“Detroit is a canvas that was wiped clean”
–Jenenne Whitfield, Executive Director of The Heidelberg Project
Right?! It’s a great place for artists and entrepreneurs and young professionals (re: Me) and everyone else except for the people that have actually lived here for the better part of their lives. Wait, what? Look, I get that there is a mass exodus of people, abandoned buildings by the dozens and square mile upon square mile of opportunity, but, when you do the math, there have never been less than 600,000 people who call Detroit home. That is far from some blank canvas that has been “wiped clean,” if you ask me.
The May 15th episode of everyone’s favorite podcast, This American Life, titled it’s second act, If You See Racism Say Racism and *Spoiler Alert* that’s what I’m about to do. Within the story, Nikki Jones, an associate professor in the Department of African American Studies at UC Berkley began a racial dialogue by introducing Elijah Anderson’s sociological theory of White Space and the juxtaposition it creates between how two races exist in eachother’s “space”.
Nikki asserts that there are black, impoverished ghettos or Black Spaces. While every other place, from your quiet suburb to your bustling downtown core, is essentially a White Space; a place where white people are the norm. Following that logic, its observable to see that whenever a black person finds themself in a White Space, “They have to prove that they belong there. The burden is on them to prove that they belong in a particular space.” To provide an example- Trayvon Martin…moving on.
Flip the paradigm and consider where you see white people (that aren’t police officers) in a Black Space.Nikki states, “A white person in a black space lacks a similar trustworthiness. But think of how rare it is that a white person goes to a black space. Like a tourist in another country, you can leave whenever you choose.” As a visitor, “a tourist”, there is no onus on them to prove they belong and that they aren’t there to cause harm.
This returns us to all of the “Blank Space” present in Detroit. In reality, it tends to be Black Space. We, as artists, developers and outsiders, just fail to see that.
Take The 8 Mile Wailing Wall, for example.
To the casual observer, the white tourist, it is a series of murals installed on a cinder block wall bordering the back of a park. One of many vibrant art installations in the city of Detroit.
To the historian, the black native, it stands as the embodiment of racism in the City of Detroit. It is a lasting icon of the red-lining; a physical barrier that was put up to segregate white and black neighborhoods.
The parting wisdom I have to offer is that of understanding and compassion. Detroit is not my city. It never will be. I am a guest of those who have labored and persevered here their entire lives. I try to anticipate the ripples and impressions I will leave on this canvas with every one of my actions, my brush strokes, for it is old, weathered and worn with the lives and stories of those who have always called this city home.