  Iheartthed Member Username: Iheartthed Post Number: 1263 Registered: 04-2006 |
Strom Thurmond? | ||
Blksoul_x Member Username: Blksoul_x Post Number: 39 Registered: 06-2007 |
From the beginning the late great Coleman A. Young signified the seriousness of a deep commitment to Black Freedom. He called for, (like many other Black leaders of that time), the realization that Black people are somebodies which 'amerikkka' had to deal with! (Something the new Black leadership is desperately missing!) To me, what stood so strikingly about Coleman Young, was is authentic anger and genuine humility. Listening to him speak, you automatically projected a gut level about the urgency of the state of affairs of Blacks in the City. In-fact it seemed his sanity rested on how soon the revival of 'Blackness' could improve. In the public sphere, he constantly appeared angry about the state of Black Detroiter's, and that anger fueled his boldness and defiance, at the same time his boldness and defiance was fundamentally the downfall of his partnerships with white Detroiter's, white suburbanites and black-skinned middle class Detroiter's! In stark contrast, of a suppressed Black support network, and white Detroiter's, most whites felt alienated, and took his boldness and defiance as an absence of humility.__In that context, Coleman A. Young's, words, actions and predictions became more and more typically viewed by the white establishments, media lynch mobs, and the white common, as a cover for sinister motives and surreptitious ambition, which inevitably, in combination with the white racism, became an apparatus for imparting high volumes of white flight from the D.! blksoul-atcha! | ||
Irish_mafia Member Username: Irish_mafia Post Number: 964 Registered: 10-2003 |
Mind boggling. This entire thread is repeated every 6 months. | ||
Patrick Member Username: Patrick Post Number: 4756 Registered: 10-2003 |
Blacks loved him and whites hated him. Not really much else to say.. | ||
Caldogven Member Username: Caldogven Post Number: 93 Registered: 05-2006 |
Professor- A race baiter or a racist? | ||
Citylover Member Username: Citylover Post Number: 2519 Registered: 07-2004 |
Yes it is irish and we have to correct the ignorance as it is repeated as well. Coleman Young was not an attorney. Coleman Young loved the city of Detroit more than almost anyone on this forum save maybe histeric and one or two others. Coleman Young was a master politician. Coleman Young did not dismantle the police force he made it more representative of the city.He did the same with his administration; it was about 50% black. These links show what he was up against http://www.mackinac.org/articl e.aspx?ID=4784 http://www.biographybase.com/b iography/Young_Coleman.html Coleman Young was not perfect but then who is? Some of you might try to actually educate yorselves on who and what he was be fore you spout the ignorant things I read on these annual Coleman Young thread. | ||
Ray Member Username: Ray Post Number: 965 Registered: 06-2004 |
Citylover, You raise an interesting point. I had forgotten the February Thaw we had from 1977 through 1980 when it seemed that the city would turn the corner. I think the real culprit was the crushing automotive contraction from 1980 through 1983. I think Coleman Young and others viewed his position as an opportunity to be an advocate for Blacks and he may have performed well in that regard. But that is a different function than running a city, and in that regard he failed. A city is not a vehicle for changing society, it is a vehicle for delivering municipal services. Cities that expend resources on a quest to change the world while failing to delivery municipal services fail. It would be like a store that decides rather than compete on price and selection, it's sole objective as to bring social justice. That store would be out of business quickly as its customers abandonded it. Likewise, Detroit's customers abandoned it. A city to succeed must be ruthless in its drive to be competitive, to offer the best possible services at the lowest possible costs, and to attract wealth and capital to its core, and to provide and maintain superlative infrastructure. If they do this, they thrive. If they don't they die. Detroit to this day self stylizes itself has some kind of social welfare agency to employ and otherwise take care of Black people. That is a fantastic mission that is desperately required in our society. Unfortunately, it is a mission that the city cannot possibly fulfill and that in trying to fulfill the city has actually made poor blacks within its borders much worse off through crime, isolation, poor education, and economic depravation. | ||
Titancub Member Username: Titancub Post Number: 63 Registered: 08-2006 |
Bad. Move along, nothing to see here... | ||
Detroit_stylin Member Username: Detroit_stylin Post Number: 4526 Registered: 10-2003 |
No reasoning behind that at all eh Titan? | ||
Ray Member Username: Ray Post Number: 966 Registered: 06-2004 |
Well, I suppose you're right. After all, predominately Black cities like Atlanta have also been crushed by the wicked white world. Oh, wait, Atlanta is thriving. Hmmm. Well, let's not let facts get in the way of our opinions. | ||
Karl Member Username: Karl Post Number: 9054 Registered: 09-2005 |
Ray, that was the most insightful post here in a long time, thank you. A few lines I won't soon forget: 1. A city is not a vehicle for changing society, it is a vehicle for delivering municipal services. 2. Detroit to this day self stylizes itself has some kind of social welfare agency to employ and otherwise take care of Black people. That is a fantastic mission that is desperately required in our society. Unfortunately, it is a mission that the city cannot possibly fulfill and that in trying to fulfill the city has actually made poor blacks within its borders much worse off through crime, isolation, poor education, and economic depravation. I will be quoting you often away from these threads, Ray. Thanks again. | ||
Detx Member Username: Detx Post Number: 2 Registered: 07-2007 |
There’s no question that CAY was bad for Detroit. Detroit’s stats (we’re all familiar with them) during his twenty-year reign speak to his leadership abilities. I understand the odds were against him during this time in Michigan history, but ultimately he must be held accountable. He had TWENTY YEARS to get it right… The most surreal and unbelievable thing though is that CoD’s Municipal Center, where the majority of Detroit government takes place, is named after him. How’s that for lofty leadership aspirations? But then again there’s also an “academy” named after Alonzo W. Bates. “Aloha muthafuckers!” – CAY’s words to the Hawaiian press on his first visit there | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 3886 Registered: 10-2003 |
Alonzo Bates was a parasite who plagued the city for decades...But there were buffoons who came before him, like longtime Recreation Dept. employee/Neo-Nazi Donald Lobsinger, whose head is reportedly still kept alive in a glass jar in St.Clair Shores. I always wonder if Bates inherited Lobsinger's office. Even worse than buildings named after Coleman Young are buildings named after Ronald Ray-Gun, the white man's Coleman Young... Apologies to Coleman, who was an actual WW2 Hero. Ray-Gun thought he was a WW2 hero too, but he forgot that he was just acting in training films in Long Beach. If Hinckley had only had some military training..... | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 205 Registered: 02-2007 |
Young ended STRESS, emasculated the DPD, and the liberated people rejoiced. Soon thereafter what neighborhood merchants remained began adding bullet-proof glass if they didn't quit the City. Municipal police forces serve to keep honest people honest, as well as break the necks (metaphorically) of rogues who would prey upon the honest. With a force denuded of numbers, skills, and political support, it became easier for the bad people of Detroit to work over the good (a very sad sight: a Baskin Robbins ice cream parlor on Grand River with bullet-proof glass; sad and true). I wager that today's Detroit has as much of an appetite for STRESS as did the City of '72. Ask a working person living in a neighborhood how they feel about having bars on their windows and thugs who steal and rob at will. | ||
Mallory Member Username: Mallory Post Number: 158 Registered: 05-2006 |
Detx reminds me of my CAY story. I was working at a radio station that Coleman was visiting. He was going to record something for one of his re-election bid commercials. When the production guy got everything set up, CAY leans into the mic and says, "Is this thing on? Can I sy motherfucker?" Lost the tape over the years, but classic Coleman. I think Detx and others have already said what needs to be said about the (dis)honorable CAY, he had 20 years to get it right. He just seemed to shake lots of hands, kiss too many babies, and hung out with Bill Bonds a lot. Larger than life, yes, but for all the wrong reasons. (Message edited by mallory on August 02, 2007) | ||
Karl Member Username: Karl Post Number: 9066 Registered: 09-2005 |
Barnesfoto said: "Ray-Gun thought he was a WW2 hero too, but he forgot that he was just acting in training films in Long Beach. If Hinckley had only had some military training....." More evidence of lead paint ingestion. More evidence of need to increase funding for Secret Service. More evidence of Blame America First. More evidence of terrorists within. | ||
Perfectgentleman Member Username: Perfectgentleman Post Number: 1972 Registered: 03-2006 |
quote: Barnes, you are nothing. You don't exist anymore as far as I am concerned. I will never respond to your posts again. (Message edited by perfectgentleman on August 02, 2007) | ||
Danny Member Username: Danny Post Number: 6309 Registered: 02-2004 |
Here are some further updates how the popularity of Coleman A. Young remained mayor of Detroit. 1. He defeated John Nichols in 1973 making him the first black mayor of Detroit. 2. He defeated Detroit city councilman Ernest Brown Jr. in 1976. | ||
Izzadore Member Username: Izzadore Post Number: 55 Registered: 11-2006 |
I think he was a good man that showed up at the right time, but he stayed in office too long. He was a Black mayor, in the 70's and 80's, of a large city. That fact coupled with the fact that the economy was not doing all that well gave him NO chance of attracting corporate investment. | ||
Citylover Member Username: Citylover Post Number: 2522 Registered: 07-2004 |
Good post Ray.The fact is in contrast to Chiago for example Detroit has never been about city services. Chicago politicians run campaigns based on providing the best city services_ | ||
Oldredfordette Member Username: Oldredfordette Post Number: 2378 Registered: 02-2004 |
Barnes, you made me spit my coffee on the keyboard. You could get away with saying something like that only if you're wearing a black cocktail dress (2 sizes too small) at 9am. Coleman A Young was the only man in the country who was able to walk past the smoking ruins of 12th Street and bring the city with him. If white people were upset with him, that meant he was doing his job as he saw it. He was in office too long but he was a great man who loved this city. | ||
Quozl Member Username: Quozl Post Number: 1093 Registered: 07-2005 |
^^^Amen ORF! | ||
Karl Member Username: Karl Post Number: 9069 Registered: 09-2005 |
Oldred said: "...he was a great man who loved this city." but finished it off. | ||
Oldredfordette Member Username: Oldredfordette Post Number: 2379 Registered: 02-2004 |
Karl, it's not over. | ||
Revaldullton Member Username: Revaldullton Post Number: 604 Registered: 07-2007 |
quote:If white people were upset with him, that meant he was doing his job as he saw it. ORD, That's not a fair statement at all. People were upset with him and his antics. Not just whites.In my opinion he did more harm than good to our city and personally I know many african americans feel the same way I do. Even though the black communinty stood by his ass year after year he never failed to screw all of us year after year thus adding a few more nails in Detroits already existing coffin. I remember seeing him doing the ribbon cutting ceremony at the chene-ferry market for the little park located in front on chene. We all thought he would end up being good for the city but he just ended up being another damn politician. This isnt a race issue, its a political issue . the good rev the good rev | ||
Craig Member Username: Craig Post Number: 207 Registered: 02-2007 |
^and to follow that... ...a friend (black guy) who worked for CC declared Young to be a "great white mayor." Say what? Yes, because attention and development were concentrated downtown and not in the neighborhoods where "his people" (and this white guy) lived. In light of this I can only conclude that Hizzoner was in over his head because the neighborhoods crumbled while downtown... crumbled. | ||
Cybersanford Member Username: Cybersanford Post Number: 19 Registered: 06-2007 |
Why Colman Young Waz Grate! Built a machine that converted stinking trash into toxic electricity (located near I-75 and I-94). Love it Babby daddied for AnnIvory Calvert. Stashed the Kugarands butt good! Made all Detroiter's proud of his appearance on CBS 60 minutes! Great matches with Billy Bonds! Monto Jazza, but no Rock N Roll in his Hart Plazza Joe Louis fist? Magnum Oil! Drag in the Feds instead of draggin out the sludge..... Government Cheese Losing and letting spoil 200 tons of food slated to feed the poor of Detroit! 1st basketball hoop erected at the Manoogian Mansion. Excellent fodder for morning radio comedy! Coleman's Train...... OK, it's a People Mover! HFNIC Sign on hiz Honners Desk! | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 3889 Registered: 10-2003 |
Some of us still lived in the city for part of hizzonners last couple of terms, and remember all the city departments that were run by hizzoners loyalists and were completely useless...like the Law Department that couldn't practice law and the Community and Economic Development Department that should have been called the Community and Economic Dismantlement Department. Of course, to give some credit, real estate became dramatically affordable, and I was able to acquire a shell of a house for under 1k. I liked CAY better as a State Senator from the opposite side of town, and as an ex-mayor. | ||
Oldredfordette Member Username: Oldredfordette Post Number: 2382 Registered: 02-2004 |
I love Joe Louis Fist. | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 3890 Registered: 10-2003 |
me too, but I always thought they should make it go round on the people mover... |
