SOUTHFIED THE NEW DETROIT ...as blacks feud

The mass-exodus of African Americans from deteriorating Detroit to their northern suburban Southfield has flared tempers and has exposed an ugly class dichotomy within the black community. Ordinarily, the response would have been for the wealthy blacks to move to other opulent neighborhoods in the face of the new normal, but the bad economy has removed that option. For centuries, African Americans have presented a monolithic unit throughout the heady days of slavery and the turbulent civil rights epoch. Unfortunately that cohesiveness may have evaporated as two distinct black nations have arrived: the ghetto blacks, and the suburban middle class.
The City of Detroit has self-destruct for a long time, and everything seems to have gone wrong to the point of hopelessness. On many occasions, the state government in Lansing contemplated appointing financial managers to help salvage the city. But native Detroiters have collectively risen against what they saw was a move to mortgage the future of the city by state bureaucrats. As public services wane, and violent crimes hit an all-time high, residents who could afford to flee fled, leave those who could not at the mercy of rampaging gang rivalries, dilapidated neighborhoods, and unbelievable image crisis.
The latest wave of flights out of Detroit is accentuated by the greatest American “equalizers” – the twin-evils of foreclosure and bad economy. It is not that poor Detroit families can afford the homes in Southfield, even though the homes have hit rock-bottom, they just needed to get out of Detroit, and they figured out a smart way to achieve that: Families pool their resources together and moved to cheaper apartment complexes or rental homes vacated by residents who downsized to apartments. However, blacks who can still afford their homes are livid at what they see as the importation of crimes and criminal tendencies to an otherwise serene suburb.
This characterization might seem like a broad brush. However, it is not entirely groundless. “That is exactly how cities like Inkster, Belleville, and Romulus were thrown into ruins with significant black occupation”, noted Sylvia White, who works as a manager for the city of Detroit. “Blacks are known for trashing their neighborhoods, why will Southfield be any different?” a concerned resident said under anonymity for fear of reprisal. Omereada Omereada, an engineer who has been living in Detroit since 80s said he could not understand why a Blackman would want to move out of a city he cherished simply because another black family was moving in. He advised middleclass blacks to take a page from the play book of other ethnic minorities like Indians, Chinese, and Africans who would share family homes, play role models to each other kids until such a time they could afford to go their separate ways. According to him, this sense of family was responsible for their successes as sub-cultures in the American context.