If it isn't clear already, I am from Detroit. And whatever fire I bring to the table on issues that matter comes from my formative experiences in the 313 area code. So when I happen to read that Detroit ranks first in charitable giving of course I'm proud.
[As an interesting aside, as much beef as Chris Webber (another Detroiter) has taken over the past several years for various miscues...I also found it interesting that his Time Out Foundation gave a greater proportion of its funds to charity than any other foundation in the state of Michigan.]
But given that Detroit is 80% black...and the Chronicle report didn't focus on metropolitan AREAS but with CITIES, I think this points to a much deeper finding. For all the talk that charity begins at home, for all the discussions about 1000 points of light, and using private initiatives to end public problems like poverty, the population more likely to give is the population most likely to believe that the government should be used to stop poverty and racism. Maybe BECAUSE we come out of our pockets the most we understand that the odds of ending social ills through private initiative is about the same as the odds of fully funding NASA through bakesales (got that one from Adolph Reed, I can't lie).
While my mind doesn't necessary qualify as "great" I don't think it's a coincidence that Prometheus 6 has got some of the same ideas.