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“Detroit turned out to be Heaven, but it also turned out to be hell”
-Marvin Gaye
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The city of Detroit was erected from its infancy in the early 19th Century to the heights of the automotive industry by the unwavering hands and work ethic of millions of skilled tradesmen hidden behind the walls of then-emerging automotive giants Chrysler, Ford and GM. Men and women who were not the face of Detroit, nor whom names cover history books our children read, but the quintessential foundation to still beating heart of Detroit to this day.
Utilizing the existing structures erected for machine tools, Detroit emerged as a prosperous hub for automotive-based commerce and industry, compelling the city limits to spread along Jefferson Avenue. Manufacturing plants optimized on the Detroit ”River” and parallel rail lines to maximize exposure and resources outside the cities boundaries. What started concealed behind the brick and mortar walls of the automotive firms, planted a seed that would blossom and transform the city of Detroit.
Detroit’s economic prosperity and vastly expanding architecture; Michigan Central Station (1913), General Motors Building (1919), Fisher Building (1928) and hundreds more led to the city’s rebranding as Paris of the West in the early 20th century.
Watered by a unequaled competitive spirit and unified focus, the automotive industry was the underpinning that give way to the soul of Detroit; Motown. Built outside the shadow of the automotive industry, Berry Gordy reimagined and redesigned the mold Henry Ford utilized to erect Hitsville USA into a ”groovin’ and moving pop sound”, and lifestyle, that forced change upon previously White-America. A Black owned and centered business, Motown forced America to open their ears and listen. It was a sound that could not be ignored.
The reach and success of Motown defined any logical comprehension upon its origin. The Motown sound was, and still is, as distinct and recognizable as any. A singular sound transformed a city and a nation in the aftermath of WWII and amidst the turmoil of the civil rights fight, a conflict we continue to combat in the unjust and racially charged streets of America today. The 1967 riots in Detroit, combined with the current state of the city, initiated the beginning of the end of production behind the sound. After moving west to Los Angeles in the early 1970’s, Detroit lost a significant part of its identity and spirit.
The city of Detroit, and its core; the long time citizens, were amid what would become a very vigorous and challenging time that brought; economic depression, racism, crime epidemic, housing crisis and other revelations of hell I cant imagine or understand.
In 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., visited Detroit and delivered a message believed to have foreshadowed his infamous ”I have a Dream” speech two month later.
In 1992, African-American motorist Malice Green’s live was taken at the hands of Caucasian police officers… In 2015 alone there have been incalculable deaths similar to Mr. Greens. Our nations aftermath both then and now highlight and expose how far both you and I individually, and collectively, have to go in regards to basic humane rights and authentic equality.
Throughout its history, I firmly believe, both positively and negatively, Detroit is a center for innovation and transformation on both a local and national level. Detroit is a step ahead of our nation, and what is happening here foreshadows in some manner where I believe we are collectively headed.
But, in a manner true to the spirit and people of Detroit, the city as a collective whole never folded, nor stopped fighting. Detroit has endured and persevered through all placed before it to this day. The eyes of its long time residents still burn with the pain and stories of the past. The buildings still tell the stories of the men and women who first owned it. The streets still hold the blood and dirt of those who first built it and defended it. The city still holds its history close.
And, that is what makes Detroit unequaled, unrivaled and unequivocally the heart and soul of America.
Detroit can not be understood by words or negative media headlines. To understand who and what this city is, look deep in the eyes of the men and women who endured everything. Look and let the story of Detroit be told for itself.
Detroit to me, and Detroit to you is a completely different place. But it is not what you see from the confines of your household. Detroit is ….