I'm not going to lie. This was a tough week.
One of our interviews set people off this week. It's because we used the podcast to speak truth to power around the history of Detroit and former mayor Cobo with noted historian, Ken Coleman.
There are very divergent opinions around the fact the convention center is going to be renamed by Chemical Bank, and Cobo's name will come off.
But Cobo also did his best while he was in office to wipe a lot of Detroiters of color off the map of the city and out of their own houses.
One of the things I've noticed covering Detroit's resurgence is that there are a lot of people who are fine with it in theory. Support it if it means a stadium or new residents. But property values? Real economic power for those within it, especially those of color? That's often a bridge too far. That was made clear by the vitriolic nature of about half of the feedback (the other half was rather positive). We have such a zero-sum mindset among some of our region's folks - and we have to get over that - if we're going to make progress.
As far as I'm concerned, if you're going to say you love Detroit, you need to love all of it. Love doesn't mean talking over your partner, love means listening to them. But so many around the Detroit conversation talk right over Detroiters.
I'm as guilty as the next pudgy white guy of owning a bunch of Detroit t-shirts. But building up a community isn't about buying the shirt. It's about doing the work and getting that shirt dirty.
I think it's time we start putting together some events to build bridges. I'll keep you posted.
Carry on,
-Jer
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Excerpts:
A Hollywood film director makes a giant splash at the Oscar Awards when he says Shinola is “saving Detroit” and the interweb asplodes. We talk about what that ridiculous, off-the-cuff comment means about the city and its nascent comeback. There’s a lot more news to be had on today’s episode. We also discuss that Medium ...
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