bottled water. After repeated denials of a water crisis, and inadequate, often chaotic attempts by officials to address it, the city and state are finally acknowledging a systemic, widespread crisis. Lead from aging pipes is leaching into the water of thousands of households, especially in poorer neighborhoods.

This has been a week of constant sorrow. We have witnessed the murders of 31 people in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. As hospitals worked to save lives and repair people, brutal ICE agents rounded up nearly 700 people in Mississippi, leaving children sobbing uncontrollably for their parents. White supremacy and white nationalism are everywhere. By Sunday a young white man walked into a Mosque in Oslo with guns blazing.

As Democratic contenders for President convened for the second series of debates, more than 2,000 people gathered outside the Fox Theatre in downtown Detroit in support of a Green New Deal. This demonstration, organized by the Frontline Detroit Coalition offers new possibilities to deepen the national perspective on the twin crises of our time: climate catastrophe and income inequality.