The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-06-17
| THE FACTS
m OUR NEWS
Bv HORACE A. WHITE

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THE NEGRO HOUSINGPROBLEM
GROWS HORNS AND A BEARD
The much discussed and little
worked at Negro housing problem
in the city Of Detroit Is now begin
ming to cast q long. deviiish shadow
into the future. This shadow Is
stretching over areas other than
housing. For a long time, the city
of Detroit has had some quarrel
with outlying communities that re-
ceive the benefits of Detroits big
ness without sharing in the Difficult
ties and cost of that bigness. Some
Of these benefits are that these
communities receive recreati0nal
opportunities. advantages In santa
ton and transportation. and share
little or none Of the cost Of these
privileges and advantages. There
has been the tendency in the last
fifteen 10 twenty-five years on the
part OF industry TO go outside the
city limits 10 set up large industrial
establishments. The Ford Motor
company in Dearborn township and
the Hudson Arsenal in Oakland
county are examples.
A great many Of the people who
work in these industries located
outside of Detroit live inside De-
troit. This Is not unique to Detroit.
This Is true of Cleveland, Boston,
Pittsburgh and Buffalo. This seems
to be the nature Of big industrial
growth in America. The picture
isn't altogether one sided. however.
People who work in these outlying
communities usually come back into
the city in large numbers to spend
the money and to buy homes and
to pay taxes. II Is not telling the
whole truth. therefore, to say that
these outlying communities that
have industries located within their
borders take everything and give
nothing.
The thing that Is important In the
city OF Detroit today about this dis
cussion is that the problem of Negro
housing is being used as cats paw
TO pull the chestnuts Of this prob
lem out Of the fire. In addition to
this idea Is the effort on the part of
some people In the city Of Detroit
to shift attention away from the
very grave Negro housing problem
and what Detroit can and must do
about II to q new idea about Negro
housing as II relates to these out
lying communities where Negroes
necessarily must work. To put IL
another way. certain people in
Detroit have proposed that II in
dustries outside Of Detroit give
work to Negroes In large numbers,
these same communities automatic
ally must provide places for them
to live. The question Is not asked
whether or not q person wants to
live in given community. The
method for implementing this idea
leaves the person no choice Of
whether he wants TO live In . given
or not. To Implement or
to carry out the idea of forcing the
outlying communities to provide !
for Negroes, II Is proposed /
that where two families apply for
a house. the family who works
within the city limits will be given
the preference irrespective of his !
relationship to the city of Detroit |
and to his Job. This must not be. !
Certainly Dearborn and all other
communities must give way to the
right of Negroes to live where they |
choose. On the other hand. Detroit |
cannot dodge its problem Of made
quate housing for the workers run
ming over long period Of years
by making the problem Of housing
Negroes in outlying communities +
the red herring" Detroit has not
yet solved its problem for Negroes
who work within the city limits
and who have a long residence In
the city Of Detroit.
The other very dangerous feature /
about this proposal is that Negroes
have been waging very stiff strug-
gle in cooperation with great many
other people for job equality. Some
progress has been made toward this
goal. To make the problem Of job
equality dependent upon the fact
of housing Is doing the democratic /
we must win the right to equal
job opportunities In this country
regardless of race. creed or color.
We must also win the right TO own
and live in q decent home for every
American regardless of race, creed
or color. The right to equality and
democracy in job employment at
this stage Of our development can
not be made one and the same
problem with the right to own and
live in q decent home. They are
both two fundamental rights. But
in order TO protect one from the
viciousness Of the other, they must
be fought as two distinct problems
at this stage I'm the two fights. II say
at this stage of the two fights ad-
visedly.) Job equality for the Negro
has not yet been won. II we are
not careful In planning this fight
and become the cats paw for the
chestnuts thSt are In the fire grow
ing out of the fight between Detroit
and Its outlying smaller municipal
ties, we will slow up the progress
now being made in the fight for
job equality and thereby render the
struggle for a decent home for our
workers almost impossible.
Therefore, the liberal minded
people in the city OF Detroit must
be opposed TO the idea that Negroes
i'm the city Of Detroit have been
adequately provided for were II not
for the fact that certain outlying
communities refuse to house Ne
sroes even though they work In that
vicinity.