As the country and certain parts of the world focus on the upcoming US Social Forum happening in Detroit, MI – June, 2010, there is a rising interest in just how we residents want to portray this city that we so love and worry over. Yes, dependency on a single-growth industry like automobile manufacturing has put is dire straits. When the Big Three decided that technology would be used to replace workers and they would continue to maintain a high level of profit, the death knell started to toll. By the 100’s of 1,000’s, we are suffering and we see no end in sight with the economic and political structure remaining the same, but hope springs eternal, so bringing the best minds, the best thinkers, and the best visionaries to the “D” is a remedy made for what ails us.
Now, we have to get down to it…what is Detroit and what sites are reflective of her spirit, her history and her best days ahead. Well, this writer has taken a view of this question and has arrived at the following considerations.
Many of my colleagues will undoubtedly list the “usual suspects” when identifying those places that we want to put on the tour when our guests arrive. I support that list. I, however, have compiled the “b” side of this tune and would ask that honorable mention be awarded to these off-main street gems that really flavor our city.
Parks Original Bar-B-Que has been at the same site for over 50 years, mesmerizing the entire neighbor adjacent to Custer Street with the hypnotizing smell of vintage, old-style cooking. On weekends, the line stretches out the door with customers buying up the delicacies guaranteed to make the mouth water. For those who eat meat, this is a “must-visit” stop. Detroit…
Z’s Villa on Piquette is a throw-back to the old factory “do-drop-in” restaurant that serves a drop-dead menu that will satisfy any type taste. They serve home-style vegetarian dishes, fish, and the obligatory hamburgers – but the YaYa Gumbo is legendary. What is more significant about this little-known sports-bar, is that all nationalities come, and all feel welcomed there. During their Octoberfest during the fall, rousing bonfires dot the outside venues as the brave who can tolerate outside eating flock to this site and enjoy hours of good, clean fun often times bringing the kids along. When our guests arrive at the Social Forum we will take them there and you will see. Detroit…
Henry the Hatter is another icon in Detroit, selling the old style and the new style hats that both men and women in the “D” are noted for wearing. It serves the area from the original location on Broadway Street, and just a walk inside is a trip down memory lane. Men who wear stylish hats from Henry’s are the “coolest and best looking dudes” around. We will insist that our Forum guests take a peek at Henry’s! Detroit…
The Michigan Citizen newspaper was started many years ago by the late Charles Kelly. He was a man with a vision who wanted to organize a paper that had the ear of the local community as well as the capacity to cover national issues. The Citizen has keep to that cause, and is the repository of those local stories that fall just below the radar, usually deemed not important enough by the so-called main-steam press. The Citizen remains the best example of hi-level literary contributions that raises issues germane to the life of the community. On a shoe-string budget, Mrs. Kelly and the Kelly children keep this dream alive. We should see that operation and relish in its accomplishments. Detroit…
Belle Isle is not what it used to be, but we still have great pride in this beautiful and serene place. In days gone by, our families used to cart the kids off to this pristine island, drive across the bridge, and sit along the shores to watch the great tankers pass by. It was the place that children went to have horse and buggy rides. Today, we see the majesty in flocks of mallard ducks, and the unmistakable beauty of swan flocks that dot the landscape. Clearly, they own the grounds as they walk their ducklings back and forth across the roads. We can see Canada from the Belle Isle shore, and ships, and private boaters enjoying the water with family and friends. At evening’s arrival, you can hear the waves skipping along the pilings. Those splashing waters open thoughts of visiting places far away. Access is more restricted these days, but the lure of the Belle Isle Fountain that changes colors, the slides that crackle with the laughter of children playing on them, and the sight of retirees fishing along the way is memorable and poignant. Detroit…
The Fort Shelby Hotel has been in the same place also for many years. It has some new fixtures, but it kept many old ones and those “antiques” are in place in such a way that lodgers will remember that they stayed there while attending the US Social Forum. The guest cookies are scandalously delicious and warm. Ms. Jill, from the sales dept, is a host who will make you feel as if you are lodging in her home and not in a public hotel. But, the issue here is the “drop-dead”, Friday, “Soul-Food” luncheon menu that deserves reservations only – the food is that wonderful. Whatever stereotypes that one might think, all nationalities eat there so all these rare and specially made surprises for the senses are enjoyed by yet again a long line of guests who all know what to expect. Detroit…
My last two requests for consideration is that we take our guests to listen to the great icon of Labor, General Gordon Baker, if he is successful in organizing a Labor Workshop at the Forum, and Marian J. Kramer, the great icon of the anti-poverty movement in North America. These two partners have years of organizing history between them so a trip to the “D” is incomplete without hearing from them. Gen worked for years in the plant for both Chrysler and Ford’s, so he walks a little slower, but his mind is as sharp as a steel trap. His analysis of history from the blue-collar point of view makes him important and necessary as we bring new conclusions to the economic dilemma we find ourselves in. One of the originators of the old League of Revolutionary Black Workers, Gen is able to recant many of the changes that have happened over the years from early labor organizing to where we stand today. He and other revolutionaries from the League and from DRUM, the Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement, continue to meet to provide clarity and a deeper understanding of the world we live in today. No trip to Detroit would be complete without a visit with Gen.
Marian has been the champion of the National Welfare Rights Union also for years, and has amassed soldiers across the country trained in the battle to eliminate poverty. She along with other unsung heroes, have raised the issue of poverty and its relationship to labor to a science, demonstrating that this connection is part and parcel of the fabric of all society. A trip to Detroit would not be complete unless arrangements are made to listen to her interpretation of the new world order. She and Gen live in Highland Park, but we all refer to that City as the “capital” of the “D”. Detroit…
Well, these are the sights that are much less traveled, but these are the ones that help make us what we are…broken, proud, reflective, hopeful, and courageous as we take one step forward – again and again! Detroit…
Welcome to Detroit!
Maureen D. Taylor, MSW
USSF Detroit Co-Coordinator
State Chairperson, MI Welfare Rights Org.