Writing Analysis Of Economic Downturn In Detroit

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Analysis of Economic Downturn in Detroit
For years, all types of scholars have obsessively been studying Detroit in order to gain insight into its decline. It has become a favorite pastime for scholars of all types with various questions with the common one being “How could such an economic giant so utterly fall to its knees?” Most of the scholars have been focusing on social, economic and political reasons for the collapse. My favorite narrative on Detroit is “The Origins of the Urban Crisis” by Thomas Sugrue who documents that the racial and housing practices that were implemented after WWII played a significant role in the downfall of the town. However, an analysis of leadership decisions made in Detroit after the Great Migration reveal institutional racist policies that would eventually lead to an economic downturn. And leadership decisions could be discussed in a political way in terms of public and private part. The unfair or uneven job opportunities in Detroit accounts for institutional racism in the area. African American’s standard of living and expectation compared to another racial group could also explain economic downturn in a culturally speaking. This essay attempts to explain how the things that happened to African-Americans during the era of Great Migration contributed to Detroit’s economic downturn.
During its heyday moments, blue-collar workers streamed into Detroit’s sprouting auto plants with confident of a study back and that the strong work ethics would deliver an economic security to them. It was a place that brought American dreams to reality. The American dream came true in industrial heartland cities such as Chicago, Pittsburgh and Cleveland. The dream came true for years as industrialization brought development cities where Detroit was among those cities that enjoyed such prosperities. The blacks who moved here had high expectations of securing stable jobs, but against to their expectations, they received extreme harsh treatment from the white employers (Sugrue, 91). Most of the blacks who applied for jobs were turned down before even they could fill an application form. One black gives his experience when he applied for a welding job in Dodge Main. He was told that the company was not employing welders but he did not give up. He tried another line of production but to his surprise a white man was interviewed with the employer with the blacks walking away unemployed. From a racial perspective, he knew that they have been denied jobs because of their race since they watched white people getting absorbed into the job positions (Sugrue, 92). However, it is undoubtedly clear that Blacks’ migration into Detroit helped it power its economic growth, which was later followed by the whites deserting it for the suburbs. From an economic perspective, the deserting the town by the whites led to its economic downturn as there was no one to develop and make strong policies. The plights of the black Americans did not end, employers as the hiring process of the employees became culturally and racially centered. It is not only the employers who were shaping racial policies in the market place. Labor markets also joined them since they were structured according to the worker’s culture, customs, and attitudes. From a culturally perspective, the grouping of workers according to their practices hindered the integration of employees which later led to racial wars. However, the employment of Black Americans depended on the politics that was played by the unions. Most unions that was against the employment of blacks, based their decisions on racial stereotyping by assuming that the blacks were unproductive, prone to absenteeism and would be unreliable (Sugrue, 93). Therefore, from a political point of view, the plights of blacks in Detroit were influenced by the politics that the unions decided to play besides the racial and cultural ideologies.
Among the expectations of the Blacks was a harmonious integration into the whites community, but against to these expectations they became segregated based on their race. The whites wanted the blacks out of their town, but they did not succeed in driving them out of the city which resulted in the whites living the town for the suburbs. What left was a Detroit characterized by abandoned buildings and deserted neighborhoods that has proved to be hard for the recent efforts of rebounding the city. The stiffened racial tensions and segregation as well as the population loss stretched beyond the declining property values and widening tax base, which resulted in an isolated city. From a racial perspective, the whites left the city to live in the suburbs and most of them prevented the blacks from moving into the whites marked areas. The blacks became confined into an inner-city whose job base was shrining. This resulted in most of the blacks falling into poverty and crime. They became frustrated with the segregation, abuse and inequality they were facing from the whites. The 1967 riots left most of the buildings in the city destroyed and others burned to ashes and most of them ha...