75th anniversary
By Ed Deeb President, Michigan Food and Beverage Association Rioting in Detroit in 1967 caused consider-
able turmoil in the city. It also triggered addi- tional tension and frustration. Homes and vari- ous businesses were destroyed or completely burned down. Numerous merchants closed up and moved out of the city, which later deprived their areas from having food stores to serve them.
Fr. William Cunningham of Focus: HOPE
and Dr. Francis Kornegay of the Detroit Urban League began criticizing inner-city store owners who they claimed were charging higher food prices, ran dirty stores, did not carry enough fresh produce, were not respectful of their cus- tomers, and did not hire Blacks from the neigh- borhood to help them run their stores.
The scenario, the disputes and tensions
were the subject of a special tabloid issue of the Michigan Chronicle in the mid-1970s coor- dinated by publisher Sam Logan. He asked me as the association executive leader of the then Associated Food Dealers to chronicle the the ’60s and ’70s and describe the problems and the eventual solutions.
The area was filled with tension, anxiety
and frustration. One side accusing the other, and the other side criticizing residents for not keeping the calm in their neighborhood. The bickering caused many of the larger supermar- ket chain stores to close units due to purport- ed crimes and suspected violence, thus leaving even fewer stores to serve the neighborhoods.
At the time, Detroit had the lowest food
prices in the nation, and enjoyed six major food chains in the area, in addition to hundreds of independent food stores. The chains were: Chatham, Great Scott, A&P, Kroger, Wrigley, and Meijer’s. Over the next few years all of the units of each chain store closed or moved to the suburbs, leaving food business to the in- dependents.
To help reduce the tension and suspicions
between residents and store owners, as the as- sociation leader, I met with Walter Douglas, then president of New Detroit, and urged that we form a coalition of the two organizations to meet with both store owners and leaders of the neighborhoods to discuss the problems and encourage peaceful resolution. We brought the factions together. Retailers, mostly of Chaldean heritage, had grievances with their customers as well, stating they were overly suspicious and disrespectful. After numerous meetings between the merchants and the residents, they agreed to a simple code of conduct to minimize the tension and the problems. Peace and tran- quility began being noticed.
Then in 1981 for two weeks there were al-
tercations along Livernois Avenue in Detroit between several merchants and about a dozen youth who were taunting the retailers, running into stores and leaving with bottles of wine and liquor. Store owners were running after them. During the two-week period there were two
Ed Deeb
THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
Michigan Chronicle: A leader In describing early problems, solutions with Chaldean and Arab store owners
youth and one store owner shot and killed. Tensions flared all over again. And once again, Mr. Douglas and myself met and re-established the coalition to bring tranquility and har- mony to the area and the city. Mayor Cole- man Young met with the residents to help calm the situation, and I met with the retailers to do the same.
As a result and to his
credit, Mayor Young called a meetng of
community leaders and business people once again in November with cooler weather. At- tending the big meeting were Dr. Kornegay, Fr. Cunningham, City Council members, individu- als from the Detroit Police Dept. and others. The mayor opened the meeting by stating we got through the hot summer. He then point- ed to me and said, “Ed, what are you and your members going to do next summer to prevent a repeat of what happened this year?”
Being surprised, I responded, “Mr. Mayor,
are you talking to just me or to everyone in this conference room?” He replied, “I’m talking to everyone, but I want you to lead the effort.” Which I did. The very next day, I received a call from Tom Fox of WJBK-TV2 and the late Jerry Blocker of WWJ Radio. They told me they heard I was looking for a project for next summer. I told them I was and we met for breakfast to decide what project we would sponsor. After two hours, we decided to create Metro Detroit Youth Day.
Today, we have held 28 annual Metro De-
troit Youth Days on the athletic field at Belle Isle. The first one in 1981, we had about 1,000 youngsters turn out and 100 volunteers to su- pervise the games, races and free lunch pro- vided by our food industry and association members. Last July, more than 35,000 youth attended and more than 1,600 volunteers lent a helping hand.
The event has received the Point of Light
Awards, and the Michigan Governor’s Award for fostering physical fitness and being the largest youth event in Michigan.
Now flash back to the present. There are no
large supermarket chains operating in Detroit. Instead, we have at least 100 large and clean independent supermarkets in the city with competitive pricing, quality merchandise and cleanliness. These store owners are doing a great job in providing food service to the citi- zens of Detroit.
Let’s give them encouragement and appre-
ciation for a job well done! Ed Deeb is president of the Michigan Food
and Beverage Assn. and the Michigan Busi- ness and Professional Assn, 27700 Hoover Road, Warren. E-mail him at edwarddeeb@
michbusiness.org.
November 10-16, 2010
Page C-6
Excerpts from the Detroit African American History Project (1970s)
• 1970 — Detroit Population: Total: 1,511,482 African American: 660,428 (44.5%). Four Detroit School Board members are re- called for supporting a desegregation plan targeting eleven Detroit high schools. Detroit Judge Edward F. Bell is elected president of the National Bar Association, the nationwide African-American lawyers guild.
• 1971 — The Detroit Police Department forms STRESS, (Stop the Robberies, Enjoy Safe Streets) an undercover decoy unit formed to address street crime. However, due to its use of questionable tactics, in two and a half years, its members kills 22 people, all one is Black.
• 1973 — November, State Senator Coleman A. Young is elected the first African American mayor of Detroit, defeating Police Cheif John Nichols, and Erma Henderson is the first Black woman elected to the Detroit City Council.
• 1974 — First Independence National Bank, an African-American institution, opens for busi- ness. Four historically African-American hospi- tals, Burton Mercy , Trumbul General, Boulevard General and DelRay General merge to become Southwest General Hospital.
• 1975 — September, WGPR-TV Channel 62 signs on the air from its East Jefferson Avenue studio as the first African-American-owned television station in the United States.
• 1976 — Robert Hayden, born in Detroit as Asa Bundy Sheffey, becomes the first African American named Poet Laureate of the United States. William Hart is appointed the first Afri- can-American chief of police for Detroit.
• 1977 — Judge Wade H. McCree, Jr. accepts the appointment as solicitor general of the United States from President Jimmy Carter. Dr. Marjorie Peebles-Meyers is named chief physi- cian at Ford Motor Company World Headquar- ters in Dearborn, Michigan. She will hold the post until 1985. November, Erma Henderson is the first woman and first the African American elected as Detroit City Council president. The post goes to the top vote-getter in the non partisan, at-large race. Also that month, in the first mayoral race where both contestants are African American, Mayor Coleman A. Young defeats Councilman Ernest Browne Jr.
• 1978 — Special Assistant Attorney General Julian Abele Cook, Jr., accepts an appointment to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eastern Dis- trict of Michigan from President Jimmy Carter.
• 1979 — Anna Diggs Taylor, former assistant prosecutor for Wayne County and the United States attorney’s office, accepts an appoint- ment to the U.S District Court for the East- ern District of Michigan from President Jimmy Carter.
Two New GFS Marketplace stores add 70 new jobs to Metro Detroit
Gordon Food Service (GFS), North America’s
largest family-owned foodservice distributor, recently opened two new Marketplace stores at 29555 Orchard Lake Rd in Farmington Hills, and 4849 Crooks Rd. in Royal Oak, with a ribbon cutting ceremony and huge tailgate party at its Farmington Hills location.
The two new GFS Marketplace stores will
add 70 new jobs to the metro Detroit economy and boosts the number of GFS Marketplace stores in Southeast Michigan to 20. In addi- tion to Farmington Hills and Royal Oak, GFS Marketplace stores in the region include Ann Arbor, Brighton, Canton, Chesterfield, Clinton Township, Dearborn, Livonia, Orchard Lake, Pontiac, Port Huron, Rochester Hills, South- field, Taylor, Troy, Utica, Warren, Wixom and Woodhaven.
The new stores will carry thousands of top
quality foodservice products and customers will find a large selection of produce and dairy, grocery and frozen, paper and janitorial prod- ucts.
“We are pleased to expand our presence
in Metro Detroit, with the addition of two more stores to our team and are delighted that we are able to continue to create new jobs throughout the region,” said Jim Gordon, pres- ident. “These stores are a perfect match for the
community, providing exceptional customer service and unique solutions for businesses, organizations or simply satisfying a family’s shopping needs.”
As part of its grand openings, GFS Mar-
ketplace donated $1,000 each to the Judson Center, based in Royal Oak, and the Farming- ton Hills Youth and Family Services.
GFS Marketplace is suited for business cus-
tomers who prefer to pick up their products. Restaurants, caterers, convenience stores, churches, day care operators and service orga- nizations will all find superior quality products to meet their foodservice needs. Hours for the new stores: Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday.
About GFS Marketplace Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan,
Gordon Food Service is the largest family owned distributor of foodservice products to restau- rants, schools and good service operators in the country. The GFS Marketplace Stores, begun in 1979, to service the emergency needs of GFS truck delivery customers and are also the primary supplier to many smaller operators who prefer to pick up their products. There are 140 GFS Marketplace stores throughout Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Florida, Kentucky, Pennsylva- nia, Michigan and Tennessee.
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