Southwest Detroit is tight. Tight in both senses of the word I guess, the way frat boys use it and also to mean that Southwest Detroit is very close. Everyone seems to know each other and a lot of the community members have lived here their whole life. DHDC very much takes part in the culture of Southwest; I’ve honestly never worked somewhere so relaxed before. Not to say they don’t get things done, because they do. But everyone is slightly more understanding and flexible with deadlines, or to put it as one of the employees here described it to me on my first day, “no one is going to kill each other over 15 minutes.”
Luckily for me, food is also a huge part of the culture here. If we’re going to be working with parents or inviting them to our space, we better have food for them. It seems to be sort of a respect thing and when you think about it, it makes sense. Why would you ask people to participate in your workshops and take time out of their day and then make them leave hungry as well? Sometimes this slows us down, like yesterday when the food arrived a little late and we ended up delaying the workshop by about an hour because we had to feed everyone and their kids. But it really does help to bring everyone together, which is crucial for community organizing.
On another note, one of my absolute favorite things about Detroit is that everyone says hi to each other. If you’re walking or biking past someone and you look at them, they always give a little head nod or say something nice. That never happens to me in Ann Arbor when I’m walking through the Diag and everyone tries to avoid eye contact. I like the acknowledgement that we’re existing, in the same space, and it’s cool.
You are so right! Food can be such a powerful tool in bringing people together and breaking down cultural barriers. I’m not exactly sure why this is, but maybe it has something to do with sharing in human experiences and having that reciprocity with another person/community.