Martin Luther King, III

Notes From the Road, Second Stop: Benton Harbor

My father, in the last few years of his life, would often call for a "radical redistribution" of the wealth in this country. That kind of talk made people nervous. I have always held, in fact, that his assassination wasn't merely about black people riding on buses or eating at lunch counters. It was about his more meaningful challenge against the practice of capitalism in this country.

Our second stop on the tour, Benton Harbor, provides a crystal example of what radical distribution means in practice. Benton Harbor is a small city with challenges. Its population has been steadily declining for 20 years, as many of the traditional industrial and manufacturing jobs have died off. Of its roughly eleven-thousand residents, 60.5% have high-school diplomas and 4.3% bachelor's degrees. Unemployment is at 9.5%- and that only includes those who are seeking work. The median family income is $19,250- hovering right around the (artificially low) federal poverty line. Years of economic decay have crippled the tax-base, creating another poverty cycle: low real-estate values necessitate high tax rates, meaning any middle-income property or development is faced with a crippling tax burden. Meaning no development, no new revenue for schools (since they depend on taxes), and, therefore, no capacity building (in the form of education) with which to entice economic rejuvenation. The elements of this cycle are mutually reinforcing.

But Benton Harbor is also a small city with opportunities. Over 500 acres of shorefront property, undeveloped, hugging the coast of dazzling Lake Michigan are one of the city's greatest assets. Some in the community have figured this out and begun to move on their asset, and a ten-year, $500-million dollar project is underway to develop the waterfront. What this development needs now- and what a consortium of business, community, and public leaders are trying to make sure it has- is a plan.

This is where my father's "radical redistribution" comes in.

Dr. King was sometimes accused of Communism. That's silly. He never proposed dismantling the market; he challenged America's conscience to consider a more humane practice of capitalism, and that is what Benton Harbor needs. No one imagines that, a decade from now, very many of Benton Harbor's residents are going to be buying the $1m dollar second homes that are likely to line the shore of Lake Michigan. But those homes could still create a vital economic engine, transforming this brave, struggling city. What is essential is that the people, all of the people, of the city be prepared to take on the challenge. This means worker education and training, it means making jobs available and accessible- even at an entry-level when possible and necessary- to those of the community who are likely to be most affected by the new development. It means a meaningful effort to put contracts in the hands of construction and design companies in the area, and- perhaps even more importantly- a concerted push to teach entrepreneurship and carry out mentorship so that new businesses can spring up in Benton Harbor that, along with existing ones, can take advantage of what could be a major windfall.

We are all familiar with and disheartened by gentrification at its worst: an area "revived" simply by shoving out all those who were there. Benton Harbor's new developments can be an alternate model: a rising tide that does lift all boats with an influx of capital that creates opportunities and empowerment for thousands of people. It is heartening to me that many leaders in that city are both aware of this promise, and of the hard and rigorous work that must be done to make good on it. I look forward to keeping up with their efforts to harness their community's resources for the betterment of all who live there.

To learn a little more about Benton Harbor and the coalition working together, click here for the Council for World Class Communities: http://www.cwcconline.org.

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Posted at 8:00 AM, Jul 12, 2006 in Community Development
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