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  1. Catherine,

    This video is incredibly inspiring considering that the entire Black population in Detroit has been so completely devastated by our “system”. As former ASHUD, you know what HUD did to this population in the 1960’s after the riots which were promulgated by the Detroit police after a succession of raids on a “blind pig”, an “illegal bar” on the second floor of an older building downtown. Getting a liquor license in this area would have been completely impossible for Blacks during this time so several entrepreneurs put together a bar with juke box and games where neighbors hung out. This particular evening, the police made their raid but instead of just arresting people, they smashed up the bar, furniture, juke box, liquor bottles, etc. It was an extremely hot night, no air movement, and crowd of people who had gathered just had enough. One brick was thrown through a window and the rest is history.

    In response, HUD decided to totally disassociate neighborhoods to break up the social structure. Tearing down an entire block of houses for miles, houses that were the historic fabric of Detroit, leaving a block, then tearing down the next, scattering the inhabitants to distant neighborhoods all over the area, HUD attempted to break up the problem. What it did was to completely destroy whole communities. The total decadence of Detroit, in my opinion, is the result of this heinous action, destruction of Black generational associations and social fabric.

    I went to the University of Michigan through this period. (1968-72) Not only did I get to know young people “who were there” when the riots started, but we also had a class in environmental education that literally took us in a bus to see what HUD had done. The purpose was to understand that while we can study the natural systems, we must never forget the human element in the study of the environment. When my sister lived downtown in the 1980’s, a block away from Aretha Franklin, the homes were intertwined with lovely old mansions and crack houses. Most of those decimated blocks were still empty. I am sure that this bombed out look and depressing feeling is still there.

    As a nation, we have completely failed Detroit.

    For this reason, I find this video very inspirational. Despite what HUD did, the belief in God and His inspiration reunites these people. Thank you for including it here.

    1. Jane:

      The training available at the great African American churches on spiritual warfare saved my life. What they know about overcoming is in my experience the most powerful knowledge on the planet today.

      Catherine

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