What didn't work: Why segregation continued after policy changed

Welcome everyone to Week Thirteen!

The first point of this week is to give thanks for the good things we have gained from this world and from one another, and to commit ourselves to bringing goodness to others as well. That's something we can do better when we understand the world we are living in.

The second point of this week is to build on last week's discussion of segregation in Detroit by looking into the underlying causes of the problem at the level of individual agency and social structure and addressing the policy solutions that might work going forward. The reading packet for this week approaches the topic from several different directions:

The readings for this week come in four inter-related parts

A short article--combining analysis and personal memoir--about race and population change in Detroit by artist and writer Marsha Music who saw the changes first hand
The prologue of Professor Jessica Trounstine's award-winning book called Segregation by Design which also combines policy analysis with a personal approach to the question of segregation--and does it in a graphic-novel form!
A short part of a book chapter by our own Honors Professor Bryan Ellis and his colleague Fred Pincus about old and new forms of racial prejudice.
A short reading from Howard University professor Keneshia Grant about the ways in which political systems limited the access of African Americans to elected office and how African Americans overcame those obstacles and found ways to represent their interests at the federal, state and local levels.

You may also be interested in a few of these optional supplementary videos:

John Oliver's nice summary of housing-related issues. As usual, Oliver is full of profanity and inappropriate comments, but he manages to do a remarkable job covering a lot of material in a small amount of time and throw in jokes as well. He is not always entirely fair toward those he disagrees with but he does at least usually acknowledge their positions in a way that could allow you to find similar arguments. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-0J49_9lwc Hat tip to the student who tipped me off to this one.
Optional video supplement: The role of zoning
Optional video supplement: Jessica Trounstine on Segregation by Design
Optional video supplement: Andre Perry on housing valuation

As always, let me know at kdk@wayne.edu or 248-744-3535 or put it into the "Questions and Answer Board. If you have any questions or find any mistakes or broken links. I very much appreciate that help.

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iDetroit Masthead

Aaron Foley
Author + Journalist

I would hope that... if I were to say one thing to the next generation of Detroiters, I would say don’t forget that we did everything we could. Black people in America have always been up against the odds and we’ve always had to make do with what little we had, even during boom times where the middle class was thriving. You know, you’re still Black at the end of the day. Take into account everything we’ve had to deal with — systemic injustices, racial injustices, social injustices, little things... big things... unfair housing practices, wealth redistribution, all these types of things that we’ve had to deal with, as not just Detroiters but as Black people, period.

So when the next generation come along with a bunch of questions, and say like “oh, why didn’t you do this, or why did you do that, and do this better?”... because we were kind of, like, making this up as we went along and trying our best to make do. So, I mean, take that into account, look at everything and look at all of history. But don’t forget we were still the American story, like it or not. We are a people that persevere; we are a people that have fun against all the odds. We can make a way out of no way — find light in the darkness. All of that and we did everything, we literally did everything that we could — I would hope that people in the future don’t forget that.

Full image: https://www.marcuslyon.com/artworks/idetroit/aaron-foley