The Poorest Cities in America and Why - Detroit, MI

The Poorest Cities in America and Why - Detroit, MI

In our series “The Poorest Cities in America and Why”, we have chosen the following:

The 10 Poorest Cities in America For 2020

• Detroit, MI
• Cleveland, OH
• Dayton, OH 
• Rochester, NY 
• Hartford, CT 
• Newark, NJ 
• Syracuse, NY 
• Birmingham, AL
• Jackson, MS 
• Springfield, MA 

In this show, we discuss Detroit, Michigan.

Despite the recent economic recovery in Detroit, there remain systemic challenges rooted in a history of racial discrimination and segregation.

• Detroit has a poverty rate nearly three times higher than the national average—roughly 35%.
• In Detroit, the child poverty rate is even higher, at more than 50%.
• Many families following the current path our nation has laid out for upward mobility are making no headway and, in too many cases, losing ground with each passing year.

Why is it that we allow the places where Black people thrive allow to crumble into decline?  City after city falls apart because the government that runs it allows it to.  The automobile industry made Detroit and its people prosperous.  The highly segregated community was living a dream that would end, like most when the industry leaves the area it supports.  The 1950’s brought job losses and the freeway construction of the 1960’s ran through many Black neighbors requiring many to lose homes. Lastly, here’s come the riots of the late 1960’s that will begin a period of decades long urban decay in Detroit.

This only happens to us.  We only allow it to happen to us.  With no vision nor leadership a people fail, and we continue to.   Let’s discuss