Several days ago I raised a series of questions regarding the 1967 riot in Detroit. I specifically wanted to hear from those who witnessed firsthand how military forces were brought in to restore order. The range of answers proved quite informative. 

First and foremost, I learned that contrary to popular belief it was not the Michigan National Guard that restored order in Detroit during the 1967 riot in Detroit. In fact, the National Guard did little to calm the situation and a great deal to pour gasoline onto the burning flames in the city. The National Guardsmen were viewed as hostile, racist, agitators. This opinion is virtually unanimous amongst the residents I surveyed on this issue. 

When it came to restoring order it was certainly not the National Guard who led the effort to quell the violence in Detroit in 1967. Instead, it was a squadron of troops from the 82nd Airborne. The group was well trained, diverse, understood urban environments socially, and ingratiated themselves into the community as friends and protectors. Based on the comments I heard from those who experienced their presence, it did not feel like an occupation. Someone even reported that they organized pick-up basketball games with neighborhood teenagers as a way of connecting to the community. This suggests that it is possible to seek federal military help to stem the rising tide of violence in Detroit and have it effectively delivered.

      It has been generally accepted by  law enforcement professionals that a bigger police force is needed to get control of the crime in Detroit. It is apparent that budget cuts and redeployment of officers is a step in the right direction. However, no amount of budget slashing or redeployment will make up for the shortage of officers Detroit is currently experiencing. We simply do not have the resources to hire more officers. The state will not or cannot provide these resources. The federal government can provide help and recently has, but still it is not enough. Again, as we search and apply for funding the crime wave continues and the quality of life for Detroiters is further eroded.

     Here are a few alarming but generally accepted facts:

 1. In the last 8 years 3,313 people were killed in Detroit. According to the Detroit Free Press, that is more than the soldiers killed in Afghanistan in a full decade of fighting.

2. In 2011 344 people were killed in Detroit, up from 308 in 2010.

3. In 2012 as we enter the halfway point, 135 people have been killed in Detroit. These murders include an infant, a 12 year old, and an 84 year old man.

4. Detroit does not have enough officers on the streets to adequately address the issue of crime. Based on a dwindling tax base cause by a continuing population exodus and rampant unemployment, it is not likely that the financial resources to hire more police will be available anytime soon.

5. Peaceful, law abiding Detroiters are overwhelmingly armed because of their fear of being victimized by criminals and related lack of confidence in the Detroit police department to protect them.  

6. There is a direct link between high unemployment and high crime. An influx of jobs would go along way in reducing crime.

There can be no sound argument against the conclusion we are in the midst of a crime crisis. We simply have to call upon and expect bold leadership on this issue. If we do not, we risk what is beginning to happen currently, we risk becoming immune to the horror of crime plaguing our city. We have to be shocked, we have to be outraged and we have to have a plan. We can argue the merits and specifics of the plan but here is the plan I propose:

 Detroit Crime Reduction Strategy

 (7 point summary)

We can no longer be in denial that the levels of crime in Detroit are out of control. There is a sense of lawlessness amongst criminals and a sense of helplessness amongst residents. We must move aggressively toward a solution. (All timeline references are based on the date July 31, 2012).

 1. Led by local elected leadership, government, private corporations, foundations and philanthropic organizations must come together and form a sustainable fund for employment. Young people in the age category most associated with violent crime will be the target of the jobs program. Evidence of substance use and prior criminal records will not be barriers to obtaining these jobs. The employment process will include a substance abuse treatment component. The jobs being funded will be activities local government can no longer provide due to a lack of funding. This includes but is not limited to grass cutting, clean up, gardening, debris hauling, graffiti removal, and building repairs. A separate funding effort will be put in place to train advanced workers on demolition with the goal of having grant dollars pay these crews to demolish blighted homes. This program must be underway within 6 months.

 2. Led by the Detroit Police Department, service organizations will be enlisted to provide training to local communities on organizing and sustaining neighborhood patrols and watches. This program must be underway within 6 months.

 3. A new ordinance will be drafted and enacted by Detroit City Council prohibiting establishments such as gas stores, convenience stores, and liquor stores from operating beyond 11:00 pm without private security and well lit parking lots. Establishments without security and proper lighting will be subject to limited liability to the victim of a violent crime which occurs on the premises. The liability will require they pay a certain hefty sum into a crime victim fund. (We will dispatch a parallel effort in the State Legislature through the Detroit Delegation of the Michigan House and Senate) The ordinance must be drafted and passed within 90 days. The House and Senate version within one year.

4. Led by the ATF Bureau and comprised of ATF, DEA, U.S. Justice Department, Detroit Police, Wayne County Sheriff, Michigan State Police and the FBI, a joint task force with a minimum of 100 officers assigned will be created to deal solely with the issue of illegal firearms in Detroit. This task force must be underway within 90 days.

 5. Led by the Wayne County Prosecutors office and the state legislature, failure to pay fines, costs, fees or restitution in crimes which are property or traffic oriented shall no longer result in the wrong doer being jailed. Instead, infrastructure projects such as grass cutting and park clean up will be a sufficient substitution for cash payments. Those assigned will work jointly with the employed crews. The goal is to reduce space in jails for violent offenders. This program should be underway within 1 year.

 6. Act on the current Detroit Fire Commissioners’ proposal to bring Naval engineering units to demolish large swaths of abandoned homes in Detroit. Engage the Navy for this function within 90 days.  

 7. Led by the Chief of Police for Detroit, determine the number of additional officers needed on the ground in Detroit to adequately fight crime. Once this number has been determined, request that the federal government deploy specially trained military units for peace keeping activity in the city of Detroit. The units will need a great degree of advance  training similar to that used to prepare the units for peace keeping initiatives overseas. The units will work in tandem with the Detroit Police Department but remain under the command of military leadership. Once a substantial decrease in violent crime is empirically demonstrated, the deployment would end. This request should be made within 90 days.

Democracy is dead. That was the message leadership from Rainbow PUSH Michigan, and other civil rights groups wanted to spread Monday morning by staging a mock funeral for democracy at Galilee Baptist Church in Detroit. The rally attracted nearly 50 people and was a stark protest to Public Act 4 and the Michigan Board of Canvassers’ failure to certify a petition for a ballot measure to let residents vote on whether the City of Detroit should allow a state mandated finance team to take over the city’s money during it’s financial crisis.

The purpose of the event was to call attention to threats to democracy in financially vulnerable cities such as Detroit and to organize leadership to fight for voting rights.

“We hope to get the word out,” said Alexander Bullock, State Coordinator of Rainbow Push Michigan and President of the NAACP Detroit Chapter.
“This is as much about saving the vote as it is about stopping violence,” he said, noting a correlation between political apathy and lawless behavior including violence.

Instead of appointing a nine-member board to take over Detroit’s finances or a state appointed emergency financial manager, Bullock believes the city should lobby for a federal intervention.

He noted a recent report that Jack Martin, the Chief Financial Officer of Detroit’s mandated financial advisory team, called for advice and administrative help from the Obama administration.

“If a ‘competent’ guy is saying we need help from the Obama administration, then what do we need a financial board for?” Bullock asked. He said Detroit needs to call for a federal plan that targets public safety and supports small businesses.

Other human rights groups agreed. “Selling our democratic rights at a cheap price just because we’re in a crisis is absurd,” said Dawud Walid, President of the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). “Public Act 4 is turning back the clock and disenfranchising American citizens,” He said, adding that state takeovers of Michigan cities have had a “disproportionate affect on people of color.”

The event was themed to bring attention to other voting rights issues such as voter suppression and voter suspension and challenging ballots as the 2012 presidential election draws closer.

Rev. Robert Smith, pastor at New Bethel Baptist Church, gave the eulogy at the mock funeral and said people need to become more educated on their rights. “I hope this wakes people up,” he said.

We live in a culture where water is something that happens when you turn a knob, light is something that happens when you flip a switch, and food is something that happens when you open a can.

Anything that lifts the veil to constantly remind us what's going on behind the drywall or the storefronts is considered unsightly, even vulgar.  

For instance, where does food come from? The answer is not "the store". Sorry.

Food comes from soil, from farms. Farms can be beautiful places if managed correctly, and orchards are perhaps the most beautiful parts of a farm.

So why on earth people think the fruit orchard in Palmer Park will be unsightly or attract rodents is beyond me. 

Yesterday the Detroit City Council heard complaints from some residents in Palmer Park who opposed a 500 tree fruit orchard because they don't want to live near a farm. How dare anyone live near where food is being produced, right?

An excerpt from a Detroit News report: 

"All this vacant land in Detroit, and they want to put it in our neighborhood," said Eric Sabree, deputy Wayne County treasurer for Land Management, who lives on Pontchartrain and lodged some of the complaints. "We didn't move here to be next to a farm."

OK. I do understand the social stigma on farming. It's dirty, it's for poor people to do, it's to be hidden and sanitized. Farms are light blight. That's the broader cultural mindset. But people have to understand that there is a lot of misinformation around food. Relationships between people and where food comes from have been severed. And removing one orchard is not about one orchard. It's a piece to a larger movement in the city gearing to heal relationships between people and food and provide economical and healthy avenues in doing so.

Having been raised on a farm, I know how orchards can explode into spectacular shows of color when in bloom, how they provide shade and coolness on a hot day, and, best of all, the flowers turn into fruit that have more flavor than anything bought at a store.

And for the record, fruit trees don't attract rodents. They just don't. What does attract rodents is the overflowing trashcans and rubbish lining the street just a block away. This orchard will be managed properly, and clearing the dropped fruit is orchard maintenance 101.

Before we jump to conclusions about what it means to live near an orchard there should be some education around it. Talks, if you will. Which is why it's best the City Council decided to let the Palmer Park neighbors come to an agreement.

But the larger picture to this is that food is being grown in Detroit. Metric tons. It is being eaten and sold at markets. All this is happening contrary to zoning codes and ordinances. This economic shift should be eflected in zoning and planning as it blooms into something larger than just one issue.  It's about people and our most fundemental need: food.

The NAACP has released their Annual “Report Card” for the first session of the 112th Congress. Their Annual Report Card fails to demonstrate a true non-partisan evaluation of public policies. Moreover, it confirms that the N.A.A.C.P. is both Pro-Democrat and Anti-Republican.

The “civil rights” organization gave every Republican member of the U.S. Congress and U.S. Senate an “F” on what the group says are issues of particular concern to Black citizens. Among those issues are immigration, funding for health care reform, judicial nominations, deep budget cuts, job creation, and criminal justice reform. 

The NAACP alleges to be a “non-partisan” civil rights organization. However, when one examines their Report Card for the 112^th Congress, it becomes quite clear that they are decidedly pro-Democrat and anti-Republican.

Unalienable rights are those which God gave to man upon our creation. This fundamental truth is declared in the Declaration of Independence and protected by the U.S. Constitution. In effect, the government is designed to protect our God given rights. Not government given rights.

“There’s a certain irony in this report card, given that the NAACP believes low test scores for black students in public schools are due to cultural bias in the curriculum,” said Ron Miller, associate dean and assistant professor of government at Liberty University, and author of SELLOUT: Musings from Uncle Tom’s Porch. “One could make the claim that their ‘curriculum,’ which is heavily weighted toward government-directed and enforced solutions, is culturally biased against Republicans, who have been advocates of self-governance, community-based solutions and a limited central government since before the NAACP started grading Congress.”

“In 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that the “separate but equal doctrine” of the U.S. School system was unconstitutional. The court cited the psychological, sociological, and academic consequences of segregation based on ethnicity, deciding that Black Americans ought to have a right to place their children in the school of their choice. The NAACP, at that time, was the leading voice in the battle for school choice, even helping to create private schools for Black Americans. Times have changed.

In 2011, the N.A.A.C.P.  turned its back on equality in education. They joined with teachers’ unions in a lawsuit which sought to prevent twenty charter schools from opening or expanding in buildings shared with traditional public schools.

The Black Employment rate was reported to be 13% in January 2012. Nevertheless, the unemployment rate for blacks is still far higher than the rate for other ethnic groups, as well as the nation as a whole. The national unemployment rate is currently 8.1%.

The Pew Hispanic Center has found that high unemployment rates among Black Americans are partially attributed to the large number of low-skilled immigrants, especially illegal immigrants. Yet, Democrat officials, with the apparent approval of the N.A.A.C.P., support amnesty, a policy that clearly sabotages the struggle for equality that legal Black citizens have fought for.

The Democrat Party has repeatedly opposed Republican-backed legislation that is designed to create a business climate which would benefit Black Americans in particular. This includes repeal of the Davis Bacon Act, which continues to discriminate against Blacks in construction. Repeal of Minimum Wage laws have been opposed by the Democrat Party, though minimum wage hikes have the most egregious effect on Black teen employment rates. Yet, the NAACP gave Democrat Congressional and Senate members a passing grade. 

In the final analysis, the N.A.A.C.P.’s 112th Annual Report Card is an indictment of the fact the civil rights organization has taken clear steps against the God given or unalienable rights of those Americans they claim to defend. Moreover, contrary to their propaganda, they are overwhelmingly anti-constitution, which gives substance to all alleged civil rights legislation.

Editor’s Note: Stacy Swimp is a conservative commentator, Spokesperson for Project 21, a National Speaker’s Bureau of Black Conservatives, and President of the Frederick Douglass Society, a Public Policy and Education Institution. He is also host of Contagious Transformation, a Conservative Political Commentary. For additional information visit: stacyswimp.net. You may contact Stacy at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.