So after looking at random Google streetviews of Detroit... (Coleman: rent, house)

[detwahDJ]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

Oh god, more revisionist bullcrap.

Coleman Young's exact words were...

“I issue this warning to all those pushers, to all rip-off artists, to all muggers: It's time to leave Detroit; hit Eight Mile Road!”

Read more: Coleman Young, Revisited - The Detroit Blog - TIME.com

Now with all due respect, please shove your stupid interpretion (which, ironically, is probably a thin veil of your racist feelings about Coleman Young and blacks residents in Detroit) where the sun doesn't shine and get over it. Coleman Young has been dead for over 15 years.

Right - and the story, as usual, got skewed. The suburbs were afraid that he meant his word, and for obvious reasons, wanted no part of it.

[Coldjensens]

My parents moved out of Detroit shortly after they had a tank driving down their street. Simply put, they did not want to raise children in a place where tanks rolled down the street. If it was racism, it was racism against tanks (I think tanks were green back then, not black). Most of their friends moved at about the same time and for the same reason. No one wanted to live in a place where you might get shot, or your kids run over by a tank. The city was still the best pace to live for amenities at the time, but no new parents are going to keep their kids in that atmosphere if they have any other options.

Some movement out to suburbs may have occurred prior to the riots as it did in every US city, but the riots certainly drove people away in swarms. If not for the riots, I believe it is unlikely Detroit would have seen substantially more depopulation than was typical in every city when the middle class left city living for suburban living.

Reverse prejudice undoubtedly existed prior to the riots as well as after and may have caused some people to leave, but the big push was safety and the general appeal of suburban living. to the extent so called "reverse prejudice" (which is really just plain old prejudice) had anything to do with the decline of the city, I suspect it kept people from returning to the City.

All US cities declined as the population migrated to suburbs. Detroit declined more than others and did not recover later as many cities did. Why is Detroit different? I think it is because the riots drove more people out, and as a result of upper and middle class evacuation, racists gained control of the city and drove more people out or deterred people from returning. As a result the city was left with mostly blue collar or impoverished residents and the accompanying high crime. It was not just whites who left. The black middle and upper class left as well.

It is impossible to rationally argue that Coleman young was not a racist, at least not if you ever heard him speak.

[detroit's own]

Originally Posted by 313Weather

Oh god, more revisionist bullcrap.

Coleman Young's exact words were...

“I issue this warning to all those pushers, to all rip-off artists, to all muggers: It's time to leave Detroit; hit Eight Mile Road!”

Read more: Coleman Young, Revisited - The Detroit Blog - TIME.com

Now with all due respect, please shove your stupid interpretion (which, ironically, is probably a thin veil of your racist feelings about Coleman Young and blacks residents in Detroit) where the sun doesn't shine and get over it. Coleman Young has been dead for over 15 years.

thank you!!!!

[detroit's own]

Originally Posted by wizfourfam

The Detroit Riots exploded when the DPD raided a Blind Pig. Burning, looting and general mayhem really obtained the desired results ....the neighborhoods involved are STILL vacant, a sad testament to troubling times. With all that went on in the City during that time, ALL residents were afraid and many stayed locked in their homes with the curtains drawn. Myself included.

A few years later, Mayor Coleman Young told white residents to "hit 8 Mile Road". A great move that helped foster a sense of community and broaden the racial divide. Take a look at the demographics of suburban communities, Southfield, Oak Park, Farmington Hills, Dearborn Heights, Westland, Wayne, Mount Clemens, Roseville, Warren, Troy, to name just a few. It wasn't just white flight. People were looking for a better way of life and often moved to be closer to their jobs. Nothing racist there......

The most ridiculous statement I ever heard was that Detroit has a drug problem because white suburbanites came into the City to buy drugs. Druggies flock to drug dealers to get their high, no matter where they are. Druggies come in all races, not just white. They do business everywhere, not just in the City. Sheesh

The crazy thing is this, suburbanites come into the City for employment as well as Detroiters go to the suburbs for their jobs. The economic times are hard for everyone wherever they live. All cities feel the pinch. I wish people would stop pulling the race card, get into the present day, stop making excuses, accept personal responsibility and move it forward. It is going to take team work to turn things around. The Detroit metro area is a diverse community with plenty of talent that can work together to make change happen. Pointing fingers at each other accomplishes nothing.

blah blah blah. Not even going to read all of the bs you're spewing. Like 313wether said, Coleman Young NEVER outright said "white people hit 8 mile" he said criminals. And where did I say anything about drugs? you're just mad because everything I said was true. FYI every major city had problems with drugs during that time up until the 80s. But as of now, denying that white people come to the city to buy drugs is a stretch. In every neighborhood in the city you'll see white addicts and black dealers. Yes there are drugs in the burbs but its no lie that its easier to get heavy drugs in the city. I was even watching a documentary not too long ago about how white people in the suburbs are the main customers to black dealers in the city. The addicts they were talking to were talking about how the police and the fact that the drugs in burbs aren't "as good" as in the city were both deterrents of them buying drugs in the burbs. Many of them ended up shacking up abandoned homes to be closer to their habit. And one lady had the nerve to say she preferred to live in the burbs where she grew up because the city was so bad but it wasn't so bad for her dope fiend a** to be begging us Detroiters for money for her habit though? smh

[detroit's own]

lmfao Detroit had ONE riot, LA had how many? what about NYC? and other cities? yea the riots where the reason white people fled smh

[wizfourfam]

Originally Posted by detroit's own

blah blah blah. Not even going to read all of the bs you're spewing. Like 313wether said, Coleman Young NEVER outright said "white people hit 8 mile" he said criminals. And where did I say anything about drugs? you're just mad because everything I said was true. FYI every major city had problems with drugs during that time up until the 80s. But as of now, denying that white people come to the city to buy drugs is a stretch. In every neighborhood in the city you'll see white addicts and black dealers. Yes there are drugs in the burbs but its no lie that its easier to get heavy drugs in the city. I was even watching a documentary not too long ago about how white people in the suburbs are the main customers to black dealers in the city. The addicts they were talking to were talking about how the police and the fact that the drugs in burbs aren't "as good" as in the city were both deterrents of them buying drugs in the burbs. Many of them ended up shacking up abandoned homes to be closer to their habit. And one lady had the nerve to say she preferred to live in the burbs where she grew up because the city was so bad but it wasn't so bad for her dope fiend a** to be begging us Detroiters for money for her habit though? smh

I repeat: I wish people would stop pulling the race card, get into the present day, stop making excuses, accept personal responsibility and move it forward. It is going to take team work to turn things around. The Detroit metro area is a diverse community with plenty of talent that can work together to make change happen. Pointing fingers at each other accomplishes nothing. IT IS TIME!

[wizfourfam]

Originally Posted by detroit's own

lmfao Detroit had ONE riot, LA had how many? what about NYC? and other cities? yea the riots where the reason white people fled smh

There were two riots during my lifetime in Detroit. Don't forget about the one in the mid 70's. People have been leaving the City for many reasons over the years, right up until present day. Get over "white flight", that is ancient history. Move forward.

[Sharks With Lasers]

Originally Posted by alphamale

Perhaps you should consider living there?

Well I can't right now, because the commute would not be practical for what I'm doing. Plus even though Detroit isn't completely burned down, there are still crime issues and other things to worry about, like high car insurance rates. But if it was reasonable to do so, I might consider living in Detroit.

[detroit's own]

Originally Posted by wizfourfam

There were two riots during my lifetime in Detroit. Don't forget about the one in the mid 70's. People have been leaving the City for many reasons over the years, right up until present day. Get over "white flight", that is ancient history. Move forward.

I'm over white flight. If you would have read the whole conversation before you jumped to talking about drugs. Seatown said reverse racism drove out WHITE Detroiters. I was responding to him not talking to you

[wizfourfam]

Originally Posted by detroit's own

I'm over white flight. If you would have read the whole conversation before you jumped to talking about drugs. Seatown said reverse racism drove out WHITE Detroiters. I was responding to him not talking to you

You posted a general response, nothing directed at Seatown. Sorry if I offended you by responding directly to your post. You may also want to Direct Message a poster to keep your response private.