Detroit 1-8-7

Okay, so as I mentioned earlier, I watched my first episode of Detroit 1-8-7 last night. To be honest, I started watching it about ten minutes late, and, I cannot tell a lie, I actually fell asleep before it ended. I have a nine-month old baby who is teething, so sleep is sorta a luxury in my house. But, I did Tivo it, so I am rewatching it as I type.

Two things strike me as I watch it. First, the Hollywood producer said that Detroit had race problems. While this is true, Detroit is not alone. Almost every major city in America has race problems. Look at Chicago's Southside; East St. Louis, Illinois; or Over-the-Rhine, Cincinnati, if you don't believe me. Detroit is not alone. I see race problems all over America, including Dayton, Ohio.

I remember going South as a young girl and seeing separate drinking fountains from the Jim Crow era. I had not been exposed to these up North. I found them disturbing artifacts from a shameful American past. The North fought for freedom in the Civil War. Michigan was always a free state. Detroit offered economic freedom to people more than any other city. Just read Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon for an excellent account of going to Michigan for economic opportunity. It is such a great book.

Detroit is extremely diverse. I remember interviewing with Farmington Schools a decade or so ago. There were something like 80 languages in that district alone. Growing up, my best friend in first grade was black. In fact, many of my friends still are black. During middle school, my weekends were spent at bah and bar mitvahs. I dated a Jewish guy in high school. Many of my friends all throughout school were Chaldean. It was especially sad to go to class with them during the first Iraq War, as their relatives back in Iraq were experiencing the combat first hand. And, I have heard there are more Middle Eastern people in Detroit than anywhere else except maybe the Middle East.

So, this show had better stop with perpetuating the racist stereotypes in Detroit. No one needs that. Sure, the white flight is a well documented and tragic historical occurrence, but it had multiple causations- not solely bigotry. Safety, property values, and schooling all came into play. And it did not just happen in Detroit. Many cities in America share that shameful past.

The second thing that struck me was the artist in Corktown talking about urban exploration, and, as the character stated, although cool, some people are just exploiting the city with it. Burned out buildings have been in Detroit for forty years. Why now is it in vogue to photograph these? Where were these people for the last four decades? It is almost like kicking a guy when he is already down.

Just some thoughts on this show.