If you live in Michigan, you know what is going on in Detroit. Actually, I have been seeing that Detroit’s problems have been reported on a national level and maybe even on an international level.
The fact that Detroit is populated by African-Americans and run by African-Americans who are responsible for what some are calling the “collapse” of Detroit, brings up some interesting commentary.
In today’s Detroit Free Press, Stephen Henderson, a black columnist writing in the “People & Politics” corner, addressed the subject kind of in-directly, “Detroit officials provide sickening fodder for racists”, July 6.
He acknowledged that the Detroit School Board, City Council and the mayor of Detroit are embroiled in corruption and mismanagement scandals that Henderson calls “just horrible”.
He says the problem with these “miscreants” is not that they are black but because they are just “bad & incompetent” people and they need to go and I agree with him wholeheartedly.
Henderson also calls for Detroiters “black or white” to come to the aid of the city by taking leadership roles and reversing the calamity that is currently unfolding. This is the first time I have read where the possibility of a “white” candidate for elected office or a city job was suggested - interesting!
He also said that those doing such a disservice to the city are trashing the work of those blacks who have for decades fought to get blacks the opportunity to shape their city’s fortunes.
I agree with Mr. Henderson that saying that the city is in such chaos is because blacks don’t know how to run things is racist, illogical and un-factual, BUT I will remind him that a certain black “culture” in the city of Detroit contributed to the city’s downfall.
The “culture” that I am talking about started out in a logical fashion; a black city should have black leaders. Another city near Detroit called Hamtramck, was all Polish and all community leaders were Polish as were most of the city workers.
The first black mayor of Detroit, Coleman Young, was a strong leader. He ran the city for 20 years and did many good things for the city even though he was disliked outside of the city for his confrontational politics which were, in some cases, downright racist. He created a powerful and entrenched bureaucracy in the city based on skin color and loyalty (sometimes called nepotism) but never on competency and this is how the bad seed was planted that would grow to harm the city.
Elected offices would go to people that would then bring in their friends and relatives or at least made sure that friends and relatives prospered on their watch; the city be damned. The current mayor has his whole family on the payroll including his high school chums, etc.
Sadly, this culture also engulfed the school board where children did not have text books but lucrative contracts went out to associates with no recognizable benefit to the students. This is the case today with millions of dollars unaccounted for.
Democratic presidents heaped millions in federal funds on Detroit. When those funds disappeared without anything to show for their use, the feds kept quiet not wanting to appear racist. I remember writing a letter to the editor where I stated that federal funds were disappearing into a big black whole; the letter was published without “big black hole”.
The Detroit City Council is under a federal investigation for corruption; taking bribes caught on video.
The mayor caught on tape lying in court and using city money for everything but city business is gathering a war chest for his defense by promising businesses lucrative city contracts for donations to his defense fund. Resign? Why should he, he will be re-elected again because he is perceived as the man that stuck it to the man and got away with it - just what the city needs.
We had a black mayor that was a former judge (Archer) and by all accounts, a good, decent and honest man. Well he could not fight the “bureaucracy” so entrenched in the city; he could not function and institute reforms he wanted and I guess he just did not have big enough balls to throw the incompetents out.
Yes, some in the city are up in arms. The newspapers are editorializing like mad, they are also suing the mayor, et. al. to get their hands on incriminating evidence the mayor’s lawyers are trying to protect. The County Prosecutor who is black and female is being thwarted in her attempts to recuse the mostly black judiciary from the case against the mayor because most if not all the judges have some connection to the mayor.
BUT many in the city support the mayor and would vote for him again and those include some of the leading Baptist ministers in the city who have strong influence in the community and probably need that entrenched bureaucracy to remain in power for some obviously selfish reason.
Mr. Henderson, in his article, is calling on all people who love Detroit to come to its rescue and become the leaders that will give Detroit a re-birth but who is going to elect these competent, honest people?
Mr. Henderson needs to address the black electorate in Detroit and ask them what the hell do they want to happen? Do they want to finally “destroy” the “culture” that is destroying the city and actually vote on competency, regardless family connections?
There are many competent blacks that can help run the city but they left the city for the suburbs a long time ago - or am I wrong?
There has recently been an influx of young professionals, black and white, back into the city, living in condos, apartments and lofts newly constructed or renovated in upscale parts of the city; could they be the saviors of the city? Will Detroiters give them that chance? More to come…
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