The writer, a lifelong Detroit, is a community activist who has lived in her west-side neighborhood for 51 years. She has been a block club officer since her 20s and a Democratic Party precinct delegate for over two decades.
This is the second of two essays republished with permission from "I Dream Detroit," a 98-page report from the Institute for Policy Studies, a Washington, D.C., think tank.
By Lynnette Bowens
I got laid off in 2012. In the two years I was unemployed, I only applied to jobs within the city of Detroit. I may have gotten three interviews and two callbacks. I did not get those jobs.
Two weeks before my unemployment ran out, I started applying to places that were outside of the city. I got an interview that week. I work that job today, and that’s sad. And no, I don’t just have a high school diploma. I have a bachelor's degree and well over 20 years of experience. But I have always worked in the suburbs. In my working career, I have only had a job inside the city of Detroit maybe two, three times.
I haven't bought a new car since 1988. I do not support Ford, GM, Chrysler or any other car maker. I support the people who work at AutoZone. I support people who work at the junkyard. I drive a hooptie, which is economically beneficial because I’m not paying GM and Chrysler $10,000 or so a year to drive a new car. I’m not paying State Farm or AAA another $5,000 because I live in the city of Detroit.
I generally buy a car for anywhere from $1,500 to $2,000, and they last me four to five years. I pay myself a car note of $100 every month. Just in case my hooptie breaks down, I’m gonna need some money to fix it.
A gap that omits most of Detroit
For me, I've not really seen true economic development across the city. In all my life, economic development in the city of Detroit has meant that somewhere between the river and the boulevard, something’s going to happen.
Between the river and the boulevard is nowhere representative of who or what the city of Detroit is. You have left out 95 percent of the city.
When I do see true economic development in the actual neighborhoods, it's going to mean people getting forced out of their homes.
They've put up the new Red Wings stadium. In the '80s and '90s I watched those people over there basically forced out of their homes. I watched the people go over there and basically strong-arm the people out.
Fast-forward to today, and you just gave $400 million of school aid funds to build the stadium. That stadium is not going to do anything for residents.
Lynnette Bowens: "Tax-paying residents kind of get the short stick." (Photo by Jacqueline Hicks)
I'm open for change, but one thing I just don’t agree with is government subsidies and public-private partnerships. None of those things are actually a benefit to tax-paying residents. Tax-paying residents kind of get the short stick.
The fabric of community
Our community remains pretty much intact because we have people like me who have been here 50 years and live in the house that they grew up in. Then we have newcomers and we have a lot of long-term renters.
I used to be a precinct delegate. I did that for over 20 years. I put my name on the ballot to represent my neighbors, the ones who live down the street or around the corner.
And I really got way more involved when I got laid off about five or six years ago. A lot of stuff goes on between 9 and 5 that most other people don’t get to participate in, like going to city council meetings or going to sit in a courtroom and see who these judges really are. And I’ve been trying to think of a way to get an investor or a builder to work with our community to do some infill development that might include apartment buildings, open play spaces.
But while I’m sitting at my job, I can’t get out there and present my idea. There’s a conflict between when the people who make the decisions are making decisions and when you have to be at your job.
When I see my city being bashed across the national news, or when I look at communities and the destruction in them, I don’t blame that on Detroit the city. I blame that on the people who live here and work here. The people who play here. Your community cannot be more than you make it.
People have to take ownership of their community and own their block. If you see things happen and you never say anything about it, then it will probably continue to get worse.
Vote to have an impact
It’s very important who we elect to office. I believe firmly that the vote cast today will affect your life tomorrow.
My favorite saying is: “Your community cannot be any more than you make it.” We’ve got to cause people to think about where they live and change the mindset from "it doesn’t matter" to "it does matter" and "this is how we’re going to make it better."
Your community cannot be more than you make it. People have to take ownership of their community and own their block. If you see things happen and you never say anything about it, then it will probably continue to get worse.
We’re losing our spirit of family and community. Once you have a spirit of family and community, then you don’t have so much of me, myself and I. We become more attached as a group.
I have faith in the city of Detroit, and I've got faith in the residents.
