Why Would Anyone Save Detroit?

It is certainly well known that Detroit is a city close to destruction and most people don’t seem to care.  With one of the lowest employment rates and highest crime rates in the country, most would prefer to forget about Detroit and focus on the “solvable” problems of the country; saving Detroit, would be a waste of time, money, resources and human capital, so why do it?  I have asked myself that same question time and time again. 

When I graduated from college, I got a good job, made good money and moved to a suburb of Detroit and away from any knowledge of Detroit’s problems.  Sure, I still visited from time to time, but I was cozy in my own little world and “Detroit” remained to me, as it was when I was a child.  I suppose you could call me sheltered, but it was more like an unintentional safety zone that I never left.  All I had seen of the city was my engineering parents and the comfort Ford Motor had afforded my family my whole life.  Then the recession hit and Ford stopped giving money to A LOT of families.  Without a bag of “o-positive government bailout,” my STATE was going to slowly bleed to death.   The local media ran stories, the national media started conversations and the country watched as a city built on the auto industry, nicked a major artery and began the cold descent to death.  The city was hemorrhaging and my little suburban world began to get REALLY uncomfortable.  I couldn’t find the type of job I had always dreamed of, crime was spreading everywhere and streets were flooded with people who had gotten kicked in the teeth by the recession.  I began planning to leave the state because if Detroit goes the state goes and why would anyone want to save Detroit?

It was a stupid question and I was hit with images of what Detroit used to mean to me.  Kite flying on Belle Isle with my Dad, family trips to apple ciders; even the time a scarecrow (my neighbor) scared the crap out of me while trick or treating; Detroit is my home.  Michigan is my home and there is no way Michigan can be the same if it loses its largest city.  Can you name a state that’s doing well despite the crumbling of its major city?  I didn’t want to leave and if I want to be successful in Michigan, I’d have to be a part of Detroit’s success.  Apparently, I wasn’t the only person that felt that way. 

Since the recession, Detroiters have stood together to help feed their neighbors, protect their streets and pray so hard to God I’m surprised it hasn’t caused the second coming.   I’ve never seen so many people in my city actively working towards a sustainable change.  The PEOPLE of Detroit have brought art, technology, business, entertainment, education and countless other beautiful things into the heart of the city and it’s only getting better.  When you watch your neighbors literally put their blood, sweat and tears into rebuilding a forgotten city, the question changes.  Why not save Detroit?  Obviously someone thinks the city is worth saving and we aren’t stopping until we get the job done!