3
SEPTEMBER 6 - 12,1987 THE MICHIGAN CITIZEN
iott a
ord, the community and opportunity
on
y ttorney Coral Watt
Attorney Elliot Hall has
lived in Detroit all of his life.
HIS legal career has been
varied. He bas held positions
in both the public and private
sector, as an attorney for
Chrysler Corp., as chief assis
tant prosecutor for Wayne
County, as law director of the
City of Detroit, in private prac
tice and most recently as a
partner with the law firm of
Dykema, Gosett, Spencer,
Goodnew and Trigg.
"The change that Detroit
is going through now
is the most difficult.
There are crime problems,
drug problems . . . "
tion's resources are immense.
Corporations do employ
citizen and pay taxes.
H ver, the corporation ha
a I rger re ponsibility to con
tribute to the cultural Ii� of u
city nd the education I en
vironment. It also ha the im
portant responsibility of keep
Ing ee thin the syst m.
The Renai nee Center i an
example of corporate respon-
iblity. The corporate ector
nted to contribute to the
city, a city that said to be
dying. Thi s period
where corporations were
moving out of the city. Since
th riots, Detroit h d been
h vlng difficult time attract
i� and m in inin bu ines •
e City of Detroit i really
on Its y cit. I ign of
hope to improve th Imag of
the city a pi ee to live,"
begianing ha started, espe
cially in the downto rea.
Cobo Hall ha hosted num
ber of large conventions en
hancing downtown Detroit's
busines community. The
ap rtment complex on tb
riverfront h ve helped creat
a rejuvenation of the
riverfront. Rivertown i 90
percent filled, Trolley Plaza is
9S percent fllled nd the Mil
lender Center i 95 percent
filled. H rbortoWD h 300 ap
plicants for 100 con
dominiums. There i a market
for housing in Detroit and
Detroit utilizing its
riverfront. And, by the y, 40
to 50 percent of those resi
dents are (rom the uburb.
Greektown i coming long.
So is the Wood rd corridor."
"I see signs
o hope."
Attorney Hall wil be the
first African American vice
president in Ford Motor Com
pany. This is an achievement
relished all the more due to
the fact that Attorney Hall's
f ther orked in the foundry
of Ford until his retirement in
1967.
nted n hi
edu tlo.
ve drea d
ould become
30,000. You must wor hard
nd h v the right attitude.
There i room at the top Cor
BI c . There are no Blac
at G. ., nd Chry ler nd
there' continued progres !"
HALL: 'There Is room for
people that or h rd. I feel I
can serve s a role model for
ny youn person because I
duated t the bottom of
my cl s. I never expected to
go to college. I Iearned that
you must et a goal and then
be disciplin d enough to at
tain th t goal. Then you must
go on to et new goals for
yourself. You must also say
no to drug, no to promis
cuity nd free that can
d troy young person's life.
Our youth must also be more
repsonsible within our com
unity. We eem to h ve 10 t
the consistency inmoral
values, nd to have 10 t com
munity responsibility. Y rs
back when young person be
came pregn nt they re
shipped b c down South.
Recently I s w three young
girl wal aero the tage at
graduation fully pregnant. I
s glad that they h d
decid d to continue their
education, but I w horrified
at the pprov I or their condi
tion . And I was bock d to
the anirmation their con-
dition eiv d from their
peers. It almo t a
though th pregnancy wa
viewed as tatu ymbol
among t their classmat .
Academically youtb mu t
or bard. Corporation
sl y openin doors, You n
no longer leave higb chool
nd get id 25,000 or
Q: Attorney Hall is not
only concerned with problems
that affect Detroit solely. He
will also concern himself with
passive restraint and interna
tional trade issues in his posi
tion with Ford. Areas of COD
cern to the nation as a whole.
His major focus, South Africa.
y ultimate enjoyment,
ing
"
Q: Attorney Hall m de it
clear that he has no regrets.
He has found the legal profes
sion challenging and fullfilling.
The law degree he earned has
proved to be very versatile
and will be invaluable as he
takes the newest challenge.
ever, is still se
I
e community.
o
HALL: ord h r: tory
with pproxi tely 16,000
orkers in South Afr·ca. Cor
po te poD I IIty aloin
eludes moral respon ibility.
The responsiblllity on th
part o( the corporation i to
100 for y to detach its If
from regime a oppres ive
as that or South Africa' • I ee
thi major respon ibUlty
on the part of the corporation
to the city, tate, nd to the
n tion as whole"
a e rpo te om r (or ord. I
y ecoid be to
re i this (CO plish ent,"
Q: Your position is that of
Chief Lobbyist for Ford in
Washington, D.C. As Chief
Lobbyist, how do you plan to
meet this newest challenge.
What role do you see Ford
playing in the development of
Detroit and how do you plan
to help Ford meet that respon-
ibility.
HALL: ·Bu ine s in ny
co m ity a a corporate
responsibility. The corpora-
Q: Detroit however, has
lost 800,000 people since 1952
-- that's more people than the
city of Atlanta. With such pes
simistic numbers, how does
the future look for Detroit?
HALL: -Detroit Is a city
th t h s gone through many
changes. The chang that
Detroit is undergoing no is
the mo t dlmcult. There are
crime problems, drug
problem, the education I ys
tem is not hat it u d to be,
neighborhoods re fighting
(or urviv I. Howev r, th
Q: Hall also recognizes a
more fundamental duty he has
to the City of Detroit, to serve
as role model for youth. A
role which he is ptly suited to.
About the Author
Coral Watt, 24, is a Detroit native .. She graduated from
Roeper City and Country, earned her undergraduate degree
from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. She
studied a year at the University of Ibadan in Ib dan, Nigeria
and a semester at the University of Paris, Paris, France.
Watt obtained her law degree from Ohio State College of
La and is an �censed Ohio attorney. She plans to relocate in
Detroit and pursue a career in internationalla .