And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick called the black insurrection in 1967 the "1967 Rebellion"; now, in 90 percent black Detroit,  40 percent of the city's population plans to move within five years.

The ultimate question that must be asked in 2012 America is simply this: with the elimination of all discriminatory laws - Jim Crow - on the book (save those that discriminate against white people); a media and entertainment industry that does everything possible to create the illusion of rampant white racism continuing to hold blacks down, while simultaneously publishing stories and producing movies/television programs that show the promotion of blacks to new jobs and government positions as the purest example of "progressiveness"; with all this in mind, are black people safer in majority black neighborhoods/communities/cities in 2012 or are they safer in majority white neighborhoods/communities/cities in 2012?

The answer to this question can be found in 90 percent black Detroit, the city that explicitly represents the legacy of the civil rights movement in America. Embattled former "hip hop" Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick called the 1967 black riot - that convinced the white residents of Detroit to flee the city - the "1967 rebellion" (blacks rebelling against white rule: to blacks, any white rule is "racist" and must be defeated) in his book Surrendered: The Rise, Fall and Revolution of Kwame Kilpatrick, and article in the Detroit News by Christine MacDonald is a stunning reminder of what 40 years of uninterrupted black political rule will do for a city[Poll: Crime drives Detroiters out; 40% expect to leave within 5 years, 10-9-12]:

Detroit's crime crisis is prompting such pessimism that 40 percent of residents plan to move within five years, according to a comprehensive poll of Detroiters' attitudes about their city and leadership.

Residents overwhelmingly believe the city is on the wrong track and have no faith that city leaders have a plan to turn it around. Crime is by far their biggest worry — even higher than finding a job in a city where some put the true unemployment rate as high as 50 percent.

The survey suggests that, unless city officials can combat violence, efforts to halt decades of decline will fail. The city's population already has fallen by 1 million over the past 50 years, and residents including Michael LaBlanc said they are ready to leave.

"There's an aura of fear that just pervades the whole neighborhood," said LaBlanc, 63, who installed a security system at his northeast side home last week because he's weary of car thieves and gunfire.

"It's almost like being in prison. We always like to have at least one person home for security sake."

The survey is believed to be the most authoritative of its kind in years.

Commissioned by The Detroit News and funded by the Thompson Foundation, the survey provided a rare, statistically sound measure of public opinion. Detroiters have been traditionally difficult to accurately poll.

Eight hundred residents were surveyed by land and cellular phone Sept. 22-25 by the Chicago-based Glengariff Group Inc. The survey — which has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points — asked residents' feelings about city leadership, schools, transportation, quality of life and overall optimism.

The results were stark — and despairing.

Nearly two-thirds, 66 percent, say the city is on the wrong track. The poll found low support for all city officials except Police Chief Ralph Godbee, who retired Monday amid a sex scandal that emerged after the survey was conducted.

The survey's author said crime is the biggest obstacle to stemming an exodus that has seen Detroit's population drop to about 700,000. The city lost a quarter of its residents from 2000 to 2010, an average of one every 22 minutes.

"Crime is the pre-eminent challenge facing the residents of Detroit," said pollster Richard Czuba, Glengariff's president. "That was a defining element of the survey. It's absolutely the driving factor.

"It shows a tremendous mindset of exodus. If you want people to stay, you have to deal with crime first. That's devastating for the future of the city and it needs to be dealt with."

Nearly 58 percent of respondents said crime is their "biggest daily challenge." That far surpassed unemployment and the economy at 12.8 percent.

The survey suggests that many residents who remain would like to leave but are stuck: More than half, 50.9 percent, say they would live in another city if they could, while 39.9 percent plan to move in the next five years.

The city of Detroit isn't to blame for the crime (indeed, black crime rates have always been there, approaching 66 percent of all violent crime in the early 1960s, when the city was nearly 75 percent white); black people committing the crime and a culture of "no snitching" and coddling black criminals is to blame.

Detroit has the largest population of black people of any city outside of Africa, and the regression to the mean  in the hands of almost monolithic black-rule since the election of Coleman Young to the mayor's office in 1973 offers the type of powerful evidence required to answer the question posed in the opening paragraph.

Detroit News survey: 50.9 % of those living in Detroit "would live in another city if they could"

The black residents of Detroit can't provide enough tax revenue to ensure adequate police or fire protection, with payroll for the dwindling number of public workers protecting life and property paid for via federal grants. Detroit Fire Fighters Association (DFFA) President Dan McNamara said "nearly 90 percent of the city is experiencing a delayed response time under the city's current plan. "Every day is Angel's Night right now," said McNamara. "We are a free burn zone right now."

With 9 out of 10 residents of Detroit being black, the remnants of a civilization they were bequeathed when white people (85 percent of the population of Detroit in 1954) fled after the "1967 rebellion" is fair game to arsonists. Opulent homes that once sheltered the families responsible for Detroit ascension to "world-class" city status are now reduced to ash by the unforgiven black majority, no longer fearful of their acts being investigated by a cash-strapped (with the largest percentage of black police of any city in America) police department or a fire department whose every division is on the chopping block. [Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy: Arson unit could be snuffed, Michigan Live, by Gus Burns, 101-12]:

On Friday, Detroit firefighters congregated at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit to watch the documentary "Burn" about the Detroit Fire Department and how its members deal with 30,000 fire calls per year in the cash-strapped city.

(More about "Burn")

The thousands of vacant homes and buildings are a beacon for firebugs looking to commit arson and account for many of the department's calls.

Federal Bureau of Investigation-reported arson crime in Detroit increased more than 70 percent between 2009 and 2010 and leveled out thereafter.

Conversely the city's ability to investigate and prosecute such crime is on the decline.

Personnel to investigate arson in Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy's office may soon be nonexistent.

"Quite frankly, with the current budget allocation I have been given this office will not be able to maintain an arson unit," she said Monday. "These cases are complex and time consuming. It would be a disservice to the public and a danger to the community if we lost this important unit."

90 percent black Detroit is living on borrowed time, fully funded by federal grants. The majority of the black residents, who are directly responsible for the woeful state of the city and the crime they desperately want to flee from, are planning to leave Detroit in the next five years.

These are the sons and daughters, the grandchildren of those who participated in the "1967 revolution" in Detroit -- and they want to absolve themselves from the 90 percent black city whose genesis rests in removal of white people from the Motor City.

The Black Undertow of Detroit will attempt to migrate out of the city, exporting the same problems that these black residents flee to whichever city they settle in.

And as Detroit's black population decreases due to this migration, don't be surprised if the city's fortunes increase. Fox 2 News Headlines