For Immediate Release October 19, 2022
Lawyers representing the community revitalization project Hayti Reborn submitted a letter to the Durham City Council Monday night demanding a halt to the development of Fayette Place by Durham Community Partners. The letter also lists 10 Community Demands for Reparative Economic Justice in Durham.
Hayti Reborn is concerned that Durham Community Partners does not have a vision that is aligned with the vision held by the citizenry of the Hayti community and that Durham Community
Partners' plans may gentrify and make certain populations wealthy, but not provide restorative justice to the Hayti community.
"The more things change, the more things stay the same, but must they?”
Anita Scott Neville Director, Hayti Reborn
In June, Hayti Reborn wrote to the city council reminding members about the four million dollar grant it awarded the Durham Housing Authority in 2017 that included terms requiring (1) that there be “meaningful opportunities” for community engagement in the redevelopment decision-making process afforded to the historical Hayti community and to the North Carolina Central University community, and (2) that the “prior written consent” of the City Manager be
obtained before the land was developed, sold, conveyed, or otherwise transferred. Hayti Reborn does not believe these terms have been met and believes it is time to stop, pause, and repair.
The Hayti Reborn Community Action Council, and its coalition of Black organizational partners, broader diverse allies and supporters presented the enclosed Declaration of Independence from Systematic Racism in Durham, and Community Demands for Reparative Economic Justice, to Durham City Council on the 17th Day of October, 2022. These Demands for Reparative Economic Justice correspond to the basic economic rights that are entitled to all communities seeking autonomous power around their wealth, health, education, and overall well-being. The true and real preservation and rebirth of Hayti is an imperative to the future of a successful Black Durham. Hayti Reborn urge that our elected officials satisfy the reparative justice and equity propositions stated herein.
