Editor’s note: This commentary is by Ron Pulcer of Rutland Town.
When I heard on July 19 that Detroit is declaring bankruptcy, I was saddened, but not surprised. Later the same day, President Obama made some heartfelt and personal remarks on race relations, in the wake of the George Zimmerman trial over the death of Trayvon Martin. I see a connection between the president’s remarks and the racial history of metro Detroit, and how racial tensions were one of the contributing factors to Detroit’s decline over the decades. Metro Detroit is one of America’s most segregated areas north of Mississippi; a Southern region within a Northern State.
I grew up in Metro Detroit and still have family there. At a young age, I was able to sense the racial and economic trajectory of metro Detroit.
Detroit could be compared to a slow-motion car crash, decades in the making. Imagine a circa 1950 Chevy cruising down Woodward Avenue, morphing into other vehicle models over time, up through a 2013 Chevy Volt, just before hitting a financial brick wall.
I think there are lessons to be learned from Detroit, a favorite punching bag of the media and people in other states for years. I’ve seen signs of Detroit’s decline in other parts of the country, including Rutland County where I’ve lived for 18 years.
Now is not the time to kick Detroit while it is down. Your city or your job could be next.
Here is Detroit’s slow-motion crash in a nutshell:
1) During WWII, Detroit was called the “Arsenal of Democracy”. In 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 to prohibit racial discrimination in the national defense industry (and avoid a protest march).
2) Prior to Detroit’s 1943 Race Riots, a wave of 50,000 blacks and 300,000 whites arrived from the South. Besides their suitcases, they also brought their racial prejudices North with them. In addition, other ethnic groups were encouraged to resent African-American newcomers, even though their numbers were much smaller than Southern White newcomers. Detroit’s Polish community was scared into thinking that African-Americans would threaten their jobs and communities. I’m half Polish, and remember well how adults around me sometimes spoke of Detroit’s black citizens. The reasons for the 1943 Race Riot included the lack of housing for many of the newcomers. In the process of creating new housing, the African-Americans were discriminated against, and so began Detroit’s racially segregated neighborhoods.
3) After WWII, Veterans started families, found manufacturing jobs, and bought vehicles. During the 1950s, Detroit’s automobile industry helped create the American Middle Class.
4) The U.S. car companies did well in the 1960s, given the lack of foreign competition. The Black Middle Class increased in size.
5) The 1967 Detroit Riot began after the police raided a blind pig where African-Americans were celebrating the return on two GIs from Vietnam. The 1967 riot was preceded by additional migration of Southern folks searching for jobs.
6) Given the automobile, racial tensions, drugs and crime, open land outside the city, and Interstate Highways, Detroit’s suburbs began to boom and “White Flight” from Detroit increased.
7) In 1974, Coleman Young became the first African-American Mayor of Detroit. His election campaign highlighted that while Detroit’s black population was slightly less than 50% in 1972, its police department was predominantly white. Detroit’s proposed bankruptcy may well affect the pensions of city workers, including retired policeman, many of whom are white.
While Coleman Young did some positive things, his administration also had its problems with corruption. During his tenure there was an increase in drugs and crime. He was not able to effectively deal with crime, which spilled over into the suburbs, which continued “White Flight” from Detroit.
I learned to drive in 1975. President Obama mentioned hearing “car doors locking”. Sadly, my parents told me to “lock my car doors”, and not go south of Eight Mile Road when I had the car.
Interestingly, Coleman Young served in WWII as a Tuskegee Airman. Given the continued racial discrimination which black WWII Veterans faced, in hindsight it’s not surprising to me that Mayor Young had a “chip on his shoulder”.
8) Since the 1990s, many factories closed and jobs were eliminated, or migrated to Southern states, Mexico, China and Canada. Detroit lost much of its tax base.
9) Mayor Dennis Archer served from 1994-2001, and worked to improve the relationship between Detroit and the suburbs.
10) Kwame Kilpatrick’s tenure as Detroit’s mayor from 2002-2008 was plagued with corruption and scandals. Given Detroit’s economic challenges post-9/11, Kwame’s problems were a major distraction, further contributing to Detroit’s troubles. Kilpatrick resigned in 2008. Instead of “passing the baton”, Kwame effectively handed the next mayor a “ticking time bomb”…
11) Despite Mayor Dave Bing’s valiant efforts, he faced many challenges, decades in the making. Mayor Bing has been supplanted by appointed Emergency Manager Kevyn Fox.
12) SCREECH! BOOM! CRASH! Detroit’s runnin’ outta cash (hit the financial brick wall)!
The moral to this story:
If your city has lost good paying jobs and its tax base, has more drugs and crime, some corrupt politicians, and/or racial tensions, then your city could be next. Maybe not this year or the next, but maybe in a decade or two…
If Detroit sets a precedent of cutting promised pensions for city workers, then it could happen to your city’s workers. If it happens to them, then it could happen to even more private sector workers.
Now is not the time to kick Detroit while it is down. Your city or your job could be next.
My hope and prayer is that Detroit will turn itself around. A few hopeful signs exist today. There are young entrepreneurs moving to Detroit, urban gardens, and an improved Downtown, Midtown and waterfront.
