Detroit, 50 Years Later

Fifty years ago this morning, Detroit exploded into five days of rioting that ultimately claimed 43 lives, injured nearly 1,200 civilians, and resulted in more than 7,000 arrests. President Lyndon Johnson ordered in 8,000 National Guardsmen and 4,700 paratroopers to augment local and state police. Damages totaled $289 million.

It was an early morning police raid of an illegal drinking establishment -- a rude interruption of a celebration to welcome back a couple of black Detroiters who had returned from fighting in the Vietnam War -- that set the match to the gasoline. In truth, it was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

The Motor City's riot (not its first -- a 1943 race riot resulted in 34 dead and 433 injured) came 2 years after severe rioting in the Watts section of Los Angeles, and preceded by a year uprisings in Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Washington, DC and other cities.

In many ways the Detroit of 1967 and 2017 represents a microcosm of America. Although the civil rights movement was well underway in 1967 (10 years after the school desegregation ruling Brown Vs. the Board of Education and 3 years after the Civil Rights Act of 1964), conditions were not improving for Detroit's blacks. They faced discrimination in the job market, in housing, and most notably, in abusive practices by a mostly white police force that seemed to relish the opportunity to harass and humiliate blacks.

The whites of 1960s Detroit were, I suspect, like many other whites across the nation: Many of them didn't harbor outright hatred of blacks or racist views, per se, nor did they particularly enjoy seeing blacks suffer. But they were complacent and indifferent. Their attitude was one of "I've got mine" and I'm not going to lose sleep worrying about others. And/or, I have enough problems of my own to deal with without being a bleeding heart of empathy regarding the troubles of strangers with whom I'll never interact.

But this is dysfunction at its worst -- like a large-scale version of a bad, abusive marriage. No respect or understanding; poor communication; relationship failure; lack of empathy. Eventually, weariness and outright anger and hatred can set in -- whether you're talking about a two-person relationship, or the interactions of different communities whose backgrounds, races and interests differ.

It may have come as a surprise to white Detroiters that the city boiled over, but most of the blacks probably sensed that it was coming, and may have felt jubilant that they could finally release their anger and frustrations.

Fast forward 50 years, and Detroit, like America, has been through dramatic changes. The city of 1.6 million 50 years ago (about 30 percent black) is now a city of 670,000 (at least 85 percent black). Blacks have run the government, schools and police force for decades. Detroit has struggled through periods of high crime and unemployment, deteriorating neighborhoods, failing schools, drug and gang problems, crumbling infrastructure, massive government corruption, and bankruptcy in 2013.

Thanks to deep-pocketed benefactors who care about the city (Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert, the late Tigers and Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, the Ford family and the Kresge Foundation, among others), Detroit's downtown is making a remarkable comeback. Also thriving is the Midtown area, home to Wayne State University. The city has a large stock of impressive old homes that need to be fixed up, plenty of beautiful churches and art deco buildings, and a vibrant culture of music and the arts.

But these pleasing aspects are dragged down by persistent poverty, illiteracy, drug and gang problems and horrid schools. Like the African American population nationwide, Detroit has too many individuals who have made poor personal decisions, squandering the freedom and opportunity their parents and grandparents worked so hard to achieve.

Race relations in Detroit and across America are a touchy subject. It's easy for feelings to be hurt and old wounds to be opened. But even many black leaders are not afraid to acknowledge that their people must do right by their families and communities in order for blacks to achieve greater success and fully participate in the American dream.

This means not having children out of wedlock, avoiding drug use and dealing, using alcohol moderately or not at all, demanding accountability of leaders, be they of government, schools, the corporate world or the clergy. It means not being apathetic or ignorant, and not succumbing to the cheap and shallow appeal of $200 Air Jordan sneakers and insolent, in-your-face rap music.

Is it obnoxious of a white guy to be writing these things? Perhaps. Maybe it's not my place. But it sure seems obvious that we're way past the point where blacks can continue playing the race card and must honestly take stock of their problems.

With all of that being said, the black middle class has grown tremendously since the 1960s, and there are many successful, impressive blacks who have contributed greatly to our nation. But there could be far, far more if the obstructive wall of denial were thoroughly broken down and blacks who struggle would adopt a new resolve to live up to their potential.

Detroit, like African Americans, has been through a lot. The Motor City put the world on wheels, served as the arsenal of democracy in World War II, and gave us the wonderful music and artists of Motown Music. It is an important, iconic city. But its failures and disappointments have been as enormous and devastating as its achievements have been impressive. People make up a city, and a nation. As go their fortunes, so go the fortunes of the larger community.

 

Comments

[T-Mo]

Nurglitch, your points are well-taken. The "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" philosophy is often much easier said than done.
In many cases, you are correct: People born into dire circumstances are only as good as their options. But I firmly believe that many of the middle- and upper-class blacks in the United States got where they are through sheer determination, persistence, and self-confidence (bolstered by faith in a higher being, I might add).
In other words, they may well have been disgusted/depressed/discouraged about being born with the deck stacked against them, being let down repeatedly by their loved ones, and facing dehumanizing bigotry throughout society. But they also sensed -- and acted upon this instinct -- that they COULD break out of their dysfunctional world.
I must say, when you consider what a bad hand American blacks have been dealt for centuries, they have persisted, impressed us and contributed tremendously in many fields and endeavors not only after the civil rights movement, but even during the darkest depths of slavery, Jim Crow laws and institutional racism.
Check out my post about Black History Month from Feb. 27, 2010. I give major props to the Tuskegee Airmen; the Black Warriors of the U.S. Army, 92nd Division, who fought valiantly against the Germans and Italians in World War II; and Benjamin Banneker, the first black astronomer, who taught himself astronomy and advanced mathematics. He was so accomplished, Thomas Jefferson recommended Banneker for the surveying team that laid out Washington, D.C.
Nurglitch, I don't always agree with what you say, but I commend you for presenting your case well. It is good to know that someone with your intelligence and sense of engagement is a regular reader of our humble blog, which, frankly, counts its readers in the dozens (as opposed to millions, thousands or hundreds).
We appreciate the fact that you keep taking the time to read and respond. My co-blogger and I do this because we enjoy thinking, writing and attempting to philosophize in our own way. We like to think that, when it comes to a blog's readership, quality counts much more than quantity!

[Nurglitch]

I think you should re-read the following paragraphs put side by side:

"The whites of 1960s Detroit were, I suspect, like many other whites across the nation: Many of them didn't harbor outright hatred of blacks or racist views, per se, nor did they particularly enjoy seeing blacks suffer. But they were complacent and indifferent. Their attitude was one of "I've got mine" and I'm not going to lose sleep worrying about others. And/or, I have enough problems of my own to deal with without being a bleeding heart of empathy regarding the troubles of strangers with whom I'll never interact."

"But these pleasing aspects are dragged down by persistent poverty, illiteracy, drug and gang problems and horrid schools. Like the African American population nationwide, Detroit has too many individuals who have made poor personal decisions, squandering the freedom and opportunity their parents and grandparents worked so hard to achieve."

People are only as good as their options, and for many people those options are handed to them by their family connections. Communities that use those family connections prosper. Communities without those well-placed and influential members cannot bootstrap themselves out of generational poverty and all the problems that arise out of it. We see this in Appalachia as much as Detroit.

The racial component highlights a tribal/class component whereby looking after your own in-group people means that you're not looking after out-group people. And by looking after, I mean providing those opportunities they wouldn't otherwise have for schooling, for employment, for childcare, for mobility, both class and to where the jobs are.

It's the little things too. Like eliminating non-white names to cut down on the thousands of resumes that a job-posting on the Internet might invite. Or gerrymandering an electoral district so that a representative that might funnel gov't tax breaks and contracts to locally owned businesses.

You've already made step #1 in noticing that you're complacent and indifferent. Step #2 is figuring out what you can do to help. Step #3 is putting in the multi-generational effort that it will take to ensure that your grand-children will refer to us as 'citizens' and not just 'blacks.'