Summary
The divide between Eight Mile Road - Michigan's symbolic representation of where suburbia begins and Michigan's largest city and the city with the largest African American majority ends - is a milking pot for politicians, which hinders progress in regional cooperation.
Equally, if you want to run for a powerful office beyond Eight Mile or be perceived as an "effective" regional leader, talk down on Detroit, heap racial insults hidden in tongue and cheek remarks, and you'll soon be hailed as one of the preeminent leaders in the state. Always appear to present a guarded politics that centers around "what my constituents want is not the same as what Detroit needs' and you are set for a life term in office. You'd succeed in exploiting the fears of your constituents instead of building racial bridges to heal a sick region.Don't get me wrong. Every community has the right to self-determination, an undeniable fact. But leaders don't have the right to exploit the fears of their community for their own self-interests. Leadership is not built on fiery rhetoric or making malignant comments to get publicity and fan the embers of racism. It is rooted ni a desire to transform your community and people's lives with bold initiatives that create real change.[...] inject some didactic remarks from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X and some will see you as the reincarnation of these two venerable civil rights leaders of the 21st century.See the full content of this document
Extract
Exploiting Eight Mile
The divide between Eight Mile Road - Michigan's symbolic representation of where suburbia begins and Michigan's largest city and the city with the largest African American majority ends - is a milking pot for politicians, which...
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