The Jewish Wedge and Black Migration Through The City

[socks_mahoney]

This theory was recently explained to me. I was hoping some more learned DYers could explain it to me.

Basically it goes that Jewish groups slowly moved out of downtown NW eventually out into Oakland County. Black folks followed this Jewish "wedge" into what were white communities. It started with Dexter Davison, then Oak Park, then Southfield, now West Bloomfield.

Why were Jews and Blacks so apt to live in the same neighborhoods? Anyone seen this in action? What was the reaction of white groups when the Jews moved in, what was the reaction of Jewish groups when Blacks followed?

I've always been curious about why my black friends and my Jewish friends seemed to have such geographical and social connections to eachother.

[Bham1982]

I think it's generally agreed that blacks followed Jewish migration because Jews tended to be more progressive and pro-open housing than other ethnic groups. There was less resistance to black inmigration.

I know this is a big generalization, but I think it's a reasonable argument.

There's another factor, though. Jews tended to be more upwardly mobile than, say, East Side Italians or Poles. It isn't suprising, then, that Jews offered less resistance, because they were "movin on up" to the next neighborhood anyways.

Jewish neighborhoods "turned over" very quickly [[often within a year or two), while more typical white ethnic neighborhoods tended to "take a stand". Working class white ethnics generally didn't have the resources to move to nicer neighborhoods, and their entire net worth was invested in homeownership. Their "resistance" is a bit more understandable in this context, though we can't ignore that there was at least some element of racism.

[Detroitej72]

This theory was recently explained to me. I was hoping some more learned DYers could explain it to me.

Basically it goes that Jewish groups slowly moved out of downtown NW eventually out into Oakland County. Black folks followed this Jewish "wedge" into what were white communities. It started with Dexter Davison, then Oak Park, then Southfield, now West Bloomfield.

Actually, it started earlier, along Hastings Street, the old Black Bottom. It was a Jewish Quarter long before it became the predominantly black enclave that it was famous for.

I have read many books about this subject, and if you look at the Civil Rights Movement, you'll see that many of the earliest leaders were Jewish. Heck, one of the first, if not the first leader of the NAACP was Jewish! Also, many of the early interracial marrages in Hollywood tended to be Jewish/Black.

My thought was always that Jews knew first hand about persecution throughout history, therefore they were sympathetic to others, in this case black folks, and tended to be more open to living near and marriage.

Because of this, I have always wondered why people like Louis Farrikan and the Nation of Islam have hated and been hostle towards Jews, as historically they have always been a freind to African Americans.

[DetroitPole]

Interesting assessment by Bham.

I think in the future this can be a major area of academic interest. For right now, I think there are a couple factors to consider, besides what Bham said:

Both Jewish people and African Americans are EXTREMELY cohesive social, economic, religious, and ethnic networks. Italians and Poles become assimilated into mainstream America after a couple generations - blacks and Jews are always blacks and Jews to mainstream America. They continue to maintain almost exclusive, closed networks with other blacks and Jews. This, in part, could explain "patterns" of migration. One close-knit group leaves a void where another moves in. You can find pockets of other ethnic groups in Metro Detroit almost everywhere[[or where they becomes nothing but vast stretches of middling Americans), but good fucking luck finding a Jewish person in Macomb County. As such, both groups were/are severely marginalized by said mainstream society.

I would, however, resist reading into it too far. Jewish people have congregated together since time immemorial. Part of this is totally pragmatic, in that they need to worship together, and that in proportion to the total population, there are so few of them. However African Americans can be found in significant numbers in almost all of the suburbs nowadays, aside from the exburbs. So it stands to reason that as the Jewish people continue to sprawl out [[and their children move back to the city or away entirely, but that is another topic) that African-Americans move in.

[Autoracks]

Jews presumably didn't want to live live amongst blacks and as such once their neighborhoods began to turn they sold out. Once the neighborhood flipped who else could they sell to?

[Pam]

I thought it had to do with restrictive covenants. In other words, blacks and Jews lived in the same areas because they were kept out of other areas.

[luckycar]

As one of the resident Jews on this board,let me chime in.My paternal grandfather came to the US in the 1910s from Poland.He settled in and around Hastings St.This was already Jewish,as was stated,we tend to live together because we worshiped together.We had stores and shops in this area.We then crossed over Woodward starting in the 1920s.My other grandfather came here from Russia thru Boston,and settled around 12th St.This was in the 1920s.As we grew in population,we moved up thru the northwest side.You can track us via our high schools.Northern,Central,Mumford and Henry Ford.I was born on Tuxedo St near Dexter,at a time when the area was "changing".From there it was Greenfield and 7 Mile,then on to Oak Park.
Us,the Jews,stayed in this area in the 1950s thru the 1980s.Detroit was a memory.We would visit our relatives who stayed behind,knowing that they would coming out to the suburbs soon.Our fathers for the most part still worked in the city,although this was changing too.
Our places of worship are now churches,our stores are now gone.The women who were DPS teachers,have retired.Our kids live in Chicago or Texas.The poor economy has kept us from moving out to Brighton or Holly.

[DetroitPlanner]

Luckycar thanks for pointing out that much of Detroit's Jewish population were polish. I was reading Bham's comments and this immediately came to mind. You can be Jewish and polish.

As far as Farrakahn, he is not the leader of the black people. Black people are not a homogeneous population of thinkers.

[Bham1982]

Luckycar thanks for pointing out that much of Detroit's Jewish population were polish. I was reading Bham's comments and this immediately came to mind. You can be Jewish and polish.

Certainly many Jews, especially in the U.S., are of Polish heritage, but they tend to self-identify as Jewish, not Polish [[as do pretty much most Eastern European Jews), and their cultural links are with the Jewish community as a whole, rather than the Poles of the East Side and Downriver.

And the differences can be seen in the neighborhood migrations. The East Side still had a sizable Polish community well into the 80's. Heck, Warrendale still had many Poles as recently as 10 years ago, and Hamtramck still has Poles.

In contrast, Jews had pretty much vacated Detroit by the mid-70's, and the old Jewish neighborhoods, generally much more upscale that the Polish neighborhoods, were pretty much entirely black.

[Carey]

One of the interesting aspects of Jewish history in Detroit and suburbs is the path of Jewish migration. Many ethnic groups moved in relatively straight lines from the city into the suburbs. As Lucky notes in the story of his family, Jews moved in a straight line up Hastings, through the area behind the DIA and up Oakland Avenue. But then the community took a left turn, moving across Woodward into the Dexter-Davison-12th Street area, then heading northwest, through Greenfield-7 Mile into Oak Park, Southfield and points farther northwest. I don't really know the reasons for that "hard left turn," but I assume it had to do with where Jewish insititutions located.

As for the black-Jewish question, I think Tom Sugrue's "Origins of the Urban Crisis" addresses that in a small way. He noted that recently arrived Jews, more than many other groups, tended to rent rather than buy, and that made it easier for African Americans to move into neighborhoods that the Jews were leaving.

[daniel_duggan]

A great friend of mine explained the philosophy of African Americans moving into Jewish communities very aptly once. She said that back in the day, black families would get harassed, vandalized or worse in most neighborhoods outside the city. "The Jews," she said. "Just didn't talk to them."

[Bham1982]

I don't really know the reasons for that "hard left turn," but I assume it had to do with where Jewish insititutions located.

I think the presence of Jewish institutions heavily guides these migration patterns, even to this day.

I attended Bloomfield Hills schools, and the eastern part of the district has basically no Jews, while the western part is probably more Jewish than any other public schools in the state [[western part of Bloomfield Hills schools is mostly West Bloomfield).

There are relatively few Jews, even today, in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills proper and the eastern parts of Bloomfield Township.

In contrast, the far western parts of Bloomfield Township are very heavily Jewish, as are adjacent parts of West Bloomfield and some parts of Farmington Hills.

Oak Park, of course, has a large Jewish population in its northern reaches, though less so in years past. It was revitalizated by Russian newcomers in the 80's and 90's, but many of those Russians have moved on to West Bloomfield [[there's a Russian restaurant and Russian gift store now on Orchard Lake Road).

Southfield, I think, has relatively few Jews at this point, except for some older Jews in the northern reaches [[Northwestern/12 Mile). The other exception may be some Orthodox near the Oak Park border [[Greenfield-10 Mile).

I think Jews, for the most part, have stopped migrating. I don't think the community is heading further north or west. They've already reached the "top", so to speak, and moving to Walled Lake or Wixom would be a downgrade from West Bloomfield or wherever.

[ghettopalmetto]

Certainly many Jews, especially in the U.S., are of Polish heritage, but they tend to self-identify as Jewish, not Polish [[as do pretty much most Eastern European Jews), and their cultural links are with the Jewish community as a whole, rather than the Poles of the East Side and Downriver.

How people--especially Jews--identify has more to do with ethnicity than place of birth. For example, Poland tolerated Jews for several centuries prior to 1 September 1939. Jews constituted the bulk of the merchant class in cities like Krakow and Warsaw. Poles, for the most part, were either in the nobility class or peasant farmers. While many of these Jews were born, lived their entire lives, and died in Poland, they are by no means considered ethnic Poles. These Jews, while their families may have lived in Poland, have ZERO Polish heritage. The same holds true for ethnic Germans who lived in Poland prior to WWII, and just as one wouldn't refer to an Arab living in Paris as being "of French heritage".

It's more than just a "cultural" thing--it's an "ethnicity" thing.

[DetroitPlanner]

While many of these Jews were born, lived their entire lives, and died in Poland, they are by no means considered ethnic Poles. These Jews, while their families may have lived in Poland, have ZERO Polish heritage. The same holds true for ethnic Germans who lived in Poland prior to WWII, and just as one wouldn't refer to an Arab living in Paris as being "of French heritage".

It's more than just a "cultural" thing--it's an "ethnicity" thing.

Take it up with the many Jews that have Polish, Russian, or German family names.

[Bham1982]

Take it up with the many Jews that have Polish, Russian, or German family names.

Maybe it's an assimilation thing in their respective former countries?

I have family links to the metro German community, and most Germans who came post WWII are actually from Eastern Europe [[yes former parts of East Prussia, but also places like Hungary and Romania, which had Carpathian Germans and the like).

So these folks spoke German and identified as German, but they came from Eastern European countries, and sometimes had non-German last names. There are plenty of these folks on the East Side, and there's even a sizable Carpathian Club somewhere in Sterling Heights, I think.

[ghettopalmetto]

Take it up with the many Jews that have Polish, Russian, or German family names.

Your surname doesn't determine your ethnicity. Surnames were only adopted several centuries ago. If an ethnic Jew living in Russia decided to adopt a Russian-language name, does that make him ethnically Russian? Or do you suppose it's because he lived in a place where Russian was the predominant language spoken?

I could adopt a Hindu name. Does that make me an ethnic Hindu?

You're smarter than this. Don't be so damned ridiculous.

[DetroitPlanner]

Your surname doesn't determine your ethnicity. Surnames were only adopted several centuries ago. If an ethnic Jew living in Russia decided to adopt a Russian-language name, does that make him ethnically Russian? Or do you suppose it's because he lived in a place where Russian was the predominant language spoken?

I could adopt a Hindu name. Does that make me an ethnic Hindu?

You're smarter than this.

If your family has been somewhere for centuries you are part of the culture. Look at Hispanic, you can be hispanic and be black, white or asian. How are you defining ethnicity? Defining it is sort of useless as there are more exceptions than anything else. I define ethnicity based upon culture as a person's genetic background means pretty much nothing, unless you are Hitler.

[Wingnatic]

I remember the Detroit News ran a story over 2-3 days discussing this subject , but I can't find the story in their archives , only Purple Gang stories lol I did alittle searching and came up with something close to the Detroit News story . I think after the demise of the Purple Gang the legitimate Jewish businesses did very well and thrived . So I think it was natural if your doing well , you'd want to move from a small house to an area with more space . I don't think it was about race . Ever shop at a jewish owned business ? Come hell or high water , they will take care of you .
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/...5_0_05142.html

[ghettopalmetto]

If your family has been somewhere for centuries you are part of the culture. Look at Hispanic, you can be hispanic and be black, white or asian. How are you defining ethnicity? Defining it is sort of useless as there are more exceptions than anything else. I define ethnicity based upon culture as a person's genetic background means pretty much nothing, unless you are Hitler.

Culture is food, dance, music, dress, religion--the activities of daily life. Ethnicity is genetic. Hence, the reason you can have ethnic Germans living in Austria, ethnic Arabs living in France, etc. While we might share the same culture, no one would dare suggest that whites and blacks in the United States are of the same ethnicity. It's ludicrous to assert as such.

If German Jews were considered ethnically German as you insist, we might have been able to avoid that entire Holocaust thing in the 1940s.

[swingline]

I think Jews, for the most part, have stopped migrating. I don't think the community is heading further north or west. They've already reached the "top", so to speak, and moving to Walled Lake or Wixom would be a downgrade from West Bloomfield or wherever.

These are interesting times for metro Jews. Their almost continous northwest migration has indeed slowed or stopped for the last fifteen years or so. While upward mobility and a non-interest in living in neighborhoods that got to be a little too diverse have driven prior migrations, the economy, the real estate crash and substantial demographic changes are the likely causes for the current non-movement.

Just like everybody else, a lot of Oakland County Jews, especially late baby boomers and GenXers are upside down on their houses or have very little equity. Makes it hard to afford that new place out Milford way.

Demographically, the next generation of Jews is moving, but their moves are out of state, not futher northwest. The vast majority of adult Jews born in Oakland County since 1970 has attained a college degree. These folks have had career options and Michigan's economy for the last twenty years has helped them choose Chicago, New York, D.C., etc.

Things get kind of interesting though because the West Bloomfield school district serving the current epicenter of the Jewish community is "changing" with a steady increase of students of color. The consistent pattern in Michigan [[really, the whole country) for more than a century is when this happens, white folks [[Jews and non-Jews) start moving. For generations, metro Detroit Jews have attended only the highest achieving public schools. This has fueled their 60-year post-war upward mobility into the finance, real estate, medicine and law professions. Will the migration occur again despite the economy and demographics?

[Bham1982]

Things get kind of interesting though because the West Bloomfield school district serving the current epicenter of the Jewish community is "changing" with a steady increase of students of color.

This is true, as WB schools become very diverse, especially with African Americans. I believe WB has a majority African American elementary school, and a few other schools that are near that level. Huge change from only 10 years ago.

But, I believe the most Jewish part of WB doesn't attend WB schools. They attend Bloomfield Schools, particularly Andover High and its feeder schools.

This is why [[I believe) Andover, despite being in less-Jewish Bloomfield Township. is probably a more Jewish school than West Bloomfield High. It's those wacky school district boundaries. So I don't think there will be Jewish movement out of the Bloomfield Schools portion of West Bloomfield.

WB High has always been very diverse economically, because it drew "hillbilly" types from Keego and Pontiac along with new money McMansion types. Now racial diversity acconpanies the economic diversity.

[English]

Demographically, the next generation of Jews is moving, but their moves are out of state, not futher northwest. The vast majority of adult Jews born in Oakland County since 1970 has attained a college degree. These folks have had career options and Michigan's economy for the last twenty years has helped them choose Chicago, New York, D.C., etc.

Yep, I agree with this. Baby Boomer metro Detroit Jews are in West Bloomfield/Farmington Hills, with some of their parents' generation and some Orthodox Jewish communities still in Oak Park/Southfield [[I see them walking on Fridays/Saturdays when I go visit my family), but their Gen-X and Millennial highly educated children are moving out of state. This is a huge loss. Jews have historically been, and many still are, at the vanguard of the creative and entrepreneurial classes. Yet the loss of a generation and a half of talent has largely been ignored [[or distorted and mocked, like the reaction to Granholm's "Cool Cities" initiative). I have seen people here and heard people offline assume that these folks will come back "once they have kids" or "once they need to take care of Mom and Dad." I don't get why we have our heads in the sand. They are putting down roots in other cities, and when the time comes, they will go and get Mom and Dad, or Mom and Dad are already looking to move to the Sun Belt or a more viable retirement location.

And although people don't like to admit this or observe this, I will repeat what I've said here for nearly 8 years: you are finding the same pattern among highly educated Gen-X and Millennial African-Americans from metro Detroit with options. This entire group would MUCH rather be in Chicago, San Francisco, NYC, or a Sun Belt metro than in Detroit... my most ambitious and upwardly mobile black friends have an "anywhere but Michigan" attitude. Those of us who are still here tend to be educators, municipal types, and a few are still attached to the auto companies [[although many of the engineers my age were caught up in the last recession and have also migrated away).

This is creating a leadership crisis for the city, the region and the state. Some time ago, I started a thread asking "Where is our Cory Booker?" Well, he's now living in San Francisco, working for a dotcom or in NYC working for a hedge fund, and shrugging whenever his friends marvel that he came out of the "armpit of America" [[as one of my uncle's Stanford buddies nicknamed Detroit).

[Danny]

Everyone is Right on the money!

If you all look at Southfield, Oak Park and Lathrup Village, you all see the those are areas had become mostly Black [[Eventually mostly middle income Black). Now as more middle income blacks are moving on up to West Bloomfield TWP, Commerce TWP, Farmington Hills. other Caucasian folks see this a 'racial fear that 10 to 100 black families are living next door to them so they move out the property values drop just like it did in Detroit ghettohoods. We can thank the organized ethnic Jewish communities for contributing their homes and businesses to blacks for they share a ancient culture and biblical roots for over 5700 years.

[Danny]

Bham1982 sez... This is true, as WB schools become very diverse, especially with African Americans. I believe WB has a majority African American elementary school, and a few other schools that are near that level. Huge change from only 10 years ago.


YES, According to Schooldigger.com Ealy Elementary School on Maple Rd. the black student population is 252 in 2010, A great increase from 3 in 1988. The Caucasian Students are 223 in 2010, a huge decline from 243 since 1988. The Caucasion student population in that elemetary school increased to its peak to 477 students in 2003 and it declined. When more black familes [[whether they low to middle income) move into mostly ethnically caucasian area that state of 'invicible segregation and racial instinctive fear kicks into their human psyche' The School of Choice Bill of mid 2000s will fullfill district intergration of all public and charter schools.

[Bham1982]

NOT TRUE! According to Schooldigger.com West Bloomfield High School's black student population is 421 in 2010, A great increase from 46 in 1988. The Caucasian Students are 1208 in 2010, a huge decline from 1463 since 1988. When more black familes [[whether they low to middle income) move into mostly ethnically caucasian area that state of 'invicible segregation and racial instinctive fear kicks into their human psyche' The School of Choice Bill of mid 2000s will fullfill district intergration of all public and charter schools.

I know WB High is majority white, but I was referring to elementary schools in WB school district. I believe at least one is majority African American, which is a huge change from past years.

WB schools, as a whole are still definitely majority white, and will be for years to come.