Taking Poletown

2022
28:07
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- Educational
- Documentary

In the early 1980s, General Motors found the perfect place to build a new factory in Detroit. That meant jobs, economic development, and prosperity. The only problem? An entire neighborhood stood in the way. “Taking Poletown” explores the battle of the City of Hamtramck, better known as “Poletown,” to stop GM and the city of Detroit from using eminent domain to take the property-in-question for the “public good.” A Michigan Supreme Court case and a Michigan constitutional amendment later, what lessons can we learn? Looking back 30 years later provides key insights into that fight over economic justice and eminent domain.