1967 Civil Disturbance In Detroit - A Different Perspective

This past week, Detroiters observed the fortieth anniversary of the 1967 Civil Disturbance. It was a recognition of an urban tragedy where 43 people were killed, many were left homeless and property damage exceeded $1 Billion dollars. The disturbance was a result of long-simmering frustration turned to anger turned to violence against the police and all governing authority. While the observation is a newsworthy event, what is more newsworthy, I think, is the reaction and response of the Virginia Park Community to the disturbance. After the smoke cleared and the damage was assessed, the leaders of the community embarked on the most ambitious re-building program in America at the time. The result, the HUD award winning, $41 million Virginia Park Community.

The community features town-houses and garden apartments along a tree-lined, divided boulevard now named after the "mother" of the civil rights movement, the late Ms. Rosa Parks. There is a $7 million community center named after one of the community pioneers, the late Mr. Joseph Walker Williams. 600 new housing units were created including the Lexington Village Apartment and Townhouse complex adjacent to Henry Ford Hospital. Constructed in the area was a fire station and two sit down parks, one named for the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The largest and most ambitious project built in Virginia Park is the Shopping Plaza. It is the result of a unique financing arrangement that had citizens buying bonds at $300 each to match a loan from the Equitable Assurance Company, the only company in America that would finance the bonds. The community now owns the shopping center outright. One of the very few in this country with total community ownership.

The reason for this commentary is simple. It is very easy to talk about bad things. Too often, bad things make good press. In the case of the Virginia Park Community and the 1967 Civil Disturbance, the good that has happened, clearly outweighs the terrible destruction and loss of life that occurred. I can offer this perspective because I was a teenager who lived in the community when it happened, a young man when the community was resurrected, and now, a seasoned man who appreciates what happened afterwards. As the former Executive Director of the Virginia Park Citizens District Council, the governing body spearheading the rebuilding, I spent many, many hours with the community's great pioneers. The entire project was conceived, constructed and completed during my tenure there.

Yes, there is a reason to celebrate. The reason is the vision, determination and achievement of a community of people that wanted a better life and struggled to get it. I was proud to be able to work with these fine folk.

What do you think??