Quote Originally Posted by marshamusic View Post
Do you have thoughts that you might share as to why [[based on your observation) the crime escalated in the early 60's?

I believe that the crime in the white neighborhoods like you describe was, in part, a result of block busting. As whites fled, homes were offered at below market rates, just to escape; a "lower", that is, less economically and socially strata of blacks, moved into communities that they might not otherwise have afforded, and many brought the social issues with them from the projects and lower class communities [[at that time, it would have been post-Black Bottom).

I also wonder if the impact of drugs [[heroin) began during that time, during those escalating years of the Vietnam War, especially.

I keep hearing that crime was a significant cause of white flight. But I never read here accounts of what crime was an issue in the early years of the flight, just after WWII [[I also read how "schools" were a cause of flight as well, but in the post war years when the flight started, Detroit still had an exemplary school system. So I'm curious).

At any rate, I do believe that crime was a factor during the early 60's, as you describe.

Would you [[or someone) talk about this more? As always, I think it is possible to have a decent discussion about these factors in our history.
Marsha, there are multiple reasons for the Detroit exodus. Some are so plain and simple, "white" people just wanted 40 acres and a mule, [[elbow room), another was the crime factor, and of course, another was real estate fear mongering. From what I've experienced, the last was insignificant compare to the first two. One day we'll sit down over a cup of Darjeeling with Buckwheat honey, and compare notes. I'd love to hear more about your Hasting Street experiences and impressions. Who knows, maybe we'll solve the world's racial problems?