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Sue Hamilton-Smith, center, and Dorothy Cleveland, right, discuss what government can do to lessen the harm of segregation. At left, Lorezze Clover, listens to the debate.Government
Role of public policy uncertain
'You can't legislate people to do right thing'
By Gordon Trowbridge / The Detroit News
Government's role in promoting racial integration has always been controversial, and Monday's town hall forum on segregation was no exception.
Government excerpts
Raymond Kanar of Warren joined the government discussion, where mixed levels of support for government's role surfaced: Some see a need for more public policy. Others said government has only a small role.
Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick discussed why breaking down the barriers to integration is important in government.* "I had an opportunity to work in public service when I was actually teaching cognitive skills over at Career Works. And one of the classes there was AA, Alcoholics Anonymous, and I got a chance to go in and sit in one of those classes and the first thing you have to do ... is admit that there is a problem. We continue to run away from this being a problem."
Kwame Kilpatrick, Detroit mayor
* "The economic impact of this region of being separate is becoming negative to Oakland County, Macomb County and Wayne County. And when you start to talk about the economic issues, when you start to talk about the cultural issues, the lack of diversity and how that hurts our children in expanding their horizons."
* "Truly this is an issue that all races have to participate in. This is not a black-white region anymore. Because Asian-Americans, Arab and Chaldean Americans, Hispanic and Latino Americans feel left out of this discussion, which further leads to more segregation."
* "So I will just challenge us as a region, as we move forward ... that we move toward some kind of coordinated, structured effort to make sure that this kind of conference is not needed 50 years from now."
Comment on this story
Many of the Metro Detroiters who attended saw the need for an activist public policy to dent segregation or lessen its harm. Others said government has only a small role to play on an issue that is, at its core, about the attitudes of millions of people.
That mirrors results of a Detroit News/WDIV poll on segregation, taken as part of "The Cost of Segregation" series, which found mixed levels of support for government polices aimed at integration.
One sentiment did get near-universal endorsement from about two dozen people who discussed government's role on Monday: More than a handful of elected officials should have attended the event at the Southfield Centre for the Arts.
"You people are preaching to the choir," Joseph Johnson of Detroit exclaimed to the two dozen people discussing government's role. "It's all the mayors who should be here. The City Council of Detroit should be here."
The majority of politicians interviewed for "The Cost of Segregation" said they considered the area's racially polarized housing patterns a nonissue. By contrast, two prominent elected officials took an active role at Monday's event: Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence.
"We continue to run away from this being a problem," Kilpatrick said at Monday's opening session.
There was a shortage of agreement, however, on how public policy should address segregation. Generally, the more actively a proposal would involve government intervention, the more resistance it met from members of Monday's discussion group.
Less controversial were proposals for local governments, both urban and suburban, to publicly declare their openness to diversity, promote its benefits and more aggressively court home buyers of different races.
But proposals such as more extensive public transportation were more controversial. Judy Bonior, the wife of gubernatorial candidate Rep. David Bonior, D-Mt. Clemens, advocated improvements to Metro Detroit's mass transit system, which she said is inadequate to serve poorer residents of Detroit who need to travel to work.
That got strong agreement from some in the group, but others argued government had already proved it wasn't equipped to take on such a task, or that it wasn't necessary.
There was support for partnering of government officials from across the region, attempting to reduce the divisions that have often marked city-suburb relations.
And many in the group said more cooperation on providing government services could help build some of those bridges.
But Rich Kennedy of Ferndale pointed out that many smaller communities fear losing control to much larger Detroit. "We're only 30,000 strong in Ferndale," Kennedy said. "We feel like we're trying to partner with the proverbial 800-pound gorilla."
And many said government's role pales in comparison to the importance of individual decisions on where to live that have little to do with government policy.
"We've legislated and legislated," said Vincent Rose of Detroit. "But you can't legislate people to do the right thing."Key points
* Detroit and suburban government officials should work together more to break down racial divisions.
* Local governments should publicly declare that they are open to racial diversity as a way of breaking down fears or stereotypes that various communities have developed over the years.
* Local governments, especially in the suburbs, could do more to reflect the area's population in their administrations.
* Improving public safety, city services and schools are keys to reversing Detroit's population decline.
* Several people saw improving public transit, subsidizing affordable housing and limiting suburban sprawl as important government roles in fighting segregation. But others in the group thought government should not take such active steps.
You can reach Gordon Trowbridge at (313) 222-2735 or gtrowbridge@detnews.com.
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