Free Republic

DETROIT -- Detroit's City Council on Monday narrowly approved a resolution endorsing a controversial plan to use public funds to create a black business district in the city. The council voted 5-4 to affirm a version of the African Town proposal that addressed legal concerns and specifically acknowledged the contributions of immigrants. Some people have criticized the original plan as anti-immigrant. But the strongest opponents of the proposal, who include Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, say the city cannot and should not use public money to subsidize businesses of one race or ethnic group, in this case blacks. Supporters say the plan...

Detroit has a Greektown section that tempts visitors with moussaka and baklava, and a Mexicantown neighborhood with Latin American groceries and restaurants. Now, politicians are pushing for a business district identified with the city's biggest minority group — blacks. The plan, dubbed "African Town" by some proponents, has stirred fervent opposition, in part because the new district would be established using taxpayer money that would be available only to black business owners

Motor City Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is right to be distancing himself from a City Council proposal to create a racially exclusive business district in Detroit to help black entrepreneurs. Not only would the plan, dubbed African Town, heighten racial tensions unnecessarily. It could also exacerbate the very problem it aims to solve. The insidious premise of this economic development plan, which was approved last week in a 7-to-2 vote overriding Mr. Kilpatrick's earlier veto, is that immigrants from Latin America, Asia and the Middle East are "stealing" jobs and resources from native blacks. But for the presence of these foreigners,...