Back in Detroit, Christine Beatty talks about closing Kwame chapter, reclaiming her name
www.clickondetroit.com
Christine Beatty showed up early to our interview. She was ready, direct – much like the former chief of staff I remember covering as a journalist back in the early 2000s. But she was also a little wary.

She [Beatty] moved back home two years ago from Atlanta for the reason that many children come back home – to care for a parent. Her mom was diagnosed with cancer, and just passed away in August. She admits it has been an excruciating two years.

But questions about her job and her restitution to the city of Detroit has put her back in the spotlight. Which is why she wanted to tell her story.

…and from The Detroit Free Press, M.L. Elrick’s take…

In a situation reminiscent of the bad old days, when Kilpatrick and Beatty ran city hall like an employment agency for friends and family, Beatty was hired by one of her best buds from high school. THAW CEO Saunteel Jenkins also hired Beatty’s mother, but she told me her longtime friendship with Beatty was not a factor in her decision to hire her fellow Cass Tech Class of 1988 alumna and her mom. More on that later.

Beatty refused repeated requests to discuss her gig or her life since leaving Detroit for Atlanta about 15 years ago. That may be because her friends and colleagues made it clear she also didn’t want to answer my questions about why we should trust Beatty to do better at THAW than she did while helping run one of the most corrupt nonprofits in Detroit history.