We are all at least vaguely familiar with the story of Bruce Wayne and his alter-ego, Batman. The entrepreneurial billionaire capitalist by day who transforms into a justice-seeking crime-fighter at night; he creates the boundaries of a spectrum that every one of us live on. This spectrum is the schism between conservative and liberal in our two party system. It is the barrier between the activist occupying Wall Street and the investment banker gazing down upon him. It is the distance between the middle-upper class suburb and the low-income urban neighborhood. It is the contrast between the dark of night and the light of day.

This spectrum is New Detroit and Old Detroit.

Voluntarily or not, we all live on this spectrum.  American Capitalism has shaped this country in a way that positive and negative impact almost always have a mutually inclusive relationship–Columbusing the lands of Native Americans to found our country, enslaving Africans to establish ourselves as an agricultural economic power, the [original] Big Four leading industrialization at the expense of workers’ rights and today’s corporations profiting on the stagnation of the middle class while putting my generation in debt have all been results of progress in our country. With each innovation, there has been exploitation; there has been injustice.

This post may come across as partisan, but I don’t intend it to. Every single day each of us have to make conscious decisions. To quote  my favorite E.B. White phrase for the second time in my short blogging career, “I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.” Should I drive my car to work or ride my bike? Save my money for a vacation or donate it to charity? Grab a beer after work  with a friend or volunteer at an area nonprofit and have a conversation with a community member? Maybe the Bruce Wayne Paradox offers a solution.

I wake up and breathe in this internal conflict, this Bruce Wayne Paradox, every single morning in Detroit.

By Day | I am this New Detroit. I live in Midtown and work Downtown. I can oversee the transformation of this revitalized urban center from my modern pseudo-loft living room at Studio ONE Apartments on Woodward Avenue. At my wage-issuing, bill-paying nine-to-five, I am playing an integral part in the large-scale economic development that is attracting these businesses who are transforming the landscape of Southeastern Michigan. I am shaking hands and sitting at tables with some of the most influential players in the tri-county area. For the most part, these groups and individuals are progressing this regional narrative of shared struggle and redevelopment. As grateful as I am to be in this position and as vital as this economic reinvestment is, I can see that many of them are blind or choose not to acknowledge the realities of poverty and disenfranchisement in Detroit.

By Night | I am [trying to embrace] this Old Detroit. This week I sat in a room of 25 coworkers as we were asked to line up in order of commute distance to our downtown headquarters. The longest commute, a white male, was 70 miles. The shortest, a middle-aged black mother, less than a mile. I was second at 2 miles. Third was another black mother at 10 miles. The other twenty-two fell in that 20-70 mile range. Despite my role in gentrification, I found pride in the commitment I am making to live in this city.

I have only been in this city for five months, but I have done everything in my power to empathize with those who have lived their entire lives here. I spend most nights attending dialogues and forums. I am taking advantage of every single volunteer and nonprofit capacity-building opportunity I can get my hands on. I have taken it upon myself to learn about the Race Rebellions of 1967, the resulting white flight and the following middle-class black exodus; the political corruption; the private influence. The 140-square miles of Old Detroit are battered, broken and forlorn, but they are still here.

At dawn | I work to find a middle ground between the night and day; the new and the old. I’m trying to embrace my abilities, my platform and my voice to speak up for those who lack the ability to represent themselves. Whether or not social justice has a place in large-scale economic development is yet to be seen, but there are community economic development organizations, social entrepreneurs and foundations with the same vision as myself that are effectively redeveloping the landscape of Detroit to serve native Detroiters. I know that I won’t be in Detroit, in Michigan, forever, but I have met so many people who will. They are why I am here; they are why the work I do here matters.