195
Addendum to Oral History of John M. Ferren
On pages 110 -111 of my oral history, in reference to Garrett v. City of Hamtramch, 394 F. Supp.
1151 (E.D. Mich. 1975), after remand from id., 503 F.2d 1236 (6th Cir. 1974), reversing in part
id, 357 F.Supp. 925 ( E.D. Mich.1973), I said:
Allen Snyder, Phil Larson, and I obtained a mandatory injunction to require the
replacement of that housing [for African-American families destroyed by urban renewal]
according to site plans we proffered with the help of a pro bono architect from Detroit, a
city planner from Philadelphia, and a community organizer from the University of Detroit
law school clinic. The case was successful, for the most part, upon remand by the Sixth
Circuit after the case was appealed. (I have to say, parenthetically, that by the time this
process was ended, most of the families that had been displaced were long gone and
could not be found; I guess that shows the limits of the court system in correcting
injustice through mandatory relief like that.)
Although it took 35 years, mandatory relief eventually is being achieved for the benefit of
children and grandchildren of the class plaintiffs. According to The New York Times, March 11,
2010, pp. A1, A.l9, under a headline Amending at Last for Bias Policy, Michigan City Offers New
Homes: “About 100 homes have been completed for rent or sale, and another 100 are on the way,
paid for by a mix of local and state money, … thanks to a recent increase in federal stimulus
money.”
JMF: November 1, 2010
