a twist of "white flight"

Better schools and increased life chances does not always equate happiness. After re-evaluating costs and coming to the conclusion that suburban life would be getting the most bang for their buck, one black family decided to make the move. The biggest problem they are facing is that their children are having a hard time making friends in school, and the entire family feels isolated form the rest of their community, since they are one of two black families that live in the neighborhood. In order to develop relationships with fellow African Americans sometimes a commute to Detroit has to be made. Raising their children to have a strong sense of their ethnic heritage and cultural identity while still being able to move around in all parts of society is an increasingly difficult challenge facing minorities. A Detroit news poll taken in July found 49 percent of whites to prefer living in a racially mixed neighborhood, compared with 81 percent of blacks. Black movement to the suburbs is becoming a trend which looks very similar to “white flight” of the ‘50s and ‘60s. The consensus between a few families going through similar experiences with their entrance into the suburbs is that as soon as the kids finish school, they will be moving back into Detroit.

Blackwater under the public's watch

Erik Prince, founder and chief of Blackwater, one of the best-known providers of overseas security services to the U.S. government, found himself patriotically defending his company after investigations began in regard to fatal shootings executed by Blackwater guards in Iraq. The idea to create Blackwater was in response to the lack of adequate facilities Prince experienced when he was going through his Navy SEAL training. It provided a state of the art facility and training for SEAL platoons on a 7,000-acre lot in North Carolina. Blackwater has had huge success, bringing in close to $600 million dollars just last year, but has been under close watch since March of 2004 when 4 guards were ambushed and killed in Iraq. Their bodies were burned, torn apart by mobs, and their remains were displayed dangled from a bridge. Prince’s interrogation was televised last week as he underwent a hostile questioning session by the U.S. House committee. Prince stood his ground as he defended Blackwater and it’s members patriotism, saying they are just loyal Americans who “bleed red, white, and blue.” When asked about the killing of innocent Iraqis he said that in “the fog of war,” accidents happen, providing support for his statement by noting that 27 Blackwater guards have died during the war. After three hours of examination, an intense Prince left the courtroom after deflecting every charge.

The population growth in Detroit’s central city has been shifting for awhile, with more people spreading out into the surrounding metropolitan area. The white flight of the ‘60s and ‘70s caused a huge decline in the inner city population, leaving black residents without jobs and without hope to accumulate enough money to follow the trend. As we saw in Roger and Me, as well as in recent economic trends nationwide, various areas in Michigan are, and have been, losing the service jobs to keep people in the central city. Efforts are now being made by Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to reform and improve the quality of life in six neighborhoods in Detroit. If everything runs as planned, new opportunities for investment and industry expansion will be offered every year in the five-year plan, an attempt at vast economic restructuring to draw as much national and international business as possible. Over the past five years, Detroit is drawing more economic influence in concern to the advancement of technology. It is home to the Compuware World headquarters, one of the biggest computer companies in the nation. The city also relies on casino’s to draw tourists and their money, which has been successful in increasing the number of jobs in the city as well as tax revenue. However, the economy remains unstable and employment rates high, but these issues are not certainly not being overlooked.