Nolan Finley: A New Vision For Detroit

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This Sunday, I want to take a moment to acknowledge Nolan Finley for a fine article about our city:

http://www.detnews.com/article/20100...on-for-Detroit

Last week, I spent the better part of my day running his piece about Detroit into the ground. Today, we see a different side of Nolan Finley's journalistic talent- one that provokes thought while promoting something positive in Detroit. There is certainly no shortage of positive content for journalists to write on, yet we see so few good-news articles.

Journalists play an important role in defining how people view the world. Our world is Detroit, and when it is defined as a forsaken, hell-on-earth, there is no hope of improvement because people will continue to write it off.

Finley's piece, "A New Vision for Detroit" covers Johnny Knoxville/Palladium Boot's documentary about the city. The thrust of the video, and Finley's article, highlight opportunity among the wreckage. It puts the spotlight on individuals- true outsiders- who are creating in Detroit. What are they creating? All kinds of things. The movement is grassroots and seems to have no concrete boundaries or requirements other than "doing it in Detroit."

To his credit, Finley points out a little-understood generational gap. That is, this is not your father's Detroit. My parents, who were born in the city, were taken away from Detroit to the suburbs at a young age by their parents. They were told to "stay away." Today, that mentality is being rethought by our youth. While I do not subscribe to the notion that these kids can single-handedly bring Detroit back to glory. They will till the soil, make it furtile, and lay the groundwork for other people and businesses to come back to Detroit.

These urban pioneers may have no "white paper" plan to rebuild Detroit, but they are making a difference when many others have already forfeited the match. Be the spokesman of progress, Mr. Finley. This chance is one in a million.