Where we as Black folks are to blame for the fall of Detroit One of the more sickening (if not infuriating) aspects of the takeover of Detroit by the State of Michigan has been the various attempts to publically blame the city’s demise on Black folks and on the city’s governance since Black folks assumed political control. I’ve heard and read more than a few recent comments, from both Whites and Blacks, proclaiming that “Detroit’s problems were 40 years in the making,” or “Detroit has suffered from 40 years of mismanagement,” or “Blacks have had 40 years to run Detroit and failed,” or the like. Of course, it was 40 years ago exactly that Detroiters elected their first Black mayor, Coleman A. Young, who, incredibly, is still blamed to this day by many Whites (and some Blacks) for Detroit’s woes. (Even Governor Snyder says Detroit’s problems began 60 years ago.) A couple of prominent local journalists, White guys whom I consider to be professional friends of mine, recently posted an article written by Washington Post correspondent Keith Richburg on their Facebook pages, calling the piece “pretty insightful,” “bracing,” and a “heartfelt analysis.” The article was also reprinted or reposted by various news outlets across the country. For the record, Richburg’s July 19th article is essentially a piece written by a Black guy who grew up in Detroit (but admittedly “abandoned it long ago”) that blames Detroit’s problems on the paranoia, stubbornness and “admirable obstinacy” of Black folks. Richburg, who has come under criticism before for his propensity to criticize Blacks, is ostensibly cut from the same cloth as Clarence Thomas, Larry Elder and others who invite the label “Uncle Tom.” Yet, his perspective was presented and endorsed by prominent local voices, and it also appeared nationally. The mayoral candidacy of Mike Duggan, a White guy, has led to some fascinating political conversations among Black folks in Detroit, and these conversations have, in turn, shed light on a number of Blacks who believe their own people are the cause of Detroit’s problems. Certainly, not every Black person who backs Duggan feels this way, but there are definitely a few “Uncle Ruckus” types included in that group whose support for Duggan hinges on the fact that he is not Black. Shortly after Mike Duggan filed his signatures to be placed on the mayoral ballot (prematurely, as it turned out), the major local news outlets began advancing the idea of a White mayor for Detroit, with one local Black newspaper columnist even bragging that she called for “the election of a white mayor” to fix Detroit 10 years ago. Ironically, the title of her column was “Detroit voters must look beyond race,” as if Detroiters did not have a history of doing so (remember Maryann Mahaffey and Sheila Cockrel?). Anyone who specifically calls for the election of a White mayor is not “looking beyond race,” but is implicitly saying we don’t need to elect another Black one. These suggestions that Detroit’s current problems are due to 40 years of Black political control are shallow, incorrect, diversionary, and ultimately racist. Any reasonable and honest explanation for Detroit’s current predicament will conclude that the city’s problems have much more to do with its lack of money than its lack of management, and that there is enough blame to go around from Detroit, to its suburbs, to Lansing, to Washington, D.C. It is, at least, wrong and, at worst, sinister to specifically blame Black folks for Detroit’s maladies. Beware of those who attempt to do so. However, some of Detroit’s most pressing problems are, in fact, due indirectly to our collective failures as Blacks. Our failures, which are common in Black communities across the state and the nation, are not so much political or administrative or fiscal, but spiritual, social and communal. Our failures are self-inflicted wounds that couple with economic and political realities to exacerbate the hardship, hopelessness and despair that push so many of our people toward lethargy, anti-social behavior, or just plain foolishness. Worse than the bankruptcy of Detroit’s coffers has been the spiritual bankruptcy of our people. Our failures spring from the self-hatred, fear and apathy that have historically hindered our progress. Simply stated, Black folks have failed Detroit to the extent that we have failed ourselves. Our most fundamental failure has been our inability to collectively seek out, learn, interpret, understand, apply and teach the lessons of our own history. To the extent that we as African-Americans reference our past, we place at our disposal the proven philosophies and strategies we need to survive and to prosper in the present: unity, activism, morality, charity, courage, sacrifice, entrepreneurship, brotherhood, scholarship, the pursuit and practice of our full citizenship rights, and much more. A people whose ranks have produced such clarion voices as Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Paul Robeson, Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Booker T. Washington, Sojourner Truth, Ida B. Wells, James Baldwin, Medgar Evers, Dr. Carter G. Woodson, Coleman A. Young, Erma Henderson, Ken Cockrel, Sr., William Lambert, Fannie Mae Richards and so many others has received ample instruction in what is necessary to overcome the challenges we face as a people. We just need to put into practice what we already know. History, both local and national, is replete with examples of African-Americans organizing to lift themselves out of oppressive circumstances and move forward – elevating the social and moral standing of the overall society in the process. Our ancestors have already shown us how to confront and conquer our obstacles, but, unfortunately, we have strayed from the path and succumbed to damning distractions. Given Detroit’s population and demographics, the problems that disproportionately affect Black folks have a tremendous impact on the entire city. Our failure to protect and uplift our own communities is how we as Black folks have failed Detroit. We must understand that the people who have taken over the city have an absolute need to promulgate the lie that Black folks caused the downfall of Detroit. Acceptance of this falsehood as truth by the general public helps to mask and justify the horrible reality that voting rights have been abrogated, elected officials have been nullified, and democracy has been completely hijacked in the American city of Detroit, Michigan. And for what? It remains to be seen exactly what Detroit will become once the state and the state-appointed emergency manager have finished doing their handiwork in the city. However, it is a certainty that Black folks will need to embrace and put into practice those lessons that promote self-love, self-reliance and self-preservation as we move into this uncertain future. That is the only way we will ever be able to effectively address the problems that plague our people and lessen the quality of life in communities across our city. The love we demonstrate for Detroit must begin in our own neighborhoods. — with Cecelia Red Walker and Souls Unconquerable Berry.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 16:03:42 +0000
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