he 1943 riots in Detroit and the 1967 riots have the same root causes (read the previous posts on those riots). The current riots in our cities are essentially about the same issues. So, in 80 years we have not been able to solve this issue of "law and order". This must mean that we do not understand the root causes and therefore are not addressing the issue correctly. We can't keep trying the same stuff and expect different results. We must try something different. Something bold. Because what is happening in Detroit foretells what could happen in America.
What happened in Detroit was based on fear. The white majority were fearful of blacks moving into their neighborhoods and eventually taking over. They became increasingly fearful as the number of blacks kept increasing to a point in the 60s where they were about to become a minority. Well, this is the current fear that Trump is appealing to. The demographics in America point to a time not so distant when the whites will be a minority. This is a scary situation for many. If you don't have a racist bone in your body this would not scare you but if this scenario scares you then Trump is playing into these fears. As in Detroit, this scenario scares many.
The choice is always fear or love (sounds new agee). Fear is never the right choice. Never. It was a choice in Detroit and it is a choice for America now. All this might be too abstract and ethereal, I will in the next posts provide specific answers to how we together, as a society, address issues of law and order in Detroit and America.
the moment you have been waiting for (or not). Here is the two-bullet-point-answer. But, before I give the two bullet points let me remind you what the question was. The question I set out to answer was what are the root causes of crime in our inner-cities. The question was triggered by the protests, riots, and looting in Minneapolis, Portland, Seattle, and many other cities. There was a lot of finger-pointing and blame being thrown around by way of explanation. One of the more outrageous assertions was that democratic mayors were responsible for lawlessness in the inner-cities. So, I picked Detroit to study the root causes of crime, because it has one of the highest crime rates in America. And, that is why I am here answering the question, after one month of intense study.
The two bullet points are:
1. HOUSING (Integration)
2. RE-BUILDING COMMUNITY
Now, the explanation.
The next post will be on HOUSING (integration).
PS: My apologies in advance to Detroiters, it is presumptuous of me to know what the solutions for Detroit are. My purpose is to engage my FB community in thoughtful discussion on law and order in inner cities and to that end, I will be offering some thought starters.
How to solve crime in Detroit (and our inner cities)-- a discussion starter.
HOUSING (integration):
Let us go back to 1920s Detroit and try a thought experiment.
In 1920 the population of Detroit was 950,000 white residents and 40,000 migrant blacks from the south. What if the majority of whites had welcomed the newcomers into their neighborhoods, recognized them as impoverished refugees who were escaping from extreme hardship and helped them settle in their new community? What if they were made welcome in the schools and houses of worship, taken care of in hospitals and cared for when in need? Would they have not assimilated? Would they not have become good neighbors?
Instead, the newcomers were shunned, were herded into sub-standard accommodations, were denied proper education, were intimidated by mobs, and kept "in place" by the police. In 1920s blacks were less than 5% of the population and were no threat to anyone. They would have easily assimilated and would then have become guides for the subsequent waves of migrants in the 30s. Each wave of migrants would have helped the next wave assimilate into the majority "culture". Instead, what happened was that the newcomers were forced to exist isolated and in their separate "bubble" among their own, with little interaction with the majority. So, their own culture, different from the majority culture developed. We now wonder why "they" are not "like us".
These differences multiplied as the years went by. Positions hardened, trust broke down, suspicions developed. The majority looked down upon the minority and treated them as less than equal. Blacks were denied opportunities that the whites had, such as the ability to buy homes and build wealth, they were denied access to good schools, fair treatment by law enforcement. They experienced "Jim Crow" like treatment that they thought they had escaped from. Blacks felt put upon, mistreated, and humiliated. Tensions grew and erupted in skirmishes further exacerbating the mistrust. Eventually, riots happened in 1943 and 1967. After the 67 riots attempts were made to reconcile the differences but it was too late by then. By 1974 blacks were a majority and they wanted power and to "settle old scores". Nothing good was to come of this. Nothing did. Hindsight is perfect, none of this had to happen if in the 1920s, 30s, 40s the majority had been more accomodating of the newcomers, had been willing to coexist as it were.
We can't turn the clock back but we can learn (we hope). Now is the time to rethink our neighborhoods and communities in the inner cities and to make them inclusive. Neighborhoods that are not just neighborhoods in name but where neighbors are what neighbors are supposed to be, that is, they look after each other.
In the next post, I will post some examples of neighborhoods in Detroit that are trying to do just that. It is not a pipe dream. There is reason to hope.
Examples of four communities that are rebuilding themselves through a partnership of city, banks, investors, community groups and individual initiative. I will provide links to one community at a time, so that you can see what is happening in each community. These examples provide hope that it is possible to rehabilitate a community ridden with crime and disfigured by blight.
https://detroitmi.gov/departments/planning-and-development-department/neighborhood-plans/west-design-region/grand-river-northwest?fbclid=IwAR0E1JWkdUXkUDBq4fuV7gN9wYtYfqGejDQzKCy-PyZYOARUcpRtVejrw
Those who have been following my "dissertation" on Detroit should watch the first 10 minutes of this presentation by the current mayor Duggan. Just 10 minutes of your time investment will catch you up with what I have learned about Detroit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1UoORb7pOY&fbclid=IwAR23NZRgOdu2Y2zkVBw-5nyI3iMaaVuGqTbH6pxWPDhNtNbVviu8SuPTbtc
Integrated housing: Here are the societal benefits of integrated housing and how integrated housing can help minimize crime:
1. Schools are automatically integrated, which means that all kids get the same quality of education.
2. Black and white families meet on the same playground, they get to know each other as people.
3. Black and white families deal with the same neighborhood issues.
4. Drugs and crimes are shared issues for black as well as white families.
5. Keeping the neighborhood safe is a shared issue.
6. Everyone has the same issue about maintaining property values, so there is an economic incentive for maintaining the neighborhood.
All of this has a direct effect on reducing crime. We want safer cities we should welcome integrated neighborhoods. It is starting to happen in Detroit. Mayor Duggan is working aggressively on it. His mission/vision statement for the city is: One City: For All of Us. This has not been the case in Detroit since the 20s.
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