Seeking Diversity in Detroit

I interviewed my friend Lillian this week. I asked her questions regarding where she was born and how she came to live in the Detroit area. Lillian was born in Toledo, Ohio.  Her family moved from Toledo to a suburb near Chicago, Illinois. A subsequent move was made to the Indianapolis, Indiana area.

Her parents divorced when she was five years old. When she was about ten years old she moved with her mother, stepfather and siblings to Dearborn, Michigan, due to her stepfather’s job transfer.  One of the things she remembers is that the houses in her Dearborn neighborhood were very close together, separated by narrow driveways. This contrasted the much larger lots and expansive outdoor spaces she was used to at her previous houses. She thought Dearborn was a very large city.

Some of her memories of the 14-month period she lived in Dearborn included riding her bike to the playground and walking over to Telegraph Road to go to a convenience store to buy candy. After Lillian and her siblings were told not to go to the store alone anymore, she thought the owner or workers suspected they might steal something. She told me the thought never crossed her mind. She was surprised that she was subjected to that.

Those activities were quite similar to mine growing up in Detroit. We had a small pharmacy a few blocks down where we would buy candy and comic books. We were never accused of stealing anything, but I’m sure the workers kept a close eye on us.

I was used to living in the city as I lived in Detroit until I was 23 years old, not including the time I spent at Michigan Technological University in the Upper Peninsula. The houses were also close together. That wasn’t noticeable for me. It was pretty normal. However, the second house I remember living in was on a double lot. That gave us a little more room to play.

Many of our dogs, over the years, were hit by cars and killed after running in the street. Lillian remembers having to give up her dog before the family moved to Dearborn because her mother didn’t want to experience that. Their dog was used to running in fields.

After Dearborn her family moved to a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  She moved back to the Detroit area when she was in her twenties. She lived in her mother and stepfather’s condo in Farmington Hills.

She was married a few years later and moved with her husband and young daughter into an apartment in the Plymouth/Canton area.  Years later they bought their first house in Oak Park, Michigan. Her children attended Ferndale Public Schools. It was her first taste of living in a diverse community. She really enjoyed having her children live and attend school with people of different races and backgrounds.

While growing up none of our neighborhoods were diverse. Mine were mostly Black, while hers were mostly White. My first contact with diversity came in seventh grade when I went from an all-Black Lutheran school to a mostly White Catholic school. That was the first time I had gone to school with White, Asian, and Hispanic kids. It really didn’t take me long to adjust because I made friends right away. Almost half of my graduating class from the Lutheran School went to the Catholic school.  We had about 12 kids in the sixth grade class.

When Lillian’s husband changed jobs, she wanted to continue to live in a diverse neighborhood and have her kids attend a school with a varied population. They purposely avoided neighborhoods that were “lily white.”

The City of Detroit and some of its suburbs are among the most segregated areas of the country. Many churches are also segregated. There have been attempts to create diversity in some congregations. Although the numbers aren’t equal by any measure, as a devoted Detroit Red Wings fan, I’ve noticed a lot of diversity at their games. The same goes for the times I’ve been to see the Detroit Tigers play baseball.  I believe sporting events can bring people together, especially when they’re rooting for the same team.

I think it would be interesting to investigate pockets of diversity around the Detroit area or specific instance where people you wouldn’t expect to be on the same side were united over a common cause. No matter what our race or background, I believe we are more alike than different.