How Can A Road Be Racist? Don’t Ask That Question In Michigan.

Southeast Michigan is dotted with examples of roads and infrastructure that had the effect of dividing or demolishing neighborhoods populated by people of color. I-375, the spur that carries motorists from I-75 into downtown, is only the most obvious example. Built from 1959-65, it sliced through the footprint of the Black Bottom neighborhood, which had already been razed in the name of urban renewal. The generational wealth that was lost is incalculable, Ajegba said, from homes and businesses that “couldn’t be passed down to the next. We’re only starting to recognize that now.”