For the 4th of July weekend I spent some time with my friends that were born and raised in Detroit, MI. We came together to celebrate the four day weekend with a neighborhood block barbecue. At this barbecue, I realized what neighborhood community use to consist of. Living within a neighborhood meant extended family and eyes to keep you safe and out of trouble.
It meant you could head over to “Auntie’s Joyce” for lunch when your mom was still at work. It meant you had childhood friends from not just your block, but perhaps, one block over, too. It meant you used the streetlights to gauge when to head home doing the summer nights. Neighborhoods held a culture of community, of different people coming together.
Sitting at the barbecue over the four-day weekend made me long for the days when neighborhoods in Detroit use to thrive. When you could drive down various neighborhoods, hear the children laughing, ice-cream truck song in the nearby distance, and the grandparents off the neighborhoods sitting on their front porches keeping watch.
