DETROIT FIGHT-BACK April 5 TEACH-IN

DETROIT National/Local FIGHT-BACK TEACH-IN
Debt, Austerity & How to Fight Back
Featuring Frances Fox Piven and Cornel West
In a Live TV Feed from Judson Memorial Church in New York City

Tuesday, April 5 - 1:30- 5:00 pm
Bernath Auditorium, Undergraduate Library
Wayne State University
5155 Gullen Mall
Detroit, MI

JOIN US FOR ALL OR PART OF THE TEACH-IN
1:30-2:00 – Introductions
2:00-3:30 – Live Feed from New York
3:30-5:00 – Local Q&A and Presentations on Local Actions--

Including Detroit Discussion of:
Alternatives to Locally-imposed "Shock Doctrine" of EFMs & Fiscal Crisis
Banks & the Foreclosure Movement
State Takeovers of Public Education
Cutbacks to Education Funding in MI

Wall Street Banks, American corporations and their political allies have declared a one-sided war on the American people. This war is being waged at our schools and colleges, on public employee unions, in our workplaces and in our communities.

Today, Americans are working harder and earning less while corporate profits soar. Homeowners, consumers and students are seeing their wealth being stripped away by banks. Our government plunges into debt waging trillion dollar wars. Meanwhile, our infrastructure erodes, climate change proceeds unchecked, our schools, daycare centers, senior facilities, clinics, parks and emergency services are all starved while corporations and elites get billions in tax breaks!

“Austerity” policies falsely suggest that spending on social needs is the reason why governments-- at all levels-- are facing massive budget short falls. NO! Our debt and deficit problems are a direct result of corporate tax breaks and extortionist bank practices that have lead to a scandalous and unprecedented transfer of wealth-- from hardworking Americans to the richest segments of US society.

The courageous actions by the citizens in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio are an inspiring defense of the core values of this country: a civil society based on freedom of association, healthy and stable communities that value public services and the public good.

The outpouring of support nationally shows the possibilities for challenging deepening economic inequality and political marginalization of the majority of the American people. We are on the cusp of a great movement to resist and roll-back the corporate domination by banks, energy companies and war profiteers.

For further information, contact Professor Fran Shor:

f.shor@wayne.edu

Power/Influence, the Role of Media “Darlings” in Coopting Community Voice, and a Challenge to Model D for 2011

Comment on last week’s Model D "debate" between Phil Cooley and Vince Keenan on the Power of “Influence” in the City's Revitalization [revised from comments originally posted last week as Twitter feed @ Detroitpolicy]

At last week's Model D event I learned that Detroit’s Phil Cooley, who is now being labeled a "media darling," has also apparently become a darling of the Knight Foundation. We heard at this event that the Knight Foundation hosted Phil's recent trip to Miami, & is apparently seeking his advice on how to invest millions of $ in the D.

This raises questions on several levels, but the question I'd like to raise here relates to the way the media and other sources of power can end up coopting community voice (intentionally or unintentionally). We need to ask what it means that Phil Cooley has become a darling of the media and now (apparently) at least one philanthropic foundation.

And even more we need to ask what Phil is going to do with his new appointment to the ranks of darling-hood, esp. by the Knight Foundation? Will he accept this position of influence, with the forms of cooptation of community voice it may entail, or will he use his influence with the Knight Foundation to direct its attention back to the ideas and voices of the diverse community members the Foundation should be seeking answers from?

Will Phil accept the seductive role of “darling” for the Knight Foundation--as a role that puts him in the position of speaking for the community--or will he refuse this beguiling offer, and use his new influence to direct attention to other community voices?

If Phil refuses to speak for the community, and thereby refuses to play the role of darling, he may do Detroit communities a singular service by communicating to Knight Foundation leaders, and any other foundations that approach him, that the proper locus from which to seek good advice is from community members themselves.

Too often the media and foundations seem to select as their darlings those who will give them the answers they want, in the guise of SPEAKING FOR the community. And this is precisely how cooptation works.

So how can Phil or any of us refuse to be the instrument of such cooptation, as media or foundation darlings? At minimum, by insisting that any legitimate answers to questions about how investments should be made to rebuild Detroit should come from no single person appointed (by some authority beyond the community) to represent the community.

Nor should such questions be directed to some existing group of local business, govt, media, or nonprofit leaders who already dominate discussion of these issues whenever they are covered by the mass media. If a foundation like Knight wants an authentic community response & good community-generated ideas to the questions it has to ask, there are ways to seek such answers by engaging community vision & voice. (And such forms of engagement do NOT look anything like the recent forms of so-called "engagement" staged by the Detroit Works project!)

So after last night's faux "debate," to which Vince Keenan contributed a useful skeptical note, let's hope Phil asks one essential question: What does his adoption as darling by the media and the Knight foundation mean?

And let's hope real friends of Phil help him to see that acceptance of that darling status, and the "influence" that comes with it, may also entail forms of cooptation (and ensuing corruption, as cooptation is the sweet liqueur that corruption drinks) that will harm, rather than help, the community he says he wishes to benefit.

Phil has already usefully admitted that he is probably not the best person to write policy for Detroiters. Let's hope he brings that same wisdom to any other seductive opportunities offered to him by media or philanthropy influence-brokers.

And regardless of whether Phil accepts or rejects the seductions of darlinghood, let the rest of us get about the work of creating the forums of real community debate and dialogue that are so desperately needed, if Detroiters are ever to gain the power to speak boldly, smartly, and soulfully for ourselves, instead of watching brokers in media, govt, or philanthropy select our spokesmen for us!

And on this essential point, the kinds of events Model D has so far hosted (including last week's event) have been severely impoverished. If Model D wants to model more creative forms of community dialogue, there are many different ways it could begin to organize future events to allow more diverse interchange of community ideas beyond the relatively small group of folks from which it seems to be choosing its featured speakers.

At last week’s Model D event, many wanted to respond to some of the things said (both witty and not-so-witty), but the format of allowing 5 minutes at the end for a good crowd of more than 100 to shout out some questions (without mike) doesn't quite cut it.

So I'd like to extend this CHALLENGE to MODEL D for the New Year: Take a step beyond your usual select group of speakers to think about new ways of organizing your speaker series to allow for more diverse voices/perspectives of community & for some real DEBATE!

If Model D takes up this challenge, it will not only contribute to building a real forum for the development of D community voice, but it will move beyond being part of the problem by playing the usual media role of selecting a few darlings who are put in the false position of speaking for us--the members of Detroit communities--rather than WITH us.

If Model D can help create a forum that allows Detroiters from diverse perspectives to speak with each other & thereby help to foster the development of a deeper and more representative community voice that is not "owned" by any single group or person… If Model D is willing to take on THAT KIND of Challenge in 2011, it may become part of the process that will move the D forward in ways that will ensure we are not still caught in this same kind of low-level discussion 10. 20, or 30 years from now...

The most important point Vince made is that if we want to move Detroit forward, we can't rely on the same folks and structures of power that have so often failed us in the past. And since our local govt should be serving community members, rather than vice versa, its up to us to show we can provide new direction, & model new forms/structures of decision-making & COMMUNITY-driven leadership.

There is much to do & the time is NOW to Do It!

So let's get to it, & work to do less speaking about or for others in our community, and instead work together to create forums that encourage us to speak WITH each other in our communities in ways that BUILD the D, rather than continue to self-divide and disempower it (which of course is what those who profit from the status quo of a weak and divided community like to see us continuing to do, since such community self-division allows those in power--by default--to remain “in charge”).

If we want something different from the structures we currently have (incl. those organizing the DetroitWorks Project), we need to get about the work of creating real alternative community-driven structures--in media, in local politics, in decision-making, in policymaking.

Absent that creative/constructive work, we will have no one to blame but ourselves for having no alternative to the same old structures ten or twenty years from now. Don't know about you, but I don't have that kind of patience for continuing and unnecessary powerlessness and frustration…

--DetroitPolicy
http://twitter.com/DetroitPolicy

Detroit's Katrina: Where is the National Response to Assist Detroit's Residents in Rebuilding Their City?

From "Community-Based Preparedness" (Oct. 14, 2009)

On October 7, an estimated 30-50,000 Detroit residents descended on Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit--not to escape the ravages of a hurricane, but with the simple hope of being able to escape the increasing ravages of homelessness and hunger that are threatening many of Detroit's residents.

This human surge was a response to news that 3500 federal grants were available to assist city residents needing temporary housing assistance to avoid homelessness. This is how badly the residents of Detroit are hurting. But they've been hurting for a long time--so long, in fact, that the nation seems to yawn whenever they hear another story like this one, which hit the headlines only days after TIME magazine's lead cover story on "The Tragedy of Detroit."

Detroit has been drawing a lot of media attention over the last year, and has now even "earned" for itself the "honor" of a Detroit office for TIME magazine with a front page cover titled "The Tragedy of Detroit" that launched its one-year "Assignment Detroit" project. This project will feature Detroit-area stories over the next year.

But while the "tragedy" of Detroit has been receiving news coverage, along with a lot of freelance photographic coverage of its decaying urban architecture, the slow-moving tsunami that has devastated Detroit's human population over the last decade has received no national or federal response similar to the kind New Orleans received after the Katrina disaster.

While Katrina devastated New Orleans in a single week in August 2005, Detroit has been in crisis for decades, the victim of repeated waves of slow-moving economic "hurricanes" that have left Detroit's physical and human infrastructure severely damaged. And of course this damage has only been magnified over the last year by the triple hurricane of the national economic recession, the crisis of the auto industry, and a series of local governmental scandals that have virtually paralyzed Detroit government for more than a year.

Detroit's citizens have been needing an effective and responsive government, and we can now hope that the long series of elections of Mayor and City Council in 2009 will yield the kind of government in 2010 that will work with, rather than against, the community and its energy and capacity to bring about change in Detroit. While more efficiency in government spending is clearly necessary, this efficiency cannot be achieved by cutting the basic services needed by Detroit's residents, such as public transportation, which are already at bare-bones levels.

Meanwhile, the nation seems to react to every story of about the Detroit "tragedy" with a collective yawn.

Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans suddenly, and its devastating impact--largely the result of human neglect and failed response--was highlighted every night on the national news for weeks at a time. President Bush's miserably failed leadership in response to this crisis helped to raise New Orleans to the center of national consciousness, and it became a symbol of the racialized impacts of bad policy, neglect, and the poor planning that made the nation take the Katrina disaster in New Orleans to its heart, and respond in kind. For a moment, at least, the nation even seemed to admit that in spite of its desire to be colorblind, racial inequities and racism were still major determining factors in American life.

Detroit is a twin sister to New Orleans, not only in its French heritage, but in its suffering as a result of the racialized impacts of bad policy, neglect, and poor planning over many decades. Yet Detroit is the twin sister whose major needs have been all but ignored by the nation--even though the needs of its citizens, and of the city as a whole, are just as great, and perhaps even greater now, than those of New Orleans.

The twinned collapse of the national economy and the local auto economy have left Detroit with a depression-level 30% unemployment rate, and a rate of housing abandonment that probably surpasses that of any other city in the nation. Without having suffered the destruction of the wall of water that devastated the lower ninth ward in NOLA, significant parts of Detroit closely resemble NOLA's most devastated ward.

But where is the national surge of response to help Detroit's residents, its nonprofit organizations, and its local government to recover from this disaster?

We need a national recovery program that will fund the many nonprofit organizations and residents in Detroit to put the city back to work rebuilding itself. As someone who has gotten to know many of the amazing people and organizations in Detroit who have been doing great work under the most trying circumstances for many years with very limited resources, I've seen the great things that are possible for Detroit--if only the nation will move beyond simply telling the story of Detroit's tragedy, and will instead move to funding Detroit's recovery.

Detroiters are ready to rebuild their beloved city. They have the passion, the energy, the commitment, and the vision for rebuilding. All they need is some help with the financial resources, which have been drained from the city for several decades.

The nation and much of the rest of the state of Michigan has stood idly by for decades and watched the city decline. Some, but not all, of Detroit's problems have been self-inflicted. The state of Michigan is now in almost as desperate an economic condition as Detroit, so has not been able to extend much help to Detroit in the current crisis. And so Detroit's recovery requires and demands a national response.

Its time for the nation to stop yawning, and to start doing what is necessary to lift up the city that was once the arsenal of its democracy. Its citizens can make the city great again, with a bit of help from their fellow citizens across the nation, and from our shared federal government.

So let this be an appeal for shared labor and collective national investment in the future of Detroit and its residents. For the fate of Detroit over the next several years will signal, in many ways, the fate of our entire nation.

Toward a Green Reconstruction of Detroit

Toward a Green Reconstruction

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Another Detroit is Possible, IF WE WORK TOGETHER TO CREATE IT

Detroiters are committed to building a vibrant, inclusive, equitable, participatory politics that is not beholden to the practices of exclusion and POWER-ELITISM of any kind (including class, race, and intellectual elitism). We especially reject the kind of politics that seeks to present itself as "another politics" that is IN THEORY a better politics, but that IN PRACTICE is simply another politics of exclusion being created by and for the privileged....

After my weekend experience (below) of trying to attend a meeting in Detroit about how "another politics is possible," and being told that if you had not been directly invited to the meeting, you could not participate in the discussion, I was reminded of all the ways the practice of narrowly exclusive in-group politics has frustrated the best intentions for creating a "new politics" in the past.

The basic principle of any truly democratic and inclusive politics is that its ideals need to be reflected in practice. If there is a major contradiction between ideals and practice, there is a major problem with the implementation of the vision of that politics.

We've seen this contradiction between ideal and practice result in disaster repeatedly in the political history in the past: in the founding of our own country on principles of equality that allowed slavery to be instituted in practice at the heart of our political constitution; and in the various examples of capitalist, socialist, or communist governments in the past, where stated principles of equality were overwhelmed by practices of exclusion, inequality, and violent repression.

Since there was nothing on the meeting announcement for "Another Politics is Possible" (see below) saying it was closed to all but the invited, I assumed it was an open meeting that would be dedicated to the discussion of HOW TO CREATE A MORE INCLUSIVE DEMOCRATIC POLITICS OF ORGANIZING THAT INVOLVES ALL PEOPLE EQUITABLY.

And since it was a meeting being held in Detroit, I also assumed that this meeting to discuss how another politics is possible would especially be open and inviting to Detroiters.

But unfortunately my assumptions proved to be naive. I arrived at the meeting place only to be told the meeting was not open, and was only for people--mostly from elsewhere in the country--who had already been discussing amongst themselves how another politics is possible for a year or so.

I was told these folks had decided to meet "intentionally" in Detroit to continue their private conversation. I appealed to several of the organizers, trying to suggest that perhaps, since they were meeting in Detroit, they might want to consider opening their meeting to the participation of a few people from Detroit who were committed not just to talking about another politics, but to working together with others in Detroit to make it happen.

But alas, the organizers were unmoved by such an argument, and "politely" told me I was not invited, and should therefore leave, which I did--with some relief and a bit of a laugh--as I realized that if this was the practical expression of "another politics" they were discussing, it was not worth investing any time in...

For me, this experience only further underlined how it's apparently become cool now for folks to fly in from elsewhere to meet in Detroit, and to talk about Detroit, & to be associated with Detroit, because its chic to be associated with the downtrodden and depressed, as we've seen with the new focus of Time magazine on the city--

But where are the Detroiters in these meetings and discussions, and why are they not being invited to participate in ways that can actually shape the discussion?

Ironically, this group had met on Friday night in Ann Arbor, and that part of their meeting was apparently open to the community in Ann Arbor, and to anyone who could afford to drive or fly in to Ann Arbor from elsewhere for a Friday night meeting. But for their weekend meetings on Saturday and Sunday in Detroit, members of Detroit communities were not invited to the discussion.

I'm always amazed at folks who like to think of themselves as planning for a new progressive or radical democratic politics, but who are so exclusive and confined in their discussions that you can't help but ask....

Isn't this the same old politics of exclusion and elitism?

And isn't it a bit indecent for a group that apparently sees itself as "progressive" and dedicated to creating a better politics for the future to hold an open public meeting in Ann Arbor on a Friday night, and then move to Detroit for meetings on Saturday and Sunday that are completely closed to anyone who might be interested in attending from Detroit?

Utterly amazing!

Emma Goldman's famous phrase was: "If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution":

As far as we're concerned, If Detroiters aren't invited to the discussion, we don't want anything to do with "another politics" that replicates patterns of class privilege and power from the past.

I've become very tired and disgusted with folks who like to pretend to be progressive and inclusive in theory, but who are in reality anything but that. We truly need to build another politics, and the building needs to begin with openness and inclusiveness and equity IN ACTION AND PRACTICE, not just in theory.

So our message to the organizers of this and any other discussions about creating "another politics" in Detroit or elsewhere is: Please be so good as to remember to invite Detroiters into the discussion, and to be as democratic and inclusive in practice as you think of yourselves as being in principle.

Detroiters are committed to building a vibrant, inclusive, equitable, participatory politics that is not beholden to the practices of exclusion and POWER-ELITISM of any kind (including class, race, and intellectual elitism). We especially reject the kind of politics that seeks to present itself as "another politics" that is IN THEORY a better politics, but that IN PRACTICE is simply another politics of exclusion being created by and for the privileged.

To THAT politics, wherever it comes from, and in whatever progressive or salvational guise it may present itself, we say, NO THANK YOU!

We Detroiters will invest our time in actually CREATING a new progressive and inclusively participatory politics of equity and social justice of, by, and for Detroiters. And then perhaps those who like to continually talk about "another politics" in their small exclusive groups, without doing anything to put it into practice, will realize they might not already know everything they need to know about how to make another politics possible....

Another Politics is Possible in Detroit, and it will NOT be the same old Politics of Exclusion

A Little Ditty inspired by a closed meeting called
"Another Politics is Possible,"
held in Detroit, October 10, 2009
*
*

There once was a group
of self-styled intellectuals
who thought of themselves as progressives
(or radical, or something better than ___ (you?);
They flew into Detroit from LA and NY
and other great places
to discuss in an "intentional" way
how to organize politics
in a much better way--
They had been meeting for a year,
and wanted to be clear
that "Another Politics is Possible"--
But when it came to the actual meeting
they failed to make clear
for interested Detroiters
who wished to join their discussion
that although another politics
will be possible someday--
if they have their way--
newcomers were not
to their discussion of the possible
invited...

I have the experience of having tried to attend this meeting today to thank for inspiring the above little ditty, which is offered as a public service warning to any other Detroiter who may be so naive as to think this meeting is open to them--

So in case anyone else is interested in attending the above noted meeting in Detroit today or tomorrow, you should know it is a small and exclusive meeting NOT open to anyone who has not already been invited by the in-group at this meeting. Therefore, unless you have already received your personal invitation, you'll be turned away at the door.

I saw the above flyer posted here, and since there was nothing on the flyer saying it was a closed meeting, and the subject of the meeting was supposed to be about how ANOTHER POLITICS IS POSSIBLE, and about community organizing to achieve this "other politics," I assumed it was an open meeting that would be dedicated to the discussion of HOW TO CREATE A MORE INCLUSIVE DEMOCRATIC POLITICS OF ORGANIZING THAT INVOLVES ALL PEOPLE EQUITABLY.

And since it was a meeting being held in Detroit, at the Boggs Center, which is known for being a community-focused place for open discussions and meetings, I also unfortunately assumed that this meeting to discuss how another politics is possible would especially be open and inviting to Detroiters.

But unfortunately my naive assumptions were all wrong. I arrived at 3061 Field St., Detroit, and after being given a hug by someone I knew (who I had assumed was a committed progressive) was then told the meeting was not open, and was only for people--mostly from elsewhere in the country--who had already been discussing amongst themselves how another politics is possible for a year or so.

I was told these folks had decided to meet "intentionally" in Detroit to continue their private conversation. I appealed to several of the organizers, trying to suggest that perhaps, since they were meeting in Detroit, they might want to consider opening their meeting to the participation of at least one new person from Detroit, who was committed not just to talking about another politics, but to working together with others in Detroit to make it happen.

But alas, the organizers were unmoved by such an argument, and "politely" told me I was not invited, and should therefore leave, which I did, with some relief and a bit of a laugh--as I realized that if this was their idea of "another politics," it was not worth investing any time in...

So Detroiters please take note: Anyone who does not already have an exclusive invitation from this group is not welcome to the discussion of "Another Politics is Possible" today or tomorrow:

Even if you are passionately committed not only to discussing how a truly democratic, inclusive and equitable politics is possible, but to organizing to grow this kind of politics together with others in Detroit, this meeting is not for you.

For me, this experience only further underlined how it's apparently become cool now for folks to fly in from elsewhere to meet in Detroit, and to talk about Detroit, & to be associated with Detroit, because its chic to be associated with the downtrodden and depressed, as we've seen with the new focus of Time magazine on the city--

But where are the Detroiters in these meetings and discussions, and why are they not being invited to participate in ways that can actually shape the discussion?

If for this exclusive group, "Another Politics" is truly possible, it would be interesting to know how they seek to open it up to others in Detroit and elsewhere...

Based on the information from this group's poster (above) and what I was told, their meeting last night in Ann Arbor was an open meeting for the Ann Arbor community, or for anyone who could afford to drive or fly in to Ann Arbor from elsewhere for last night's meeting. But today and tomorrow they are meeting in Detroit, and these meetings are NOT open to Detroiters.

So Detroiters, if you're interested in what this group is discussing about how Another Politics is Possible, you're unfortunately not invited to the discussion.

I'm always amazed at folks who like to advertise and think of themselves as planning for a new progressive politics, but who are so exclusive and confined in their discussions that you can't help but ask....

Isn't this the same old politics of exclusion and elitism?

And isn't it a bit indecent for a group that apparently sees itself as "progressive" and dedicated to creating a more progressive politics for the future to hold an open public meeting in Ann Arbor on a Friday night, and then move to Detroit for meetings on Saturday and Sunday that are completely closed to anyone who might be interested in attending from Detroit?

Utterly amazing!

Emma Goldman's famous quotable phrase was: "If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution":

As far as we're concerned: If Detroiters aren't invited to the discussion, we don't want anything to do with your "another politics."

I don't know about others, but I am so disgusted and tired to my soul of folks who like to pretend to be progressive and inclusive in theory, but who are in reality anything but that. We truly need to build another politics, and the building needs to begin with openness and inclusiveness and equity IN ACTION AND PRACTICE.

So our message to the organizers of this exclusive closed meeting is: Please be so good as to let us know when you decide to invite Detroiters into your discussion.... and then we'll decide if we're interested in participating.... (and based on today's experience, we're not sure why anyone would want to...)

Detroiters are committed to building a vibrant, inclusive, equitable, participatory politics that is not beholden to the practices of exclusion and POWER-ELITISM of any kind (including class and intellectual elitism), and especially to the kind of politics that seeks to present itself from the outside as "another politics" that is IN THEORY a better politics, but that IN PRACTICE is simply another politics of exclusion....

To THAT politics, wherever it comes from, and in whatever progressive or salvational guise it may present itself, we say, NO THANK YOU!

We will invest our time in actually creating a new progressive and inclusively participatory politics of equity and social justice of, by, and for Detroiters. And then perhaps those who like to talk in their small exclusive groups about how to make a better politics possible will gain the wisdom that will allow them to learn from Detroit, rather than to merely fly into Detroit, and talk about another politics while practicing the same old politics...