About three weeks into the program, I took a trip to Atlanta for the weekend. Unfortunately, my departing flight was delayed for an hour and a half. As I was sitting in the McNamara terminal, a tall, middle aged man took a seat across from me. We engaged in small talk for a few moments. In the short conversation that followed, I learned that he was from Panama City, Florida, was an avid supporter of Donald Trump, and that he couldn’t wait to catch his connecting flight and get home.
He asked me if I was from Michigan. I happily replied that I was. I explained that I had grown up in the suburbs, but recently started living and working in Detroit for an internship. His expression suddenly turned grim. “Oh, really? And how is that going?” He went on, “You know how you have a mental image of places when you hear about them? Well, I’ve never had a good picture when it comes to Michigan.”
Here we go. I thought. I was curious to know who or what was painting such an ugly picture for him. I think I already knew the answer.
“Does everything you know about Michigan come from things you’ve heard about Detroit?” I asked him, in what was probably an accusatory tone.
He confirmed this with a nod, and body language that said well duh. He explained he had only been to the area for business, and never really cared to explore outside of the walls of the skyscrapers he’s visited.
I emphasized that the narrative he had heard in the media will not be and should not be the narrative he hears in the future – that the narrative he hears now neglects the voice of the communities that I’ve seen thriving in the short time I’ve been here. I know the narrative that he is hearing is tainted by an outsider’s lens. I wish the stories about the good people in Detroit got as much attention as those stories that focus on corruption, bankruptcy, blight, and that damn M-1 rail.
I challenged him to come back soon, and venture out of the exclusive downtown area. I told him that there are many tight knit communities that are and have been working to bring about positive community change for decades. I challenged him to visit the beautiful art parks, bike paths, museums, theaters, and eateries that sprinkle the city, and give it it’s unique and colorful personality.
Unfortunately, my insights seemed to fall upon deaf ears.”Don’t worry,” he started, “Trump will fix it.” I laughed nervously as I realized he was – for some reason – trying to console me. He could not see that that type of top-down, invasive change was exactly why I am worried.
Detroit is not and has never been a city that “needed saved” by anyone. Perhaps the first step – the step that is so often skipped – is simply to engage in conversations and actually listen to those that live here and are most effected by the decisions that are made. You know, instead of hiring an emergency manager in an attempt to silence their voices.
As a middle-class, suburbanite I cannot by any means articulate the problems faced by long-time Detroiters. But the very least I can do is advocate against ignorance.
