I recently read an article in which the writer was touting the influence and necessity of small entrepreneurs as the salvation of Detroit. While it was a well researched article, it missed the boat because the writer was not much aware of the way in which life in Detroit has already left the 19th century model of centralized commerce and government. Detroit, both through choice and necessity, has found ways to invent key structures of daily life, whether that is food, cash free economics, or a deeply rooted maker culture.
One cannot tell the story of Detroit’s rebirth without
discussing its central role in transforming the food economy. With miles of open and incredibly fertile
river bottom land, more than 2000 community gardens, and an active local food
movement, Detroit is a the center of the urban agriculture movement. It is not unreasonable to think it will be
food self sufficient in 10 years. And…
this is a movement centered in the African-American community.
Another feature of life in this city is the robust social
capital that keeps this place running. There
are time banks, thousands of grassroots block clubs and community groups which
do everything from patrolling the streets, to tutoring kids, to running city
parks. Detroiters are past masters of “making
a way out of no way”. The resilience of
the African-American community fuels this, of course. The community has been ignored (or mistreated)
by officials for so long, that other structures to solve problems are put in
place.
This is what I call “the Auntie network”. Battalions of kin and near kin organize the
structures of life, from baptisms to funerals, from transportation to home
repairs. When you want something done,
you engage families, not individuals, in this city. When I say families, I don’t mean daddies and
mommas and kids…. I mean grandma, grandpops, aunties, uncs, cuzzes (1st,
2nd, and 3rd) bros, sisters, and all their kin. A typical family reunion can bring together
hundreds of people…it is an organizing feature of the social, economic, and
community life in the city.
Finally, one cannot omit the central role of the culture and
arts in this city. Singing, storytelling,
painting, poetry, film, dance, and more... are daily occurrences made by all
sorts of people. With food being grown
in the neighborhoods, folks that know how to get stuff done with little money
or help, and super cheap housing, it is possible to live as an artist here. I know this and see this every day, having
founded and run a community based theatre for the past 22 years. Matrix Theatre Company has employed
thousands of artists and engaged tens of thousands of residents. We see them go on to make art with and around
us, year in and year out.
So, yes the structures of 19th century commerce
and government are broken and nearly gone in the city. But a new, organic, self-determining and self-creating
structure is already here. Those who have
eyes to see it, already do it.
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