SAMUEL LOGAN

Publisher

A Real Times Newspaper

479 Ledyard – Detroit, MI 48201

(313) 963-5522 Fax 963-8788

e-mail:chronicle4@aol.com

April 28-May 4, 2010

JACKIE BERG

Chief Marketing Officer

BANKOLE THOMPSON

Senior Editor

CORNELIUS A. FORTUNE

Associate Managing Editor

JOHN H. SENGSTACKE

Chairman-Emeritus 1912-1997

LONGWORTH M. QUINN

Publisher-Emeritus 1909-1989

Page A-6

I invite Chris Hansen to take a drive down my street

By Irma Clark-Coleman

As I watched the unbalanced, one-sided na-

tional report by former Detroiter Chris Hansen, I could not help but feel frustrated by the overly negative portrayal of the Motor City. He used the economic plight of one woman to portray the average household.

We have many working class families living

in modest, well-kept neighborhoods. While we commend this Detroiter for her commitment, Mr. Hansen could have found other hard-work- ing Detroiters to represent the city’s resilience in the face of having the country’s highest un- employment rate.

Yes, Detroit has its failings but its passion-

ate people are fighting back. They are pushing against collapse because of their love for the city and their optimism that Detroit will re- bound. We’ve gone through tough economic times before and we’ve come back.

Mr. Hansen cited one school with a chem-

istry class without running water to paint a picture of all our schools. He could have very well used Renaissance High School, which was named the top high school in Michigan and one of the top in the nation. He could have used Gompers and Davison elementary schools where students have achieved in spite of the socioeconomic status of the area that sur- rounds them.

He could have focused on sections that are

rebuilding such as Brightmoor, where new af- fordable housing is adding energy to the com- munity.

Blighted neighborhoods, unemployment,

crime, and a seeming lack of concern are per- vasive. But to counter those ills we have strong neighborhood associations like Oakman Bou- levard, Barton McFarlane, Bagley, Grandmont, Rosedale Park, Garden Homes, Sherwood Forest, Palmer Woods, and countless others – whether in wealthy enclaves or in working class areas – that band together to provide safety, secure abandoned homes, and award scholarships to neighborhood students.

There was no mention of the all-volunteer

CB patrols and the cooperative relationship be- tween police precincts and the public that yield annual cookouts and neighborhood festivals. Mr. Hansen didn’t speak with non-profit groups that purchase abandoned homes to provide housing for those who have slipped through the social safety net. He didn’t visit our local churches that provide after-school tutoring, summer camps, food and clothing drives, organ donation campaigns, GED preparation courses

and services for re- turning citizens. Not one volunteer from Meals on Wheels, De- troit Rescue Mission, Detroit Recovery Project, or the Ecu- menical Theological Society received air time.

The unfor-

Irma Clark-Coleman

“Detroit has to write its

tunate fact is that Mr. Hansen used some of the same negative stories that have appeared in the local media. We have been our own worst enemy. In this case, we have provided the poison hidden in a five-course meal and

own story. In the midst of re- configuring our city, revamping services and accepting our new reality we must fuel our will to live with hard work, hope and self-love.”

served for the entire nation to enjoy. Detroit has to write its own story. In the

midst of reconfiguring our city, revamping ser- vices and accepting our new reality, we must fuel our will to live with hard work, hope and self-love. I invite Chris Hansen to take a drive down my street – Oakman Boulevard – to see how people not only have immaculately mani- cured lawns but also provide beautification for the public boulevard. That’s the picture that would have provided balance for his report.

Irma Clark-Coleman is a state senator rep-

resenting District 3 that includes parts of De- troit, all of Dearborn and all of River Rouge. She sits on the Senate Appropriations commit- tee; serves as minority vice chair of the Com- munity Colleges subcommittee; is a member of the Capital Outlay and School Aid, K-12 & Education subcommittees and the standing Energy Policy and Public Utility committee.

By Luther Keith

Painfully, I have to admit that all the heart-

‘Dateline’ has a journalistic obligation to tell the whole truth

break presented in the “Dateline NBC” special “America Now: City of Heartbreak and Hope” was true, and that it’s incumbent on Detroiters to rectify the situation

But what’s also painfully clear is that the

piece sorely lacked balance, rehashed cli- ches and presented Detroit as a place filled exclusively with desperately poor, struggling people.

I can draw no other conclusion after spend-

ing nearly four hours with reporter Chris Hansen and the “Dateline” crew showing them, as I was requested, “the good, the bad and the ugly” of Detroit but seeing only the bad and the ugly, and none of the good, make it into the final cut.

Starting with Palmer Woods, which the

camera crew and producers all commented was beautiful, and going through parts of Sherwood Forest, West Outer Drive and Rosedale Park, I showed “Dateline” a number of solid, strong neighborhoods with good, well-cared for homes with strong community associations and block clubs.

Don’t they deserve a minute of our time?

By Peggy Goodwin

There is a saying that we are “only as sick

as our secrets,” and in Detroit, it has been no secret for decades that there is poverty, crime, blight and far too many kids growing up in single parent homes.

I know, I was once one of those kids and em-

pathize with what many of them face today. My mother did everything possible to keep us in a stable community and on the straight path.

While I was inspired by the story of Cordette

Grantling, I was especially distressed that “Dateline NBC” had the opportunity to convey some secrets about Detroit, the flip side of the stereotypical image of young Black males we see far too often in the media, but chose not to even when they had the story and the footage.

“I figure if they took a minute

off of Kid Rock drinking his beer and giving that hopeless, glazed over look when he declared Detroit a ‘ghost town,’ and maybe even editing down the ample time given to the all- impor- tant raccoon hunter, the nation could have seen some amazing things going on in Detroit that should not be secrets.”

Like Luther Keith, I too had the “Dateline”

crew at an event with Bishop Edgar Vann and Vanguard Community Development Corpora- tion for three hours. Called “Boys to Men,” this standing-room-only event included 400 com- munity leaders, parents and boys age 13 to 17 coming together on a warm, sunny Saturday morning of their own free will to discuss ways to keep themselves, and their peers, in school.

When a friend told me about the Frederick

Douglass Academy, an all-male Detroit public school with a 100 percent graduation rate, I was eager to invite them to be part of the panel.

We had Sean Vann, the passionate principal from Frederick Douglass Academy talk about

as new housing built by nonprofit develop- ment groups.

The young

Luther Keith

woman who has ad- opted and raised nu- merous abandoned children, featured in the special, is a saint. The outpouring of re- sponse to her plight as she struggles is well deserved. But her situation cannot be used to represent all Detroiters, or even most of them.

The isolated exam-

ples of one person tutoring children and people picking food in urban gardens cannot obscure the fact the piece showed a shocking lack of community. It gave no sense of the efforts of hundreds of organizations and the thousands of people involved in mentoring, tutoring, liter- acy efforts, cleaning up neighborhoods, work- ing in schools every day throughout Detroit.

“It suggested the city is doing little to solve its problems.

I can draw no other conclusion after spending nearly four hours with reporter Chris Hansen and the ‘Dateline’ crew showing them, as I was requested, ‘the good, the bad and the ugly’ of Detroit but seeing only the bad and the ugly, and none of the good, make it into the final cut.”

This was done to give them a balanced pic-

ture of the totality of Detroit — not just the well-chronicled blight of the city that was given most of the camera time.

Hansen asked me who lived in these neigh-

borhoods. I told him doctors, lawyers, profes- sionals and business owners, among others.

None of it was used. In great detail, in response to Hansen’s ques-

tions, I talked about why I and others choose to live in Detroit. I talked about what many com- munity groups and foundations were doing to attack the problems and why I was hopeful about Detroit’s future in spite of the city’s chal- lenges.

None of my comments, reflecting optimism and hope, were included.

I also took “Dateline” to troubled neighbor-

hoods like the Brightmoor area and showed the devastating impact of urban decay, as well

“Dateline” deemed the isolated case of a

man killing and selling raccoons more impor- tant than the efforts of thousands of people who care for their children, go to church, go to work and try to do better each day.

“Dateline’s” explanation for the way the spe-

cial was edited, as a producer said to me, was that they had an abundance of good video and much of the footage had to be edited out to fit the allotted time for the special.

Detroit has been stereotyped before. We are

an easy target with lots of low-hanging fruit. Yes, the media have a job to do. Journalists

are not public relations arms for the city of De- troit, nor should they be. But we have a right to expect them to tell the truth. The whole truth.

Luther Keith is executive director of ARISE

De troit! (www.arisedetroit.org), a coalition of community groups in the city.

Peggy Goodwin

his school and how he and his teachers have succeeded. He introduced some of his uniform- clad students and I was so impressed with them I asked them to help facilitate the breakout sessions, which they happily did like seasoned professionals.

Mayor Bing,

Deputy Police Chief James Tolbert, De- troit Public Schools Regional Superinten- dent Derrick Cole- man, and Vanguard

Executive Director Scott Alan Davis all

shared heartfelt stories about their own trials and tribulations as young men.

The audience also heard the realities of

being incarcerated from a corrections officer, an ex-offender, and a young high school stu- dent who shared a painful story about both his father and uncle being incarcerated, yet was determined to stay in school and succeed.

The “Dateline” crew captured three hours of

a five-hour program. This open, honest dialogue involving youth

and adults deemed “authority figures” was rare, but certainly newsworthy. As a public relations professional, I know far too well the formula of celebrity, crime and of course acts of desperation are always good news stories.

Our sickness lies in the fact that we see very

few positive images of Detroit and especially young males of all races in the news. But didn’t Sean Vann and his students merit a minute of their time?

I figure if they took a minute off of Kid Rock

drinking his beer and giving that hopeless, glazed over look when he declared Detroit as a “ghost town,” and maybe even editing down the ample time given to the all-important rac- coon hunter, the nation could have seen some amazing things going on in Detroit that should not be secrets.

Letters to the editor

Detroit gets slam dunked

I have not seen the show

nor do I really have a desire to. I find it truly insulting that once again Detroit gets slam dunked and put down. I believe in the old school reality that if you are not part of the solution you are part of the problem. After reading comments from others I have to leave everyone with some thoughts.

First, of all stop giving us a sad story about why youhad to

Chris Hansen’s one-sided report on Detroit

Chris Hansen’s report was

completely one-sided, focus- ing only on the negatives and omitting mention of the many positives, e.g., Mayor Bing’s plans for the city, Robert Bobb’s efforts to put the DPS on a sound financial footing, the volunteer reading/tutoring program, the renovation of the

The Michigan Chronicle en- courages letters from readers. Expressed opinions must bear the writer’s signature, address, and phone number (only the names will be published with the letters). Write: Readers Speak, Michigan Chronicle, 479 Ledyard, Detroit, MI 48201 or email the editor at chronicle4@aol.com

Book-Cadillac Hotel, the River Walk, the renaissance of Ford, GM and Chrysler, our first class airport, not to mention the ad- vantage of being a deep water port and a gateway to Canada.

What else would anyone

expect from the glib host of “To Catch a Predator,” cre-

How to write us:

The Michigan Chronicle encourages letters from readers. Ex- pressed opinions must bear the writer’s signature, address, and phone number (only the names will be published with the letters). Write: Readers Speak, Michigan Chronicle, 479 Ledyard, Detroit, MI 48201 or email the editor at or chronicle4@aol.com

ated by sick people, about sick people and watched by sick people? A single exposé would have sufficed. But week after week? Give us a break! It shows how low NBC will stoop to get more viewers. — Ralph

Deeds

come back to Detroit and how much better where you came from is, like Southfield and Oak Park. Also it seems like we have a local problem first amongst Black folk that are so quick to pass judgment with- out even trying to help bring about change. You must have a passion for excellence, not superiority, over your broth- ers and sisters with blanket statement rhetoric.

How to write us:

I live in Detroit, purchased

a home in the city and am active in my block club. My neighborhood is clean and is reflective of most of the city.

Lastly, if you aren’t going to

support the kids, vote or help in some way, then please leave and maybe don’t come back cause you are part of the prob-

lem. —Chris C

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