Reading today's Detroit Free Press, I run into an article dealing with the tension black metropolitan Detroiters encounter when they move into formerly all white suburbs. I grew up in Inkster, a small mostly black suburb outside of Detroit used by Ford in the mid 20th century to house black workers. Moving to Redford (a predominantly white suburb) in the eighties we experienced racism from adults and kids. The significant difference from our end was that we KNEW why we were being hassled. There are some class dynamics going on in this article that aren't being uncovered (Taylor, Trenton, and Warren are not just white suburbs, but rather are white working class suburbs). But when the black mother of a black child tells a reporter that her nine year old child didn't know what race was...there is a problem that goes beyond the actions of white racists. Black children brought up blind to the realities of racism are automatically crippled.
I was always appreciative growing up in Detroit during the fifthys that my parents arm me with reality,basically" some people don't like you because you are Black".So when it came to hatred I was never surprise.
Posted by: tootsie at July 19, 2005 10:30 AMAmerican children brought up blind to the realities of malaria are automatically crippled - depending on where they live.
And Basques in Boise are cool with blackfolks; it's the only place in Idaho anybody wants to live in anyway.
Posted by: Cobb at July 22, 2005 01:36 AMHa. Its funny that you mention Warren in this post. Not too long ago there was a story on the news about a Black family that had moved to Warren. Basically some one (I'm sure they were white) broke into their house while they were out and destryoed everything in the house, including the food they had. On top of that, they wrote a bunch of hate speech all over the walls. "White Power Rocks!" It seems like you hear about similar incidents every 6 months or so in the Detroit newcasts. What made it weird is the fact that the Detroit-Warren border is seperated only by one road: 8 Mile (yes, that 8 Mile). Warren is literally a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Detroit. I spent the better part of my life living 4 blocks south of Warren. Funny thing is, if a White family moved into my area, I couldn't see anyone writing hate-speech all over their wall. Could they get robbed? Sure. But somehow I think the Black people would stop short of spray painting hate-speech in their crib.
In fact, that whole area of Detroit where it transitions into Warren is an odd little area. White people still live there in pretty decent numbers, relatively speaking. Put it like this, when I was in 1st grade in the early 80's, I was only one of two Black kids in my class, and we were still in Detroit!
Posted by: Negrorage at August 1, 2005 03:23 PMYou must have lived near Eastland.
The real story here--actually captured in "8 Mile" is the class insecurity of the whites. You don't read about this stuff in Bloomfield Hills, or Grosse Pointe. Now it could be becuase they cover those stories up more, but I doubt it. Warren, Roseville, the downriver communities like Southgate, are places where these types of incidents are relatively frequent. If the residents of Eastpointe were paid from the get, they would never have changed the name of their city from East Detroit.
Posted by: Lester Spence at August 1, 2005 05:01 PMYep. Lived in that area for about 13 years. Its very rare to hear about those stories in the more affluent areas.
The cities that surround Eastland mall: Eastpointe, Harper Woods, St. Clair Shores, Detroit, etc, are home to some of the most ghetto White ppl I've ever met.
I know White guys in those areas that date Black women exclusively. Sometimes, I would just love to take a camera with me on my journeys through the city. These are like Malibu's Most Wanted type people.
Every now and then, a Black family will get harassed in Warren. But if you go into the Warren bars, there is usually a Hip-Hop show going on. And I'm pretty sure there are ppl in Detroit who are making waaaay more money than most South Warreners. All the rappers have white girlfriends btw.
Posted by: Negrorage at August 2, 2005 02:51 PM
it's interesting that you decided to focus in on that segment of the article - as a father of one of the largest "household nations" in america, i'm not surprised...
you are entirely correct in your finding...what struck me was the real estate agent whose daughter is fighting in iraq. he sees her military service and the conflicts in Taylor as hypocritical, but nothing could be farther from the truth...in point of fact, she is in iraq because her people were conquered on the field of battle - she is essentially a soldier-for-hire of a defeated group enlisted to wage war against another sovereign nation...it's not unlike what the Romans did. she would have trouble in Taylor for precisely the same reason...and the role of the government in both cases is logical, if nothing else.
america is not a free country...black folks can't just live any ol' place they choose. large parts of idaho are absolutely out of the question...beautiful country loaded with gun-toting white supremacists who are above the law...so america may be "freer" than other places, but it ain't free...and by that i mean, there is no law precluding you from moving to Idaho, but there is no enforcement of law protecting your move to Idaho - and this is the condition that was established in 1877 under the Hayes-Tilden Compromise - removal of Union troops...
just as cnulan or cobb said, those who monopolize force and demand allegiance (in a democracy) must offer protection...to the extent that this is not done or has not been done is the extent to which the society is not a democracy, but a kakistocracy and a kleptocracy.
the least a parent can do, lks, is teach their children about how these things go down.
Posted by: Temple3 at July 18, 2005 12:33 PM