This isn't news. African Americans have been on the move in metro Detroit since at least the beginning of the 20th century. This is a continuation of a trend that is over a century old.
People move to where they feel they have the best chance to prosper. As the living conditions in Detroit go from bleak to bleaker, its residents look for opportunities to relocate to areas that give them a better chance at a decent quality of life.
It would be news if the white community could deal with black migration better than we did over the last 100 years. I recall a story in the Free Press or News about a year ago about how the Reuther is becoming the "new" Eight Mile Road in Warren. In other words, the neighborhoods south of the Reuther are in "decline." I think we all know what constitutes a "decline" in metro Detroit.
So, will the cycle be unbroken? African American families move across Eight Mile because they want a better life. White residents migrate away from them north of the Reuther and take their wealth with them out of the community. Quality of life declines in neighborhoods that go "black" as resources drain north. The old stereotypes metastasize. Fear prevails and undermines the strength of our region.
I am concerned that most poeple in Macomb will read this story with fear rather than look at it as an opportunity to become a region whose strength is in diversity.
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