This brief video highlights a few of the community based organizations working to build capacity among residents of Detroit and their efforts to turn things around and recover hope in the face of the economic devastation.
I have been viewing videos on Detroits "demise" all day and many really depicted a dreary forecast for Detroit. However, having heard Mayor Bing's master plan to demolish 10,000 abandoned houses and replace them with industrial farm land I think it is possible that the efforts of a few Community Based Organizations might be too little and too late.
Nevertheless their efforts did help me to regain perspective in recognizing that all the pictures of the devastation could just as easily be balanced out by the gentrification in areas like the Boston/Edison area. My concern is that with whites rushing back to the inner city to claim the foreclosed mansions and renovating them to their former glory (which is a good thing) what happens to the dislocated individuals (almost exclusively black)? Thus race raises its ugly head in all of this. Ironically the 1967 insurrection (not riot)is so far in the past that it might be easy to forget that so much of this is about race politics. Hopefully we will get it right! Meanwhile, we just have to keep revisiting the life cycle and reincarnating ourselves and returning to do this work until then!
Blessings! Rev. Qiyamah
Ruminations of the Soul reflects insights and conversations prompted by the authors diverse interests and innate curiosity about the world as a Unitarian Universalist minister, growing theologian, teacher, writer, activist/researcher and seeker.The blogger is a mystical humanist/child of the Universe on a path seeking to encounter the Sacred and Divine and to be of service to heal self and the world.
No comments:
Post a Comment