In this fourth installment of the Riverwise podcast, Yolanda Jackson of the Coalition for Property Tax Justice reminds us that, leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic, Detroiters were already in crisis. Due to inflated property assessments made by the City of Detroit during the years 2013-2019, property owners were overtaxed by an estimated $600 million. As a result, thousands of homes were unconstitutionally and illegally foreclosed due to nonpayment of property taxes.

Prior to the onset of COVID-19, academic studies had uncovered the depths of a foreclosure epidemic that also preys on the most vulnerable. Jackson joins hosts Amas Muhammed and Riverwise Editor Eric Campbell to discuss how community organizing is working to repair the overwhelming damage.

The Riverwise Podcast is bringing together Detroit citizens to consider new and forms of resistance to continuing economic and political marginalization in communities of color. For over three years now, the Riverwise collective has created media that depicts local activism and the profound new work being done in Detroit neighborhoods. Through the quarterly Riverwise magazine, Riverwise community conversations, and the Riverwise Writing Workshop, we're developing our collective voice.