by J.S. Buford
The residents of Detroit have been so hard hit upon. And the city needs your help.
The decline of the automotive industry is having a crippling impact upon our neighborhoods, small business owners, and morale in general. While Cobo has dominated the airwaves as of late, the growing numbers of small businesses shuttering their doors are beyond alarming. Indeed, coupled with the amount of attention Cobo has been receiving, the lack of attention (or appearance thereof) to this matter smacks of outright placidity.
Despite the relative degree of excitement associated with your successful mayoral campaign, the signs of the city’s decay are too egregious to ignore. There are scores of city blocks inundated with debris, pock marked by abandoned homes, and cluttered by ditched vehicles. Many of us live in fear, unwillingly to allow our children to play in the surrounding parks, our front, and our backyards. Sadly, memories of sitting on porches with our parents and grandparents when we were young are nothing more than memories nowadays.
With every passing year, my peers – bright, ambitious, beautiful minds – are fleeing the city. Yes, they are seeking jobs. However, they thirst for civic engagement opportunities as well; eager for a chance to improve their communities, unfettered from outright corruption. They want to be able to drive down thoroughfares like Grand River, Jefferson, Gratiot, and Michigan Avenue, pull up to a coffee shop, plug up their laptops, read a book or review a report, and chat after a long day of work. They want to park their cars off of Woodward and Grand River and patronize businesses offering greeting cards, artistic works and crafts, hip clothing and accessories, ice cream and peanut M&Ms, fine wine and food (but diverse moderately priced menus as well), live entertainment, etc., etc., etc. They want variety, variety, and more variety.
Detroit is a beautiful city, full of beautiful people. However, something has seriously run amiss. There was a time whereas people truly believed if you were intelligent, worked hard, were willing to accept guidance, and exhibited a commitment to the city, Detroit would embrace you with open arms. However, it would be an understatement to state that the maxim “it’s about who you know" has become not only the primary, but the only determinant of who is able obtain city jobs, acquire contracts, secure licensing, open their doors, and market their offerings.
The result has been the pitiable delivery of city services, financial waste, and the repression of the bourgeoning talent and energy simmering just beneath the surface. And more importantly, too many of Detroit’s citizens have simply given up, don’t anticipate better, or worse yet, don’t believe they deserve better. The environment is stifling, and the supermajority of our elected officials, their appointees, and pundits have done a woeful job of convincing the citizens that change is possible.
Mayor Bing, you are in many respects the embodiment of the success many strive for everyday. However, we need you to do more than personify the possibilities, but to execute. Business connections are undoubtedly going to be invaluable to you as you seek to turn the city around. However, don’t forget that even in the midst of abundance, if barriers and challenges (transportation, entrepreneurship friendly policies, greater investment in educational and training programs, centers of information with later hours, etc., etc.,...) are not addressed, your efforts will be as effective as sipping soup with a fork.
We need to believe that Detroit is a place where hardworking, skilled, intelligent individuals can find a home, work, play, and build prosperous lives. We need to believe you are vested in the improvement of living conditions, but also the empowerment of the citizens. Help us believe.