It's hard for me because I am a Detroiter. Johnson insists she is loyal to Detroit, where she sees a difference in the attitude of the city's black population compared to other American cities. We think Detroit is our city. There is a sense of ownership in this city. To say we own this city is power.
Racism feels worse in other cities.
You feel more free here. For others, however, the impulse to leave was too strong to resist. Donna Johnson spends a Saturday at a Detroit roller-skating rink with children who are at risk for gang membership. Long conversations on the subject don't seem to adequately capture her feelings. Early one morning, she sends a fax from her high-rise apartment on 60th Street in Manhattan, recounting a conversation with her husband Bob Solomon, a Jewish independent industrial film director.