billboard near Eight Mile Road and the Lodge Freeway is catching the attention of passers-by with a blunt message that “black people are being pushed out of Detroit.”
That may or may not be true — the city still hovers at around an 80% black population, though downtown is a little more white than in recent years — but the sign is meant to promote indie filmmaker Jason Black’s new film Gentrified – Ethnic Cleansing: American Style, which addresses the effects gentrification in Detroit and other cities has on the black community.
Black’s project raised almost $180,000 through an IndieGoGo campaign, and is hosting screenings in cities around the world including London, Atlanta, Houston and Chicago, where a similar sign went up earlier this month.
The film will screen at 6 p.m. on February 18 at Shrine of the Black Madonna. You can purchase tickets here. In the meantime, check out the film’s trailer below.
