Bedrock denies claim it boarded up some tenants' windows and not others amid Black Lives Matter protests
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Lee DeVito
As Black Lives Matter protests grow across the country, some downtown Detroit businesses have started securing their windows, resulting in this dramatic sight: Black-owned fashion boutique Détroit Is The New Black with a sign in its window saying "please don't loot," flanked by two other boarded-up businesses. All are tenants of Dan Gilbert's Bedrock real estate company.
"Did we miss the memo? Will our shop be boarded up as well??" the company wrote on Instagram. "OUR businesses matter. SMALL businesses matter. BLACK businesses matter."
But a spokeswoman for Bedrock says the tenants decided to board up their windows independently, without consulting the company, as is their right. As of Tuesday morning, she says Bedrock has since reached out to all of its tenants to offer help securing their windows if they need it.
The spokeswoman says the company made the decision to board up the windows of only two of its buildings: the Under Armour store and the David Stott Building, both of which were damaged during the protests over the weekend. She also says the company has offered rent relief to all of its tenants since the coronavirus crisis began in March.
Détroit Is The New Black's Instagram post prompted many angry comments accusing Bedrock of "a bad look."
"Roslyn, we are disappointed that you did not come to us first with these concerns, and we have reached out to you several times directly," the company replied on Instagram.
Détroit Is The New Black owner Roslyn Karamoko could not be reached by Metro Times for comment on Tuesday.
Other downtown businesses have chosen to board up their windows, including Nike, H&M, and Lululemon.
Lee DeVito
Lee DeVito
Lee DeVito
Bedrock tenants Bonobos and Shake Shack did not board up their windows. Wine shop the House of Pure Vin also did not board up its windows, but had hand-drawn signs in its windows saying it was Black-owned and supported the protests.
Lee DeVito
Lee DeVito
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