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A majority of the Detroit City Council wants to implement an economic development plan it commissioned for $112,000 that preaches racial isolation and rails against immigration in its bid to gain economic success for poor blacks. The crux of the plan is the creation of a business district -- dubbed African Town -- that would be funded in part with city money and made up of black-owned businesses catering to a black clientele. The report also complains that immigrants from Mexico, Asia and the Middle East are stealing resources, jobs and other opportunities from blacks and calls on city leaders to stop the economic shift. "We see this as another compliment to the exciting development going on in the city," said Councilwoman JoAnn Watson, who introduced the effort to the council earlier this summer. The plan is under scrutiny by some city leaders and economic development experts who question the legality of an effort meant to help only one race. Some officials decry the council's efforts as threatening to reverse strides made in the region to improve race relations and the city's relationship with its neighbors. [more

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