Why did you visit Detroit?!

Why did you visit Detroit?!   

The Gist

Monument to Joe Louis in Detroit's Hart Plaza
Taken by yours truly five years ago

The word 'Detroit' has become synonymous with white flight, urban decay and America's fall as the world's manufacturer. Interestingly, the city has also become known for its urban innovation and gritty fighting spirit (appropriately, there is a sculpture of boxer Joe Louis' fist on the riverfront). The city is still home to three major sports teams, a world-class art museum, and is producing hip new companies like popular the Shinola watch company. Brand new restaurants, bars selling local craft beer, and local shops are popping up monthly (if not weekly). Although Detroit has exited bankruptcy (the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history) last year, the state has imposed several layers of financial oversight to make sure they don't screw up again. For all the talk of a resurgent Detroit, however, many in the city's African-American community feel left out. As is almost always the case with gentrification, the effect of a resurgent city center is a replacing of a city's traditional population (almost always black or brown) for a young, rich, white population. The minute you see a white man with a baby, your city has made it. The lack of African-Americans in the city's new, cool hot spots led one commentator to quip, "I [didn't] expect in a city that is 83 percent black to be in a crowded Detroit establishment and having nearly everyone be as white as me."...and now you know the gist.