Detroit’s History Plays Out Today
Today in Detroit, one cannot pass the day without reading, watching or hearing a story on the likelihood that Governor Snyder will appoint an emergency financial manager for the City of Detroit. Treasurer Dillon has moved the process along to stage two while Mayor Bing and the Council attempt to draft their own plan that will be acceptable to the Governor. There are varied opinions on the subject around our community these days.
I ask that you pause for a moment and reflect on how we got to this place in time, this financial dilemma. Many pin it on Mayor Bing and the Council or even on the former mayor; however, we must look back to the 1950s when the city of Detroit began to change. A population of approximately two million began to decrease for a number of reasons. This same two million served as a substantial tax base (revenue) and contributed to the vibrancy of neighborhoods and businesses. Highways allowed Whites to work in the city and then leave to a suburban home 20-25 minutes away. My father was a perfect example of this practice. He practiced law in the Guardian Building and then drove his car up the Lodge to our home in Southfield. The advent of the shopping mall-Northland-began the retail exodus from the city. It is in the 1950s that the process of segregation takes full flight. The FHA’s discriminatory lending practices and restrictive covenants denied African-Americans the same housing opportunities as Whites. While Mayor Bing and this Council as well as their predecessors bear some of the responsibility for today’s financial collapse of the city, it is institutional and structural policies and practices that serve as the foundation for today’s financial woes. Folks outside the city, suburban White folks like me, need to understand this piece of the city’s history. This is the foundation for the city’s decline.
That said, we are out of time when it comes to fixing the city. The city needs cash and a stable plan going forward. The management model needs to change. Due to some of the history described above, the city’s revenue stream simply cannot support an infrastructure that was once established to support two million people. Don’t point fingers. Let’s work to bring about the needed solutions.
