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03/11/2004 Archived Entry: "Dismantling the Motor City"

An eleven year old article in Metropolis Mag, "Dismantling the Motor City." I come to it after class discussion today on the erasure of Detroit, the Cool Cities plan, and the absence of attention to race. It's also on my mind as I have to remember the examples of the mystory I did for my 409 class last year, and will have to repeat on Tuesday.
Discipline: Teaching writing in Detroit
Entertainment: Funk

Detroit - the Motor City
George Clinton - the Motor Booty Affair

Personal: Buying boots at Roberts Western Wear in Miami when I was a kid; walking around Oklahoma in my boots (and don't forget Bootsy Collins!)

Tearing down houses in the city - former Mayor Archer's plan to spend more on demolition than rebuilding
Clinton: Tear the roof off this mutha

Why isn't Detroit mentioned in "Chocolate City"? I have my James Brown pass, but what about my Detroit pass?

Replies: 1 Comment

The "dismantling" piece reminds me of an insurance claim I handled in '97. I was working for a claims company in Southfield at the time. Late one Wednesday afternoon, the Ins. Co. faxed in a report of a suspicious fire on St. Jean St.; Chrysler recently claimed the whole area under imminent domain for a plant expansion. The property in question was the last inhabited dwelling on the street--a split-parcel convenience store and home. The fire was classified "suspicious" from the outset; we had to hire security to prevent a second claim for theft (copper pipes, siding, fixtures would be gone before morning) and they ordered splash digs to investigate the cause of the fire. Man, it got dicey. The ins. policy was only days old. High-risk policies were usual in the city limits, and the companies never wanted to pay a penny. What a drag. The hired security was made to leave the premises because of clashes with looters, so the PD sent them away and the whole place got ransacked anyway. Deposit bottles to charcoal—all gone. The owners didn't have any records of the inventory; we had to settle the left-behind contents, including the rotting food in the coolers, then truck it off to fit with FDA rules. Could've used a funk-boost that day: Clinton or Brown.

Posted by derek @ 03/11/2004 10:53 PM EST

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