MORE THAN ENOUGH: THE NEW “BIG 3”
By Jackie Victor
Michigan Citizen, October 21-27, 2007
Why are there so many new CVS drugstores in Detroit when conventional wisdom is that Detroit is a wasteland for retail? Why do new bank branches line Gratiot, Michigan Ave and Woodward in the inner city while stores selling fresh foods stay away? How can a 9th grade Detroiter find his path as an entrepreneur? Would African American Detroiters, raised on stories of leaving agricultural life in the South for life in the big city, be willing to work the land in a new Agri-Urban Detroit?
These were some of the provocative questions asked at a workshop on entrepreneurism and jobs during ” Detroit: A City of Hope” Conference held at YouthVille on October 5-6. Organized by community leaders from the Boggs Center and Detroit members of Harry Belafonte’s “Gathering for Justice,” this stirring and enticing two day discussion had the makings of a historical gathering: bringing people together who would otherwise not have met, in search of answers to some of our most vexing questions and, most significantly, willing to listen to each other before they tried to come up with quick answers.
For decades corporations and middle class people of all colors have abandoned Detroit, leaving behind a city with high rates of poverty, aging infrastructure and a sagging tax base. But out of this abandonment has emerged a new opportunity: the space to create new independent businesses and new models for economic development that may be feasible in Detroit explicitly because of the absence of corporate America.
This diverse group recognized that an emerging economic paradigm is captured in what some businesses call “Three Bottom Lines”: Right Relationship with the Earth, Employees and Community. These “Three Bottom Lines” could shape a new, self-sustaining grassroots economy which could develop even as the “Big Three” continue to decline
The breadth and depth of skills and resources represented in this diverse group were impressive, ranging from Wayne State University Law School (offering free legal aid for entrepreneurs), the Small Business Development Center, the Black Business Expo, City Year, UAW, Rosa Parks Institute, as well as retirees and aspiring entrepreneurs energized by the vision of creating a new economic model for Detroit.
Having moved beyond complaining about current conditions, this group of individuals and organizations, heavy with experience and resources, was ready to work together to manifest a new vision of economics in Detroit Urban agriculture, quickly spreading throughout Detroit in hundreds of backyard, community and school gardens, emerged as a centerpiece of this new vision. It captures an essential resource that Detroit has aplenty: land, Moreover, it works to meet the needs of the people who currently live here for fresh, healthy, affordable foods. And yet, as one group member reminded us, by itself urban agriculture is not enough. It is too simple an answer for a complex city in economic and social crisis.
Out of this discussion emerged the idea of creating a “Community Business Plan.” The first step will be to research Havana, Cuba; Minneapolis, Minn; Oakland, CA and Curitiba , Brazil, to discover how these cities reinvented themselves based on their assets, not their limitations. Even as they continued to depopulate and poverty increased, these cities built upon those that remain, not trying to attract back those who have left for greener pastures. .
Since being abandoned by corporations, the government and many in the region, we Detroiters have been left with little but each other. On Saturday, at YouthVille, over 100 inspired Detroiters and our allies felt that we were more than enough. Maybe Detroit has greener pastures yet ahead.
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