Detroit's Collective Remembrance

In 2023, the Center for Racial Justice (CRJ) published a research brief on collective remembrance of the history of U.S. racism and how it relates to Detroiters’ views toward racial inequality and policies aimed at addressing inequity.

The CRJ report finds that while most Detroiters support reparations and other policies that address racial inequity, level of support for reparations varies significantly based on perceptions of racial inequity, and particularly based on whether participants expressed the belief that the legacy of slavery and discrimination continues to affect Black Americans today. Detroiters who agree with this belief are much more likely to support reparations (73%) compared with those who disagree (30%). Importantly, opposition to reparations is not the same as opposition to addressing racial inequity—even among the 13% of Detroiters who oppose reparations, 41% still say addressing inequality should be a high policy priority for elected officials.

Learn more with a detailed summary of the report, or view the full report brief.