LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Instead of actually distributing financial “reparations” to minority groups, Lansing is taking the well-worn route of studying the idea – joining the growing list of communities opting for research over action.

Reparations are described as compensation provided to address past injustices or harm inflicted on a group or individuals. The issue has been studied in many communities and states across the nation, especially after the killing of George Floyd. In California, Democratic politicians had promised the possibility of financial reparations (cash) for years to atone for slavery but all they’ve really accomplished are studies on the issue and symbolic bills signed by the governor. Ultimately, instead of handing out cold hard cash, Democratic California Governor Newsom decided that an apology for slavery would suffice.

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In Lansing, “reparations” for the destruction of over 840 homes and businesses in predominately Black and Brown neighborhoods during the 1960s seem to be taking shape as a memorial park – or at least in the study of a memorial park. Yes, Lansing has struck gold in the form of a $1.04 million federal grant to study the idea of slapping a glorified “cap” over Interstate I-496. The cap would be a large bridge that would function as a memorial or a park to the Black community that was destroyed in the 1960s when a Black neighborhood was bulldozed to make room for the freeway.

Progress paved over: How I-496 reshaped Lansing’s landscape and community.

According to the Historical Society of Greater Lansing, the city, like many cities across the U.S., viewed expressways as symbols of progress. Lansing’s 1958 Comprehensive Master Plan envisioned a cross-town expressway that would become I-496. Construction began in 1963, requiring the acquisition of more than 800 homes and businesses through eminent domain. The expressway would dead-end 35 streets, spawn one-way roads for ramps, and shape future development, altering the city’s landscape significantly.

The project devastated the predominantly Black community in the St. Joseph-Main Street corridor, where families had lived for decades and built a network of churches, businesses, and social clubs. Relocation efforts were hindered by racial segregation and restrictive real estate covenants, forcing many residents into smaller homes or apartments on Lansing’s Southside or near Westside.

From bulldozers to benches: The city’s costly quest to turn a freeway faux pas into a decked-out apology.

The I-496 project was a collaboration of both the state and federal government with the feds assisting with technical assistance for the design and construction as well as funding. It happened under the presidency of Democrats John F. Kennedy and then Lyndon B. Johnson. The governor of Michigan at the time was Republican George W. Romney.

Bill Castanier, President of the Historical Society of Greater Lansing, told Fox 47 News, “They, the Federal Government, went through Brown and Black neighborhoods exclusively and required people to move almost immediately, maybe within 90 days. In this neighborhood, there were more than 800 homes that were torn down.”

Now, decades later, the city of Lansing is gearing up to spend more than a million dollars studying how to make amends with a decked-over highway.

What’s in the grant?

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The $1,040,000 grant comes from the Biden-Harris Administration’s U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program and will go toward Lansing’s “Our Way for the Highway: Capping Lansing’s I-496 to Reconnect Communities” planning study.

According to the Dept. of Transportation website, the study will “engage impacted community members and stakeholders to develop and vet solutions for reconnecting communities across Interstate 496, such as a cap over a portion of the highway and/or additional pedestrian and vehicular bridges to improve access to daily destinations. The planning study will particularly focus on reconnecting the disadvantaged area known as the ‘Island Neighborhood’ due to the isolation imposed by the highway, a freight railway, and an automobile manufacturing plant that border it, creating barriers to accessing jobs, education, healthcare, food, nature, and recreation.”

The website says that the grant is only for the study of the project. The actual estimated project cost according to the federal government will be another $1,300,000.00. Which begs the question… are Lansing taxpayers ready to foot that bill? Or will they even have a choice?

A mayor, a secretary, and a dream.

Lansing Democratic Mayor Andy Schor has been chasing this grant for three years. After two rejections, he finally got the feds to greenlight the money for his feasibility study following an influx of additional funds that were made available by the Biden-Harris Administration.

In Schor’s op-ed back in March of 2024, he wrote about his plan saying, “Our preference would be a cap, or deck, over a portion of I-496 to connect those isolated blocks to the rest of the city with parks, housing, even a memorial recognizing how a Black community was separated.”

Democratic Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has called the Lansing plan “strong” and his spokesperson talked with Schor’s spokesperson, Scott Bean, about the plan. Bean said, “We know this won’t completely fix the damage that was done but we welcome any investment that can help bridge this gap and reconnect the Westside neighborhood.”

Buttigieg aligns with Biden’s equity push.

Buttigieg, while in office as the Secretary of Transportation, has made diversity a key focus during his time there, as did other departments after President Biden issued an executive order on his first day in office to advance racial equity and support for underserved communities through the federal government. In the executive order, Biden said it was the “policy of my Administration that the Federal Government should pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all.” To do so “each agency must assess whether, and to what extent, its programs and policies perpetuate systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits for people of color and other underserved groups.” That information was to be used to ensure federal resources and programs were equitably distributed to communities that have been historically underserved.

Bridging the gap – or just papering over it?

While Bean admits that no bridge or memorial can truly undo the harm of “redlining” and displacement, he still hopes this project will help reconnect a community that was literally and figuratively divided. But with no timeline or clear design – or explanation on where the funding for the project will come from – this might just be the start of a very long (and expensive) apology tour just like in California.